30 Day Song Challenge - Day 11: A Song From Your Favorite Band

"Every second counts when I am with you" and "I think you are a pig" don't belong in the same song.  This didn't occur to Bernard Sumner and the world is a better place for it.  I'm not suggesting that "Every Second Counts", the closing track on 1986's Brotherhood, is the greatest New Order song, but it does help explain their charm.  The lyrics may be be bonkers but the band acknowledges it on this self-produced track by leaving Sumner laughing at his own words on the record because the song is much bigger than the lyrics.  Little more than halfway through the running time the singing ends and the instruments take the melody soaring into a place that is almost too precious before the band's punk instincts take things down a notch.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 10: A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

New Order's "Video 5 8 6" was created for the opening of The Hacienda in 1982 and contains the raw DNA of "Blue Monday". However, it is really long and repetitive...

Late Review: Freebass Two Worlds Collide EP

Frustrated by the lack of progress of their respective projects Peter Hook (New Order) and Gary "Mani" Mounfield (Primal Scream) dreamed up an all bass group as the solution to their problems. Drafting Andy Rourke (The Smiths) the trio formed the core of Freebass, the least conventional supergroup ever convened.

This six track EP, released in 2010, collects the early efforts of the group as they were auditioning vocalists and producers.  Details are difficult to find but the group's line-up was fluid at the point this was recorded, likely around 2005, notably featuring more of Rourke's guitar work than on their proper album and Lionrock's Roger Lyons, at the time handling programming for New Order's live set-up, who takes control of synths and production on three tracks.

Bookended by sound effect tracks that add a touch of atmosphere Two Worlds Collide offers a glimpse of what could have been in a project that easily could have gone a bit Spinal Tap.  The first proper song "You Don't Know This About Me" finds Tim Burgess (The Charlatans) in an uncharacteristically lower register channeling Peter Murphy over a post-punk inspired backing track.  Despite an odd middle-eight key change and a very familiar riff from Hooky the song is a contender as the group's finest moment.  Fittingly it was issued as a single in it's own right.  "The Milky Way Is Our Playground" changes gears to a slower, heavy take that is a bit Madchester-gone-space-rock with Pete Wylie (Wah!) bringing bonkers lyrics to the party.  Things go off the rails with "Dark Starr" as the infamous UK drug dealer Howard Marks attempts to shock with a spoken word performance where he claims to be a pagan and a sinner.  At best he comes across as an aging, rambling stoner which is hardly shocking at all.  It is the longest track of the bunch featuring a riff which the group liked enough to reuse with a new vocal on "She Said", found on their It's A Beautiful Life album, but in this form everything wears thin.  "Live Tomorrow You Go Down" is a different beast, a blast of raw dance music with a shouting Hook taking a turn on lead vocals asking us "which way do you want to go now" when the answer should be obvious to any New Order fan.  More of this dance rock thing, please.    

Freebass: A Family Tree

Freebass, the super-group formed by Manchester bass legends Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order/Revenge/Monaco), Gary "Mani" Mounfield (The Stone Roses/Primal Scream) and Andy Rourke (The Smiths), imploded shortly after the release of their debut album a few months ago.  Curious to see who else was involved a bit research reveals a closely connected group.

The keystone of the project was Peter Hook, their biggest voice in the press as he talked up the group over the past five years, and the membership of the group reflects this.  Hooky considered the similarly indie and Manchester-based The Smiths as New Order's "competition"  and he produced The Stone Roses early single "Elephant Stone".  Freebass keyboardist and programmer Phil Murphy also works with Hooky in the dance project Man Ray and drummer Paul Kehoe was a part of Monaco's live line-up.  Singer Gary Briggs connection to the band stems from Andy Rourke.  Joe Moss, former manager of The Smiths, discovered Briggs first band Haven who had an album produced by Rourke's former band mate Johnny Marr.  It may be a small world, but Manchester stands united.

Quck Bits

Pet Shop Boys have been playing a version of "Viva La Vida" on their current tour. Geowayne suggests the song was chosen in solidarity with Coldplay's plagiarism claims given that PSB were accused of the same (involving one of the same parties) with "It's A Sin". Since Chris has called it one of his favorite recent songs I lean towards the idea that they are playing "Viva La Vida" because it was the inspiration for the backing track of their current single "Did You See Me Coming?". The chord structure and main rhythm of both are strikingly similar (link takes you to a not quite a mashup)even if the melody and styles are completely different. A better reason to pick up tickets is that Stuart Price, who oddly enough remixed "Viva" for Coldplay, worked on the live PSB arrangements. Also they are also playing "Two Divided By Zero"!

