80s Jams #04: Joy Division "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (1980)

A chilling tale of love set adrift with an equally cool, precise accompaniment, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was the last single recorded by Joy Division, mere months before doomed frontman Ian Curtis committed suicide in May 1980. It's presumed -- perhaps rather hastily -- that the lyrics are autobiographical, an insight into Curtis' fragmenting marriage and his growing relationship with a Belgian girl who followed the band. Whatever the nature of the material, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" functions as an insight into what made Joy Division the most unique band during the era of punk aggression and extremism. -- Allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:d9fuxxwdldfe

Kinda bullshit that the full video cannot be found on Youtube due to copyright claims, but at least the majority of it is available in this clip...

80s Jams #06: New Order "Temptation" (1982)

While New Order continued on an introspective track, even their saddest songs glimmered with more hope than most of Curtis' bleak and fatalistic pronouncements like "Love Will Tear Us Apart." On "Temptation," New Order sounds like Up With People comparatively. The end product sounds like Joy Division meets Donna Summer with a bit of the tunefulness of the Cure thrown in. Another of the song's major hooks comes in the way of an infectious singalong chorus. This would have been a shock to the band's old fans; Joy Division was not known for singalongs. -- Allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:wzfexz80ldje

80s Jams #22: New Order "Ceremony" (1981)

The debut New Order single was actually one of the last songs written by Joy Division and sounds it, not least because of Martin Hannett's production and the tense, strong energy that that band made legendary. However, like "Love Will Tear Us Apart," it also showed a new warmth and spirit, a sense that while the frustrations of connection still dominated Ian Curtis's lyrics, a more optimistic surge of energy carried all before it in the end. Sumner's singing is restrained and still very much in Curtis's vein, unsurprising for someone who never expected to be the vocalist, but effective nonetheless, with the wounded, gently human edge that would become his own calling card already starting to appear. -- Allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:0zfexz80ldje

80s Jams #27: Joy Division "24 Hours" (1980)

The absolutely devastating heart of Closer, "Twenty Four Hours" may be as close a view into the private mental torture chamber of Ian Curtis as exists; even with the fact of his life and death set aside, it's a disturbing vision of a soul on the abyss, the music perfectly capturing a sense of slow burn drama and anguished release. It's the tension between action and blankness, so often Joy Division's ace in the hole, that again serves them well - a truly gothic, melodramatic song with a deep, piercing strength. -- Allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:w9fuxxwdldte

80s Jams #39: New Order "True Faith" (1987)

A tremendous single for New Order - a brilliant standalone effort and the triumphant conclusion of the peerless singles collection Substance - "True Faith" deservedly hit the charts in America, the UK and elsewhere, a marvelous valediction for a band with a core that had stuck to its guns for ten straight years. "True Faith" resisted being conventional for all that it was poppy, catchy, a radio-friendly song with its own unexpected edge. Bernard Sumner's lyric hints at a strange desperation at play, sung with an unsure, nervous emotion. -- Allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:azfrxz80ldje

new order singles blog

22 years since the release of Substance and New Order still does not have a proper digital reissue of all their singles. It's possible that New Order don't want their singles on anything but vinyl.. However, a recent fan site has come to the rescue, very quickly moving through ripping their entire singles catalog. The site only launched in August, and just this past weekend they already posted their 13th New Order single.

Recycle: Joy Division & New Order - The Factory Years