Ceremony to Superheated - revisiting and reviewing every core song

Restless + Singularity reviews posted.

Been listening again to Restless recently.Was really disappointed with this one on first listen back in 2015 but now think it's magnificent.Great lyrics by Bernard and the music is simply wonderful.

Will have to go through Singularity and its various remixes again.Top track though, hard to fault.

As expected, a brilliant assessment of NO and Music Complete leading into great reviews of Restless and Singularity. Thanks Dennis.

As has been said by others, Restless didn't grab me straight away (as the live versions of Singularity and Plastic had) but as soon as I heard the extended version, it was a masterpiece. The instrumental is wonderful too, btw.

Plastic + Tutti Frutti reviews posted. 5 x 5

First time i listened to Plastic (well the album version, there'd been the live version on YouTube for a year or so) i was struck by the sensational production.It's a Rolls Royce of a production.A masterclass in studio wizardry.

But, on that first listen i did think is the song actually that great? The first 45 seconds are fantastic but that main keyboard melody that first comes in at around 0.46 sounded to me like something the Pet Shop Boys would have knocked up in the 90s (runs for cover and hides).I think it's that Pet Shop Boys ish keyboard melody that is my only problem with the song though.Overall the song has a real urgency and drama with some fantastic synth work (apart from the PSB ish parts).The breakdown at 4.15 to around 4.40 and then the build up with the percolating synths bleeps and beats up to when the whole thing comes back in at around 5.05 is bloomin marvellous.

I might be in a minority but i've never been a big fan of the extended mix.It has some great beats, and again great washes of synths and effects but it kind of rambles along in pretty much the same way all the way through.There's no ebb and flow like the original version.

Tutti Frutti is where the band finally get to do something creative, totally different and delightful now they're free of the knuckle dragger Hook.They get to do a song they'd not been able to do with Hook in the band.The violins are ecstatic and wonderful, just an absolute joy.The acoustic guitar that comes in at around 3.56 is just a joy to hear coupled with Elly's singing.That acoustic guitar and its melody is one of the highlights of the song, the song really lets its hair down and takes flight around that section and never comes down again.

One thing i don't like about Tutti Frutti is that peculiar croak sound Bernard does with his singing at the end of some words or lines.Sometimes it doesn't bother me but on another day it just gets on my nerves.

The discoey synth bass kind of reminds me of something from late 70s era Saturday Night Fever ! That good time dancefloor abandonment. Probably even more so on the radio edit.

Talking of which.The remixes.I kind of like that radio edit but at the same time it's a little generic and samey as a lot of other chart chasing dance pop.It doesn't quite have the charm and delightfulness of the album version.And yeah it is a bit abrupt like you said, Dennis.But i do like the video, it's great and when i hear the radio edit i kind of just picture in my mind the video.

Not that big on the Extended Mix (and Extended Mix 2? Kind of get lost on which is which) , like the Plastic extended mix it's pretty much the same to me all the way through.The Tom Trago and Richy Ahmed mixes don't do much for me at all i'm afraid.They're pretty much not anything to do with Tutti Frutti apart from a bit of Bernard's vocal added over the top, no? And though a little better, the Takkyu Ishino mix doesn't float my boat either.Nor does the Tom Rowland mix.Ok what mixes do i like? I do like the Hallo Halo remix. For some reason i really enjoy this one.I don't know, its kind of trippy and dreamy.I like the carefree dreaminess of it.And i do like the Hot Chip remix.I get what you're saying Dennis about it just kind of burbles along but i just seemed to take to it on the first listen.

As for what genre New Order's music should come under? Well in iTunes i just click on the drop down genre menu and type in 'New Order' Simples.

Nice of Mark Reeder to chime in on the blog with some comments on the Crystal review; providing some great insights and background. Thanks Mark!

Not far with the next ones. Taking my time :-)

Really cool insights and great that Mr Reeder took time out to post on your blog, Dennis.

By the way, I can highly recommend his film 'B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989'. A fascinating glimpse at post-punk / underground music in West Berlin during the 80s.

Here's the trailer:

perspexorange wrote: Really cool insights and great that Mr Reeder took time out to post on your blog, Dennis.

By the way, I can highly recommend his film 'B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989'. A fascinating glimpse at post-punk / underground music in West Berlin during the 80s.

Here's the trailer:

I finally got to watch this film tonight.Really good.An hour and a half of incredible old 80s Berlin footage which Mr Reeder gathered together from many various sources and his own personal recordings(?) Even a brief clip at one point of him hanging out with New Order.The version i watched however had no subtitles during the parts in German. Not sure if there’s a version with subtitles for those parts. Minor quibble though.

I really liked the music on the end credits and I think used elsewhere during the film- You Need The Drugs by Westbam featuring Richard Butler.

