ARTISTS Gavin Turk and Deborah Curtis will open the touring ‘Wonderland’ exhibition, by East London Printmakers, this Saturday at the V&A Museum of Childhood.

Shortly after its release on DVD I watched the Joy Division rockumentary by Grant Gee (much acclaimed for similar stuff on Radiohead -’famous’ it seems-). Being a sort of old-skool fan I couldn’t escape the same sense of disappointment I had with Control. It was good, maybe even great in a way, but it certainly didn’t fully live up to my expectations. Not excluding my expectations to be the problem.

I regretted that Control didn’t fully capture the insights from Deborah Curtis’ heartbreaking book Touching From A Distance. The problem with this Joy Division rockumentary is that it is mainly a collection of people talking about the band, about Ian, but without much focus or coherence.

The influence and ‘atmosphere’ of the grey concrete of Manchester is visually well captured. The visionary approach of Martin Hannett -sound of breaking glass-. Peter Saville’s graphics. Authentic footage. All… nice.

But nothing on Warsaw? Their early recording? And no clear chronology or backgrounds on the making of the music, the songs. Confirmation that those who survived (aka New Order) can’t sit in the same room. I only liked Stephen Morris’ funny nervousness, kinda like his drumming.

Deborah Curtis preferred not to appear in a movie with a certain Mrs. Honoré in, but her contribution would have been tremendously bigger.

So, finality? It will probably never be. There are just… opinions.

Viime kesänä suosittelin teille rokkiaiheisia kirjoja. Koska tuntuu siltä, että kustannustoiminta tämäntyyppisen kirjallisuuden osalta tuntuu vain lisääntyvän, on myös viime kesän jälkeen julkaistu monta ja monenlaista överiä kirjaa rock-legendojen, -noviisien ja taustavaikuttajien elämästä. Tässä siis lisää rokkikirjoja kesienne iloksi! Tänä kesänä laajensin otantaa myös yleisesti musiikkikirjojen saralle – miltäpä kuulostaisi vaihteen vuoksi vaikkapa Jaakko Tepon tarina? Linkit vievät kustantajan sivulle.

Viime kesän rock-kirjakattauksen voit lukea täältä (joskin noin yhdeksän kertaa suppeampana kuin tämä).

LISÄÄ BÄNDISAAGOJA

- True, Everett: Hey Ho Let’s Go – Ramonesin tarina
- Palm, Carl-Magnus: ABBA
- McIver, Joel: Slayer (ilmestyy elokuussa)
- Gilbert, Pat: The Clash – Lontoo liekeissä
- Fong-Torres, Ben & The Doors: The Doors
- Davis, Stephen & Aerosmith: Walk this way – Aerosmithin tarina
- Davis, Stephen: Jumalten vasara – saaga Led Zeppelinistä
- Wall, Mick: Run to the Hills – Iron Maiden -elämäkerta

(BÄNDI)KUVIA KUMARTELEVILLE

- Halfin, Ross: Metallica kuvina
- Palsa, Tomi: Rockkuvia (ilmestyy syyskuussa)
- Kaila, Ben & Schütt, Henrik & Vuorimies, Risto: Ganes – valokuvia Hurriganesista
- Halfin, Ross: Iron Maiden – Kuvat

URANUURTAJIA JA VAHVOJA PERSOONIA

- Marsh, Dave: Bruce Springsteen – pomon tarina
- O’Brien, Lucy: Madonna – elämäkerta
- Wall, Mick: W.A.R. – W. Axl Rose
- Kiedis, Anthony: Arpikudos (Red Hot Chili Peppers -laulaja)
- Sandford, Christopher: Kurt Cobain
- Slash & Bozza, Anthony: Slash (Guns ‘n’ Roses -kitaristi)
- Bloom, Jerry: Musta ritari Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple- ja Rainbow-kitaristi ja -biisintekijä) (ilmestyy elokuussa)
- Echols, Alice: Janis Joplin – paratiisin arvet (ilmestyy elokuussa)
- Lawrence, Sharon: Jimi Hendrix – Mies, musiikki ja totuus
- Sandford, Christopher: Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones -kitaristi ja -biisintekijä)
- Curtis, Deborah: Etäinen kosketus – Ian Curtis ja Joy Division (katso myös blogikirjoitukseni Control-elokuvasta)
- Cooper, Alice: Alice Cooper, golfhirviö – rokkarin 12 askelta golfaddiktiksi
- Guralnick, Peter: Nuori Elvis – Viimeinen juna Memphisiin
- Pytlik, Mark: Björk
- Kosmos, Kari: Bob Marley – Mies, musiikki & mystiikka
- Cash, Johnny & Carr, Patrick: Cash. Omin sanoin
- Tosches, Nick: Helvetin tuli – Jerry Lee Lewisin tarina
- Ambrose, Joe: Iggy Pop – Raakaa voimaa
- Wood, Ronnie: It’s Only Rock’n'Roll. Rolling Stones -kitaristin ihmeelliset seikkailut
- Hopkins, Jerry & Sugerman, Daniel: Jim – No One Here Gets Out Alive
- Zimmerman, Keith & Zimmerman, Kent: Johnny Rotten
- Gordon, Robert: Hoochie Coochie Man – Muddy Watersin elämä ja teot
- King, B. B. & Ritz, David: Everyday I Have The Blues – B. B. King omin sanoin
- Miles, Barry: Frank Zappa
- Pegg, Bruce: Let It Rock! – Chuck Berryn tarina
- Heath, Chris: Feel. Robbie Williamsin tarina
- Montandon, Mac: Tom Waits – Takapihan taikuri

SUOMEN LAHJAT MAAILMALLE…

- Väntänen, Ari & McCoy, Andy & Monroe, Michael: Hanoi Rocks – All Those Wasted Years
- Nevalainen, Kimmo: Värttinä
- Mattila, Ilkka (toim.): Eläkeläiset – Suuri suomalainen juopottelukirja
- Ollila, Marko: Nightwish
- Puustinen, Viljami & 22-Pistepirkko: 22-Pistepirkko

…TAI AINAKIN SUOMELLE

- Kontiainen, Vesa & Starck, Kjell: Popeda – ilikeesti kiitää – vuodet 1977-2008
- Vesala, Paula & Luoti, Mira & Kostiainen, Pasi & Ylönen, Hanna: PMMP
- Sir Elwoodin hiljaiset värit: Varjoja, varkaita ja vanhoja valokuvia 3
- Hurme, Juha: Radiopuhelimet
- Lyytinen, Jukka: Lapinlahden Lintujen tarina
- Tuomola, Pauliina: Ari Koivunen – Karaokebaareista hevilavoille
- Kontiainen, Vesa & Aaltonen, Honey: Hurriganes
- Rinne, Harri: Juice On (Juice Off)
- Salo, Markku & Lindfors, Jukka: Jytinää Eestissä. Sleepy Sleepersien pitkä ja kivinen tie
- Kaukonen, Martti & Teppo, Jaakko: Jaakko Teppo – Haaska mies
- Tuomola, Pauliina: Voittajan tarina (Koop Arponen)

