Western Kentucky University... not so hip. But our radio station is hipper than any station that Nashville or Bowling Green broadcasts.

And that, my friend, is quite an accomplishment.

Do you like when people play Ted Leo 24/7?

joy divison is fuckin great




amg review of unknown pleasures :

5/5

"It even looks like something classic, beyond its time or place of origin even as it was a clear product of both — one of Peter Saville's earliest and best designs, a transcription of a signal showing a star going nova, on a black embossed sleeve. If that were all Unknown Pleasures was, it wouldn't be discussed so much, but the ten songs inside, quite simply, are stone-cold landmarks, the whole album a monument to passion, energy, and cathartic despair. The quantum leap from the earliest thrashy singles to Unknown Pleasures can be heard through every note, with Martin Hannett's deservedly famous production — emphasizing space in the most revelatory way since the dawn of dub — as much a hallmark as the music itself. Songs fade in behind furtive noises of motion and activity, glass breaks with the force and clarity of doom, minimal keyboard lines add to an air of looming disaster — something, somehow, seems to wait or lurk beyond the edge of hearing. But even though this is Hannett's album as much as anyone's, the songs and performances are the true key. Sumner redefined heavy metal sludge as chilling feedback fear and explosive energy, Hook's instantly recognizable bass work at once warm and forbidding, Morris' drumming smacking through the speakers above all else. Curtis synthesizes and purifies every last impulse, his voice shot through with the desire first and foremost to connect, only connect — as "Candidate" plaintively states, "I tried to get to you/you treat me like this." Pick any song, the nervous death dance of "She's Lost Control," the harrowing call for release "New Dawn Fades," all four members in perfect sync, the romance in hell of "Shadowplay," "Insight" and its nervous drive towards some sort of apocalypse. All visceral, all emotional, all theatrical, all perfect — one of the best albums ever. "




closer :

5/5

"If Unknown Pleasures was Joy Division at their most obsessively, carefully focused, ten songs yet of a piece, Closer was the sprawl, the chaotic explosion that went every direction at once. Who knows what the next path would have been had Curtis not chosen his end? But steer away from the rereading of his every lyric after that date, treat Closer as what everyone else thought it was at first — simply the next album — and Joy Division's power just seems to have grown. Hannett was still producing, but seems to have taken as many chances as the band itself throughout — differing mixes, differing atmospheres, new twists and turns define the entirety of Closer, songs suddenly returned in chopped-up, crumpled form, ending on hiss and random notes. Opener "Atrocity Exhibition" was arguably the most fractured thing the band had yet recorded, Sumner's teethgrinding guitar and Morris' Can-on-speed drumming making for one heck of a strange start. Keyboards also took the fore more so than ever — the drowned pianos underpinning Curtis' shadowy moan on "The Eternal," the squirrelly lead synth on the energetic but scared-out-of-its-wits "Isolation," and above all else "Decades," the album ender of album enders. A long, slow crawl down and out, Curtis' portrait of lost youth inevitably applied to himself soon after, its sepulchral string-synths are practically a requiem. Songs like "Heart and Soul" and especially the jaw-dropping, wrenching "Twenty Four Hours," as perfect a demonstration of the tension/release or soft/loud approach as will ever be heard, simply intensify the experience. Joy Division was at the height of their powers on Closer, equaling and arguably bettering the astonishing Unknown Pleasures, that's how accomplished the four members were. Rock, however defined, rarely seems and sounds so important, so vital, and so impossible to resist or ignore as here."



substance :

5/5

After New Order released their own Substance compilation in 1987, it was perhaps inevitable that a similar and long-overdue collection would apply to Joy Division, especially given the out-of-print status of many of the band's singles. The end result turned up in 1988, and as a listen easily demonstrated that the same sheer sweep and energy that applied to the band over a full-length album similarly worked, even more so, with the focus of a 7" or 12" release. Though the earliest tracks like "Warsaw" and "Leaders of Men" were a strange sort of art punk, there was already something distinct about the group, and by the time of "Digital" and "Autosuggestion," it was perfectly apparent. The former centered around Curtis' circular declarations of repetition and angst, while "Autosuggestion" builds up slowly, carefully, before an invigorating final rush. After that, "Transmission," a cold blue laser light of power, sneaking on an echo of synth and Hook's commanding bass before Morris, recorded brilliantly by Hannett, simply takes control. And from there, up and up, the whole band reaching a peak with Curtis' anguished scream "And we could dance!" As gripping as that is, by the time of its final singles, Joy Division outstripped even that — "Atmosphere" and "Dead Souls" arguably make some of the best singles ever, the former a haunting, minimal call, the latter an ever more wired and explosive portrait of demand on a soul, from some inescapable outside force. Then, of course, "Love Will Tear Us Apart," Joy Division's eternal calling card, the inadvertent final bow, the blueprint for endless cover versions, a portrait of love and connection endlessly turning in on itself to destruction, set to a beautiful melody and one of the band's warmest performances ever. All this and, on CD, a slew of the B-sides as well — the best adjunct to the two albums anyone could want.

Unknown Pleasures is amazing but I only have that album. I still have to buy Closer and Substance.

Unknown Pleasures has one of the coolest album covers ever

We only have one Ted Leo song.

closer was 8 dollars at tower when i bought it. it was a huge difference in the normally overpricedness there

~ appreciates ~

Excellent, underrated, amazing band. Ian Curtis wrote incredible lyrics, had an extremely haunting voice, and his death was very tragic.

i'm listening to closer on rhapsody right now for the first time. good stuff, but as of right now it doesn't have the immediate draw that unknown pleasures had for me. give me a few listens and i'll probably improve my opinion of it...

Although Closer is considered to be the "classic" JD album, I like Unknown Pleasures better, I think it's probaly more accessible too. Both are excellent albums though. Ian Curtis is one of my fav songwriters.

I'm downloading Unknown Pleasures tonight, I'll listen to it tomorrow probably.

Unknown Pleasures - essential album!

I love this band now...whoever got me into Unknown Pleasures, probably a few of you....

What do think?



I am loving this band right now

Keep acting like you heard them more than a week ago kid.

Don't be an ass.

I love Unknown Pleasures, one of the best albums ever. Interzone is definitely my favorite song on it, but there's so many great ones.

I have the Heart and Soul collection, which is great if you really like JD. Also, if you're really liking JD and want to know more about them, you can read Touching From a Distance, written by Deborah Curtis (married to Ian). It's very interesting and you learn a lot more about Ian and everything.