ALBUMS:
Normally this post would have been an album ranking. However, they only did 2 albums so there's no point making a separate post.
2. Closer: A series of 5 minute epics of depression. It has its moments but when you listen to all 9 songs together it really does become a bit maddening after a while. It shows the band being more adventurous than they were in Unknown Pleasures, but also it doesn't have as many classic Joy Division tracks. I see it as the lesser of the 2, though not by much.
1. Unknown Pleasures: Not an album I like massively, but even if you don't like something that doesn't mean it's bad. It's well played, well sung and has plenty of good moments. It's less self-indulgent than Closer. Still, all my usual problems with Joy Division apply here. The album cover is pretty good though, and at just under 40 minutes it's refreshingly short.
SONGS:
So, all Joy Division songs (I think, or at least most of them) ranked from worst to best. This is a pretty rough ranking, as ranking songs can be quite hard. Pay more attention to the categories rather than the numbers. Also, some of the time the list is interchangeable since to me most Joy Division songs sound exactly the same. Enjoy.
THE WEAK:
50. Autosuggestion: No Joy Division song has received a lower score than 5. They've always got something which prevents them from being actively bad. This is the closest Joy Division song to bad. This is 6 minutes long, it's about as exciting as watching a snail slide from one end of the garden to the other and fails to connect even remotely. It's not even interesting enough to be depressing.
49. Passover: The worst track of either of Joy Division's studio albums. A flat, distant and repetitive track that'll have you nodding off pretty quickly.
48. The Drawback: I may always be moaning about Joy Division's repetitive and miserable instrumentals, but at least they've got some personality. That is more than can be said for this fast, basic, painfully ordinary tune which doesn't even last 2 minutes.
47. Gutz: More generic gibberish. This was on the planned debut album, Warsaw, but the album was scrapped and Unknown Pleasures was released instead. Judging by the 2 tracks I've discussed so far alone, it's not hard to see why.
46. You're No Good For Me: Yet another one? I'd rather listen to all the depressing stuff that came later than this blandness.
45. Insight: This track is easily the worst on Unknown Pleasures. What does it actually do? Nothing. Here, Joy Division just phone it in.
44. Komakino: The tiniest bit better, but still pretty weak. The title seems unusual and interesting but it doesn't translate to the song.
THE AVERAGE AND GENERIC:
43. Ceremony: The music drowns out the lyrics here, which slightly spoils the song. It just gets a half-hearted shrug.
42. I Remember Nothing: The bloated, over-extended if slightly effective finale to Unknown Pleasures which sums up my reaction with its title.
41. (Living in the) Ice Age: There's a hint of enjoyment here, but the song is artlessly constructed and repetitive.
40. At a Later Date: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. 1.
39. Warsaw: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. 2.
38. Interzone: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. 5.
37. The Sound of Music: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. 10.
36. From Safety to Where: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. 20.
35. Leaders of Men: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. 25.
34. Candidate: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. 50.
33. Means to an End: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. 100.
32. Incubation: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. I've lost count.
31. Glass: Generic, depressing Joy Division song no. Oh for crying out loud is this some sort of joke?
30. Atmosphere: OK enough of that running gag now. This one manages to sound both lively and asleep at the same time. It's not a great one but the instrumental doesn't sound quite as depressed as usual.
THE ALRIGHT:
29. As You Said: A 2 minute instrumental. Quite catchy.
28. Failures: Fairly bland heaviness, but mildly diverting.
27. Inside the Line: Another generic and flat early track, but this one has some good ideas.
26. No Love Lost: This starts out well and it's a shame it wasn't just an instrumental. As the lyrics begin I zone out.
25. Dead Souls: The instrumental of this one is heavy and less restrained that it sometimes is. This one's a bit more enjoyable than many of Joy Division's songs, but it still fails to stand out among an overstuffed field of indistinguishable songs.
24. Twenty Four Hours: The lyrics aren't that great but it gives us an enjoyable tune so to be honest, I'm perfectly content with that.
23. Colony: This one's fine. It's not that memorable or anything but it's not a bad listen and it hits various entertaining peaks.
THE GOOD:
22. The Kill: Unsubtle and chaotic, yet also speedy and entertaining, this relentless burst of heavy guitar chords is a snappy burst of energy in a depressed discography.
21. These Days: A layered, interesting baseline elevates this well mixed song so that we can forget about the fact that it's not about anything interesting.
20. In a Lonely Place: While the lyrics are hard to hear, this song does what it set out to accomplish and makes you feel like you're in a lonely place in a rather impressive manner.