LEVYNTEON IHANUUDESTA JA KAMALUUDESTA & KIERTUEELLA SATTUU JA TAPAHTUU

- Hynynen, Jouni & Karmila, Mikko: Ukonhauta
- Juntunen, Juho K.: Tuuliajolla – Suuri rock and roll -risteily
- Tiitinen, Jarkko: Rakkaudesta hulluuteen – Uniklubi
- Juurikkala, Ville & Linnankivi, Jyrki: Route 69
- Rautio, Timo: Rokatessa roiskuu (jatko-osista lisää linkin takana)
- Kela, Anssi: Nummela – erään albumin anatomia
- Des Barres, Pamela: Let’s Spend the Night Together – Bändäreitä ja takahuoneiden muusia

LAAJEMPIA ILMIÖITÄ POPULAARIMUSIIKIN KENTÄLTÄ

- Chang, Jeff: Can’t stop, Won’t stop – hiphopsukupolven historia
- Miettinen, Kimmo: Hilse – suomipunkin alku ja juuri
- Inkinen, Juha & Etholén, Katriina: Punk on kuollut, eläköön hardcore!
- Echols, Alice: Uhoa ja unelmia – 60-luvun jälkijäristyksiä
- Tiber, Elliot & Monte, Tom: Taking Woodstock (ilmestyy lokakuussa)
- Röyhkä, Kauko: The Velvet Underground ja Lou Reed
- Kontiainen, Vesa: Aitoa suomirokkia – Poko Rekordsin historia
- Yun, Josephine: J-rock
- Puustinen, Viljami: This is USA – Hellsinki rock’n'roll underground ‘89-’99
- Kosmos, Kari: Natty Congo Bongo
- Hilamaa, Heikki & Varjus, Seppo: Reggae! – Jamaikan pop 1959-1997
- Guralnick, Peter: Sweet Soul Music – Etelän soulin nousu ja tuho
- Halme, Markku: Rumba – 20 vuotta rockin takahuoneessa
- Halme, Markku: Nisse M
- Nikula, Jone: Rauta-aika. Suomimetallin historia 1988–2002
- Moynihan, Michael & Søderlind, Didrik: Kaaoksen ruhtinaat – Mustan metallin messu
- Saastamoinen, Mika: Parasta Lapsille – Suomipunk 1977–1984
- Rinne, Harri: Laulava vallankumous
- Tirronen, Antero & Tirronen, Sari: Selluloidi soi! Rock’n'roll – ja twist-elokuvat 1953–1963

POPMUSIIKKI KAUNOKIRJALLISUUDESSA, esim.

- Grytten, Frode: Popmusiikkia 24 tuntia, 24 kaupunkia, 24 laulua, 24 tarinaa
- Kesti, Jouni: Musameduusan Sepalus-Akatemia

MUUTA OLEELLISTA

- Hyttinen, Cyde: Festariopas

Hyviä ja antoisia lukuhetkiä kaikille!

Joy Division

• Till yesterday I had only heard of this band in passing
• Till yesterday I made no effort to learn anything more of this band
• Till yesterday I had not heard any of its music

And yesterday I watched ‘Control’.

Biopics have this nasty habit of being all that you expected them to be. And this holds true especially for the movies portraying brilliant but extremely flawed individuals. ‘Control’ has it all – sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll – in short the general ingredients of a niche band that came into its own too soon and was assumed to have faded away too early.

That’s where all the clichés stop. ‘Control’ is based on the life of Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis and his troubled life that made and broke the genius within. If there is one word for the pace of the film that is – subtle. Subtlety flows in every frame without being pretentious and this is totally performance driven.

Before this, I had never set eyes or seen the Joy Division lead singer in action. But after ‘Control’ there is a feeling that Sam Riley got it right. In fact he got it perfectly cause the flaws, the genius, the performance, the illness, the discord is all packed into this one performance that takes its inspiration from the stone & machine landscape of Macclesfield. The cast has its share of known performers – Samantha Morton playing the aggrieved wife (playing Deborah Curtis on whose book, Touching from a Distance, the movie was based), and a brilliant cameo from the band manager (Tobey Kebbell as Rob Gretton). Kebbell is hilarious as he goes about arm twisting and wheeling dealing his way with profanity laced words that seem to make good business sense in the end.

I have slept through biopics before, but this one definitely did not warrant a blink. The performance was riveting and backed with a racy soundtrack from the sounds of David Bowie to the Sex Pistols and then the punk rock of Joy Division, every frame of the movie was there for a reason. If I heard Joy Division’s music without knowing anything about them, then I definitely would have mistaken it for a band of the nineties. The music was definitely well ahead of its time and showed why brand Britannia ruled when it came to the rock and punk scene. Rock and punk is as much a British phenomena born out of the gloomy industrial towns of England than the downtown parking lot of Seattle or San Francisco.

Lataa Ohjelma (MP3)

Musiikin rajamailla kuljemme tällä kertaa kahdessa musiikkikeskeisessä elokuvassa. Käsittelyssä tuttuun tapaan tuoreet palautteet ja kaksi elokuvaa. Elokuvat ovat blues-tie-elokuva Crossroads vuodelta 1986 ja Ian Curtisin elämään perustuva Control vuodelta 2007.

Linkit:
Crossroads (Wikipedia)
Crossroads (IMDb)
Control (Wikipedia)
Control (IMDb)