Much hyped UK electro acts Little Boots & La Roux are rather interesting. Sorry it took me so long to check them out but I can't be bothered to follow every one-track internet sensation. Lost in the 80's has a great post about the original Giorgio Moroder/Freddie Mercury version of "Love Kills" that Little Boots has covered for her Illuminations EP. Both versions are great.

An additional note on Hooky's Freebass preview track: He has always made odd choices when it comes to previewing material on media outlets. See evidence in this circa-1990 tv performance of NO's "The Happy One", a Technique-era track that can only be found chopped into fifteen second intervals heard during transitional segments on the Substance video collection. The band released their only number one single in the same year.

Waiting For The Sirens Response

Peter Hook did a lengthy chat on XFM this week covering the many projects of his lengthy career. Hadn't heard before that he wrote the melody for "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and that the song was written in about three hours but pretty much everything else about his past has been fairly well documented. On the news front his all bass playing project Freebass, which he has been talking up for the past four years, finally has a completed album in the mastering stage and he played a track from the project. "Stalingrad" is a reggae track that lacks a distinct vocal or anything to really latch on to. NewOrderOnline suggests fast forwarding the archive to 1:41:00 to hear the track but it doesn't sound like something that will make the album.
Most importantly Hooky revealed that he has been talking with Stephen, as Bernard is consumed with Bad Lieutenant, about releasing the half+ album they completed while recording Waiting For The Sirens Call. Is it too much to hope comes out within five years of it's originally announced 2006 release date?
Hooky's book (autobiography?) How Not To Run A Club is due in October so stop by his myspace for all the latest.

First Look: Bad Lieutenant "Sink Or Swim"

Last month Bernard Sumner did a lengthy sit down interview special for British television. Bernard Sumner Songbook is one of the best interviews I've ever seen with the legend as he opens up on his songwriting process and discusses the entire span of his career including how he & Hooky would fire early drummers with a box of chocolates to the demise of New Order being brought on by his love of electronics. Over the course of the special a song each from his major projects ("Love Will Tear Us Apart", "Bizarre Love Triangle", "Getting Away With It") was performed with acoustic accompaniment and they premiered a song from with his new project Bad Lieutenant. Here is the acoustic version of "Sink Or Swim":



: Bernard announced Bad Lieutenant at the Control premier a couple of years ago and it appears they have been logging some serious studio time. The group picks up where NO left off involving Stephen Morris and Phil Cunningham while adding Jake Evans, Matt Evans (Rambo And Leroy), Alex James (Blur) and Jack Mitchell (Haven) to the mix. No word if the project will release any of the songs written for New Order's never finished 2006 album that would have included their work with producers Brian Higgins and Tore Johansson.

Video: The Killers "Shadowplay"

The Killers previewed their cover of Joy Division's "Shadowplay" as they toured this past summer and the youtube clips that spread across the web didn't sell me on the song. Perhaps it was the camera phone sound quality or that the clips suggested that Flowers was borrowing a little too closely from the Pet Shop Boys by starting the cover with a version of "Can't Keep My Eyes Off Of You" but it was surprising with how much I enjoyed the song after it started getting played on the radio. The last Joy Division cover to be an alternative radio hit was Nine Inch Nails take on "Dead Souls". Both are unlikely "single" candidates as Joy Division songs so the idea that two bands that owe little to mimicry of the JD sound (hello Interpol, Editors, She Wants Revenge, etc...) could manage to turn soundtrack contributions into radio hits is quite interesting. NIN dove into the deep end of darkness on their cover with Reznor searching for the heart of Ian Curtis' trademark despair before the studio perfect programming overtook him leaving nothing but numbness. The Killers didn't tinker with the foundation of their choice but go the other way with the vocals as Flowers "doot doot doot"s his way to a brighter place that reveals the pop song beneath the goth trappings of the original. Strange that The Killers would find more about the band Joy Division would become post-Curtis than Reznor's electronic arrangement in their unanticipated route to the soul of the song.
In the grand tradition of music videos of songs featured in films the "Shadowplay" video takes the majority of it's footage from Anton Corbijn's Control with The Killers making appearances on a tv that Ian Curtis is watching. Generally this sort of video doesn't work for me, but this one does:



: "Shadowplay" appears on the soundtrack to Control alongside what is possibly the last new material ever from New Order and can also be found on The Killers Sawdust which has been declared infinitely better than either Hot Fuss or Sam's Town.

