If this is indeed the long-rumoured end of New Order, what can we expect from the future? A few more releases--Control soundtrack, WFTSC leftovers, 4 more BEST OF's, a few DVDS, and some remastered albums--and then what?
Side projects!
It's already begun on the Hooky front with Freebass and, who knows, maybe Monaco will give it another go. There's always the DJ circuit too--after all, playing the exact same setlist every night shouldn't be much different than the last few years in the Order. But the greatest benefit of side projects? Being able to indulge without a trace of guilt (and only generous helpings of nostalgia) in the New Order fan's greatest love: bitching. Yes, this latest hiatus (probably a permanent one at their age) gives us so many chances to complain and pine for "the old days" (whatever those were). And really, who needs new Order material when one can just dissect the finer points of every obscure Factory release? Not only that, but with most New Order fans economically able to attend multiple concerts at a go, now there will need to be new ways of proving how "hardcore" one is. The solution: sticking around on a slowly deserted website while the minor fans move on to other territories. Remember that long, slow gap between 2001-2005 in which one could easily get away with not checking the fora for several days at a time? Remember the great times going over the minute details of New Order's back catalogue? Yes, it'll be like that from now on!
I, for one, welcome the end of New Order and I look forward to the post-Order future of entropy and mindless boredom. It's already on the way....
Yeah, this even.