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
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 Calls It Quits
Earlier in the week, New Order bassist Peter Hook hinted to XFM that he, Bernard Sumner, and Stephen Morris were ready to call it a day.
XFM: "Is New Order over now?"
Hook: "Well, Yeah, me and Bernard aren't working together"
Now the rumours can be put to rest, as Hook has announced through more "official" channels (i.e. his Myspace page) that New Order has officially ended its 27 year exsistance.
"...it was the interview with clint boon that started it all off... I went on and ... mentioned the [New Order] split so i suppose because it was me sayin it... it was out at last. im relieved... really hated carryin on as normal with an awful secret... so lets move on shall we?"
So that's it, kids. 27 years ends with a flip Myspace post.
New Order's final output will be the score for the forthcoming Ian Curtis biopic, Control, which premieres at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17.
Meanwhile, Hook is busy gearing up his new super-group, Freebass, with The Smiths' Andy Rourke and Stone Roses' Mani. The band is collaborating with a series of guest vocalists, including Oasis's Liam Gallagher, The Charlatans' Tim Burgess, The Stone Roses' Ian Brown and Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie.
Recommended Viewing:
New Order in their prime, "Blue Moday" live in Barcelona, circa 1984.
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
The Love Shack is Back
The self-proclaimed Worlds Greatest Party Band The B-52s are back. The B-52s have returned after a 12 year hiatus (I'm not counting The Flinstones Soundtrack), and this time Cindy Wilsons onboard tooCindy has not been featured on an official album release since 1989's Cosmic Thing.
Guitarist Keith Strickland has reported on the B-52s website that work is well underway on the bands 7th and as-yet-unnamed studio album.
It is Rock 'n Roll-Glam-Electro-Soul for your pleasure zones, and sky blue with the volume turned up to hot pink.
The quartet has been working piecemeal with Keith responsible for bringing self-recorded demos to vocalists Cindy, Kate, and Fred. Following that, New Order producer Steve Osbourne brings the tracks to a fine polish.
We are using our demos as the basic tracks, which is very cool. I recorded most of my guitar and other instruments on ProTools at my home in Key West. Much of Fred, Cindy and Kate's vocal performances are first-takes from their jam sessions which we added in Atlanta. Steve has been fine tuning the tracks by incorporating more loops and grooves with analog and acoustic elements for more atmosphere and ambience.
The project has been ongoing since 2003 and, according to Keith, has since evolved into a bit of a concept record.
About halfway through these sessions we noticed a theme developing. However, I don't want to spoil the experience for you by giving it away. You've got to hear it to believe it.
So far the album has no release date, but the band has scheduled two shows.
12/31/06 - Atlantic City, NJ - Caesar's Circus Maximus
1/13/07 - Bossier City, LA - Diamond Jacks Casino
Members of New Order, The Smiths, & Stone Roses Form Supergroup
You say you like Bass? Well then you might want some Freebass. That's what New Order's Peter Hook, The Smiths' Andy Rourke, and Gary "Mani" Mounfield of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream fame have dubbed their new supergroup. Alright, I'll give you a second to writhe in agony a little while over the name before we move on. Ready? Okay.
In a reported interview with Filter magazine, Hook reveals the band was first conceived as a drunken joke, and not as a serious venture. However, the trio of Mancunian veteran bassists began working on songs and soon found themselves looking for a singer.
"We have about 19 ideas,twelve of them are ready for vocals. Weve had a problem finding a vocalist. I think the problem is that the three of us have such a pedigree of vocalist, that if we come out with someone thats not good well obviously be slated! Youve got Ian Brown, bloody Bobby Gillespie, Ian Curtis, Bernard (Sumner) and Morrissey. Those are big shoes to fill, especially collectively. We want someone young with something to say. Someone new. We dont to be some kind of rock supergroup for the sake of being a supergroup".
So how are these low-end giants working the room for three? Aces, apparently. Hook reveals the roles of each player:
All of the songs...they all have three basses. Mani does the low part, Andy Rourke in the middle and I do the high bit
it works out quite well.
There's yet to be a progress report on the trio's search for a front person.
Who would you cast your vote for?
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.
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