Tear Us Apart Again

The release of Control has the feuding members of New Order doing a rash of press that has finally confirmed the split. Bernard Sumner had refused comment on the situation but said "We've all been shouting at each other - now we're just arguing about who has custody of the children." Standing beside Stephen Morris at a recent screening the often facetious Sumner announced that he has moved on to work on a "project called Bad Lieutenant" that will involve Morris. Watch video of it for yourself here.

In related news I noticed that a digital reissue of Electronic's debut album was a top ten album on 7digital last week.

Some Newsy Things And Links

• Perhaps you are familiar with electropop siren Sarah Nixey. XO just interviewed her for his blog.
  
• Did you know that OMD reunited and have been playing gigs that showcase their early classic albums in their entirety? Electronically Yours was invited to an intimate warm up and you can read Orac's detailed report by scrolling down to "11 . 05. 2007".
  
• It was very tempting to copy and paste my own version of Tremble Clef's brilliant choose-your-own adventure post on Flunk's cover of Depeche Mode's "See You" but fear of it being a bad cover version of his blog stopped me short.
  
• A survey dares ask which synthpop guru are you. I'm Neil Tennant.
  
• After months of waiting for news about The Modern/Matinee Club's US EP I contacted the label that was supposed to release it. Even though the band had made the announcement and the label dropped money into prepping the release nothing was signed and after the name change they never got back to the label so another release from the band goes back into the vault. Shame they treat their fans this way.
  
• A source told fansite NewOrderOnline that "Peter Hook can leave the band, but this doesn't mean the end of New Order" because New Order is a democratic body. The source mentioned that Hooky recently signed with different representation than the rest of the band and that he stayed at a different hotel in Cannes than his former band mates during the junket for the premier of Control. The film's soundtrack is complete so we can expect something new from Joy Division this year and the silence of Bernard and Stephen suggests that they might complete New Order's unfinished album.

Vanishing Point

Peter Hook casually dropped the news that New Order have split in a radio interview last night. While speaking about his involvement with Perry Farrell's Satellite Party, Hooky admitted that "me and Bernard [Sumner - New Order singer] aren't working together" which comes after speculation brought on when Stephen Morris said that a November gig in Buenos Aires "might be our last concert ever". Hopefully this is just a warning shot across the bow to make sure that Bernard is paying attention but Hooky said it is "like the boy who cried wolf this time." Still there are a few things left hanging at the moment like the soundtrack to the Ian Curtis biopic Control and there are "seven songs left" from their WFTSC sessions that were intended for a follow-up album.
Hooky just started a myspace and has been blogging so maybe we will get some clarification shortly.

Music From A Wider Angle

Cinematic electronica superstar's Hybrid have a new album out this week and I Choose Noise finds them balancing the dancefloor filling ways of their sophomore effort with the orchestral vision they prominently displayed on their debut. Well, I've never actually listened to all of either of Hybrid's two previous albums but I gather that is the story. It's just that despite the presence of New Order's Peter Hook on a few tracks of their second album and all the hype surrounding their first record which helped them land an opening spot for Moby when he first toured to support Play I've never felt any real passion for Hybrid's music. They seem to be the sort of folks I would like because they do things that interest me like record trance songs with orchestral accompaniment and drop Pet Shop Boys samples in their remixes (or at least in their remix of BT's "Never Gonna Come Back Down"), but their tracks consistently clock in around the eight minute mark and they never have kept my interest that long. Of course their crowning achievement to date has been getting "Finished Symphony" used as the music for the final segment of SSX, the game that "is still one of the prime reasons for owning a PS2". SSX is something I can get passionate about. Hybrid not so much.

Regardless I Choose Noise is a solid effort that overcomes the presence of Perry Farrell, who may or may not be attempting to channel Madonna at one point in his vocal appearance, so feel free to stream the album for the remainder of the week here and see if it sparks a more passionate response in you.


Sidenote: Two years later when Moby was still touring Play he had New Order and Outkast opening for him. What a difference bringing Gwen Stefani on for a guest vocal and a video appearance can make.

Playing For England

New Order won an Ivor Novello award for "outstanding song collection" for their recent singles collection last week and since it's that time of the year a reporter for The Sun got their feelings on Embrace's new World Cup song:

Hooky told me: "I just reviewed all the World Cup songs for a magazine and they are all **** apart from SHAM 69's Hurry Up England.

"The production on the Embrace track is very weak. It starts badly. It has no atmosphere."

