Having listened to two new releases, it’s back to the older albums.

The only Joy Division song I had heard before was Love Will Tear Us Apart, and the only other place I heard them mentioned was in the Wombats Song. I really had no idea what to expect.

I chanced upon this album, it was £3 in a HMV sale and it’s probably the best album I’ve heard whilst doing this. It’s a fantastic album.

Having listened to White Lies album a couple of weeks back, I can hear the influence Joy Division had on them and I can hear the Editors in this album as well.  The similarities come straight across. The voices of the lead singers are very very alike. Had Editors covered this album, you’d struggle to seperate Ian Curtis’ and Tom Smith’s voices.

At first I thought the album sounded dated, but I think i’m continuing to confuse dated with old production quality standards. The more I heard of the album, the more I thought it sounded like something the more modern artists could have concocted, although I don’t think they would stand up to being covered very well as the songs are very Joy Division and would lose most of thier impact if attempted by another artist.

Unlike Stone Roses and Smiths – for the first time I could actaully get a direct link from modern artists to the classic album, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. When I listened to Stone Roses and The Queen Is Dead I couldn’t get the gravitas of them – no-one since had even attempted to sound like them. They were influences, they caused new artists to pick up the guitar, write songs and form a band. However thinking about it (in more detail than is needed probably), it seems like bands want to emmulate Joy Division – use them as template almost and be labelled the ‘new Joy Division’.

However that’s me being critical of other bands and not Joy Division or Unknown Pleasures as an album. I’ve loved listening to this album – and it’s been on almost constant repeat. I’ve been having some really hard days in work, spending hours upon hours doing reptitive activities and not stopping. My mp3\phone has been invaluable to me and I’ve listened to this album through at least a dozen times. Like all of the older albums I’ve listened to since starting this project, it took a while to get into – but it was so rewarding! I love this album.

This is the third album I’ve listened to in Acclaimed Music’s top 100 (The other two are The Queen is Dead and Stone Roses. Definately Maybe sits outside the top 100 in 105) and I can see why this album is placed so highly

Stand out tracks for me are Disorder and She’s Lost Control. The guitar work on Interzone and New Dawn Fades are some of my favorites ever. But for me this is one of those albums that you put on and play all the way through. I can’t pick a favorite to add to a playlist and I’m never skipping tracks! I’m actaully finding it hard to rate the songs in on Media Players as I can’t work out which are my favorites.

I’ve decided to hunt down Joy Division’s second album ‘Closer’ and I’ll be buying the greatest hits album for sure now. A sneaky look at thier discography tells me it’s like The Smith’s there is alot of released singles not on any album.

On a little side note, the BBC had an article asking Where Are All the Great New Guitar Bands? There’s a quote in there from (ironically named) Sean Adams founder of Drowned In Sound saying ” fans find it unnatural to listen to something that is “attached to previous generations” on their ultra-modern devices”. I must admit that I found the White Lies album much easier to listen to and didn’t feel self-concious about who was listening. With the older albums it’s taken a fair number of listens to even remotely get the feel of an album. It does feel like there is a bit of stigma listening to older music. People are very much judged on thier taste in music and it with these new devices does come a bit of an expection to put the latest and greatest music on them.

Since doing this project, I’ve noticed an almost unwillingness to play the older albums in my car. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t know what to expect and want to keep my first listen private in case I don’t like it, thinking my girlfiend is going to tell me off again for buying an album where she can’t hear the lyrics or just because I think it will be strange for a young guy in his mid-twenties to be sat at a red-light with Smith’s and Joy Divison playing out of his stereo rather than modern bands such as Kings of Leon or Muse.

I for one am glad that my MP3 player is starting to fill up with some more classic albums.

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