Remembering Ian Curtis
Today marks 28 years since the death of Ian Curtis. He died at the age of 23, more than two years before I was born. He would have been 52 this year. For someone who died so young, so long ago, Ian Curtis has had an unprecedented impact on modern-day music, in a similar way to Nick Drake, who also died young.
I consider myself a Joy Division fan, but I don’t like to talk about this because a lot of people consider themselves fans of Joy Division and yet they only know the song “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. That one track has become so embedded in pop culture that almost everyone is now a Joy Division fan.
Another reason I try not to talk about Joy Division is that I feel like an imposter calling myself a fan of this music that had such an effect on so many people’s lives before I was even alive. How can I even begin to understand Joy Division on that level? I never could, but that doesn’t take away from the impact the music has had on my life.
For the record, my favorite Joy Division songs are “Insight” and “Decades”.
Here’s to Ian Curtis.
May 18th, 2008 at 4:30 am
Unknown Pleasures really is a great album. Other than that, I don’t have much to say.
One of the things that strikes me is the young age at which he committed suicide. You have to be pretty troubled to off yourself at 23, despite success and a new born child.
Then again, New Order is certainly one of my top bands…. Perhaps Ian Curtis’s offing of himself wasn’t that bad.
May 18th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Transmission all the way…..
May 18th, 2008 at 10:42 am
For anyone who is interested, try and grab Martin Hannett’s personal mixes, they are the unmastered mixes of tracks and include studio white noise and chit chat, but a good insight into the genius that was the lads.