Bernard chipped in:"It's rubbish. You need the team singing on it and a rapper. Why didn't they have WAYNE ROONEY doing scouse rap?

: Apparently the band's acceptance speech found them slagging off everyone in the room so the band are continuing their trend of being truly rock 'n' roll when given "lifetime achievement" awards. Bernard's anti-Slash rant during the band's induction to the UK Music Hall Of Fame last year was a great moment that really sums up their attitude about being "legends".
Another note about the Ivors. Am I the only one who finds it weird that the "Songwriters Of The Year" went to Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett when Hewlett (to the best of my knowledge) is only behind the visual side of Gorillaz? Curious.

Score

The last year might have been the most release heavy period for New Order ever. They put out "Waiting For Sirens Call", a few singles, web exclusive remixes, a dvd video collection, and a new singles collection. Now the word is that the side-project Other Two will be scoring the Brit crime drama Cracker:

...drummer Stephen Morris and his wife, keyboard and guitar player Gillian, are writing the soundtrack for the Manchester-set series.

"I was a fan when Cracker was last on TV so it's great to be doing the music for the new series," Stephen says.

"The writer Jimmy McGovern asked us to do it. It also means we'll be two of the first people to see it."

: No word on how this will effect progress on New Order's 2006 album but it's New Order so it's not like they do much in the way of announcing plans in advance.

Ceremony

Peter Hook on New Order's first Grammy nomination:

``As Bernard says, I'd go to the opening of an envelope,'' Hook joked. ``So, if the record company pays for me (to attend), the answer is yes. That'd be pretty weird. I always love these ceremonies. They're so overblown. They really go to town on the bloody production and everything. That's always quite entertaining.

``Steve Morris has an interesting look on it, though. He says it's like a prize that you get because of the fact you've been through hell and you're still alive. He says they just wheel out all these old musicians and give them prizes. I think that because New Order and Joy Division did something different, people maybe took a while to understand the sort of impact we made, because we didn't do it normally.''

: Did I mention this for a track that Hooky cited as his least favorite on "Waiting For The Siren's Call"?

No Respect

New Order just can't get a break in the US this week. Vh1 broadcast the recent UK Music Hall Of Fame ceremony that inducted the band over the weekend and again throughout the week. What did they cut out? Only a tribute to John Peel and New Order. While the lack of Peel is regrettable it is understandable that a tribute to a late BBC deejay might not translate across the Atlantic, but to completely ignore New Order? Totally inexcusable. The only indication that the band was even at the ceremony was Peter Hook in the background of a reaction shot of someone else. The two hours of the ceremony that vh1 broadcast included two performances from Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath, an extended medley from Eurythmics, an “all star” tribute to Jimi Hendrix, and confusingly for the UK Music Hall Of Fame Canadian Alanis Morissette performing a tribute to American Bob Dylan. What the hell happened? My guess is a bizarre commitment to cross promotional efforts on behalf of mtv-networks’ no-longer-in-production “The Osbournes” and a heavy case of Boomer-ism. As Tony Blair’s appearance in the band’s introduction indicates, the Eurythmics peaked about the last time the baby boomer generation paid any attention to new music and while they were a decent singles band they have been quick to follow the winds of stylistic change to whatever friendly MOR-paths they take. Just in case we didn’t notice the generational bias of vh1’s special, we were treated to Woody Harrelson, who was 9 when the 60’s ended, presenting an award to the absent Dylan refer to him as the voice of the 60's and we later learned from a grey-haired retired rocker that when he first heard some underplayed song he felt that The Who were really talking about their generation. Fantastic. Actually, there were some good parts to the ceremony namely the brief “thank you”’s from what’s left of The Who and the emphasis on the multi-media aspects of Pink Floyd. But to completely ignore New Order (who were inducted as Joy Division/New Order) who continue to influence everyone from Interpol/Editors/She Wants Revenge to the entire electronic genre (see George Acosta’s recent “Blue Monday” cover as an example of how wide a net they cast) and give two songs to Ozzy?
Thanks to the wonders of the internet I was able to track down the band’s induction. Some of the usual suspects were interviewed in the introduction video piece namely Bobby Gillespie, Moby and Billy Corgan (wearing the same fishing hat that he wore when touring as a member of the band during the few Area: One dates back in 2001) once given time for an acceptance speech Bernard gave props to the guys fatter than him in the audience, namely Shaun Ryder and Arthur Baker, then took a swipe at the Slash’s guitar solo during the Hendrix tribute. Priceless.
Then there is New Order's latest single and the best electronic track on their new album "Guilt Is A Useless Emotion" had it's digital-only release today. Didn't notice it on itunes? In a week that essentially recycled last week’s “new releases” in the dance and electronic sections of the online store there is no mention the new remixes on the service unless you search specifically for the band.

