You know, I got to thinking the other night (it may have been the vegetables).
I wondered, would it be feasible and worthwhile to consider creating a 'fan-made' NO box-set; made by the fans - for the fans. I'm not suggesting some perfunctory throwaway effort; instead, I describe a better world for us all to live in.
With no commercial remit distorting the pathway of the material, the opportunity to craft one almighty package of bonafide stock and non-commercially available material collated from people's personal collection would prize the gates of hope wide open. Let me expand (the idea).
If we observe 'The Doves' latest offering, we notice that they have carefully studied Jimmy Saville's majestic and quite beautiful 'STILL' Joy Division cover, and simply copied it to good effect. The point being, that on level one, this fan-made package could be beautifully wrapped 'in the old style' in an effort to encourage people to 'collect it' and simply want it. Any fan worth his or her weight in salt and vinegar would always prefer a stunning package with which to hold their precious bounty. But what bounty?
The content structure could follow in a similar vein to 'Retro', with specific distinct categories making the assemblance more practical. The hook to the idea is the subject matter, and perhaps only viable now that the interpipe is fully operational. 'Anything' can be located, processed and included ... now that's an incredibly huge amount of juice to be extracted from a monumentally large tangerine. In short, the discs could contain all that one could wish for (and more). Example:
Disc 1: The Songs A poll on this site would quickly identify the best album and single release songs (in case anyone had missed the last 500 'best of' polls). Ceremony, Leave my wife Alone, Dreaming about Attacks, Turn Spinner etc. - NOT any miscellaneous nonsense that didn't even make 'International' - this could be the genuine articulated lorry load.
Disc 2: The Rareities Oh yes, the 'genuine' bootlegs, now a far cry from their initial cassette tape origins of hiss and whistling. Let's have a few from 'Academy', I'd like a couple from G-Mex '88 thank you very much ... mmmm, Woolwich Coronet? ... Pier 84 in New York. Again, an agreement must be made but the possibilities of creating a much sought after compilation is the stuff of legends.
Disc 3: The Video Archive 'Top of the Pops' performances, 'The Roxy'!?, 'Big World Café', 'Glastonbury('s)', 'The Hacienda', 'The 1982 Festival of Free Cheeses'? ... the mouth is beginning to water.
Disc 4: The Mixes Let us enter the bonafide 12" mixes, unexpurgated to reveal their entire glory. Elect a suitably impressive array of 're-mixes' (I won't be betting on this race) and wunderbar! - magic has been skillfully created at the touch of a mouse mat.
'Homage' would seem an apt title, and also very much in keeping with the heart of the Order.
But why would one wish to attempt such a seemingly thankless task? Well, for many reasons:
firstly, to create a genuine definitive New Order document to retain and utilise which boasts the absolute cream of the milk saved from any external 'I work with New Order therefore I decide what goes in the tin',
secondly, to once again be proud to show off the packaging of a NO (related) project,
fourthly, to acquire all of the tasty morsels oft-discussed in fan-land and on these very boards but rarely consumed by all and played after dark, in the privacy of people's own mobile homes.
It's just a thought. But I thought I would share it out like a bag of sweets for the rustling.
