Joy Division to the World

If you know me personally, you know that I'm not a big fan of the punk genre that rose to popularity during the late 1970's-80s. I really don't understand why any sort of message of anarchy should overtake musical integrity. Bands like The Sex Pistols are 'well respected' to a certain few, but it's just angry music that lacks thoughtfulness. Despite my opinion (and I apologize for offending anyone), I do believe that one band coming out of this era understood the idea of musical integrity and how it should be kept intact: Joy Division. Unfortunately, they're lumped into this kind of anarchist-driven genre, but they're so much better than that! Ian Curtis' voice, though inherently "imperfect," has character and is more importantly, controlled and melodious. There's no yelling or screaming involved, just pure melody. The first song that I want to talk about happens to be my favorite Joy Division song. It's entitled "Disorder" off the "Unknown Pleasures" album. The video is very boring but it had the best sound quality of any I could find, so I apologize. Anyways, follow along with the lyrics, and enjoy the song:


Lyrics to Disorder :
I've been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand,
Could these sensations make me feel the pleasures of a normal man?
These sensations barely interest me for another day,
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, take the shock away.
(Bridge)

It's getting faster, moving faster now, it's getting out of hand,
On the tenth floor, down the back stairs, it's a no man's land,
Lights are flashing, cars are crashing, getting frequent now,
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, let it out somehow.
(Bridge)

What means to you, what means to me, and we will meet again,
I'm watching you, I'm watching her, I'll take no pity from your friends,
Who is right, who can tell, and who gives a damn right now,
Until the spirit new sensation takes hold, then you know,
Until the spirit new sensation takes hold, then you know,
Until the spirit new sensation takes hold, then you know,

(Coda Section)
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling,
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling.
Feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling.

The music itself is very minimalist and repetitive, but it has all the components of a good song. It starts with a basic drumbeat pattern that alternates between downbeats and offbeats. Right off the bat, you know that this song is going to drive. Then the bass enters with a motive, which is intervalically, very interesting. It's basically stacked 6th intervals (starting out with a minor sixth down, then a major sixth down), with an occasional minor third up (most notably on the first statement of the motive). This is interesting to me because, you don't hear a lot of stacked 6th's in rock music, but hey, anything goes. When the guitar comes in, it somewhat imitates the bass, but instead, it plays an alternating perfect 5th back and fourth, thus separating itself from the motive in the bass. During this introduction, the tonality of the song remains ambiguous (caused by these intervalic motives) until the vocals enter.

One of the things I love about Joy Division is Ian Curtis' voice. After I saw the movie "Control" I compared the voice of the actor who played Ian Curtis to that of the real Ian Curtis. Actually, the actor over perfected Ian Curtis' voice. I didn't like Curtis' voice at first, but it has grown on me. Though his intonation isn't necessarily accurate, his flatness is unique and works well for his style. As a musician, I'm constantly taught that being flat is worse than being sharp, but Ian Curtis is a rare exception to that rule. His voice has a raw, dark, and haunted quality that is one of Joy Division's greatest attributes.

The bridge in this song features the guitar, but I wouldn't necessarily describe it as a guitar solo. It's not very virtuosic, or something that I would describe as soloistic material. In other words, it doesn't really depart tonally or melodically from the rest of the song because it still concentrates on the alternation of intervalic relationships (like the beginning). In this case, the guitar concentrates on the alternation of major and minor 2nds (even using sliding techniques to incorporate both intervals). The guitar even changes placement in the register and moves up a minor 3rd. I believe that this is mainly to cause tension, ultimately leading up to the climax of the song. As discussed in previous posts, these songs keep building and building up to a certain point.

Before the climax, the guitar has what I'd like to call "crunchy" motives that are tonally and rhythmically ambiguous. This tension all leads up to the climax. At that point, the bass completely escapes the tonal direction of the other voices (musical lines), and obviously stands out as this motive that has no tonal relationship to the rest of the voices ("I've got the spirit, don't loose the feeling"). This is an excellent way to say "okay, here's the climactic moment!" In this way, the bassline's chromatic (half step motion) here is totally original from any other song, I've heard. This climax section is more of a coda (ending section) to the end of the song, because it's only introduced at the end and the previous sections are all pretty much tonally and rhythmically the same.

The next song I want to discuss is from the album "Substance." A rather haunting song, it's important to note that Anton Corbijn who directed the movie "Control," directed this video. It's more of a tribute to Ian Curtis than anything (for those of you who don't know, he committed suicide). Watch the vid, read the lyrics, and we'll discuss:



Lyrics to Atmosphere :
Walk in silence,
Don't walk away, in silence.
See the danger,
Always danger,
Endless talking,
Life rebuilding,
Don't walk away.
(Bridge)

Walk in silence,
Don't turn away, in silence.
Your confusion,
My illusion,
Worn like a mask of self-hate,
Confronts and then dies.
Don't walk away.
(Bridge)

People like you find it easy,
Naked to see,
Walking on air.
Hunting by the rivers,
Through the streets,
Every corner abandoned too soon,
Set down with due care.
Don't walk away, in silence,
Don't walk away.

This song is so poignant, powerful, but at the same time, very painful. I really beilieve that the video in this case accurately describes the mood of this song: very bleak, strange, and haunting. Like the last Joy Division song we discussed, the stanzas maintain the same melodic and harmonic nature, but the lyrics themselves are different. The only lyrical material that comes back is "don't walk away, in silence." Even though the stanzas pretty much remain the same, the singing material plays around a little bit, embellishing on the line, making it different from the previous stanza. Both bridges are interesting because they both seem to electronically blossom via synthesizer out of these dark lyrics, being the only colorful/hopeful thing about this sad song.

The lyrics themselves are not necessarily direct, but one can tell that it evokes the "atmosphere" of someone going through something quite heavy. I suggest you read about Ian Curtis to completely understand what can be seen in these lyrics. I imagine that these lyrics might be about someone who lacks a backbone to approach necessary confrontation (whether to a particular person or life in general). This lack of confidence obviously hinders him, and when he finally does confront what he loves, he's afraid that this one thing will leave him.

The way Ian Curtis sings in this song is so haunting. You can literally hear is voice crack, almost as if holding back tears in the last stanza of the song. He almost seems angry and jealous at one point when stating the lyrics "People like you find it easy, etc." It's heartbreaking. His unique flatness is extremely apparent here, but it's imperfect nature is what is so painful/beautiful about his voice and this song.

Anywho, this is all I can manage for now. Lots o' material. Listen to the songs again, think about what we've discussed, and see if any of it makes sense to you.

p.s. I WANT YOUR COMMENTS. I really want to know what you get out of these songs. I get sick of my own opinions.