Thursday, August 26

New Order. "True Faith"

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Ahhhh, this just reminds me of growing up, there are so many memories linked to it. And someone/thing else I can lay a claim to through geography.

BTW, have you heard anything by Bad Lieutenant? I used to go to school /the pub with this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Cunningham_(rock_musician)

That's it though. I have no more semi-claims to fame!

Metamatician said...

Thanks for commenting :)

Yeah, I've heard just a tiny bit by Bad Lieutenant and know Phil Cunningham really just as a name, since he became affiliated with New Order after I had lost interest in them (because they sucked by that point, lol). I don't know anything about his group Marion other than I recall having heard the name, and all I really know about Bad Lieutenant is that it was/is Barney Sumner's new project after N.O. and Electronic (w/Johnny Marr). Can't even recall any songs, but I'll see if I can find some and give them a listen.

Pretty cool that you knew him (Phil) though! You have a connection to New Order/Joy Division other than just growing up in the same town as them, which is cool enough. Well, if it was a happy childhood, I suppose. I know Macc was a no-nonsense working town like much of the North, dunno what it's like now, but from documentaries and reading about Joy Division (who I was pretty consumed with when younger), it seems like it could be fairly bleak.

If I ever get to Northern England I'd like to tromp through Macclesfield, Manchester, Daveyhulme, Salford, Leeds, and other cities and towns (Liverpool, Sheffield, even York) where many of the musicians and poets I liked (and still like) came from. Some probably haven't changed too much, while others I know are almost unrecognisable (correct me if I'm wrong but Manchester now has a posh downtown and theatre scene, and much else in the city's become more of a shopping district than the arid, soul-destroying industrial wasteland it used to be.

I imagine there are still bullies in the schools, though (including the faculty itself) - maybe that's been reformed a bit, but children being what they are, I think there will always be bullying, cliques, fashion police, reactionaries. It's how young people get the training in tribalism and brutality they need to grow up and become world leaders.

Metamatician said...

As for semi-fame... I knew Green Day when I was in high school and they were just out of high school starting out. Well, I met them and hung out with them a few times, and got them to play at my high school (to a very bland reaction); it's not as though we were all best mates or anything. Still, when they "made it" a bit later and showed up all over MTV and the radio, I was quite surprised.

Metamatician said...

You probably heard this one already but this was their first single. Not a bad song. Typical catchy New Order-ish sound, minus Hookey's trademark bassline and bass solos and Gillian's synths. Same generic lyrics by Sumner, same voice and guitar chords (nearly). Same autonomic drumming by Morris. Heh, some things don't change much. Or need to, I suppose.

Sink or Swim

Unknown said...

Marion!!! My step brother was the bassist (Joe Moss called him the best he'd head since The Smiths). Heh, another claim to fame. I used to do drinking on occasion with him and Phil in our local when they weren't on tour. That's definitely it now though, no more links to the rich and famous.

I remember you telling my about Green Day before, it's still impressive though.

And Macc wasn't a bad place to grow up, for my generation at least. I would never describe it as bleak. We had Manchester 20 minutes up the traintrack - which was especially cool in the 80s, early 90s - plus the Pennines on our doorstep. I haven't been to Manchester for years though, but yes, I think you're more-or-less right about it now. When I was growing up, it still had many links to it's industrial past. Although I think much of the architecture has been kept, it's a city very much aware, and proud of, of its heritage.

Unknown said...

I hadn't heard anything by Bad Lieutenant. Interesting, yes, a bit samey, but still one to get stuck in your head.

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