Depois de assistir algumas vezes ao filme “Control”, que supostamente nos revela a vida do vocalista do Joy Division, Ian Curtis, dedici falar porque não gosto, afinal, desse filme.
Em primeiro lugar, segundo o que consta, o filme é inspurado na biografia de Ian escrita por Deborah Curtis, sua esposa. O depoimento de seus colegas de banda, por exemplo (os mesmos que formariam o New Order depois da morte de Curtis) parece não ser levado em cosideração. Vale dizer que são representados como idiotas durante os poucos momentos do filme em que aparecem.
O filme nos mostra, contudo, um Ian Curtis cuja angústia parece estar voltada principalmente para seus problemas de relacionamento amoroso. Como se, ao fim e ao cabo, Ian se matasse por não saber se queria ficar com sua esposa Deborah ou sua amante Annik. Podemos formular algumas hipóteses para tentar justificar o suicídio do líder do Joy Division:
1. Depressão profunda, incapacidade para o prazer e alegria. Suas letras servem como diagnóstico dessa depressão e talvez nem mesmo a atividade com o Joy Division pudesse satisfazê-lo. O amor e a arte apareceriam na vida de Curtis, nesse caso, como tentativas malogradas de agarrar-se à vida, obter algum gozo ou satisfação.
2. Carência profunda, nunca sanada por relacionamentos que acabavam sempre se transformando – e transformando o amor – em outra coisa. O filme parece mostrar isso através das excelentes cenas que mostram Ian Curtis em seus momentos de desgosto para com a vida de casado que escolheu precipitadamente, por aparente carência. Se as coisas sucederam como o filme mostra, vemos que Ian Curtis tomou as decisões mais pesadas de sua vida em momentos de plena impulsividade (casar, ter um filho, etc.).
3. Incapacidade de se comunicar. Ian não falava com sua família, com seus companheiros de banda, com sua esposa, com sua amante. Provavelmente certo de que ninguém iria compreendê-lo, transmitia suas angustias mais profundas nos versos e na poesia de suas canções.
4. Tendência à culpa, ao arrependimento, ao remorso. Suas letras expressam essas tendências de maneira clara. Dessa maneira podemos compreender sua incapacidade para sair de um dos relacionamentos – o que resolveria, para qualquer pessoa normal, a angústia do dilema entre a esposa e a amante, por exemplo.
5. Gosto pelo obscuro. Pode-se verificar, afinal, que seja qual fosse a origem desse traço característico de Ian Curtis, era um traço forte e decisivo de sua personalidade. Ian Curtis conhecia, sabia apreciar e mover-se poeticamente dentro da escuridão. Até hoje o Joy Division é considerado um dos precursores do que se chama “rock gótico”, mesmo com sua pegada notadamente punk nas músicas do início da carreira.
Poderia continuar e ir até o décimo tópico, ou o vigésimo talvez. Não faz a menor diferença, pois não passa de especulação barata, sem nenhum alcance objetivo. O problema é que essas especulações só estão ao alcance daqueles que conhecem um pouco da história do Joy Division e de sua música. A qualquer um que assista o filme – e é por isso que não gosto de considerar o filme uma biografia de Ian Curtis (ou, para colocar melhor, é por isso que eu só aceitaria uma “autobiografia” de Ian Curtis) – Ian era o vocalista depressivo de uma banda punk que se matou por causa de um casamento infeliz.
Preciosismo da minha parte? Romantismo kitsch de esperar que um filme sobre um de meus heróis seja realizado de forma perfeita – isto é, conforme minha visão dos fatos que desconheço? Sem sombra de dúvida, é tudo isso. Reconheço que o filme seja bom. Que esteticamente seja agradável e fiel ao espírito do Joy Division e à alma de Ian Curtis. Mesmo assim, dou a mim mesmo o direito de não gostar – ou melhor, de não querer acreditar – que tudo tenha sido tão simples, tão superficial.

Dear Reader,

Touching From A Distance: Ian Curtis And Joy Division (1995), written by Ian Curtis’ widow Deborah Curtis, inspired the movie Control (see my 11/29/08 blog post), explores Manchester, England post-punk singer Ian Curtis’ quickly earned fame as lead singer and lyricist for the band Joy Division, and his immaturity and/or mental illness, which may have led to his death at 23. He neglected his young wife and his newborn baby. He carried on an affair and traveled with a Belgian woman. He had an epileptic condition, which led to grand mal seizures while he performed. In May 1980, he hanged himself, leaving behind a wife, 1-year-old daughter, and lots of questions, the most important being Why? Deborah Curtis doesn’t have an answer. No one does.

I read Touching From A Distance because I hoped to learn about Ian Curtis’ writing process, specifically how came up with songs like “Transmission” and “Control.” As it turned out, Deborah wasn’t included in his private process, and his band mates were too involved in their lives to care, so there wasn’t much to learn. But I came away with something more interesting than his writing process: my thoughts evoked by this quote from page 121 (paperback 2007).

“The one good thing to come out of Ian’s attempted suicide [several months before his death] was that an appointment was made for him to see a psychiatrist at Parkside Hospital. Amazingly, when the day came for Ian’s visit to the psychiatrist, we went together. On the way there he told me how unhappy he was in the music business. He said that when “Transmission” and Unknown Pleasures had been released, he had achieved his ambitions. Now there was nothing else left for him to do. All he ever intended was to have one album and one single pressed. His aspirations had never extended to recording “Love Will Tear Us Apart” or Closer. As I drove along, he told me how he wanted to leave Joy Division and join a circus.”

Ian Curtis said all he wanted to do was release one album and one single. He didn’t intend to record more music, but he did. Why? Did he expect it of himself? Did other people push him? Could he have stopped after just one success? If he’d quit, would he still have been considered an artist, a genius? Did writing past his initial desires deplete him, cause his death? I don’t know.

I wonder how many talented writers also strive to publish that one book, story, or poem, and once they do, they shut away their talent. (Or painters, actors, and so on.) Do they consider their job done? Do they ever feel like they’re wasting their talents? When I was a dance teacher I choreographed dozens of dances for my students but never managed to do the same for myself. Until I did. Terrified, I performed my dance for hundreds of students and their families, and I succeeded beautifully. The audience loved me. And as I carried my box of congratulatory bouquets to my car I thought I’m done. There wasn’t anything left to do. I didn’t need dance anymore.

So I left dance, but I didn’t join a circus. I joined writing. And I expect I’ll be there a long time. I can’t imagine there’ll come a day when I’ll no longer need writing.

]]> http://siyopudieraytuquisieras.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/reminiscencias-nazis-en-el-rock/ Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:18:41 +0000 siyopudieraytuquisieras http://siyopudieraytuquisieras.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/reminiscencias-nazis-en-el-rock/

