I think (from what I've heard of his story) that assuming Ian isn't trying gets it "exactly wrong". His epilepsy, and the depression it induced, made just living a struggle for him (for reasons I don't think most people would want to understand with too much empathy - because then you'd have to risk feeling those kinds of feelings yourself). I think he's always trying but sometimes he's just exhausted. Exhausted, and not "playing cool". It's the real thing, not some movied-up fakery for entertainments sake. It's this genuineness that I think the fans were so attracted to. I think the "off" sounds would be deliberate - an expression of what he's feeling, though, and again not an affectation. He was very, very far off being "Mr Cool" (boring-mr-cool - an over-used plot line to a very thin tale). There were times when he had to be just about literally forced to go on stage, because the dread of it would sometimes become overwhelming. (There are documentaries out there that tell this part of it properly, so don't take me as correct in any but the broadest details of this.) Going out there to face the audience sometimes took enormous courage. (Courage is subjective. It all depends on what each individual fears and dreads. To "measure it" you need to dig into your own fears, find one that scares you badly, and then imagine having to go and confront that.) I know too much emphasis on the mental illness aspect detracts from the creative side of it all, so you cover the most important aspects - that unique sound they created, that has to be listened to on its own terms (maybe only on the right days in some cases). It's just that I thought it was necessary to beg to disagree about the impression that he's "just blowing everyone off" (I hope I haven't said something unintended there). He just tried hard enough to sometimes ending up falling down because of it, that's all.
Curtis is and was a genius, this is singing for the ages, it will never get old, a perfect end to a master album, gotta admit I didn't get it back in 79 but I was a very young punk rocker then, I sure get it now, Barney and Hookie have gone on to be legends in their own right but they were at the top of their game even back then.
This song is a fitting end to the album, and it foreshadows Closer to some extent. I really hope Closer is next. It's an amazing album as well. Different, more realized, but awesome in its own right. Also, FINALLY they are up for the RRHOF, after being snubbed for far too long, the way it should be, in conjunction with New Order. It feels like redemption.
A very strange, haunting endind to this fantastic album. Even when it's more depressing and quite, it has that tension and emotional depth below the surface which keeps you waiting for something else. Uncomfortable, in a way, but deeply remarkable for me - and many longtime fans of the band. Nothing boring or forgettable here, except several coomments on this video.
I like this track, particularly the low, singular bass notes and the chugging guitar. The album as a whole doesn't have a lot of variation in sound and mood; maybe that would be a bit much if I was listening to it in one go, but that isn't an issue when just dipping into it now and again, as on this channel. It gets the thumbs up from me (plus, historically, their music was hugely influential).
Thankyou for listening to and commenting on Joy Division. Music worthy of disection. Would you please consider featuring The Birthday Party at some point? I would love to hear your views on Jennifer’s Veil, Fears of Gun, The Hair Shirt, Mutiny in Heaven and Deep in the Woods especially.
When I was 14years old this was best band I want along time with 45 years when in it was harder with music this is harder great music even even you didn’t like love will Tara us part
Generally, on a Joy Division song which has keyboard on it, the guitar part will be relatively basic, because in concert Ian will be playing the guitar because Bernard will be playing the keyboard, I Remember Nothing is one example.
I strongly recommend listening to more post punk and gothic music. I can’t say I have any bands that really are just like Joy Division, but there’s plenty that holds that same depressing but artsy spirit.
I have listened to this song few times over the years. And when I have, it has been in the background. It's dark as hell (which is fine), but musically it just doesn't do it for me and that's the biggest reason I don't return to it often and certainly not intentionally. I'm glad you've enjoyed your JD journey (for the most part) and I look forward to more!!
JP: I have an album I think you should listen to now that you've worked your way through Unknown Pleasures and have listened to a fair amount of New Order. As you already know, after Ian Curtis committed suicide, the remaining members of Joy Division reformed as New Order adding Gillian Gilberton on keyboards and produced a new sound while still retaining some amount of that original Joy Division sound DNA (which you would expect with any band with Hook, Sumner and Morris present). One question that you might ask yourself is "how did the transition to New Order happen and what did it sound like in the beginning?" Fortunately, we know the answer to this question because its on full display in the first New Order album, Movement. An amazing album little understood when it came out (I wore my copy out though, I can tell you). Think of it as a New Order album where all the presets are still set to Joy Division mode (like Bernard's singing sounds a lot like Ian Curtis because of production that sounds right off Closer). And this was the last album that Martin Hannett produced for the band (though, fortunately, not Hannett's last work at Factory when he later showed up producing for Happy Mondays). Anyway, if you're at all curious about what New Order would sound like if they tried covering Joy Division, this album is the answer. Here's the album link: ruclips.net/video/nAPPL6SmH-k/видео.html
An awesome end to this album. I remember being a goth-wannabe (I didn't dress up in the whole gothy outfit; teenage me brought up in a small Cornish village didn't dare) and listening to this track so much, thinking it was the ultimate expression of subtle menace and darkness. I still do, in a way, but my experience has opened me up to other ways of conveying the same feelings.
