I've finally got around to putting my Top Ten Albums of 2007 list together.  I had to put a lot of Honorable Mentions, because narrowing it down to only ten is rather difficult.  And believe it or not, 2007 was a pretty good year for music overall.  We saw the glorious return of Kanye (who, despite his absurdly large ego, still managed to make a record that lived up to the hype), an amazing sophomore effort by indie's favorite Arcade Fire, and yet another LP from the talented (and overly-prolific) Ryan Adams.

And because I'm pretentious, I've included album covers and Pitchfork review linkage.

 
I also re-re-did my LJ layout.  Too many people had my old one so I decided to find a new one (again).  I really like it - it reminds me of Closer.

"I don't agree with classifying anything or shoving things into little boxes. What we do is what we do."
-Ian Curtis

So here it is. An entry that will deign to attempt to explain and enlighten on the life and sheer genius that is Ian Curtis.



Given not many in my age group either know of or appreciate Joy Division, the resounding question here today may be
Why do I care?

First of all, if you haven't listened to Joy Division yet, please / do / it.

Joy Division is one of the most important bands from the last 40 years. Formed towards the end of the punk movement of the 1970s, Joy Division was one of the first bands to live through it and react to it (later these were called post-punk bands). The music of Ian Curtis was dark, honest and emotional. Because of the extremely dark nature of the songs, Joy Division has often been misinterpreted as Goth. Their only motives for their music was originality and honesty, both of which were brutally portrayed in the songs.

Ian Curtis is someone you should know about if you love music. His sorrowful style gave a vivid image of the dark, industrial 1960s/70s Manchester lifestyle and transcended the area to reflect bigger themes of loneliness and the failure of society. The mystery surrounding the singer, especially following his untimely death in 1980, contines to grow exponentially. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in rock history.

( The man, the music, the legacy )

Now that you have more of an idea of Joy Division and the frontman, here is a gigantic picspam from many hours of collecting.

( Picture me and then you start watching / Watching forever, forever / Watching love grow, forever / Letting me know, forever )

And a new trailer for the upcoming Curtis biopic Control.

I could live a little in a wider line,
When the change is gone, when the urge is gone,
To lose control, ( here we come. )

I'm baaaaaack!!

Well, technically I've been back for two days, but I had a wedding yesterday (which was surprisingly lovely) in St. Paul and had other important life activities today (sleep and re-reading Bound Together) so I haven't had a chance to get on the computer until now.

Now that I've told you everything about the past two days since the trip, I'll give you the details you've REALLY been waiting for like frantic hyenas! KAY.

We arrived in Chicago about 7:00 pm Thursday. Opting for a night on the town as opposed to sleep (which was nearly preferred) Dana and I headed out to Michigan Avenue for some shopping. We then ate pizza, and then went to Virgin Megastore and drooled over Libertines import vinyls. Then we slept.

Insert BIG DAY. Dana (suchacharmer) and I woke up and got ready fairly quickly. I spent an obscene amount of time on my hair slash eyeliner. We grabbed our Schubas map-y thing and started the mile and a half walk to the tavern. It was noon. The moment we got there, we eyed up a couple girls sitting at the outdoor seating section, and I knew immediately they were there for Carl. You can just sort of tell, you know? All DPT fans have subconscious telepathic connections. Its like a rule.

Anyways, they ended up being nice and non-catty so we hung out with them for the entire excruciating ten hours that we were there. I got sun burnt. The venue acted like dickheads who forgot to take their ritalin. No lineup allowed till eight thirty, so we made a point to promise to battle it out with later attenders who thought they'd get to the front of the line before us. Tru bonding, fo real. During the course of the day the following were discussed at length: Adam Green, NME, Pete and Carl, possible French words for "room," and why being under 21 sucks (this was mostly Dana and I talking).

The band arrived around six or so (I think?) and we talked to them a bit outside the venue. I was CRAZY nervous but there was really no need seeing as how they are the most lovely and sincere people on the planet. I talked to Anthony the most since he was the easiest to understand (har har), but Carl was the loveliest. He was so adorable in his little Union Jack sling and black pantalones. I was able to ask him how his collarbone was, and he showed me the bruise =(. The showing-of-skin was strangely sexy, but then again if Carl wore a polka dot dress with combat boots and an eye patch he would still be sexy. I asked him for a picture, and just as we were about to take it a thousand fangirls showed up and swelled around him like bumble bees on a giant glistening pot of honey. How depressing. But I DID get pictures with Gary and Anthony, SO THERE. The band had to get to soundcheck so they left. Also depressing.

Finally the lineup was allowed so Dana and I got to very front outside. Unfortunately, anyone savvy enough who was over 21 could line up INSIDE the bar in front of the stage room doors, giving them clear advantage for front row. Luckily, our newfound friends were of age and were able to save us spots, meaning they are all on my FAVORITE PEOPLE EVER list, right up there with Carl and Gandhi.

I was front row right in between Carl and Anthony. Twas lovely. The show was amazing. It was sweaty and chaotic and extremely intimate, the best part of the venue was its small size. And the entire band came out during the lineup and hung out at the bar at different intervals (the lineup was right next to the bar as the stage room doors were at the other end of the bar). DPT didn’t come out till about quarter to midnight or so, but everyone was wide awake the second they came in.

It was an awesome set (I'm really starting to hate the word "awesome" but little else seems to fit). The crowd was really into it and by the end of the show everyone was nearly on top of each other trying to get closer to the stage. It was the sweatiest I have even been in my entire life, and that includes that time in fifth grade during a basketball game when I scored for the other team (*NOD*). Josh Hubbard from The Paddingtons was pretty good, and it was a special treat to have him play with them, but admittedly I missed Carl's special brand of guitar playing. Plus Carl just looks really, really good with a guitar slung around his shoulder. He did play during the encore, which included France and I Get Along. That was nice.

Afterwards we couldn't go back into the bar section, which was depressing, so we had to hang out on the street. The Evil Mean Security Man said if we didn't leave the street we'd get arrested, and since Dana and I have relatively clean records, we decided to just head out. Not the best night-ender of all time, but at least I got to physically touch Carl and co., aaaaaaand see them play live. Its really all a girl can ask for.

( Proof that everything I just said REALLY happened )

... I can only type. This news is far too exciting to put into spoken words. It appears that last night, Pete and Carl got together. And talked. And talked. And then talked some more. In front of an entire pub.

!!!!

Not that is going to lead to a "reunion," but its something. Pete is making an honest effort and I know Carl wants to be there for him. This is the greatest news ever!! I don't even really care about a band reunion persay, I just want Pete and Carl to be friends again. When they are together it feels like everything else is right in the world.

I'd be totally cool with a Libs reunion, but I doubt it will happen given John and Gary's attitudes towards Pete. They have good reason, too. He wasn't exactly a sweetheart to them and said some nasty things. Anything longterm definitely won't happen, but wouldn't it be cool to have like a one-night-only reunion type thing? I'd have to fly to London, of course, and cash in all of my college tuition to do so, but one night of Libertines songs with the original lineup would be life-changing.

So I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, I know. Right now, it just appears they are taking their time with this. They both have their own projects and as much as I'm sure they (or Pete) would like to, they can't just abandon them. But to hear that they are talking together, in a jovial manner, simultaneously brings back so many memories and also gives many many hopes for the future.

*tries not to get hopes up*

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20060719_libsback.shtml