Rang Dang Diggedy Dang Di-Dang

Peter Hook recently opened up with some info about his current all bass side project Freebass and their need to find the right vocalist:

"I think the problem is that the three of us have such a pedigree of vocalist, that if we come out with someone that's not good we'll obviously be slated! You've got Ian Brown, bloody Bobby Gillespie, Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner) and Morrissey. Those are big shoes to fill, especially collectively," he said.

Hooky described Freebass' sound as "(sounding)like New Order with a bit of the Stone Rose and a bit of Smiths and some Northern Soul."

"Mani does the low part, Andy Rourke in the middle and I do the high bit. But it works out quite well," he said.

Kicking It Old School

Having just joined the UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, NO have tried a different gig.

This afternoon Manchester legends New Order took up that invitation and played a surprise gig for the school's pupils and the media. Bernard Sumner, the band's guitarist and singer, visited the school earlier this year and was so impressed he reportedly told Ms Triska he'd do whatever they wanted to help...
"Some of the staff have been playing New Order in the classrooms since eight o'clock this morning. It's the 30-something staff that are going mad about it. Some of the pupils say that their dads were going mad when they heard."

Warsaw Returns

New Order just did an all Joy Division set at the John Peel Day concert that included the first song the band wrote together. The gig is to be rebroadcast later today on Radio 1 which means it will most likely be available in their archive for the next week starting tomorrow. NewOrderOnline reports this as the setlist:

1) Transmission.
2) She's Lost Control
3) Shadowplay
4) Love Will Tear Us Apart
5) Atmosphere
6) Warsaw

: Bizzarely they were introduced by Fergeal Sharkey!

It's What You Play That Counts

I'm told that the August issue of Guitar Player magazine has an interview with Bernard and Phil of New Order (well Phil‘s sort of like the stock replacement guitar player who is filling in while Gillian is out of the band, but you get the idea). It’s an interesting interview that cuts to the meat of what I want to read in interviews with artists- the creative process. In particular, Bernard talks about writing and how "in the past we’ve had our fingers burnt" led to their current approach to producers. Here’s my condensed version of the interview:

BS: See, we write songs two ways. One way is me sitting in front of a computer with a guitar or a synth and constructing a track brick-by-brick. The other way is getting myself, Hookey [bassist Peter Hook], and our drummer Stephen together in a room and jamming. In that scenario, we would typically come up with three solid ideas, and then I would go off and write melodies and lyrics for those ideas. The problem with that way of working, however, was that when I left, the whole writing process came to a halt, because there wasn’t a guitarist around. But this time, when I left, Phil was there, and they could continue on.

Phil, you’ve worked with both Johnny Marr and Bernard. How different are their respective attitudes toward the instrument?
Cunningham: Totally different. Johnny is “Mr. Guitar.” You go to his studio, and he has books on the history of guitar, and a spare room full of every guitar you could possibly name. He’s obsessed with all things guitar. Bernard, on the other hand, has two guitars, and he uses them strictly as song generators.

Bernard, how would you describe your guitar style?
Sumner: I just try to keep what I do very basic, but I make sure that what I do is good basic. I’m not a virtuoso. For me, the guitar is simply a tool to make a track exciting because it’s a very punk instrument.

Yeah. I’m no more accomplished on the instrument than I was in 1979. I reached a level long ago where I was good enough to write songs, and I like to keep it that way. I’m not a big fan of virtuosity, because it’s not how you play that counts, it’s what you play—right? If you read a book, for instance, you don’t look at the typography, or how well laid out it is, you focus on the story. Also, I feel there’s something to be said for playing guitar with your brain, not just your hands. If you’re not amazingly articulate from practicing scales every day for five hours, there’s a certain crudeness to what you do. But you make up for that by using your imagination.

: Bernard doesn’t usually bring up the “me sitting in front of a computer” but equally interesting is the effect this may have had on NO’s song structures over the years. In most of the band’s songs the vocals are rarely central, and instead of the standard verse-chorus-verse approach many of their songs go back into further instrumental passages after the vocals wrap up and this might have come about from the Gillian days when she would add some extra melodic synth components while Bernard went off to write lyrics.

Oh, the NO “Singles’ album looks like it really is going to happen later this year. No word yet about a US release.