Joy Division were more than a sum of the parts - Ian Curtis will always remain as a tragic figure and a visionary, a young man who wanted to be William Burroughs or Jim Morrison, growing up in a factory town, Hooky and Stephen Morris forming a rhythm section that sounded very different before Martin Hannett got his hands on them, and Barney, ripping off soloes from Black Sabbath and developing his own very distinct rhythm guitar style. Like many post-punk bands, there are elements of reggae and punk, metal and disco, all mixed together. Hannett deserves a lot of credit for creating a new and unique sound, and his other work with bands like the Happy Mondays, Magazine, the High deserve a good listen.
Joy Division is somehow one of those bands I missed and keep thinking that I need to listen to because of their influences so thanks for the opportunity. That said, there were lots of parts that I liked, but not how any of them were put together.
Listen to "Substance", a complilation of their early songs, and "Closer", both are better than "Unknown Pleasures" imo. Also check the song "Something must break", it's on a compilation named "Still", one of their best song imo.
@@Alix777. Thanks, started with Substance and already heard a few gems. Now I get it. I'll go on to listen to more. Having heard songs from Substance I may have even a bit more tolerance for this track.
I always found that Ian Curtis was a very approximate singer but on "I Remember Nothing" he is really really bad. Musically, it could have been interesting but unfortunately it annoys me to no end. Justin, if you re-listen to the Talking Heads song "The Overload" on Remain In Light, you will realize that the oppressive atmosphere of the latter is somewhere very similar to "I Remember Nothing". That said I prefer a thousand times the Talking Heads track!😉😀
I think (from what I've heard of his story) that assuming Ian isn't trying gets it "exactly wrong". His epilepsy, and the depression it induced, made just living a struggle for him (for reasons I don't think most people would want to understand with too much empathy - because then you'd have to risk feeling those kinds of feelings yourself). I think he's always trying but sometimes he's just exhausted. Exhausted, and not "playing cool". It's the real thing, not some movied-up fakery for entertainments sake. It's this genuineness that I think the fans were so attracted to. I think the "off" sounds would be deliberate - an expression of what he's feeling, though, and again not an affectation.
He was very, very far off being "Mr Cool" (boring-mr-cool - an over-used plot line to a very thin tale). There were times when he had to be just about literally forced to go on stage, because the dread of it would sometimes become overwhelming. (There are documentaries out there that tell this part of it properly, so don't take me as correct in any but the broadest details of this.) Going out there to face the audience sometimes took enormous courage. (Courage is subjective. It all depends on what each individual fears and dreads. To "measure it" you need to dig into your own fears, find one that scares you badly, and then imagine having to go and confront that.)
I know too much emphasis on the mental illness aspect detracts from the creative side of it all, so you cover the most important aspects - that unique sound they created, that has to be listened to on its own terms (maybe only on the right days in some cases). It's just that I thought it was necessary to beg to disagree about the impression that he's "just blowing everyone off" (I hope I haven't said something unintended there). He just tried hard enough to sometimes ending up falling down because of it, that's all.
Curtis is and was a genius, this is singing for the ages, it will never get old, a perfect end to a master album, gotta admit I didn't get it back in 79 but I was a very young punk rocker then, I sure get it now, Barney and Hookie have gone on to be legends in their own right but they were at the top of their game even back then.
Hope you react to Closer sometime, the second side of that album is incredible.
Best suicide note ever.
This song is a fitting end to the album, and it foreshadows Closer to some extent.
I really hope Closer is next. It's an amazing album as well. Different, more realized, but awesome in its own right.
Also, FINALLY they are up for the RRHOF, after being snubbed for far too long, the way it should be, in conjunction with New Order. It feels like redemption.
Heavy. Love everything about it.
A very strange, haunting endind to this fantastic album. Even when it's more depressing and quite, it has that tension and emotional depth below the surface which keeps you waiting for something else. Uncomfortable, in a way, but deeply remarkable for me - and many longtime fans of the band. Nothing boring or forgettable here, except several coomments on this video.
@@CAdams6398 I cannot disagree with you. But it doesn't turn them less annoying.
I like this track, particularly the low, singular bass notes and the chugging guitar.
The album as a whole doesn't have a lot of variation in sound and mood; maybe that would be a bit much if I was listening to it in one go, but that isn't an issue when just dipping into it now and again, as on this channel. It gets the thumbs up from me (plus, historically, their music was hugely influential).
Not heard this in an age. And listening to it now... boy, even for JD this is depressing :)
😅
Thankyou for listening to and commenting on Joy Division. Music worthy of disection.
Would you please consider featuring The Birthday Party at some point? I would love to hear your views on Jennifer’s Veil, Fears of Gun, The Hair Shirt, Mutiny in Heaven and Deep in the Woods especially.