Yep - it's a great movie. Some of the footage is just incredible. Mr Reeder pretty much chronicled his life, as it was happening. We're lucky that he had the forethought to do this, preserving the memory of the scene at the time. Wonderful.

I like quite a few of the tracks on the film and bought both the film and the accompanying double CD (there's also a book that I'd like, but I have so many books to read at the moment that I'll probably get it at a later date). You're right that that Westbam / Butler track was great. I also love that Die Unbekannten track 'Casualties'. I think that was a track by Reeder in one of his guises (much like Shark Vegas, with that also great track 'You Hurt Me').

perspexorange wrote: Yep - it's a great movie. Some of the footage is just incredible. Mr Reeder pretty much chronicled his life, as it was happening. We're lucky that he had the forethought to do this, preserving the memory of the scene at the time. Wonderful.

.

That's what i was thinking throughout the film, like, he videoed almost his every waking moment of that era? Or someone did as it'd be pretty hard to film yourself.Also i think some of the clips are from his, erm, film career? He was a German-soldier- dressing porn star??? In the credits at the end there's a mountain of credits to which a lot of the clips were taken from.And Tilda Swinton was a face around the early 80s West Berlin scene? Who knew? Well probably it's common knowledge but new to me.The section with Muriel Gray seemed familiar.I may have watched that on The Tube or something back in the day.

perspexorange wrote: By the way, I can highly recommend his film 'B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989'. A fascinating glimpse at post-punk / underground music in West Berlin during the 80s.

Well it looks like you got two of us to watch it this week, beacause I watched it a few days ago too. Kinda forgot about it after the initial "hype" circa Singularity's video.

Fotzepolitic wrote: Even a brief clip at one point of him hanging out with New Order.

And the rat woman! Ugh! Sticking rats in her bra including the baby which must have been just born. I hope she wasn't breast feeding them!

Fotzepolitic wrote: The version I watched however had no subtitles during the parts in German. Not sure if there’s a version with subtitles for those parts. Minor quibble though.

I watched it on a film app called Black Panther (!) and it had subtitles for the German bits. I got an amazon Fire Stick on Black Friday last year (£25) and I have to say it has been amazing in terms of being able to find films - via the not-so-official film apps you can put on it (Showbox, Tea TV, Cyberflix, Cinema HD). Well worth the investment.

Fotzepolitic wrote: I really liked the music on the end credits and I think used elsewhere during the film- You Need The Drugs by Westbam featuring Richard Butler.

I shazamed that during the film. Wasn't expecting it to be the Psychedelic Furs frontman, although it does of course sound like him.

perspexorange wrote: Mr Reeder pretty much chronicled his life, as it was happening. We're lucky that he had the forethought to do this, preserving the memory of the scene at the time.

Yes, I was wondering how this film was going to work beforehand. Didn't realise he had so much footage of himself. Mr Reeder was different to how I imagined he would be. Very cheerful and apparently up for absolutely anything, from managing bands (Die Toten Hosen) to doing porn voiceovers and "video nasties".

Fotzepolitic wrote: That's what i was thinking throughout the film, like, he videoed almost his every waking moment of that era? Or someone did as it'd be pretty hard to film yourself.Also i think some of the clips are from his, erm, film career? He was a German-soldier- dressing porn star???

Was that bit where the bird flew into the window for real? Also the stuff with him hanging upside down naked from a rope was...interesting! And it's actually in the Singularity video (briefly). That vid is definitely worth another watch once you've watched the film.

Fotzepolitic wrote: The section with Muriel Gray seemed familiar.I may have watched that on The Tube or something back in the day.

I had this exact thought.

perspexorange wrote: I like quite a few of the tracks on the film and bought both the film and the accompanying double CD .

I was going to post a tune from the film in the "What Are You Listening To" thread. A track that isn't on the soundtrack CD and was credited to Kris Needs on the film credits. Where Reeder puts the needle on the record and says, it's a great example of trance music (circa 1992). It sounds a bit dated now, but at the time I thought it was frickin' awesome.

Secret Knowledge - Sugar Daddy (Original Mix)

Debaser wrote: Well it looks like you got two of us to watch it this week, beacause I watched it a few days ago too. Kinda forgot about it after the initial "hype" circa Singularity's video.

Well, I'm glad that you've both seen it and I would thoroughly recommend others to check it out. It really is worth the watch. And, as mentioned above, there's a brief clip of New Order, along with very brief discussion about Joy Division's visit to the Kant Kino (IIRC).

Watched again but the subtitled version. Followed the story a bit more this time, what with obviously understanding the parts in German because of the subtitles and also getting my head round a bit more how Reeder made the film. It’s not so much that he filmed everything back then but more he put the story together with clips from B-Movies he starred in( so the clue was in plain sight in the film’s title all along?) music videos, tv clips etc?