Abro El País Semanal del domingo 6 de abril del año del señor de 2008 y alucino en colorines al ver en la página 28 un reportaje de dos páginas enteras sobre Ian Curtis, desaparecido cantante del desaparecido grupo Joy Division. La razón de este reportaje, la encontramos en el título del artículo: “Ian Curtis, según su viuda: El cantante de Joy Division quebró con su suicidio en 1980 la breve pero influyente trayectoria de la banda británica. Una antología del grupo y un libro escrito por su mujer (y una película “Control” de Anton Corbijn) renuevan su aureola. Ella, Deborah Curtis, nos desentraña al personaje. Por Ramón Fernández Escobar”.
  Para mí, la música de Joy Division, es un domingo por la tarde de invierno, en pleno ataque de ansiedad. Algo desquiciante, algo profundo, triste siempre.
  Ian Curtis, acabó colgado de una cuerda de tender la ropa en su casa de Manchester, un 18 de mayo, después de que su esposa le pidiera el divorcio y se llevara a su hija Natalie de pocos meses con ella. La razón para el divorcio: una groupie belga con la que Curtis estaba en buenas relaciones. La razón para el suicidio: el abandono de Deborah, una profunda depresión y una epilepsia que crecía a ojos vista. En los meses anteriores, durante la composición de “Closer” (segundo y último álbum de la banda), Curtis estaba obsesionado con el dolor,  y en el artículo se señala que frecuentaba lecturas morbosas como “Crash” de J.G. Ballard. Nadie escuchó las señales de alarma.
  Tras un breve repaso al estupendo artículo de Fernández Escobar, sólo me queda recomendar una película de Michael Winterbottom “24 hours party people” en la que se narra la historia de la famosísima “Factory Records”, origen de grupos como Joy Division, Happy Mondays, y New Order. Resume a la perfección la historia de la banda. Tristemente mundana la escena del funeral del ídolo Ian Curtis, siendo velado por su abuela.
 Siempre que leo acerca de Joy Division, (y perdónenme el brusco giro que voy a dar), no puedo evitar pensar en lo poco que les pegaba el nombre. Pero la elección, en realidad, no es tan descabellada, ya que se refiere a un espeluznante hecho (¿y cuál no lo fue?) sucedido en la II Guerra Mundial: un escuadrón de hombres atacó y violó sin piedad a muchas mujeres de origen judío. Se les llamó “Joy Division”. El terror que sembraban entre la población era aún mayor que el que causaba la propia guerra. Joy Division eran especialistas en reflejar el dolor del alma humana. Pero… ¿no es posible que el nombre diera origen a confusión, sin duda inducida? ¿Se buscaba provocar con este nombre?  Mucho y muy bueno se ha escrito sobre la simbología nazi en el rock. Y digo simbología, porque la estética y las actitudes, muchas veces, no corresponden con el verdadero sentir de sus autores. Por ejemplo: Curtis, simpatizaba con el partido conservador (a pesar de su corta edad: murió con 23 años), después de sufrir todo el Reino Unido una recesión económica bajo el mandato del partido laborista, pero de ahí a que violara a mujeres de origen judío… va un trecho que no cabía ni en su imaginación. Sus declaraciones, también dejaban la duda en el ambiente: “Creo que la mejor reacción que puedes lograr ante un público es la hostilidad: Bernard Albrecht, Joy Division, 1979”  ¿Qué mejor forma que provocar hostilidad que hacer referencia a un acontecimiento del que todo el mundo quería olvidarse como fue la II Guerra Mundial?. Era algo que tenían cercano, que habían vivido por boca de sus familias y círculos cercanos.“¿Hasta qué punto influyeron en el horror cantado por Joy Division los rastros dejados por la II Guerra Mundial en Manchester y alrededores? Bernard Sumner confirma parte de esto en el libro: “Nacimos apenas una década después, no es tanto”.Quico Alsedo (Rock and Blog  elmundo.es) No fueron los únicos que se unieron a esta provocación. El grupo surgido de las cenizas de Joy Division, fue New Order (Nuevo Orden), nombre que hacía referencia al régimen nacionalsocialista. Y eso que su música era bastante menos tétrica que la que hacían con el primer grupo. Durante más o menos la misma época, surge un grupo liderado por Siouxie Sioux y Steve Severin “Siouxie and the Banshees”, que nacidos del punk, querían reaccionar opuestamente a él, “explorando caminos tortuosos” (como vemos, siempre intentando provocar reaccionando frente lo inmediatamente anterior).  “Al igual que Joy Division y New Order, cuyos nombres tenían resonancias neonazis,  Siouxie ha sido mirada con sospecha por aparecer al principio con la esvástica. Posteriormente ella explicó que “no se trataba de hacer una declaración política. Era un símbolo nazi, una imagen fuerte, brutal, abrasiva. La usaba para provocar, para desafiar al peligro. Era un riesgo salir así a la calle. Así que no voy a pedir disculpas” (El País, Historia del Rock). Y la lista no acaba ahí:  Exploited (grupo punk) cuyo cantante lucía camisetas con esvásticas, The Cult, con un logo diseñado tomando como base una cruz gamada, Slayer y Manowar han usado águilas en sus portadas (como las de los estandartes nazis, copiados por cierto de los estandartes de las legiones romanas), Motörhead , cuyo cantante Lemmy, es coleccionista de parafernalia militar de la segunda guerra mundial. Y no olvidemos a Kiss, cuyo logo, esconde en sus dos s finales cierta reminiscencia al símbolo de las ss nazis. (Ese logo se publicita retocado en Alemania, ya que está prohibido hacer allí apología nazi). Ni los Ramones se libraron de las sospechas…  Actualmente, los grupos del dark Folk no tienen reparos en adoptar actitudes controvertidas: “Una mayoría de artistas dentro del neofolk se centra en símbolos arcaicos de cultura, mitos y creencias. Tradiciones locales y creencias indígenas tienden a ser portadas, así como temas históricos y esotéricos. Tributos a figuras que algunos podrían considerar controvertidas como Friedrich Nietzsche, Julius Evola, Philippe Henriot y Leni Riefenstahl, así como uso de temas de guerra. Muchos de los músicos utilizan abiertamente iconografía y retórica relacionada con el nazifascismo, exaltando valores como el heroísmo y la fuerza física o espiritual. Esto ha dado lugar a fuertes críticas sin sustento sobre el neofolk, la que a menudo es calificada como “música neonazi”. Estas críticas tuvieron su momento más álgido en los medios con la prohibición, en 1990 del disco Brown Book, de Death in June en Alemania.(Wikipedia, neofolk)
 No olvidemos al reverendo  Marilyn Manson, que le encanta calzarse una gorra de plato y cuyo teclista adora vestirse de nazi.  ¿Provocación a secas? Suponemos que sí. A toda acción se le opone una reacción igual y opuesta. ¿Qué mejor manera de diferenciarse que adoptar una actitud que no deje indiferente a nadie? A la vista está.
Dedicar un especial agradecimiento a Atso por su ayuda y sus vastos conocimientos musicales. Sin él no me habría salido este post razonable.    

I was a little shocked by Touching from a Distance.  The biopic Control, which sticks to the mythical post-punk  ideal of Ian Curtis as a tortured epileptic poet / musician who was torn between his love for two women, is based on Deborah Curtis’ memoir.  She even had a hand in producing the biopic.  What’s shocking is Deborah does not champion that myth in her memoir.

