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New Order

Certain Songs #1311: New Order – “Age of Consent”

September 5, 2018 by Jim Connelly

Album: Power, Corruption and Lies
Year: 1983

At some point in 1983, I wrote that “Age of Consent” was the greatest song that any of these musicians had yet come up with — better than “Love Will Tear Us Apart” or “Atmosphere” or “Ceremony” or “Temptation” — and 35 years later, I’m not sure that I was wrong, because it’s a complete and total banger start to finish.

Power Corruption & Lies was where I got on the New Order bandwagon for good, at least album-wise, and it all stemmed from this amazing song.

[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1311: New Order – “Age of Consent”

Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Age of Consent, New Order, Power Corruption and Lies

Certain Songs #1310: New Order – “Temptation”

September 4, 2018 by Jim Connelly

Album: 1981-1982 EP
Year: 1982

So first off, because there at least three fucking versions of “Temptation” running around out there, I need to be very specific which version I mean.

Not the one on Substance: it was re-recorded with a flat, affectless vocal.
Not the 7″ single: it’s too short and too linear.

Nope, I’m talking about the original 12″ single, the one that was collected here in the States along with their other early post-“Ceremony” singles, and which represents a quantum leap in their music, basically setting up the rest of their career.

[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1310: New Order – “Temptation”

Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: 1982-1982 EP, New Order, Temptation

Certain Songs #1309: New Order – “Dreams Never End”

August 31, 2018 by Jim Connelly

Album: Movement
Year: 1981

It took a little over a year from when I purchased Joy Division’s Still in late 1981 to get fully caught up on all the music that Joy Divsion / New Order had released.

And since I had started with Still, I didn’t buy any of this music in any kind of order, meaning for awhile, it was all jumbled up in my head, especially since the last thing I bought in that period was the most radical — the singles that were collected as the 1981-1982 EP (more on that tomorrow) — it took me a while to process New Order as their own thing.

[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1309: New Order – “Dreams Never End”

Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Dreams Never End, Movement, New Order

Certain Songs #1308: New Order – “Ceremony”

August 30, 2018 by Jim Connelly

Single, 1981

While “Ceremony” might or might not be my all-time favorite song, it’s definitely my all-time favorite recording.

But because nothing is ever easy, I need to instantly point out that praise applies to this specific version of “Ceremony” — often referred to as “Ceremony (Version 1)” — which came out in March of 1981 as a 12-inch single with a green cover, and not the version that ended up on Substance, which is therefore the one that most people know.

The version on Substance was recorded in November 1980 after Gillian Gilbert joined the band, but the original recording was just Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris, working out their grief just months after their entire world was forever changed by the suicide of Ian Curtis.

There is a timeline, of course, where Ian Curtis never killed himself, and “Ceremony” was just the next Joy Division single. Weirdly enough, I still think they get into dance music, as once Sumner & Morris (and even Peter Hook) discovered technology, there was no turning back, and besides, on songs like “She’s Lost Control” & “Isolation” they were already angling in that direction.

[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1308: New Order – “Ceremony”

Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Ceremony, New Order

24 Musical Moments To Die For, Part 2

August 29, 2008 by Jim Connelly

NOTE: Because of a godsdammed bug between Flash and Firefox for Windows, I’ve had to break this up into two parts in order for the players to work for those with that particular configuration. Stupid internets.

[Read more…] about 24 Musical Moments To Die For, Part 2

Filed Under: Music, That's What I Like Tagged With: Blow Monkeys, Cat Heads, Drive-by Truckers, Guided by Voices, Individuals, Jason Isbell, John Lennon, Lloyd Cole, Miss Alans, New Order, Paul McCartney, Paul Weller, Ringo Starr, Robert Pollard, Temptations, The Beatles, The Jam, Yo La Tengo

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Previously on Medialoper

  • Certain Songs #2632: Talking Heads – “Puzzlin’ Evidence”
  • Certain Songs #2631: Talking Heads – “Road to Nowhere”
  • Certain Songs #2630: Talking Heads – “And She Was”
  • Certain Songs #2629: Talking Heads – “What A Day That Was (Los Angeles 12-1983)”
  • Certain Songs #2628: Talking Heads – “Slippery People (Los Angeles 12-1983)”

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