The film brings back memories of the 1980s even if you didn’t go to or live in Berlin in that era. Some of the characters remind me of certain people or groups of people that used to be around my town in the 80s. Of course, not to the extent of the more famous or infamous kind that lived in West Berlin but a number of people that lived, or tried as best they could, to live outside of society. An underground existence. Not the kind of people that worked a 9-5. Or worked at all. Their lives revolved around the next drug score and the next party. You could if you really tried get away with it in the 80s but a type of existence that is almost impossible to do today.

People On The High Line + Stray Dog reviews posted.

Less than 10 to go ...

POTHL is a great funky track.I play the remixes of it more though if anything these days.

Every time I listen to Stray Dog I can’t help but think of Mr Smith from The Matrix. On this song Iggy Pop’s spoken words are like a growlier version of the Matrix bad guy.

I was aware somehow of what “grimpen mire” meant.

Never did find that beer anywhere!

Bloody love ‘Stray Dog’ (the song; never found the beer).

Sounds like the natural successor to ‘Murder’.

Never sure why others hate it so much. I think it’s class and love that the band decided to do something a bit different.

Academic + Nothing But A Fool reviews posted.

Am I stretching this out? Probably... Thanks for continuing to indulge my writings, and thanks for the >100,000 topic views here on NOOL.

D

Dennis Remmer wrote: Academic + Nothing But A Fool reviews posted.

Am I stretching this out? Probably... Thanks for continuing to indulge my writings, and thanks for the >100,000 topic views here on NOOL.

D

Thank you. A great idea, and an excellent, invaluable resource. Are you going to extend it to cover the solo projects too?

frank015 wrote: Thank you. A great idea, and an excellent, invaluable resource. Are you going to extend it to cover the solo projects too?

I have some plans with the New Order stuff which will keep me busy for a little while, and I fear things might get ugly with some of the Revenge output

You never know though...

D

Dennis Remmer wrote:

frank015 wrote: Thank you. A great idea, and an excellent, invaluable resource. Are you going to extend it to cover the solo projects too?

I have some plans with the New Order stuff which will keep me busy for a little while, and I fear things might get ugly with some of the Revenge output

You never know though...

D

Ah, Revenge ... urm, yeah. You can't unsee this:

https://youtu.be/dZsfz-syCEs?t=48m49s

Makes Barney look like Nureyev in the dancing stakes.

Loved your write-up on Restless, by the way.

perspexorange wrote: Bloody love ‘Stray Dog’ (the song; never found the beer).

Sounds like the natural successor to ‘Murder’.

Never sure why others hate it so much.

If Stray Dog was a 1983 Benelux only Factory 12", the fans'd be weak at the kness. But in the context of an LP, it slows the momentum.

Quick poll (since I just finished the Unlearn This Hatred review):

Here To Stay, Singularity, Unlearn This Hatred - what's your prime NO track (co)produced by the Chems... ???

https://twitter.com/trans\_com/status/1166276385960185856?s=20

Out Of Control.

I second Out Of Control. :D

But of the three proper New Order tracks, probably Singularity, with Here To Stay a very close second. I wish they'd put that back in the setlist.

Probably Singularity edges it over Here To Stay. Just.

Of course, it might be the other way around tomorrow.

Two of my five best post-Factory tracks (alongside Regret, Special and Crystal, in case anyone was interested).

perspexorange wrote: Two of my five best post-Factory tracks (alongside Regret, Special and Crystal, in case anyone was interested).

Sigh. That is such an underrated track. I think it's the best thing on Republic after Regret, and I wish they'd tried it with the synthesizer orchestra.

50 Pound Note wrote:

perspexorange wrote: Two of my five best post-Factory tracks (alongside Regret, Special and Crystal, in case anyone was interested).

Sigh. That is such an underrated track. I think it's the best thing on Republic after Regret, and I wish they'd tried it with the synthesizer orchestra.

Could not agree more...stunning, stunning track.

Such a shame the only live version I know of (Roskilde 93) has Barney totally butchering the best bit of the song by coming in a verse too early. Typical 😂

According to setlist fm the only other time they played it was Montreux. Wow, that's news to me - has anyone heard or seen that? I don't remember it being part of the broadcast at all.

M1 wrote: According to setlist fm the only other time they played it was Montreux. Wow, that's news to me - has anyone heard or seen that? I don't remember it being part of the broadcast at all.

Someone in the know once told me it was slated for that show, but they dropped it at the last second, so Roskilde remains the only time it was attempted live.

Special is great, but hot on the heels of Liar and Chemical, so is One Direction. To my knowledge it was played live at the above and for Montreax but cut from the MTV broadcast.

Unlearn This Hatred + The Game reviews posted.

Completion of project imminent (for now)...