Ian Curtis has lost control

Joy Division’s debut album, Unknown Pleasures, is a seminal post-punk record that certified the Manchester band’s legendary status. Now, 31 years later, Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook is touring behind the epic album, sans deceased frontman Ian Curtis and the rest of the Joy Division line-up. Some have cried foul, but one person may have predicted it all along: Ian Curtis. 

Though the lyrics of Unknown Pleasures deal with Curtis’ depressed outlook, they can easily be re-interpreted to reflect on Hook’s recent history. Before Hook and his new band, The Light, swing by the Double Door on Dec. 6, The A.V. Club decided to decode a few Unknown Pleasures songs to see how accurately Curtis’ Nostradamus-like lyrics reflect Hook’s present-day life.

Song: “Disorder”
The supposed meaning: Ian Curtis had a lot of woes: epileptic seizures, a troubled marriage, crippling depression. As the first song on the band’s debut album, “Disorder” not only works as something of a CliffsNotes to Joy Division’s lyrical themes and Curtis’ lamentations, but also tosses out rare glimpses of hope as Curtis preaches about longing for someone to help him make sense of the alienating nature of modern life.
How it applies to Hook today: To watch Hook performing “Disorder” is baffling and slightly awkward, though to hear him blurt out lines like, “I’ve got the spirit, but lose the feeling,” makes the song feel immediately relevant. There’s no doubt that Hook cares deeply for his departed friend and the Curtis legacy, even if the later exists merely as something he relies on for his income. But, to watch Hook perform the song one can certainly tell, the feeling is gone: It’s just plain flat, and performed without the haunting affectation of Joy Division.

 

Song: “Shadowplay”
The supposed meaning: Like “Disorder,” Curtis’ protagonist in “Shadowplay” seeks out some sort of guide while describing the horrors of a cold and unfeeling new world.
How it applies to Hook today: A good third of the song can be read as a criticism of Hook’s Unknown Pleasures performance on a bad night: “In the shadowplay, acting out your own death, knowing no more / As the assassins all grouped in four lines, dancing on the floor / And with cold steel, odor on their bodies made a move to connect / I could only stare in disbelief as the crowds all left.” Sounds like a pretty terrible concert.

Song: “Interzone”
The supposed meaning: Moved by the soul of the city, Curtis describes nothing but the death and decay he sees, all while giving into some voice calling out to him to do… something. Perhaps it’s best seen a poetic take on the singer’s struggle with suicidal thoughts.
How it applies to Hook today: The song opens with the following lyrics: “I walked through the city limits / Someone talked me in to try to do it.” In a recent interview with the Washington City Paper, Hook said the idea to perform Unknown Pleasures initially came from somewhere else: “Originally, it wasn’t my idea. It was posed by the Macclesfield city council, the town where Ian was born.” Much like the character in “Interzone,” Hook is on a path that’s pushing him to the limits of his own legacy, which initially started with someone else’s initiation.

Song: “She’s Lost Control”
The supposed meaning: Like the rest of the album, “She’s Lost Control” is a sparse, dark tune about one individual’s struggle to make sense of the pain and confusion of the modern world. This song in particular focuses in on an emotional breakdown of a woman who quite literally freaks out under the pressure.
How it applies to Hook today: Hook has alienated his former band-mates in New Order as well as one in the bass-player supergroup, Freebass, all the while tarnishing his public image. To hear Hook sing, “I’ve lost control again,” couldn’t be more appropriate.