Deborah makes it clear very early in the memoir when discussing the budding stages of her and Ian’s relationship that Ian had some issues that went beyond the typical late-teenager brooding.  He told her from the beginning that he had no intention to live past his twenties.  He loved the melodramatic.  He had wild mood swings and was often unpredictable and awkward socially.  One day he was kind and generous, the next he was controlling and cruel. As Ian and the band become more successful, Ian shut Deborah out of that part of his life, going so far as to tell the band and friends invented stories about Deborah and their home life so there would be no communication between the two parties.  He became a master manipulator, juggling two lives.

It would be easy to chalk up Deborah’s recollections as that of the scorned woman, but I felt she was genuinely trying to figure out the big question everyone has when a loved one commits suicide- why?  And I don’t think she felt obligated to safeguarding his mythical rock status if it kept her from getting closer to answering the question.  It was a liberating read in the sense that the fans rarely get to see how petty, selfish, and cruel our heroes are.  We hold them above such base human characteristics.  The media sells the myth.  We focus on the talent, the art, as if that is all that makes them who they are.

Deborah never doubts or demeans Ian’s talent.  She often applauds his work ethic and drive.  He was a great performer.  The music is what it is- beautiful and original.

But in the end, Ian had little connection to the realities of life.   He went from living with his parents who took care of him, to living with Deborah who took care of him, to being in a band where the manager took care of him.  His mental disorder, whatever it would have been diagnosed as, was compounded by the fact that he never had to focus on anything outside of  himself, and everyone wanted him to give more.  Ultimately, he did the most selfish thing he could think of.

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Tittel: «Touching From a Distance – Ian Curtis and Joy Division»
Forfatter: Deborah Curtis
Antall sider: 212 sider. Har diskografi, oversikt over sangtekster og liste over alle konserter.

Siden jeg første gang oppdaget Joy Division i filmen «24 Hour Party People» har jeg hatt et ganske romantisk forhold til dem. Ian Curtis var jo en så flott, men likevel så trist person. En tragisk skjebne. Dessuten var han jo ganske pen og skrev utrolige tekster.

Etter å ha lest boka «Touching from a Distance», skrevet av hans kone, sitter jeg igjen med et litt annet bilde. Deborah Curtis gir et veldig personlig, om enn litt uflatterende bilde av sin mann. Det er klart at hennes beskrivelse av deres liv sammen er en veldig subjektiv fortelling. Og kanskje stod hun både Ian og bandet for nær, til at hun egentlig skulle ha skrevet denne boken.

Deborah Curtis forteller om en bunnløs fortvilelse, redsel og angst, i Ian og i deres forhold til hverandre. De hadde et turbulent og voldsomt forhold. Farget av Ians alvorlige epileptiske anfall og depressive personlighet. Men når det er sagt er dette en bok skrevet med en enorm kjærlighet til hovedpersonen. Deborah og Ian ble kjærester som sekstenåringer, og de giftet seg få år seinere. For Deborah varte kjærligheten helt til Ians tragiske selvmord i mai 1980. Han ble bare 23 år gammel.

Jeg sitter igjen med litt motstridende følelser når jeg nå har lest denne boka, men jeg vil anbefale den. Den gir et godt bilde av perioden og særlig begynnelsen av «Manchesterbølgen», den gir også et godt bilde av Joy Division. Og selv om den har knust noen av mine illusjoner om Ian Curtis, gir den et mer tredimensjonalt bilde av han enn det bildet jeg hadde før.

Sjekk utlånsstatus og reserver denne boken på drammensbiblioteket.no

Dear Reader,

I can’t stop thinking about the movie “Control,” a 2007 biopic about Ian Curtis, lead singer in the British band Joy Division. Why? I’m not sure. Is it because Curtis is dead? Because he hung himself? That he was only 23 when he did it? Or maybe I’m puzzled by his hip-locked arm dancing? His baby face? His epilepsy? His painful inability to carry on as a husband, father, boyfriend, and rocker? His music? That he wanted everything and in some way I wanted him to have it? His passion? Other’s passion for him? His drive to create? All of this? Yes, all of this.

The movie is based on Deborah Curtis’ (Curtis’ wife) memoir Touching From a Distance (1995). I’m curious about how it was translated from book to screenplay, so I’ll read the book and compare the two. I’ll also look that the DVD’s special features again, particularly the feature in which the screenwriter discusses how he gathered his information and decided the movie’s focus. (I love that stuff.)

Will you like “Control”? Again, I’m not sure. But I urge you to give it a look and try to enjoy the unique way the director chose to express Curtis’ deeply felt but short life.

So last night, instead of doing some of the million things I need to be doing (some of which are of vital importance: looking for a job, applying to whatever blah blah blah) I watched Control. Control is a film, directed by Anton Gorbijn (have no clue how on earth this name might be pronounced), about Ian Curtis. Ian Curtis and his band, Joy Division. I have a great fascination with Manchester music. Don’t really know how it started, it could simply be my liking of Dr Martin boots, but I seriously think that there’s something irreversibly seductive in the punk-ish desperation of this city’s music.

Ian Curtis, I’ve always loved him. His voice, his movements. Can you really think of anyone else who could turn epilepsy into poetry? I tend to be skeptical on all activities of wives, following their famous husbands impressive deaths: I absolutely dislike Courtney Love’s efforts of making money out of Cobain’s life (and death), I dislike this weird media girl Tanya Vece who’s writing about Layne Staley. BUT there was something real in Deborah Curtis’ approach. Maybe it’s because she was played by Samantha Morton (one of the most talented female actresses in my opinion). I don’t know. I just felt that this film was close to my interpretation of Ian Curtis: a post-modernism drama -a man aching in a machine-like mode. 

Needless to say I cried. And I went back to listening to their music. And thinking in a dirty/polluted British way again -just when I feared my mind was filled with California dreams.

bye.

ps: 24 Hour Party People. That was a great movie. Need to get that back.

