Good things about Blue Monday

There are two ways of looking at this. I do think that Blue Monday was a revolutionary record for New Order and yes they changed the face of Pop/Indie/Dance music worldwide and in particular in the UK and Europe over the last 20 years. It has stood the test of time well unlike say some Human League, Soft Cell, Heaven 17, Yello etc. from the period (BTW I like those groups so no disrespect to them) and along with the Chicago House/Detroi Techno scene probably enabled European Dance Music to be cool, more than likely brought New Order to a mainstream audience and the eventual Madchester scene on the map.

However I also feel that True Faith (original version), The Perfect Kiss, Regret, Round & Round, Fine Time, Crystal and Temptation are as good as Blue Monday IMO and like what other people have commented to someone who is not a fan of New Order they seem to associate the song as the only thing they've ever done a bit like say Depeche Mode and Just Can't Get Enough.

Despite this I still love this record and its probably my joint no.1 NO song for me with TPK and True Faith and the last 2 minutes of Blue Monday would still probably blow away any of the dance trash cover version songs which are being released at the moment. Cheers!

Wombat wrote: this is one of the things I like about one of my copies of Blue Monday 12"

:D

(I still dont know whos sig it is tho) (Im an ex-dj, I have x3 copies of Blue Monday 12")

It's Bernard's signature.

I agree with you on BM, Al, but why give True Faith or BLT a hard time? I'm surprised, but that's your preference.

oldmonkey wrote:

Wombat wrote: this is one of the things I like about one of my copies of Blue Monday 12"

:D

(I still dont know whos sig it is tho) (Im an ex-dj, I have x3 copies of Blue Monday 12")

It's Bernard's signature.

Wow really? I should sell it on Ebay! :D

BM was the song that got me into NO, so it will always have a special in my heart. I have to admit I don't love it quite as much as I once did, but I still think it's a great song.

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote:

I liked my answer better!!!

So did I.

it got me into New Order.

Nothing revolutionary about it, just a damn fine tune.

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote:

I liked my answer better!!!

crackin spot that!!!

It's just awesome.

I first heard it just after it was released in the spring of '83 one night on the late John Peel's late night innings. It's just the sort of song that not only works over a long time - nearly eight minutes - but is structured as a long track. The intro, the basslines, the string melodies, Barney's disconected vocal and the subtle production make a real winner.

It changed the course of pop music. Nuff said.

It still sounds good in clubs. The production, the sounds, the structure are just timeless.

It was Barney's stab at the Italo disco sound - Klein and MBO's Dirty Talk in particular - that mid pitched nagging synth bleep as the beat kicks in is brilliant.

That's what's good about Blue Monday

BM 88 is perhaps the finest 3 or so minutes of pop/dance ever. It condensed all that was good about the original and added a little extra. Still sounds as fresh as a daisy 18 years later.

The original BM is the Magna Carta of music history... Don't diss it you ungrateful bastards!

It got me into the Order. It looked sooooooo cool at the record shop. It never fails to bring a new fan into the fold at a club. The video was quite cool. Easy beat made changing up the lyrics to something rude or awful a piece of cake.

Though overplayed and overcovered, it still has a fond place in my heart.

Chemical wrote: It's just awesome.

I first heard it just after it was released in the spring of '83 one night on the late John Peel's late night innings. It's just the sort of song that not only works over a long time - nearly eight minutes - but is structured as a long track. The intro, the basslines, the string melodies, Barney's disconected vocal and the subtle production make a real winner.

It changed the course of pop music. Nuff said.

Couldn't possibly argue with that.

[orange]Retroesque[/orange] wrote:

If yer asking "who did the "we can make sandwiches" remix", it was Detroit Grand Pubahs.

I thought it was a 2 Many DJ's mashup of two songs: New Order - The Beach Detroit Grand Pubahs - Sandwiches.

DepecheMode's NewLife?

jeez..the whole point about BM is the SOUND. NewLife sounds like cheese..it's production wasn't even worthy of early sevenities YES. (and I am a huge DM fan)

BLUE MONDAY has a production sound that still sounds a good as anything newly produced, when played in clubs. THAT is it's true historical marker. Yes, it is indeed a well written song with lots and lots of incredible elements....But the production sound is the main reason it is so historically important to all that followed...heh heh...including the amazing drum sounds.

IMHO

[magenta]shedmonite61[/magenta] wrote: BM has plenty of good things including:

Best-selling 12" of all time The 7 1/2 minutes are worth it The technology and the production of the song is ground-breaking. It's difficult to cover (eat that, Orgy!) The floppy-disk vinyl cover

Oh, and final note...

It inspired my bf's first nickname on NOOL

ohhhh dear, this is still going on.

Royser wrote: I acknowledge it's place in the bands history, but I have to say the 12" version really bores me now.

BM is maybe more of a musical statement than a song - it doesn't have the emotional content of the later electo tunes like TPK. Maybe that's why it doesn't hold up to repeated listens - at least not to fans, who know that there's much more to NO than Blue Monday. Stil love the robots-taking-over-the-wrld feel to it, though, and that TOTP performance where they went on stage looking like a bunch of data entry clerks and stopped playing ages before the end.

Jolene wrote: that TOTP performance where they went on stage looking like a bunch of data entry clerks and stopped playing ages before the end.

One of the greatest moments in rock and roll TV. Right up there with The Doors on Ed Sullivan and PiL on American Bandstand.

Prefer The Beach, though don't listen to either much these days...

SHEDi xxx