One of my favorite DJs, John Richards, on my favorite radio station, KEXP, dedicated his show this morning to the memory of Ian Curtis, the lead singer of one of my favorite bands of all time, Joy Division. Ian took his own life on this day in 1980, at age 23.
-
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Answers to two Very Big questions
I can write with the utmost confidence and without qualification that you, reader, have asked yourself the following two Very Big & Important questions:
- 1) Certainly there are many alternate universes, but how good is the band Joy Division in the Playmobil universe?
- 2) What does God look like?
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Follow in Ian Curtis' footsteps . . .
. . . though I would advise stopping a step or two before he hangs himself in his flat.
Ian's final few footsteps would be too morbid and final for me to follow, but the prospect of sauntering about Macclesfield to ogle locations central to Ian's formative years does sound like a fun time. The Silk Museum in Macclesfield has created a map of the area annotated with locations noteworthy in Ian's life. This map coincided with other community events through the summer 2010 commemorating the 30th anniversary of Ian's demise.
From www.joydivisionexhibition.com:
-
Ian's final few footsteps would be too morbid and final for me to follow, but the prospect of sauntering about Macclesfield to ogle locations central to Ian's formative years does sound like a fun time. The Silk Museum in Macclesfield has created a map of the area annotated with locations noteworthy in Ian's life. This map coincided with other community events through the summer 2010 commemorating the 30th anniversary of Ian's demise.
From www.joydivisionexhibition.com:
- The Silk Museum [of Macclesfield] has released a map of Ian Curtis’ Macclesfield to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the singer’s death. Destined to become a real collector’s item, the iconic map guides visitors to the key sites in Macclesfield associated with Ian Curtis and Joy Division.
- The reverse of the A2 fold-out map features a poster sized image of an iconic shot of Ian Curtis by long-time friend of the band Mark Reeder alongside a specially commissioned article by music writer Paul Morley.
- The map, produced by designers Gary White and Colin Gardner of Pure Designs Limited, will be obtainable from the Tourism Information Centre in Macclesfield Town Hall (price £1.00) or the Heritage Centre, Roe Street, Macclesfield where a limited collector’s edition of 500 is for sale (price £3.00 plus P&P where necessary).
-
Friday, June 25, 2010
Mt. St. Joy Division
I mark every May 18 with at least a personal moment of silence for the untimely death of Ian Curtis and a reflection upon the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, both of which occurred on May 18, 1980[1].
The latter event I recall, to some degree: I was almost eight years old, living in Siletz, and I clearly remember scraping with my hand some of the light dust that had fallen on Mom's old blue Maverick when we were living in the double-wide on Willow Court. I recall Mom admonishing me for actions that could potentially harm the delicate finish on the highly valuable and pristine metallic blue Ford Maverick.[2] What a silly little boy was I! I retained a baby-jar-full of ash for many years, until I left home after graduating high school in 1990 and it disappeared in the unplanned and random dispersal of my belongings as I transitioned into and out of the U.S. Navy.
The former event -- Ian Curtis' death -- did not register with me at seven years old. I didn't get in to Joy Division until I was about 16. It was some time around the summer between my junior and senior years in high school, so that would have made it 1989. I recall clearly that one of my sister's friends' friends had made a set of mixed tapes titled "Music for the Moderns," or some such, and I, in turn, recorded these from her. On this tape were songs from certain bands and certain genres that subsequently have become the soundtrack of my life. More than that, actually -- songs and genres that have subsequently helped me define my place in the universe.[3]
The latter event I recall, to some degree: I was almost eight years old, living in Siletz, and I clearly remember scraping with my hand some of the light dust that had fallen on Mom's old blue Maverick when we were living in the double-wide on Willow Court. I recall Mom admonishing me for actions that could potentially harm the delicate finish on the highly valuable and pristine metallic blue Ford Maverick.[2] What a silly little boy was I! I retained a baby-jar-full of ash for many years, until I left home after graduating high school in 1990 and it disappeared in the unplanned and random dispersal of my belongings as I transitioned into and out of the U.S. Navy.
The former event -- Ian Curtis' death -- did not register with me at seven years old. I didn't get in to Joy Division until I was about 16. It was some time around the summer between my junior and senior years in high school, so that would have made it 1989. I recall clearly that one of my sister's friends' friends had made a set of mixed tapes titled "Music for the Moderns," or some such, and I, in turn, recorded these from her. On this tape were songs from certain bands and certain genres that subsequently have become the soundtrack of my life. More than that, actually -- songs and genres that have subsequently helped me define my place in the universe.[3]
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Why deviate so obviously from historical truth?
Ok. Joy Division is one of my favorite bands of all time, so I was excited when Control came out in 2007. I like the movie a lot, too, because I'm part of a "small circle."
I have three critiques, however. The first is that the movie cast didn't record an entire sound track -- they sounded so good together when they played in the movie, why not record an entire covers soundtrack?!?! Second, why didn't New Order record a couple more songs, in the same vein and in tribute? It seems like this would have been a fitting thing to do.
Finally--and more in-line with the purpose of this blog--why did director Anton Corbijn record the cast doing the song "Transmission" for Tony Wilson's Granada Reports television show, when, in reality, they performed "Shadowplay" on that pivotal day in September 1978?
-
I have three critiques, however. The first is that the movie cast didn't record an entire sound track -- they sounded so good together when they played in the movie, why not record an entire covers soundtrack?!?! Second, why didn't New Order record a couple more songs, in the same vein and in tribute? It seems like this would have been a fitting thing to do.
Finally--and more in-line with the purpose of this blog--why did director Anton Corbijn record the cast doing the song "Transmission" for Tony Wilson's Granada Reports television show, when, in reality, they performed "Shadowplay" on that pivotal day in September 1978?
-
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)