Esce in Italia a oltre un anno di distanza dalla presentazione a Cannes 2007 il biopic su Ian Curtis Control. Il film di Anton Corbijn – uno dei più importanti fotografi musicali, autore di alcuni tra i ritratti più celebri del rock e di alcune delle fotografie più conosciute dei Joy Division – si basa sul libro di Deborah Curtis, vedova di Ian (qui co-produttrice del film), Touching from a distance. Un libro terribile, che ovviamente si segnala per il punto di vista, parziale e molto forte. Quello di una donna che, passati gli anni del dolore, racconta con crudezza – talvolta con astio – l’uomo Ian Curtis, ma ne rispetta anche il genio e non ne distrugge il mito. Anzi. Control non ha la stessa forza. Perché in fondo c’è un problema. Che Corbijn non è un regista, ma un ottimo, eccellente fotografo. Il film si segnala infatti per la splendida fotografia in bianco e nero, portatrice dell’angoscia che la narrazione non riesce a esprimere. Perché Control è un lavoro molto didascalico. Con una sceneggiatura piuttosto debole. Ian Curtis ne esce come un ragazzo depresso, che si è sposato troppo giovane, e si suicida 23enne per tormenti d’amore (e perché, certo, scopre la caducità dei sentimenti e non accetta in alcun modo la realtà). Non che sia falso. Ma che ne è del ragazzo che amava Ballard, del provocatore di tendenze destrorse, della mente di Unknown Pleasures? Che traccia c’è in questo film di uno che ha scritto sul serio Atmosphere? Dov’è il suo autore? Non c’è. Il film è molto, troppo semplice. Non che sia brutto. Amore, arte, follia e morte sono sempre argomenti interessanti. Ma se il protagonista di Control avesse cantato altre cose, scritto altra musica… non sarebbe cambiato granché in questo lavoro.

Raramente capita di voler chiudere gli occhi al cinema. Qui succede. Perché i pezzi dei Joy Division che sentiamo sono milioni di volte più potenti, più disturbanti, più evocativi di quanto vediamo sullo schermo. Così, con i Joy Division sullo sfondo, una profondità psicologica e un malessere psichico che intuiamo solo dallo sguardo tormentato di Ian e dalla sua vicenda sentimentale, Control è un lavoro che non esprime ma cerca di spiegare. Con gli avvenimenti, con il susseguirsi degli eventi. Mostrando l’epilessia del nostro, la sua sofferta storia d’amore extra-coniugale. E raccontandoci di fatto l’autore di Disorder («I’ve got the spirit, but lose the feeling») come un depresso qualunque. Insomma, se nessuno mette in dubbio l’infantilismo, la carognaggine, l’egocentrismo di uno che si è andato a suicidare nel tinello della moglie tradita e disperata perché lei rivoleva la sua vita e lui non voleva crescere, questo però proprio non basta a fare la differenza tra uno qualsiasi e il leader dei Joy Division. La musica, che nel primo tempo ha una sua presenza importante nel racconto, poi scompare lasciando il campo aperto alla love story. La produzione di Closer praticamente non esiste.

Solo a un certo punto sentiamo la voce interiore di Ian spiegarci che anche la musica ha avuto un suo ruolo nel crollo emotivo. Anzi, che è essa stessa una causa scatenante. Ma il regista ci dice questa cosa, non ce la fa vivere, non ce la fa sentire. Ce la dice perché altrimenti mancava in sceneggiatura. Perché in realtà è una cosa terribilmente importante. Perché il cantante dei Joy Division si è impiccato la sera prima della tournè americana del gruppo. Che li avrebbe consacrati, probabilmente arricchiti, che lo avrebbe inchiodato alla vita (da star). Il film, però, si salva. Forse perché è molto contenuto e non eccede mai. Sobrietà e tatto lo contraddistinguono. Niente pacchianate (che nei biopic dei musicisti sono sempre dietro l’angolo) tranne una. Che infatti stride e fa subito l’effetto videoclip: parte Love will tear us apart proprio sulla scena in cui il protagonista dice alla moglie di non amarla più. Ecco, per fortuna di cose del genere ce ne sono poche (anche se pure la scena dell’ipnosi non è bella). Control non è proprio il film che poteva essere. Ma nonostante tutto si guarda con interesse. Non è eccelso ma è molto attento a non essere sgarbato. E la storia di Ian Curtis non è proprio una faccenda qualsiasi.

Control, di Anton Corbijn, USA, 2007, 122 minuti

Cast: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson, James Anthony Pearson, Harry Treadaway, Craig Parkinson, Toby Kebbell, Andrew Sheridan, Robert Shelly, Richard Bremmer, Tanya Myers, Martha Myers Lowe, Matthew McNulty, David Whittington, Margaret Jackman, Mary Jo Randle, Ben Naylor.

Distribuzione: Metacinema

Uscita: Cannes 2007, 24 ottobre 2008 (cinema)

Por Natália Senóbio

A 32ª Mostra Internacional, realizada entre os dias 17 e 30 de outubro, reuniu na cidade de São Paulo um grande público apaixonado por filmes. O Masp (Museu de Arte de São Paulo) foi um dos palcos dessa atração. Na terça-feira (28), exibiu o filme Control, do iniciante diretor Anton Corbijn, que relata a vida de Ian Curtis, conhecido internacionalmente por ser vocalista da banda Joy Division.

O grupo, formado por Curtis, Bernard Summer, Peter Hook e Stephen Morris, foi chamado inicialmente de Warsaw e se consagrou no gênero pós-punk com as canções Love will tear us apart, She’s lost control, Shadowplay e Discorver.

O longa narra desde a infância conturbada de Curtis até o seu suicídio em 18 de maio de 1980, aos 23 anos. A história mescla momentos importantes da trajetória pessoal e profissional do vocalista ao passar por episódios como o seu conturbado casamento com Deborah Curtis, o nascimento de sua filha Natalie, seu caso extraconjugal com a belga Annik Honoré, seus ataques epilépticos, além de mostrar seu sucesso no cenário da música internacional.

A epilepsia lhe rendeu algo memorável: um jeito único de dançar, inspirado inconscientemente nos movimentos em que realizava durante seus ataques.

Os ataques epilépticos cada vez mais constantes e o divórcio conturbado com Deborah são apontados por Corbijn como as prováveis causas do suicídio de Curtis. O incidente ocorreu alguns dias antes da primeira turnê internacional que o Joy Division iria realizar pelos Estados Unidos.

Os integrantes remanescentes do grupo formaram uma nova banda chamada New Order, que também ficou muito famosa.

Control foi inspirado no livro Touching from a distance e ganhou o prêmio de melhor filme europeu no festival de Cannes. Se chegar às locadoras brasileiras vale a pena conferir a história de um dos maiores astros do pós-punk.

Assista, relembre.

Choque-se, mas respeite…

Este post é um tanto parcial. Como não sê-lo? Sou ouvinte de Joy Division desde os nove anos. Reconheceria se a tentativa de transpor para a película a grandiosa poesia e a forte depressão contidas nas letras do Joy Division houvesse fracassado, mas isto não tiraria o mérito do grupo que mudou o curso do rock moderno.

O que tenho a falar sobre o filme Control?

Ele nos revela uma produção enxuta, cuja estética condiz com a realidade vivida por Ian Curtis. A participação do artista na história da música do século XX, certamente foi uma das mais tristes e conturbadas, fato delicadamente trabalhado no filme.