When I was 14years old this was best band I want along time with 45 years when in it was harder with music this is harder great music even even you didn’t like love will Tara us part
Generally, on a Joy Division song which has keyboard on it, the guitar part will be relatively basic, because in concert Ian will be playing the guitar because Bernard will be playing the keyboard, I Remember Nothing is one example.
You gotta check 'Hi Ren'. Surely you've heard the buzz by now.
We need your insight into this. It's very special, as is Ren.
Pleasee react to Closer
I strongly recommend listening to more post punk and gothic music. I can’t say I have any bands that really are just like Joy Division, but there’s plenty that holds that same depressing but artsy spirit.
One of their best song is called "Something must break", it's on the "Still" compilation.
Its a dark closer and a weird way to end it but it works. Closer is a more gothic and experimental album which you would probably like
Must have had good fun throwing loads of stuff down the stairs- some very satisfying crashes. JD is not for everyone - and I am happy with that
The song with jump scares is No Pasaran by Joe Jackson. Very artistic.
I have listened to this song few times over the years. And when I have, it has been in the background. It's dark as hell (which is fine), but musically it just doesn't do it for me and that's the biggest reason I don't return to it often and certainly not intentionally. I'm glad you've enjoyed your JD journey (for the most part) and I look forward to more!!
Even if you don’t like them, you have to respect them for how innovative and influential they were. This was 1979 crazy.
JP:
I have an album I think you should listen to now that you've worked your way through Unknown Pleasures and have listened to a fair amount of New Order. As you already know, after Ian Curtis committed suicide, the remaining members of Joy Division reformed as New Order adding Gillian Gilberton on keyboards and produced a new sound while still retaining some amount of that original Joy Division sound DNA (which you would expect with any band with Hook, Sumner and Morris present). One question that you might ask yourself is "how did the transition to New Order happen and what did it sound like in the beginning?" Fortunately, we know the answer to this question because its on full display in the first New Order album, Movement. An amazing album little understood when it came out (I wore my copy out though, I can tell you). Think of it as a New Order album where all the presets are still set to Joy Division mode (like Bernard's singing sounds a lot like Ian Curtis because of production that sounds right off Closer). And this was the last album that Martin Hannett produced for the band (though, fortunately, not Hannett's last work at Factory when he later showed up producing for Happy Mondays).
Anyway, if you're at all curious about what New Order would sound like if they tried covering Joy Division, this album is the answer. Here's the album link:
ruclips.net/video/nAPPL6SmH-k/видео.html
An awesome end to this album. I remember being a goth-wannabe (I didn't dress up in the whole gothy outfit; teenage me brought up in a small Cornish village didn't dare) and listening to this track so much, thinking it was the ultimate expression of subtle menace and darkness.
I still do, in a way, but my experience has opened me up to other ways of conveying the same feelings.
Joy Division were more than a sum of the parts - Ian Curtis will always remain as a tragic figure and a visionary, a young man who wanted to be William Burroughs or Jim Morrison, growing up in a factory town, Hooky and Stephen Morris forming a rhythm section that sounded very different before Martin Hannett got his hands on them, and Barney, ripping off soloes from Black Sabbath and developing his own very distinct rhythm guitar style. Like many post-punk bands, there are elements of reggae and punk, metal and disco, all mixed together. Hannett deserves a lot of credit for creating a new and unique sound, and his other work with bands like the Happy Mondays, Magazine, the High deserve a good listen.
I saw them live in Antwerp 1980
The crash began to scare you? Try Hammill "On Tuesdays She Used to do Yoga" too.
Similar to "Massive Attack"
Unknown Pleasures and Closer are 50% JD and 50% Martin Hannett.
Post-punk Sinatra.
Joy Division is somehow one of those bands I missed and keep thinking that I need to listen to because of their influences so thanks for the opportunity. That said, there were lots of parts that I liked, but not how any of them were put together.
Listen to "Substance", a complilation of their early songs, and "Closer", both are better than "Unknown Pleasures" imo. Also check the song "Something must break", it's on a compilation named "Still", one of their best song imo.
@@Alix777. Thanks, started with Substance and already heard a few gems. Now I get it. I'll go on to listen to more. Having heard songs from Substance I may have even a bit more tolerance for this track.
I liked the song's rhythm. The vocals reminded me somewhat of the Doors.
Damn, I wish I could remember nothing of this band.
lol
ALICE COOPER PLS 👍. ALBUM
BILLION DOLLAR BABY'S...TOP ALBUM.. say no more ☮️🤟👍🇦🇺
The best thing about this track is that it's the last track on the album.....finally! 😁
I always found that Ian Curtis was a very approximate singer but on "I Remember Nothing" he is really really bad. Musically, it could have been interesting but unfortunately it annoys me to no end.
Justin, if you re-listen to the Talking Heads song "The Overload" on Remain In Light, you will realize that the oppressive atmosphere of the latter is somewhere very similar to "I Remember Nothing". That said I prefer a thousand times the Talking Heads track!😉😀
I can definitely hear the similarity, but give the feeling of complete hopelessness lol!