Moby, Joy Division…and more Moby
by Savana Delacroix
I’ve had more Moby in my life in the past two weeks than I seemingly have in years. It started with a trip to the musician’s Destroyed photo show at the Kopeikin Gallery in Culver City. A collection of large format audience shots taken from the stage, each print captured the sweaty, ecstatic and sometimes confused (or perhaps just high) expressions of concert goers under a kaleidoscope of lighting. The almost fish eye effect to each photo gave the prints a surreal aesthetic. As we carefully studied each giant print, my friend and I developed a very fun game called, “Where is this audience from?” As usual, the Americans seemed to be the easiest to spot.
Moby, part deux came courtesy of Peter Hook’s show at the El Rey. Performing with his band Peter Hook and the Light, the former Joy Division and New Order bassist tackled the entire Unknown Pleasures album with aplomb. Joy Division are truly one of the rare holy grails in music, a band everyone tries to sound like but few can truly do justice to. I’ll be honest, my expectations going into the show weren’t exactly high and thankfully, they were far exceeded.
Hook roared through favorites like “She’s Lost Control” and “Shadowplay” with ferocious determination. When he brought Moby out on stage to tackle guest vocals on a number of tracks, my brief bit of hesitation was met with surprise when an eerily Ian Curtis-like voice barreled out of the bespectacled musician. Someone standing behind me turned to their friend and quipped, “Moby’s a great Ian Curtis cover artist… who knew?”
As the evening wore on, Hook pulled out additional catalog classics like “Transmission” before ending with “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” To be quite honest, I often listen to so many of their other cuts that I had forgotten about their most popular track. As the opening chords of “Love…” began, the audience turned into a sea of flailing arms. It truly seemed like an immense sense of joy had enveloped the whole room. This is a generation who never got to see Curtis perform these seminal tracks live yet, for one night, were able to gloriously relive the magic.
Peter Hook and the Light photos: Michi Tsunoda
Remaining Joy Division Members Give Biopic the 'Thumbs Up'
Remaining Joy Division members, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris, have given director Anton Corbijn's biopic of the band's late frontman Ian Curtis, Control, a big "thumbs up."
Speaking to XFM, Morris said that while he enjoyed the film, in his eyes "none of it's true."
It's good, very good. Its a bit hard to watch when you're involved in it as much as Peter and I have been though, but Anton's done a really good job, its not as funny as '24 Hour Party People' though. None of it's true really. Its sort of true but you have to take liberties when you're making a film because the truth is too boring."
Hook went on to agree with Morris in the interveiw, but conveyed feelings of discomfort regarding the audience's enthused reaction at the film's Cannes Festival premeire.
I really enjoyed it, but it was as I said like having your heart stamped on. The weirdest thing was at the end, when it really hurt and everybody started clapping. It would've been nice to have a dignified silence. You're sat there thinking Fuck me I lived that!' It was like being dissected.
The other surving member of Joy Division, Bernard Sumner, has yet to publically declare his feelings on the film. However, the ever-candid Hook revealed that Sumner took a short break during the film's screening.
Then I went to take a piss and Ian and Bernard Sumner were next to me... well the actors that played them and I was like that... 'Aaaaah!'. That was surreal.
The way I always like to look at it is that you can judge how good a film is by how many people go to take a piss during it, and only two people who went for a piss (during the film was) Bernard and a 70-year-old woman."
The film opens in U.K theatres on October 5th. Stateside audiences may have to wait a bit longer as no official date has yet been set by its U.S. distributor, The Weinstein Company.
Recommended Viewing:
Footage from Control, plus audience members' reactions.
First Peek at Ian Curtis Biopic
The first official peek at photographer/director Anton Corbijn's biopic of late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, Control, has hit the net. The film, shot entirely in black and white, took home the prize for Best European Film at the Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered last week.
Corbijn put much of his own money into the measly six million dollar budget to ensure the completion of the daring film. But despite the picture being in the unpopular black and white format with miniscule funding and an unknown lead actor (Sam Riley), judges at Cannes were dishing nothing but glowing praise.