A obra não foi distribuída nas salas de exibição de Minas, o que é lamentável. Eu particularmente conheço vários fãs de Curtis na capital mineira. Todos sedentos pela novidade, acabaram recorrendo às alternativas disponíveis, legais ou não, para suprirem suas vontades.

Escrito por Matt Greenhalgh, baseado na autobiografia de Deborah Curtis, o filme não pretende simplesmente agradar o espectador, emergindo-o na história como mero entretenimento.

Em negativos preto e branco, o diretor Anton Corbijn muitas vezes prefere esvaziar o espaço cênico, permitindo aos espectadores um estado de decupagem psicológica do personagem, convidando-os a um nível de interpretação pessoal quanto ao drama e à angústia vivida pelo artista.

Já nas seqüências em que são mostrados planos de apresentação da banda nos palcos ingleses, o espectador invariavelmente consegue penetrar no espaço musicado, compreendendo na incomodativa performance de Curtis, os esforços do ator Sam Riley em exprimir toda a falência de um ser trágico e decadente…

Fake Moon trajecory - Simon Faithfull

The Big Chill Festival has made the most concerted effort out of any festival to include a comprehensive and well-organised cultural program alongside the music. Stages in collaboration with the ICA and projects with the Roundhouse Theatre are new this year, comedy is central to their program and for many years they have had an Art Trail. And this year it was awarded a grant by the Arts Council.

Which is why, sent on a mission to inspect the art, Art Sleuth ended up going to two festivals in two weekends. Fine. Apart from an unfortunate camping location next to a bunch of 30-somethings who had clearly never been to a festival before and were making up for lost time by playing very crap house music loudly until 6am.

It is also unfortunate then that with all this efficient cultural programming there was little of what we would call ‘free-spirit’ about the whole thing, apart from the unscheduled Ibiza music in the campsite area. With the Secret Garden Party still fresh in the mind, which was a health and safety officer’s nightmare, but in a good way, it couldn’t compare.

The Art Trail was only open at night probably because most of the works were film or light based. The darkness hinted at a certain ambience, with the trail laid out in the woods – but it was almost too well laid out. There was no feeling of ‘stumbling’ across art in the woods, more of a feeling of being shunted round a museum exhibit. But perhaps this would have been different if you were there at two in the morning without crowds of people.

Highlights included the Fake Moon by Simon Faithfull, which made a path across the main stage each night and was visible from the art trail perched on a hill facing it. The angry house was a nice touch too. It got noisier and louder as you approached it. But they could have made it a bit angrier looking, as it was, it looked like something you could buy straight from Homebase to keep you lawnmower in.
‘Stable’ was a brilliant film by Kathleen Herbert documenting horses left to free to roam at night around the silent corridors of Gloucester Cathedral. At first the horses seem superimposed in the unnatural environment. Then you start to see that in their total grace and calm about the whole situation, grazing on the stone hallways and clopping up stairways, that their ‘monastic’ personality seems to fit well with the ethereal environment. Spiritual even, some might say.
Elsewhere there was the House of Fairytales associated with Gavin Turk and Deborah Curtis which included a puppet show which was a take on a Becket Play, swapping Duchamp, Joseph Beuys and Warhol for the main characters.
Juneau Projects’ interactive instillation was a great piece of theatre in itself, as it had been overtaken by children thoroughly enjoying themselves playing band instruments connected to a computer game in a sort of amalgamated version of Guitar Hero and Zelda. Incredibly harmonious as you can imagine.

The ICA was running the show in the Mixed Media tent on Sunday with a documentary on gipsy music donning colourful costumes, a random shouting woman that was not very captivating until people started getting involved with the shouting. The main act Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry doing ‘dub action painting’ while Adrian Sherwood laid down some heavy beats, was totally awesome. The paintings are going to be auctioned for Amnesty international so keep your eyes peeled.

Aside from the art Bill Bailey was absolutely hilarious. And as you will hear from anyone, The Mighty Boosh were a little disappointing apart from the Moon’s rendition of “99 problems but the Bitch ain’t one”. A healthy proportion of Dubstep and the incredibly chilled Leonard Cohen, who really is the dude, finished off the weekend nicely.

Katsoin pari päivää sitten Joy Division -laulaja Ian Curtisista kertovan, vuonna 2007 valmistuneen Control-elokuvan. Anton Corbijnin ohjaama sekä Deborah Curtisin (Ianin leski) käsikirjoittama brittielokuva oli taas yksi niistä pienistä suurista elämyksistä, jotka liikuttavat. Katsoin elokuvan pimeässä huoneessa yhdessä äitini kanssa, joka normaalisti on kiinnostunut toisenlaisista elokuvista (esimerkiksi suomalaisista ihmissuhdedraamoista). Itse taas koen tämän tyylilajin (kuolemaa, rokkia ja inhorealismia yhdessä paketissa) elokuvat sydäntäni sykähdyttäviksi. Oli siis varsin mielenkiintoista katsoa tätä elokuvaa yhdessä äitimuorin kanssa.

Joy Division ei ole koskaan lukeutunut suosikkibändeihini, ja jos totta puhutaan, en ole juurikaan heidän tuotantoonsa edes perehtynyt. Minua kuitenkin jostain syystä x kiinnostavat nuorena kuolleet laulajat/kirjailijat, joten jo oletusarvoisesti haluan nähdä tämäntyyliset elokuvat ja tutustua muutenkin tällaisiin kohtaloihin. Ian Curtis kuoli sitä paitsi 23-vuotiaana, mikä on eh, kalmanraikas poikkeus 27-vuotiaana kuolleisiin tähtiin (esim. Kurt Cobain ja Janis Joplin).

Curtis (jota näyttelee loistavasti uusi kyky nimeltään Sam Riley) kuvataan elokuvassa etäisenä, mutta kilttinä nuorenamiehenä, jossa on taivaanrannanmaalarin vikaa sekä silminnähtävää lahjakkuutta musiikin saralla. Hänen vaimonsa Deborah (myöskin upea Samantha Morton) puolestaan näyttäytyy elokuvassa naiivina ja sinisilmäisenä, kunniallisena vaimona. Elokuva pureutuukin ennakko-odotuksiani enemmän myös vaimon rooliin Curtisin tragediassa. Liian nuorena solmittu avioliitto, pieni vauva, taloudelliset ongelmat ja muu varsin kaukana rockglamourista sijaitseva materiaali tuodaan esiin ja kuvataan selittelemättä. Paljonpuhuvat, verkkaiset kohtaukset haastavat katsojan pohtimaan asioita pintaa syvemmältä, ja tätä pariskuntaa katsellessa herää oikeasti kysymyksiä siitä, miksi aina ongelmatapaukset tuntuvat pariutuvan “superpuolison” kanssa, joka kestää, kestää, kestää ja ottaa aina uudelleen turpiinsa, eikä siltikään koskaan jätä kumppaniaan, vaikka voisi sillä teolla pelastaa itsensä ja mahdollisen jälkikasvunsa loputtomilta ongelmilta. Curtis saa rauhassa mennä ja rellestää, ja vaimo katsoo hiljaa vieressä ja antaa miehen laiminlyödä vaimonsa lisäksi myös pientä lastaan.

