The following is obviously very incomplete and accordingly a work-in-process. Updates will be posted from time to time.
Waiting for the Sirens’ Call and The Odyssey
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Introduction
The title of New Order’s album Waiting for the Sirens’ Call contains an unmistakable allusion to the best-known incident in The Odyssey, when Odysseus (“O” from now on) has himself bound to his ship’s mast and puts wax in the ears of his men so that he can safely hear the song of the sirens, which, without these precautions, would have meant certain death for all.
More generally, WFTSC and The Odyssey are both filled with numerous wondrous journeys to exotic lands.
The parallels between WFTSC and The Odyssey do not stop there.
What follows is an attempt to identify some of the additional parallels between these two illustrious works of world literature.
The best known previous “modern” work that took The Odyssey as its model was James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. One obvious parallel between WFTSC and Joyce’s Ulysses relates to the question of “styles.” In Ulysses, Joyce adopted a variety of writing styles, in an effort to make the “style” of each episode match the content of that episode. There are a variety of “styles” on WFTSC as well. The most obvious examples of stylistic variety are track 5, I Told You So, track 8, Jetstream, track 9, Guilt Is A Useless Emotion, and track 11, Working Overtime. Some listeners have found some or all of these styles on WFTSC distracting. Perhaps if they understand that there is a thematic reason for this stylistic variety, they may be more forgiving.
One final introductory note. New Order does not have the reputation of releasing “concept” albums, with the possible exception of Technique (1989). However, with the release of WFTSC and the clear parallels between WFTSC and The Odyssey, the question is retrospectively raised as to whether perhaps some or all of their previous albums may also have been concept albums. This is the band, after all, that followed the enormously successful compilation of singles and B-sides that was titled Substance (1987) with an album that they chose to call Technique (1989). One would not expect a band as subtle and intelligent as New Order to do a concept album in an obvious way.
Track 1 (Who’s Joe):
Since this is the opening track of the album, it would be expected that this track would be important for any thematic interpretation of the album. That expectation is amply fulfilled.
a. The initial click.
Many listeners hear what sounds like a click at the beginning of track 1. Among those who hear this click, most probably consider it to be an unfortunate production error. An alternative interpretation has been proposed by the NewOrderOnLine.com member who calls himself BIGINOIL, also known as Big, who is responsible for many of the insights we will be discussing here. Big proposes that the click is intended, and has thematic meaning. He suggests various possible meanings for this click: a light being switched on, fingers being snapped, a twig snapping in a forest. A light being switched on or fingers being snapped would be conventional signifiers of a starting moment. A twig snapping in a forest is not such a conventional signifier of a beginning, but in light of the convention in ancient epic poems of beginning the story “in medias res,” in the middle of things, that view as well would be very apt.
b. The bell.
This track begins (0:15 to 0:45) with the sound of a bell. An initial possible interpretation was that this was a funeral bell, announcing the funeral of the hero, and I continue to believe this aspect is one element of the bell. However, it was at this point that Big made the invaluable contribution of suggesting that this bell was in fact a ship’s bell. This was obviously an earthshaking insight and revelation on the part of Big, for which he is deserving of the warmest thanks and gratitude from us all. How could one dispute the proposition that a poem about voyaging would begin with a ship’s bell? Then H suggested that the ship’s bell was summoning O and his men from on-shore carousing to the start of their long journeying. Likely correct, I’d say. In addition, of course, this bell summons all of the rest of us to the start of the journey all of us enjoy in listening to WFTSC.
c. Who IS Joe? And who is speaking to him on this track?
“I’ll look for you” “I’ll get you home” “I’ve got to find you” “I’ll take you there”
At least one review has noted a possible homoerotic aspect to this track, in light of the fact that the male singer addresses a male character with love and a caring, protective attitude. Although New Order’s many gay fans would undoubtedly be pleased with such an interpretation, it is probably not correct. The more genuinely gay moments on the album come on later tracks.
At the start of The Odyssey, O’s son Telemachus goes in search of his long-absent father. The most likely speaker on this track is thus Telemachus, addressing the father that he is searching for.
Another possibility is that the speaker is Athena, O’s protector among the gods. If Athena is the speaker on this track, this would not be the first time that Bernard Sumner has adopted a female persona in a New Order track; the other obvious example is 1963.
