"Closer"

I finally watched 'Closer' this past weekend... I only recorded it about 3 months ago. I knew it was one of those things I'd have to watch on my own, and it's rare that I have that kind of time to myself. Joy Division was one of those bands I missed the boat on, I didn't really discover them until around 16 or 17... and even then, it was sporadic tracks here and there in one club or another. One afternoon, I picked up a tribute to JD, and I was blown away by the lyrical content. It prompted me to pick up 'Substance' and 'Unknown Pleasures'. Joy Division became a mood piece for me - angry desperation dictated when I would crack those jewel cases. Now having seen 'Closer', I feel a deeper empathy in his death, and even moreso for the family he left behind. Ian Curtis is no longer an enigmatic and tragic post-punk turned goth hero. The direction of his life was steered by impulsiveness, fear, and selfishness. Certainly Joy Division would of made much more of an impact on mainstream music if that tour to the U.S. had happened, it wouldn't be a band you'd have to explain to anyone over 40... but perhaps no bigger influence could have been made on underground music if Ian Curtis had not unknowingly martyred himself unto the tortured, self-loathing, and dimished masses. What should have been a tragic post-punk story a la Sid Vicious, instead evolved into an amorphous, square in a round hole gothic love tale, complete with a broken and tragic hero. Amazing that at only 23 years old, Ian Curtis and Joy Division made such an indelible mark to have become an industry that has spanned and thrived over 30 years and certainly grossed into the millions of dollars.

I am dubbing this phenomenon, Reverse Elvis Syndrome. Elvis is HUGE in Europe, and I think it's because all Europe ever saw of Elvis was his time spent in the Army in Germany. He never performed in Europe. They feel cheated but also have a tremendous longing for something they missed out on. Elvis died prematurely. America was so close to being exposed to Joy Division... but the events that unfolded made that impossible. We will never have that experience; we've been cheated and are left longing. Kind of pathetic when you break it down that way. And I can only say, if Ian Curtis hadn't been a remarkable writer, an amazing performer (an aspect I was oblvious to until 'Closer'), and truly just a troubled, normal young man - I wouldn't care less if Joy Division had ever existed. But the reality is, I've spent a lot of time on eBay this week trying to score first pressings of Joy Division's albums, and I doubt it's simply because they didn't make the flight to The States.