Courtesy of Spin

T/W: Suicide

It‰’s weird to be in America and talk about the importance of a band that never toured in America. Oddly, Joy Divison‰’s Ian Curtis has a very American story. 138 days into the year 1980, Ian Curtis hung himself in the kitchen while listening to Iggy Pop‰’s The Idiot and watching Werner Herzog‰’s Strozog.

The almost pop-y album Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division starts off with the not quite catchy song “Disorder,‰Û the lyrics of which display Ian Curtis‰’s general irritation with himself and the world around him. The repeated line “I‰’ve got the spirit but lose the feeling‰” and “where will it end?‰” (“Disorder‰” “Day of the Lords‰” sequentially) are the backbone of Unknown Pleasure‰’s signature tone. However, the album‰’s supposedly relatable lyrics are not to be misinterpreted as generic. Ian Curtis suffered intensely from seizures that resulted from his epilepsy. Apparently his awkward on stage dancing style was reminiscent of his seizures, which you can watch here on this mid-2000s Youtube video of Curtis dancing to the last track on Unknown Pleasures. His epilepsy was a topic of Curtis‰’s song writing, in the track “She‰’s Lost Control,‰” Curtis describes his epilepsy as a woman who has lost control and also depicts his feelings on his disorder when he states “When the darkness broke in, I just broke down and cried.‰” But his epilepsy was not the only thing that tortured Curtis.

Courtesy of A Piece of Monologue

Throughout the album, you can hear the tangible pain of Curtis‰’s failing marriage to his high school sweetheart Deborah Woodruff. On the track “Insight,‰” written in 1979 by Curtis, he sings “And I remember when we were young‰” as if he wasn‰’t only twenty-two years old. His lyrical genius is echoed by the post-punk sound that Peter Hook‰’s heavy bass and Bernard Sumner‰’s synth-y keyboard and guitar produced. “Shadowplay,” my favorite song on Unknown Pleasures, highlights Bernard Summer‰’s ability to display emotion through his guitar, with a heartfelt solo. However, Curtis‰’s depression and suicide lead to Joy Division‰’s ultimate unraveling.

Joy Division is known for one song; “Love Will Tear Us Apart,‰” which was released as single post-mortem, after their second album Closer was realized two months after Curtis hung himself. This is a band that was together for four years and is still regarded as one of the most important bands of the 1970‰’s and the post-punk genre. You can see Joy Division‰’s influence in bands like the very cool and hip DIIV, The Cure, and U2. Joy Division created the divide between the 70‰’s anger and the 80‰’s melancholy. Now that you know of Curtis‰’ pain you‰’re welcome to wear your older sister‰’s ex boyfriend‰’s shirt of the iconic album cover, and if you enjoyed the melancholy be sure to check out New Order, the band that the remaining members of Joy Division formed after Curtis’ death.