History Lesson: Joy Division

Joy Division

Original video located here. Accessed 31st March 2015

Aside from being one of the best years of my life, 2000 was also a turning point: I was in University, I had hit age eighteen and I was entering adulthood. Subsequently, my interest in punk music, the musical genre that had propelled my teen years, was grinding to a close. Still, there was always room for one final grand gesture: Along with the afore-mentioned Sex Pistols, there were these guys: Joy Division. In a way it was fitting because, historically, Joy Division were more post Punk: They were taking the lessons learnt from the punk bands from that era and doing something more with them (which is always a winner in my book). Indeed it was the end of Joy Division that effectively ended the punk era – both historically and for me. Plus there was Love Will Tear Us Apart: one of those timeless songs that still pleases no matter how many times one hears it.

Key Album: Closer (1980) I was listening to Joy Division at the height of my ‘Goth’ phase. I was drawn to them initially as they were highly regarded by the Goth crowd. But then again so was Marilyn Manson (at the time) but I can tell you Closer is a different beast from Mr. Warner and essential listening for any true goth. With Closer Joy Division’s strengths are evident: The use of the bass and the drums in a dominating role and the afore-mentioned use of punk rock into something new. Also, there is the surprising use of synthesizers and its effective use (thus pinpointing the band’s evolution into New Order). But there’s also the final three songs: The triptych of Twenty Four Hours, The Eternal and Decades: A harrowing glimpse into the fractured mind that was Ian Curtis. No other band would have the balls to close an album with these three. No one but Joy Division.