“You’ve got eyes like an old wounded soldier”
Bernard Sumner has made the statement that Who’s Joe is about a tramp. O in fact repeatedly disguises himself as an aged beggar.
“They say you don’t care any more”
For those in O’s homeland, if they are not in the group that believes he must be dead, surely there are some who believe, and even say, that, having been gone this long, he doesn’t “care any more.”
d. The sound of a sea-monster breathing.
[Still to come: the sea-monster at the end of track 1.]
Track 2: (Hey Now What You Doing)
“You’ve gotta get back in control”
During O’s long absence from home, his home in Ithaca has effectively been taken over by suitors seeking to marry O’s wife Penelope, in the belief that O must be dead. When O eventually makes his way back home, it is necessary for him to “get back in control,” by getting rid of the suitors.
“Banging on an open gate”
This is one of the most memorable lines on the album, but so far I have not been able to assign an Odyssey parallel to this line. Any assistance on this point would be most appreciated.
Track 3: (Waiting for the Sirens’ Call)
This is the album’s title track, and is also considered by many to be one of the two most successful tracks on the album (along with track 10, Turn). Accordingly, one would expect this track to be particularly resonant to any thematic interpretation of the album.
“Gotta catch the midnight train”
Of course there are no railroad trains in The Odyssey, but the reference to a “midnight train” suggests dangerous and surreptitious journeys, of which there are many in The Odyssey.
“Travel with a document/ All across the continent”
I have not so far identified a precise parallel in the Odyssey for these lines, but the general notion of a messenger carrying an important document on a long and dangerous journey is certainly not foreign to the body of literature of which The Odyssey is a part.
“How many times must I lose my way”
Another one of Big’s many contributions is to identify this line as being important, a reference to the tasks or labors that are typically set for epic heroes to perform. This line is certainly descriptive of O’s lengthy wanderings.
Track 4 (Krafty):
“Looking at the stars from underneath a tree.”
In the Nausicaa episode, O spends a night sleeping in a tree. Thus, one can imagine O “looking at the stars from underneath a tree” during this experience.
O is commonly referred to as “wily,” in other words “crafty” or “krafty.” The Trojan horse was his idea, for example.
Track 5 (I Told You So):
“It’s been ten long years since I’ve been home”
This line is one of the more strikingly clear allusions to The Odyssey on WFTSC. The reference is to the length of time O has been away from home, first, because of the Trojan war, and after that because of journeys and extended involuntary stays, such as a seven-year stay on Calypso’s island. Surely it is no coincidence that the style of I Told You So is a style that every listener would associate with “the islands.”
“You conned me with your feline tricks”
A reference to Calypso and/or Circe.
Track 6 (Morning Night and Day):
Lotus-eaters. Details to follow.
Track 7 (Dracula's Castle):
Despite the surprising and almost embarrassing title of this track, this is one of the better tracks on the album.
Dracula’s Castle may be a reference to Cyclops’ cave. Cyclops is in fact a man-eater. He devours several of O’s comrades.
Track 8 (Jetstream):
“I need that engine’s push/ It’s gonna take me home to you” “Home with me”
The Odyssey is all about O trying to get home to his wife.
H has suggested that Jetstream alludes to the Aeolus episode in The Odyssey, in which O is blown back and forth by strong winds.
It has been suggested that tracks 7 and 8, Jetstream and Guilt Is A Useless Emotion, represent the Scylla and Charibdis that a listener must get past in order to reach the reward of track 10, Turn. This suggestion was obviously presented by one of those listeners who does not care for the style of these two tracks.
Track 9 (Guilt Is A Useless Emotion):
“Thinking of the joy you bring when you do that thing to me/ You sure know a lot for a girl”
This track is obviously the gay moment on the album. I’m not yet sure what that has to do with The Odyssey, but I’m sure it will become clear in time.
“Maybe I’m losing my mind”
One of many Pet Shop Boys allusions (their brilliant cover of Stephen Sondheim’s Losing My Mind). Again, the Odyssey tie-in remains to be determined.
Track 10 (Turn):
“It’s a hard way to come home”
The track’s first line refers to coming home. As noted above, The Odyssey is about O’s attempts to come home.
Many listeners feel that this track bears a strong resemblance to Leave Me Alone, the last track on Power, Corruption & Lies (1983).
Track 11 (Working Overtime):
Many listeners feel that this track reminds them of hell. I believe that reaction was intended. In The Odyssey, O visits the underworld, the home of the dead.
