"When routine bites hard/ And ambitions are low/ And the resentment rides high/ But emotions won't grow"
It's a tale weaved from a thousand broken relationships, a tale we all know intimately. Joy Division's iconic tragi-ballad Love Will Tear Us Apart was originally penned as a sort of swan song to Ian Curtis' marriage to estranged wife Deborah, but over time has been adopted by many ideological camps who claim Curtis as their figurehead. More recently it has been appropriated by Scouse indie japesters The Wombats, who have a rather more mischievously twee outlook on life.
Perfectly pitched at a time when Curtis' morose life and subsequent suicide could hardly be closer to mind, Let's Dance to Joy Division seems released to coincide with one-time NME photographer Anton Corbijn's directorial debut 'Control', starring relative newcomer Sam Riley in the lead role and Samantha Morton as Deborah Curtis. One hopes that with Riley's previous experience portraying Factory Records icons - he was cast as Mark E Smith in 24 Party People - will help propel this film beyond it's current hype.
The Wombats, on the other hand, are placing themselves firmly as the antithesis of Curtis's melancholic mindset. They have created a call-to-arms for every Elliott Smith loving shoe-gazer out there. Head Wombat Matthew Murphy encourages you to "celebrate the irony" in dancing to Joy Division. With lyrics like "Everything is going wrong/ But we're so happy/ Let's dance to Joy Division/ And raise our glass to the ceiling", this couldn't be further from the traditional attitude to the post-punk pioneers.
Sometimes all it takes is a complete breath of fresh air to remind us why classics become classics. Every indie DJ across the land must be sorely tempted to follow Let's Dance to Joy Division with it's namesake and it will only serve to reintroduce us to that tingle up the spine that accompanies truly great pieces of music. Ultimately, The Wombats have crafted a cute novelty song that will inspire many scenesters to look up their inspiration.
2 comments:
bing!
"a-call-to-arms for every elliot smith loving shoe-gazer..."
er, hello razz!
Yo. Or something.
I must say. I hate that song. I think it must have caught me in a bad mood and now nothing will redeem it for me. Maybe I'd just stubbed my toe or something. But no. I don't like those annoying Wombat-types.
Definately agree with your comment regarding "novelty song".
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