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Joy Division + New Order: Decades

Joy Division + New Order: Decades

  • Downloads：6170
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-12-31 08:51:15
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：John Aizlewood
  • ISBN：178675116X
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Summary

First， there was Joy Division。 Their music reflected both the barren urban landscape of their native Manchester in the late 1970s and singer Ian Curtis’s heart of darkness。 They remain forever defined by both the suicide of their extraordinary and extraordinarily volatile singer and two albums as close to perfection as music can come。

From the ashes of Joy Division came New Order - their globally popular music bridged the chasm between indie and dance and inspired a generation。 Having conquered the world and maintained their credibility， they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and imploded in a tsunami of recrimination， while still making fabulous music。

It’s a tale of death， destroyed friendships and bungled finances， but the story of Joy Division and New Order is also the saga of two bands who made extraordinary music which defined their times and overturned the musical landscape。

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Reviews

Beth ，

Loved this look back at two amazing bands - tons of photographs; the information presented in shortish chapters that cut out the extraneous and highlight the important bits; the whole thing just thoroughly engrossing。

Linda Cirocco ，

Joy Division + New Order: DecadesJohn AizlewoodPublished November 15th， 2021Palazzo EditionsManchester in the late 1970’s: Bleak， cold， post-industrial， a moonscape。 From this barren landscape emerges the punk band Warsaw， which was composed of four local chaps: Ian Curtis， Peter Hook （Hooky）， Bernard （Albrecht） Sumner， and Tony Tabac （1977）。 Aizlewood’s book is a comprehensive look at the band’s development， the harshness and demands of the music business， and the relationships that influenced， Joy Division + New Order: DecadesJohn AizlewoodPublished November 15th， 2021Palazzo EditionsManchester in the late 1970’s: Bleak， cold， post-industrial， a moonscape。 From this barren landscape emerges the punk band Warsaw， which was composed of four local chaps: Ian Curtis， Peter Hook （Hooky）， Bernard （Albrecht） Sumner， and Tony Tabac （1977）。 Aizlewood’s book is a comprehensive look at the band’s development， the harshness and demands of the music business， and the relationships that influenced， manipulated， and eventually， destroyed the band。Seems there was another band called the Warsaw Pact and so they decided to change their name so people wouldn’t get the bands confused。 They decided on Joy Division， the name taken from the sex slave wing of the Nazi concentration camps and mentioned in the book， House of Dolls （1955）。 Aizlewood writes about the slighted detail so the reader can feel the grime on the streets and the coldness in the air。 In 1979， Joy Division wrote She’s Lost Control， which John Peel showcased on his national radio show and soon， the band was getting some recognition。 After their lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide， the band broke free from the Joy Division’s raw， punk sound。 They added synthesizers to the mix and started creating electric dance music in the modified band， New Order。 The band’s name was snatched from “…a Guardian headline about the Khmer Rouge， ‘The People’s New Order of Kampuchea。’” Perhaps the addition of Gillian Gilbert on keyboards brought some luck because they were soon touring in the USA and became a worldwide sensation。The book delves into how the band eventually fell apart。 A loss to all of us fans。I recommend Decades and give it 4 stars。My honest review from an ARC made available by the @Palazzo Editions via @NetGalley。 Thank you。 。。。more

Theediscerning ，

Many fans of the erstwhile Warsaw will pick this up and dismiss it as far too pictorial to contain anything like the full narrative。 Well， for me， a person who played their double cassette of Substance to death， this was perfectly fine – meaning that yes， there will be people who played their five-CD， longbox version of Retro to death and will think this too slight。 To me all that the narrative missed was the audience – the outsider's appreciation; one chapter the band have a crowd of one person Many fans of the erstwhile Warsaw will pick this up and dismiss it as far too pictorial to contain anything like the full narrative。 Well， for me， a person who played their double cassette of Substance to death， this was perfectly fine – meaning that yes， there will be people who played their five-CD， longbox version of Retro to death and will think this too slight。 To me all that the narrative missed was the audience – the outsider's appreciation; one chapter the band have a crowd of one person， the next a four-hundred head venue is 50% over capacity， and there's no look at things from their point of view。 Clearly the audience would have been there， otherwise they would never have been making record after record， non-album single after non-album single， and so on， but it would have been nice to get their take on things。As it is the story comes across very concisely， with a lot that will perhaps be new， at least to several eager readers。 I don't think it's that common knowledge that one of the band was talked to in relation to a serial killer case。 And what do you mean you didn't know what Tony Wilson's parents did for a job？！ That last does bring me on to the fact that some of the minutiae are not fully relevant – so many places， from the estates they were born in to recording studios of old， and every magazine where relevant gets the date they were bulldozed or were last in print， as if NO must be congratulated for outliving them。But on the whole the book is judged finely – and yes， those wonderful pictures do add a lightness and quickness to the pace of the page-turning。 I think this succeeds at what it wants to do， which is be accessible， while toning down the side and bias regarding certain people and events。 The calamitous rock band story can be told in many different ways， and I would always read a hundred pages about Fleetwood Mac shagging around as opposed to six hundred; in a world where both possibilities are on the market I don't think we need worry about this being too pusillanimous or slender a telling。 A strong four stars。 。。。more