Jotenkin veikkaan, että lesken kirjaan perustuva käsikirjoitus (jota Deborah Curtis myös oli siis tekemässä tähän elokuvaan) on yksi tämän elokuvan tärkeimpiä tekijöitä. Elokuva on aidoin näkemäni pätkä hetkeen, sillä sen maailmaan pystyy samaistumaan jollain kummallisen vetoavalla tavalla. Rokkielämä näyttäytyy elokuvassa lähinnä arkisena aherruksena (mitä se todellisuudessa myös suurimmaksi osaksi on) eivätkä Joy Divisionin pojat ole mitään varsinaisia ruudinkeksijä-älyköitä – kunhan soittelevat, ilman sen kummempaa myyttisyyttä ympärillään. Ian Curtis oli yhtyeen sielu ja hänen suvereeniytensä jätti muut bändiläiset selkeästi varjoonsa – se tuodaan myös elokuvassa hyvin esille. (Bändin jäsenet perustivat Curtisin kuoleman jälkeen bändin nimeltä New Order, joka saavutti suosiota niin kaupallisesti kuin kriitikoidenkin silmissä.)

Kun Ian Curtis sitten hirttäytyy (anteeksi, ei ole tarkoitus spoilata, mutta tämä on toisaalta tuotu esille useissa yhteyksissä aiemminkin…), elokuva saa lopun, joka jää mietityttämään. Mustavalkoinen visuaalinen ilme tuo elokuvaan vielä lisätunnelmaa, joka pysyy yllä koko vajaan kaksituntisen ajan, ja tietenkin myös senkin jälkeen… Myös useat hienot bändi- ja keikkakohtaukset sykähdyttävät ja tuovat leffan verkkaiseen tahtiin kivoja temponvaihteluita. Kiva ei tosin ole oikea sana tähän yhteyteen, mutta koska nukahdan aivan näillä minuuteilla, otin vapauden käyttää sitä. Oikeampi termi voisi olla “virkistäviä”. Myös Joy Divisionin musiikki alkaa elokuvan myötä kiinnostaa ihan uudella tavalla, monet kappaleet aiheuttavat uudenlaisia tuntemuksia ja liikuttavat nekin omalla, kummallisella tavallaan.

Suosittelen tätä elokuvaa, jos kestät kuunnella ajatuksia, jotka ilmaantuvat päähäsi leffan rauhallisissa kohdissa. Joy Division -fanit myös pitänevät elokuvan maanläheisyydestä ja tuoreesta näkökulmasta rokkitähteyteen. Myös epilepsiakuvaus on uskottavaa ja onnistunutta. Ihanaa, että joillain on vielä kunnianhimoa tehdä elokuvia, jotka eivät alleviivaa asioita eivätkä aliarvioi katsojaa. Ei olekaan ihme, että tämä elokuva on voittanut 25 palkintoa erinäisillä elokuva-aiheisilla kekkereillä, joista Sam Rileylle on mennyt ansaitusti monta pystiä (lähde: IMDb). Ja pakko myös sanoa, että äitinikin ihastui elokuvaan ikihyviksi. Keskustelimme elokuvan maailmasta vielä pitkään elokuvan jälkeen siinä samaisessa pimeässä huoneessa… Olipahan sekin avartavaa, kannattaa kokeilla.

Listen to the silence, let it ring on.
Eyes, dark grey lenses frightened of the sun.
We would have a fine time living in the night,
Left to blind destruction,
Waiting for our sight.

And we would go on as though nothing was wrong.
And hide from these days we remained all alone.
Staying in the same place, just staying out the time.
Touching from a distance,
Further all the time.

Transmission samannimiseltä seiskatuumaiselta lp-singleltä vuodelta 1979.

Ja tässä sama kappale tästä Control-elokuvasta. Riley on todellakin nappivalinta Curtisin rooliin; mahtavaa roolihahmonsa esikuvan maneereiden omaksumista ja täydellisen uskottavaa eläytymistä.

 Joy Division is a band a head of it’s time. A brilliant moment in music history. I am a huge Ian Curtis fan. he wrote iincredible lyrics and I’d really like to have danced with him! I have included a photo of the book Deborah Curtis wrote about her life with Ian and a photo of her in present day. This is the book the movie Control is based on. Photographs by Kevin Cummings and Pierre Rene-Worms. Orginal flyer and a pic of his grave site. My heart goes out to Deborah.

PhotoShow of actress Jennifer Jason Leigh Celebs in leather

I have finally watched Control (on DVD). It was good, even great, but it didn’t fully live up to my expectations. It is not the story of a relationship with the band as background, although the movie is based on Deborah Curtis’ book Touching From A Distance, which I have read a couple of times. It is neither the story of Joy Division (gotta get “Joy Division” by Grant Gee). So I guess it just ends up somewhere in between, leaving me with this not fully satisfied feeling. I also grew into it, as during the second half it felt better. The feeling remains that it is somewhat overstyled and polished.

I did not feel the alienation, the pain, the fits, the distress, the inability to handle the success, the loss of… control, as in the book. Deborah shows Ian’s dreams were complete after releasing Transmission and Unknown Pleasures. Her pain of not being involved more by Joy Division’s entourage, e.g. when listening to Closer (too late). Never mentioning the name of her man’s mistress. How she hàd to divorce him (almost did).

One crucial scene I really missed is how Ian didn’t dare to hold his little daughter for what turned out to be one of the last pictures of him.

Overall it was worthwhile. Certainly the actors are astonishing. Check out the frightening resemblance with some original footage:

And watch the movie trailer:

Managed to watch the film Control, about the late Ian Curtis. Ian Curtis, the troubled frontman of British post punk band Joy Division. Sam Riley performance was so convincing that I thought I was looking at the real Ian Curtis. All live performances in the film are performed by the actors. There’s this particularly scene that I remember was when they went to watch Sex Pistols performance. That must have inspired the man himself to form a band. If you have the chance go catch this film and take another listen to all the Joy Division songs again. You will feel the intensity and emotion of every word coming out of Ian Curtis. One of the best British film this year! Not forgetting the awesome soundtrack.