We just finished watching the Joy Division Under Review documentary a few minutes ago. It didn't really do it for me. The interviews were lit very abrasively and someone got the bright idea to do some poor design tricks over photos of Ian Curtis as a way to reuse the same 5 photos over and over. Yes we get it: the future, contemporary life, digital, computers, industrial shit, blah, blah, blah The Futurists and The Art of Noises (although no one mentioned that except I thought of it when what's her name mentioned the way music is channeled through the sounds of contemporary life). The interviews weren't too bad although at times a bit pretentious. They were often dismissive of many of the earlier simple, harder punk songs that I happen to love, songs like Transmission and Warsaw. I wonder if people would play up the death and dark imagery as much had the lead singer not killed himself. I also find it annoying how often he is held up above and beyond the other band members like they weren't there playing the instruments and collectively developing their sound. I mean, one of the things that makes New Order one of my top favourite bands ever are the sophisticated ways they incorporated bits and pieces of Joy Division into an evolving sound -- bits and pieces that are present because those three other band members were there and involved in the first place.
And moving on, sort of: Years ago I made the mistake of wearing a Joy Division t-shirt to a weekly therapy session. My therapist sometimes commented on my clothing choice for the day if it was particularly bright or expressive, and on this particular day suggested that I must be feeling overtly joyful given the shirt I had chosen to wear. I think I just sort of nodded in response, not really having the heart to explain or get into the real meaning of the words, or that it was the t-shirt for a band whose music is like a sometimes morose, emotional disco, dance music... and forget about their history... there was no way I was going to go there. I chose instead to completely avoid wearing that shirt in future sessions.
Song: Twenty Four Hours If pressed to chose, probably my favourite Joy Division song. That is all. I will shut up about it now.