J Earl ，

Joy Division + New Order: Decades by John Aizlewood is an excellent look at the story of these bands/this band。 I liked Joy Division the first time I heard them but I do remember being unable to put my finger on exactly why。 Like so many US listeners， I first heard them either just before or just after Ian Curtis' death， I can't remember which。 By the time New Order began getting US airplay I knew all of Joy Division's songs pretty well。 I won't say I was disappointed at first with New Order but Joy Division + New Order: Decades by John Aizlewood is an excellent look at the story of these bands/this band。 I liked Joy Division the first time I heard them but I do remember being unable to put my finger on exactly why。 Like so many US listeners， I first heard them either just before or just after Ian Curtis' death， I can't remember which。 By the time New Order began getting US airplay I knew all of Joy Division's songs pretty well。 I won't say I was disappointed at first with New Order but it did take a while to separate them from Joy Division in my mind， after which I could appreciate them for what they were。It was painful reading the first part of the book， if you know what is going to happen to Curtis you can't help but feel like you want to intervene。 Not to mention it showed in detail what always seemed the case from the distance of fanhood， Peter Hook was a completely self-absorbed misogynist sphincter。 A talented one but totally classless nonetheless。 There， I feel better now。 While this is essential for any fan， casual or otherwise， I also think this would be a fascinating read for anyone interested in the music scene of the period。 Whether the Manchester scene， the UK scene in general， or， particularly with New Order， the worldwide scene。 Coupled with excellent photographs and excellent writing， this will be a pleasant addition for any such reader。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more

Annarella ，

Even if I was a goth in the 80s I wasn't a huge fan of Joy Division （even if Decades is in my top ten of fav songs） and didn't like New Order。 I started to listen to them later in my life and appreciating their sounds。This is an interesting biography that analyses the band， their story and talks about some aspects that are not so well known or remembered。I appreciated the style of writing and how the author deals with a sort of "untouchable and seminal" band。Well researched and well written， it' Even if I was a goth in the 80s I wasn't a huge fan of Joy Division （even if Decades is in my top ten of fav songs） and didn't like New Order。 I started to listen to them later in my life and appreciating their sounds。This is an interesting biography that analyses the band， their story and talks about some aspects that are not so well known or remembered。I appreciated the style of writing and how the author deals with a sort of "untouchable and seminal" band。Well researched and well written， it's was also a lot of fun to read。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more

Kid Ferrous ，

Full disclosure - I don’t really like Joy Division or New Order， but if ever a book was going to make me like them， then “Decades” by John Aizlewood would be the closest thing to it。 Forever the darlings of the music critics， there has always been a sense that both groups are bulletproof and beyond true criticism。 Like Berlin-era Bowie， Morrissey and The Smiths， someone has decided that THEY ARE IMPORTANT， and we need to keep talking about them， even when they’re being rubbish。 Luckily， John Aiz Full disclosure - I don’t really like Joy Division or New Order， but if ever a book was going to make me like them， then “Decades” by John Aizlewood would be the closest thing to it。 Forever the darlings of the music critics， there has always been a sense that both groups are bulletproof and beyond true criticism。 Like Berlin-era Bowie， Morrissey and The Smiths， someone has decided that THEY ARE IMPORTANT， and we need to keep talking about them， even when they’re being rubbish。 Luckily， John Aizlewood is very good at talking about Joy Division and New Order。 This book is for both hardcore fans and those whose knowledge extends only to knowing that Joy Division did “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and New Order did that surprisingly good World Cup song。 As author John Aizlewood maintains in his history of the two bands， Ian Curtis “meant it”。 Indeed， I think this is a crucial factor in their lasting importance。 Dying young， ostensibly on the cusp of greatness， his legend remains preserved in aspic because he didn’t live long enough to become rubbish。 Aizlewood writes vividly and economically on the early years of the band members and offers insightful analyses on each album and single; this is a real fan speaking。 Lucid “sleeve notes” sidebars accompany the dissection of each album。 Emerging from the “dirty old town” of postwar Manchester， a deprived yet indomitable city， grammar school boys Bernard Dicken （later Albrecht then Sumner） and Peter “Hooky” Woodhead bonded at school （sort of） over a shared love of music and misbehaviour。 On meeting the intense and married Ian Curtis， the band Warsaw was formed， to some acclaim， with Stephen Morris eventually warming the drum stool。 As Aizlewood memorably puts it， only death would change the lineup。 After a necessary name-change， Joy Division were born， honing their dystopian music as a reaction to the post-industrial surroundings of Manchester。 Aizlewood writes unsensationally on the suicide of Ian Curtis， quoting music press obits of the time， one of which claimed Ian’s death “froze” Joy Division in an eternal moment of almost making it。 To do that， they would have to reinvent themselves as New Order， recruiting Stephen Morris’ girlfriend， Gillian Gilbert， on keyboards。 All of that band’s hits & misses， highs & lows， splits & reunions， solo projects of varying quality and nightclub-owning shenanigans are examined by Aizlewood as New Order initially struggle to exorcise the ghosts of Ian Curtis and Joy Division。 The biggest-selling 12” record （remember them？） of all time， “Blue Monday”， would change all that。 New Order’s latter years are a litany of strained inter-band relationships， financial mismanagement and Hooky’s alcoholism; painful to read but sadly essential when discussing this particular band’s history。 Saturated with cultural references from one of the greatest ever music eras and fully illustrated with photographs， （complete with irreverent captions）， “Decades” is erudite but also incredibly funny; John Aizlewood eschews the usual pretentiousness that Joy Division engender in favour of a writing style which borders on satire。 But his admiration for the music comes through strongly。 The result is as good a history of Joy Division and New Order （including all the awkward things associated with them） that we could ever hope for。 “Decades” is an outstanding， coffee-table-friendly history of two of the most interesting bands ever to come out of Britain。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Joy Division + New Order: Decades

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Joy Division + New Order: Decades&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Joy Division + New Order: Decades&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0