Joy Division
The 50 Best Alt-Rock Love Songs
Not all love songs are romantic. Not all love songs are even happy. It all depends on your definition of the term. For every “My Girl” or “Your Song,” there’s at least one track with a nuanced take on the darker, more complicated sides of love — the drama of a long-term relationship, the fear of losing a partner, the void left in love’s wake. Many of those songs fall under the admittedly broad umbrella of “alt-rock.” So to mark Valentine’s Day, we decided to gather 50 of our favorite “love songs” in the genre — both conventional and otherwise. Throughout this list, you’ll find lines about blooming romance and marital bliss. You’ll also find nods to drug addiction and car crashes. There’s something for everyone. – Ryan Reed 50. that dog. – “I’m Gonna See You” You take the good, you tak...
New Joy Division, New Order Podcast to Feature Original Band Members, Liam Gallagher, Bono and More
Joy Division and New Order’s interconnected histories will be shared in a new podcast called Transmissions: The Definitive Story. The first eight episodes of the series will go through Joy Division’s birth, rise, then the 1980 death of Ian Curtis. The podcast will then explore the formation of New Order and run till the release of their hit 1983 song, “Blue Monday.” “Nothing would’ve stopped us—nothing did stop us, did it?” Joy Division’s Bernard Sumner said in the trailer, which you can hear below. “Ian’s death didn’t stop us, Martin’s death didn’t stop us, getting all the equipment stolen didn’t stop us. There was nothing to go back to. There was no plan B.” Aside from Sumner, band members Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert and Peter Hook will be featured on the pod along with intervie...
The 25 Best Soundtrack Albums of the 1990s
In the 1980s, music and film collided for cross-promotional blockbusters both transcendent (Purple Rain) and transcendently cheesy (Footloose). In the ‘90s, soundtracks continued to sell in the millions, capturing cultural moments like the Seattle grunge of Singles or the Britpop and electronica of Trainspotting. Auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson reached deep into their record collections to set the mood while movies like Above the Rim and Menace II Society pioneered the concept of soundtracks as hip-hop mixtapes. A great soundtrack can propel an unsuccessful single, like Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose,” to the top of the charts, or revive a decades-old hit, like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It can also push a cult singer-songwriter like Elliott Smith or Aimee Mann to an Oscar perf...
Brandon Flowers Shares Joy Division’s ‘Profound Impact’ in Ian Curtis Tribute
Brandon Flowers paid tribute to the Ian Curtis on a special charity livestream, Moving Through The Silence: Celebrating the Life & Legacy of Ian Curtis, to honor the 40th anniversary of the late Joy Division singer on Monday night (May 18). “My journey to Joy Division started at New Order. I distinctly remember being a young man and seeing ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ on MTV and knowing that this was something I could get behind,” Flowers said in a pre-recorded clip (at 54:10) for the charity special. “As I got older and more invested in music, I traced that New Order lineage back to Ian Curtis and Joy Division. This unparalleled, stark, beautiful, primitive, soulful music: it had a profound impact on me, just like it did many others.” While some may have hoped that The Killers’ frontman wo...
Mark Lanegan and Cold Cave Cover Joy Division in Honor of Ian Curtis
Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis died 40 years ago today, and musicians and music publications and organizations of all stripes have been unveiling tributes throughout the day; here’s ours. Headstock, a music festival with a focus on mental health, livestreamed a tribute show called Moving Through the Silence earlier today, which featured performances from Brandon Flowers, Elbow and Kodaline performing “Love Will Tear Us Apart” with an orchestra. Mark Lanegan, whom SPIN recently had a third-eye-opening conversation with, is no stranger to surprising collaborations, from Isobel Campbell of Belle & Sebastian to Queens of the Stone Age. But in Curtis’ honor, he teamed up with the very Joy Division-indebted darkwave influencees Cold Cave on a faithful and fuzzed-up rendition of “Isolation,...
New Order’s Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris, Brandon Flowers to Pay Tribute to Ian Curtis
The 40th anniversary of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis’ death is on May 18. To honor his legacy, his former bandmates (and current New Order members) Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris will take part in a livestream on the anniversary. The duo will be joined by the Killers singer Brandon Flowers, Elbow, Kodaline and more to be revealed. Titled Moving Through the Silence: Celebrating the Life & Legacy of Ian Curtis, the stream will feature two hours of live and exclusive conversation, music and poetry. Other interviewees include Ian Curtis’s friend Mark Reeder, and there will be a special appearance from Maxine Peake. Donated funds will to Manchester mental health charity Manchester Mind. Click here for more info.