19. Wilderness: Refreshingly brief and actually enjoyable to listen to, this doesn't make much of an impact but it's a good listen and has a few interesting lines in there as well.
18. Novelty: For once it's not full of pretentious, abstract and depressing imagery and actually carries a human message.
17. Atrocity Exhibition: Chaotic and overlong, yet pleasingly experimental, audacious and filled with interesting sounds. It's a mess, but it's a good mess.
16. She's Lost Control: One of the highlights of Unknown Pleasures, this quiet, haunting and intelligently subtle track isn't very enjoyable but it gets under your skin. There's a 12" version, but it isn't worth bothering with so stick to this one.
15. The Eternal: This one's quiet, it's flat and it barely changes throughout, but there's something about it. It's curiously hypnotic and manages to pull you in. Unlike many penultimate tracks on albums, this one is actually alright.
14. Something Must Break: Punchy and full of interesting imagery, this is a good one. A lot of Joy Division's better songs aren't actually on their 2 studio albums, so if you're a Joy Division fan don't forget to check out the compilations.
13. Sister Ray: A cover of the madness that was The Velvet Underground's Sister Ray, this isn't as good as the original or as wonderfully insane. It is a good cover though, with enough instrumental skill to raise the spirit of the original and they had the sense to make it 10 minutes shorter.
12. Isolation: One of the best tracks on Closer, this has a good tune and manages not to outstay it's welcome. It still isn't something I'd particularly want to listen to if I wasn't doing a review though.
11. New Dawn Fades: This one takes its time to get going, but it builds up to a memorable crescendo and is less off-putting than many of the songs on Unknown Pleasures. Ian Curtis' vocals work particularly well here. I won't lie though. I prefer the Moby version.
THE TOP TEN:
10. Disorder: The opening track on Unknown Pleasures, this one is definitely one of Joy Division's best songs. It's not perfect, since it feels rather caged in and the lyrics are somewhat unimaginative, but the pulsing, well-constructed repetitive baseline and haunting instrumental make this an interesting listen. The first Joy Division song I ever heard, this was quite a good introduction to them.
9. Walked in Line: This one has an interesting concept which could easily be constructed into a longer narrative, and the instrumental is an appealing mixture of Joy Division's typical sounds and a more familiar rock baseline. Overall, depression done with art.
8. Digital: Perhaps the closest Joy Division ever came to doing a straight, conventional rock song. Digital is effective and strangely mesmerising with its beat, and in terms of Joy Division songs it's one of the most enjoyable.
7. The Only Mistake: A tsunami of brilliantly constructed gloom enhanced by a great beat and superb build-up, this is completely overwhelming, but in the best sense of the word. Not perfect, but this definitely should not be forgotten among Joy Division's discography.
6. Decades: For me, this is what all of Closer needed to be. An effective evocation of gloom that doesn't just depress without rewarding you, that is entertaining and most crucially makes you feel something other than annoyed. Closer wasn't an entirely successful album, but it saved the best for last.
5. Shadowplay: A popular song from Unknown Pleasures, this mixes effective, intelligently minimalistic lyrics with an effective tune that has the right level of restraint to craft an atmospheric, powerful journey into Shadowplay's dark, nightmarish and beautifully bleak world.
4. Day of the Lords: Here it is: my favourite Joy Division album track. Haunting, intelligently depressing and brilliantly chilling, this never releases you from its icy grip and represents Joy Division at their best.
3. Exercise One: The effect of this one is like fingernails screeching down a blackboard, but in the best possible way. This one is genuinely quite terrifying, and it's more nightmarish than a Edgar Allan Poe short story and seems to freeze the entire room when played. Criminally underrated.
2. Transmission: Building up to a wonderful crescendo, excellently played and lyrically terrifying, this is certainly one of the best songs Joy Division ever did. It's their usual tropes- depressing, abstract lyrics, sparse instrumentals, pulsing baselines, haunting sounds- turned up to 11 and turned into a thoroughly effective whole.
1. Love Will Tear Us Apart: It's rare for me to put an artist's signature song at number one, but it's justified here. Love Will Tear Us Apart is what I always wished Joy Division's songs would be: an intelligent fusion of art and entertainment, which other tracks didn't achieve at all. This song, one of Joy Division's most successful, is a simultaneously catchy and haunting, and crafts a compelling, chilling, brutally powerful nightmare rooted in humanity and enhanced with the best instrumental Joy Division ever did. Any song which makes feeling depressed enjoyable certainly deserves high marks.
Thanks for reading!
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