['Control' is] a very impressive and assured debut from a renowned photographer, but he never allows the look of the film, beautiful though it is, to detract from the powerful story and character development. The performances are all excellent, not just the leading characters. We feel that this is a film that will strike a real chord with audiences ...and not just with music lovers."
The film will feature a score by New Order (R.I.P.) as well as music by David Bowie, the Sex Pistols, the Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop.
Check out the trailer below.We like that it has the same look and feel of Corbijn's famous photographs of the group.
New Order to Re-Record Joy Division Tracks for Biopic
Dance/post-punk pioneers New Order have reportedly re-recorded several Joy Division tracks for Director Anton Corbijn's upcoming biopic on late JD frontman Ian Curtis. As previously reported, members of the band were butting heads with Corbijn regarding the direction of the film, entitled Control, but all appears well with the delivery of this news. In addition to New Order's JD reworkings and incidental score, the film's soundtrack will also feature current artists' versions of classic Joy Division tracks (including The Killers' take on "Shadowplay").
Apparently shot in Black and White, Control stars newcomer Sam Riley as Curtis (weirdly, Riley played Mark E. Smith of The Fall in 24 Hour Party People) and Samantha Morton as Deborah Curtis whose book the film is based on. The film will be released to theatres this fall.
Recommended Viewing:
A Dutch TV interview with Anton Corbijn concerning Control, incuding "behind the scenes" footage
A 2005 Live Version of Joy Division's "Transmission" by New Order
New Order Blast Joy Division Biopic Director
New Order Bassist, Peter Hook, has revealed to Argentinian Magazine, Pagina/12, he is unhappy with the direction the Joy Division biopic, Control, is taking. New Order (whose line-up is made up of the remaining members of Joy Division, forming shortly after singer Ian Curtis' suicide in 1980) has been working on the soundtrack to the film, but according to Hook, director Anton Corbijn has gotten too involved in the soundtrack processions and has shut the band out of the film process completely.
"I'm pissed about the movie right now because Anton Corbijn seems to be getting too much control, precisely. I would have preferred that he showed more respect for us. I think he should have a wider view. At the beginning he would say: 'Come everyone to help' but now he closed the doors and sent everyone to piss off."
adding later,
"We're suppose to record the score but the problem is that he's telling us what to do. If we don't tell him how to direct, why is he telling us how to make music?"
The film is based on Curtis' wife, Deborah's book, Touching The Distance, and is set for relase sometime in 2007.
In related news, Hook also revealed that following the planned soundtrack, New Order just might break-up. Follwing the band's November 18th concert in Buenos Aires he told the paper,
"This might be our last concert ever."
New Order/Joy Divsion drummer, Stephen Morris, added the following:
"I could say there won't be New Order for a couple of years, but as I said before we're bad at planning things so let's see what happens. This is strange time to be New Order. It was good a couple of years ago when everyone was saying we were 'Godlike Geniuses' and the fans recognised the band. There are a lot of New Orders around and we're the old guys of the neighbourhood, so we should stop for a while and let them take our place."
New Order released their most recent album, Waiting for the Siren's Call, in 2005.
Joy Division Film Gets the Go-Ahead
The long-in-development biopic about the bands late frontman Ian Curtis has found a U.K. distributor.. The movie, called "Control," started filming yesterday in England with newcomer Sam Riley in the title role. Indie veteran Samantha Morton plays Curtis wife, Deborah.
Expanding on Deborah Curtis' memoirs, "Touching From a Distance," Matt Greenhalgh's script examines the musician's struggle between his love for his wife and for his girlfriend, his bouts with epilepsy and his performances with the band.
Photographer/video guru Anton Corbijn, who has worked with U2, D-Mode, and Nirvana, is making his feature directorial debut on the movie. And other bands are getting into the act, with soundtrack contributions reportedly coming from David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Roxy Music, The Buzzcocks and, yes, New Order.
Photo Location