Monday, September 10, 2007

The Lord God
Made Them All

Walk in silence,
Don't walk away, in silence.
See the danger,
Always danger,
Endless talking,
Life rebuilding,
Don't walk away.

-- "Atmosphere" (1979)


In preparation for photographer-turned-filmmaker Anton Corbijn's Control, here's his posthumous video for Joy Division's "Atmosphere." Click here for excerpts from Deborah Curtis's Touching From a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division.





And click here for a great interview with
the surviving members of Joy Division.



Endnote: The titles of these posts come from the lovely hymn: All things bright and beautiful / All creatures great and small / All things wise and wonderful / The Lord God made them all (also titles in British vet-turned-author James Herriot's book series).

My point was to present Ian Curtis, in advance of Corbijn's film and Grant Gee's documentary, as a multi-faceted individual. One of pop music's most famous depressives, Curtis was also a husband, a father, an animal lover, and, yes, a first-class prima donna—a man who could handle art like a pro, but was flummoxed by day-to-day life. In other words, he wasn't simply the prophet of doom and gloom he's often made out to be. Image from Google Images.

Click here for part five.

No comments: