Exploring Joy Division & "She's Lost Control" | New British Canon
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Published 2019-10-16
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” casts a mighty shadow on Joy Division's career. While the Manchester band recorded two studio albums, alongside a host of singles, demos and radio sessions, nothing seems to get as much hype as the song etched on Ian Curtis memorial. And because of that I won't be talking about that already canonized song, but instead a cut off their monolithic 1979 debut album, Unknown Pleasures. Same too about "Disorder", "Atmosphere" or "Shadowplay". One that best exemplifies Joy Division's devastating use of space, their brooding anti-funk grooves and Martin Hannett's (producer of Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP and Jilted John) experimental production. The song that cuts right to the heart of the singer and lyricist Ian Curtis, his raw desperation and the cult of genius surrounding him. A song that inspired the next wave of post-punk and beyond, but also pointed to Curtis' end itself. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “She's Lost Control”.
#joydivision #unknownpleasures #videoessay
Soundtrack:
Stars As Lights - Days, Weeks, Years Gone By (starsaslights.bandcamp.com)
pracs - Kilt and Cutter (soundcloud.com/pracs)
Stars As Lights - Maps and Constellations (starsaslights.bandcamp.com)
Stars As Lights - The Sound of Our Hearts (starsaslights.bandcamp.com)
B-Side - Pen Anubis (soundcloud.com/b-side-production)
Luar - Anchor (soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
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All Comments (21)
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So what's better: "She's Lost Control" or "Love Will Tear Us Apart"? Trash Theory playlists - Spotify: tinyurl.com/yxp32pjf Deezer: tinyurl.com/y2mdp8h2 Also if you want to help out, here's my patreon link: patreon.com/trashtheory
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Imagine being one of those who saw The Cure & Joy Division on the same night in a small club.
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Joy Division is forever one of the greatest bands. It's criminal how underrated Stephen Morris is as a drummer.
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I live in the small Cheshire town where Ian lived and died, I regularly walk past his memorial stone in West Park Cemetery, there is always fresh flowers and new little gifts and trinkets left by fans, gives me hope that there are still people out there that appreciate obscure but brilliant music...
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Your telling me that ian got mad at Bowie for living?
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One of the greatest bands to ever exist
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It's amazing that Curtis was a married teen dad , especially in the beginning of an era where many were pointedly avoiding such common life traps.Compounded with poor health, it's a wonder Joy Division,- and there would have been no JD without him,- ever got off the ground.
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The number 350125 wasn't a concentration camp number, it was Rufold Hess's prisoner of war serial number when he was captured in Scotland
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The whole "we don't do t-shirts" thing really bit them in the ass later. When they (as New Order) were being investigated by the taxman, he asked why they hadn't shown receipts for the money earned from t-shirts. They gave a long spiel about how they didn't do merch because it was "blatant profiteering, the work of the devil, etc, etc," to which the man responded "How come everywhere I go, I see Joy Division t-shirts, then?" They didn't have an answer and, as such, were fined 20,000 pounds, the highest ever fine at that time.
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People don’t understand how good hooky, Bernard,Morris and Curtis were for the time they played
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I like that he explain why he chose this song instead of “love will tear us apart”.
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Digital is such an underrated song. I'm so glad you included a few seconds of that song here.
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Joy Division's sound was highly influenced by their environment. Northern England is the working class area of the country and it got hit by the recession in the late 70's the hardest.
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We're rapidly approaching the 40th anniversary of Ian's passing. He is more widely known now than at the time of his untimely death. This speaks volumes about his impact on music.
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I was randomly thinking about this song today and then this pops up in my notifications lmao
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That live version is so much better, I cannot even listen to the studio version now. The live version is one of the most breathtaking live shows available on youtube, to me at least. My Mother was epileptic, so the subject matter is very dear to me. RIP Mom and Mr. Ian Curtis, you both inspire me every day.
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Now do Joy Division's sequel: New Order
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The '350125-31G' Warsaw line was NOT a 'Concentration camp serial number' reference but Rudolf Hess's prison number Post-war.
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The 12" single version of "She's Lost Control" is far superior to the album version. It is a masterpiece, one of the best records of all time. I always feel like something's missing when I hear the album version.
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I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it. I fell in love with it all over again because of this amazing video.
