Was NO like a Backstreet Boys in there day?

I know the question sounds insane--but todays teenagers would probably not be able to tell the difference on a few listens.

New Order was considered POP in their day correct? I know a few teenagers who have heard parts of my NO cd's and thought it was the backstreet boys or something during certain tracks.

They did not actually hear the entire song(s). Like for example Bizarre Love Triangle (extended dance mix) I downloaded and played once on my friends computer and my friend kind of gave me a funny look after hearing it a little while and immediately changed the song.

That same friend really liked the Blue Monday song by NO from their Substance CD. He wanted to listen to it several times--plus he had already heard Orgy's version of it and thought New Orders was much better obviously.

But this brings me to an interesting question that sort of stems from another thread. What makes New Order so special to you? And why is New Order in its time no different than a Backstreet Boys with more substance and understanding of music and not just into the glamour of the pop culture?

It kind of distrubs me that some teenagers of this generation think that New Order sounds like a Backstreet Boys or something because I don't think they do--and I defintely think they have more Substance than any Pop bands or even Electronic bands today.

I am actually 20 years old, and recently bought the Substance CD because I liked the song Bizarre Love Triangle from back when I was a little kid in the late 80's.

What do you guys think in terms of how other young kids perceive New Order today--and how does New Order (since they began) compare with the best POP bands and best ELECTRONIC bands/producers of today?

Wow, a lot to consider there...

Compaired to most pop and electronic bands in the 90's, New Order has much more soul and power than most others. The fact that they seemlessly combine drum machines, sequencers and synth with powerful bass and guitar, mechanical sounds with Barney's emotional vocals, makes them something special, that no purely pop or electronica arists can match...and longevity? I don't think anything "hip" today will be around in the 2020's.

For the younger music listeners, it seems to me, at least in the pathetic little sub-sector of upstate NY that NO ONE really knows who the Order are. Sure, they know Orgy's "Blue Monday" and probably some people in their 20's would know "True Faith" "Regret" or "BLT" if they heard them, but don't really know who was behind them.

I myself had no idea who they were until I got Get Ready and did some searching for some info. It stuck me with how normal they are and how much they've evolved from "Ceremony" to "Here to Stay".

It's sad though, with the band rapidly approaching 50, the chance of them being accepted by anyone around my age bracket is becoming less and less. I'd say I'm a closet fan to most of the world (my family excluded, and of course, all you fine people :D ). But, someday I will find the one to spread the gospel of one of the greatest bands ever, the one and only, New Order.

i think what makes New Order appeal to me is the fact that they don't rely entirely on electronics to do the music for them. Having developed a love for guitar-and-drums bands in rock's past, I really don't care a whole lot for electronic acts that eschew instruments in favor of synthesizers only. New Order have always kept the elements of human instrumentation as a piovotal facet of their performance from day one, and that's something that the remixers seem to miss out on most occassions.

As for whether they were "pop" or not, I would say it's a mixing of both. New Order certainly fit into the prevailing music scene of the Eighties, but they didn't become outdated by it. I mean, compared to Debbie Gibson or NKOTB, New Order certainly had staying power once the trends of the moment passed on.

Consider the fact that the Beatles were dismissed early on by most "serious" rock fans as a teenybopper act, and yet their music still endures so long after they split. You can't say that about contempories like Freddie and The Dreamers or the Searchers, who also aimed at the teenage market but became passe' once the Merseybeat craze died out.

So, yes, New Order were pop in the Eighties, but they didn't latch onto one particular movement or fad. The really great bands can indeed have a "pop" audience and still be relevant.

As for the Backstreet Boys...is there still an audience for those 30-year old wankers? I thought *Nsuck stole their thunder (of course, they're also beginning to look ridiculous as well)

Originally posted by Taboo # 7 As for the Backstreet Boys...is there still an audience for those 30-year old wankers? I thought *Nsuck stole their thunder (of course, they're also beginning to look ridiculous as well)

Seriously, how can you be in your 30's, be married and have enough cash to buy Antarctica and still be considered a "boy". When will teenage girls learn?

I hope this was some kind of joke. New Order in boy band comparison shocker ? Rob Gretton would be turning in his grave.

Originally posted by Substantial Republic of LowLifes > Originally posted by Taboo # 7> > > As for the Backstreet Boys...is there still an audience for those 30-year old wankers? I thought *Nsuck stole their thunder (of course, they're also beginning to look ridiculous as well)

Seriously, how can you be in your 30's, be married and have enough cash to buy Antarctica and still be considered a "boy". When will teenage girls learn?

Never mind the veiled homoerotic implication (Gilrs, why do you think they'd be hanging out in the backstreets?). Or maybe it has something to do with drug dealing?

Pop turned to new order not vice versa they made the records they wanted to made they didnt mold their sound to sell records shit they didnt even have their names or images on the records!!.. is that a pop band? there were no hooky dolls with kung fu grip or gillian Plastic heads with real hair that little girls could curl and put makeup on

sorry i meant hooky "action figures" not dolls

Originally posted by Benny's Cobweb Eyes I hope this was some kind of joke. New Order in boy band comparison shocker ? Rob Gretton would be turning in his grave.

Actually it is not me that agrees that they sound like backstreet boys. Its teenagers who will listen to their music today. Basically I am trying to say that most of the people who appreciate New Order are those in their late 20's and above.....but I wonder why people don't appreciate them today or they think they sound like a boy band?

Personally I think they have way more substance than any Pop of the last 10 years by far--but it seems there is some sort of pop parallel that makes this comparison possible.

New Order's time came and went. Only their current fans are going to keep buying their new material. I doubt that they are going to get a significant amount of "new" fans. They will get a handful that will discover them at a late age. Most kids these days will just as easily dismiss the Beatles or the Rolling Stones if they were to hear it. The only difference with those groups is that they are so engraved in today's culture that kids think that they are supposed to like it because of the name "Beatles" not because of the music. New Order has always been critically acclaimed. Anyone who knows how to play instruments and write their own music will never dismiss NO. Backstreet just sings someone elses lyrics to someone elses music. Take a look at what happened to Backstreet recently when they decided to write their own lyrics and play instruments. It was a joke.

I'm shaking right now. (maybe it's just cold in this room) To hear the Backstreet Boys being compared with New Order, my saviors, who showed me what real music is. Oh, well, I'll get over it.
BSB only sing about miserable sappy love situations. I used to like it, but I used to be an ignorant kid too. I'm a little older, I know a little more. There's much more to NO, as we all know. I actually got into NO a couple years before Get Ready, I really like their old stuff, and I mean EVERYTHING. But I was probably like one of five kids who discovered them in the US that year.

As for other kids my age, my friends, I have no idea what they'd think about NO. They don't want to listen to my music, I don't want to hear theirs. (well, most of it anyways). But I don't think anyone I know would dis NO by comparing them to BSB, at least I hope not. They know better. BSB aren't real musicians. Some of the songs are okay, but they're not theirs, you know?

New Order was not on a major label in the USA until their 3rd album in 1985, Joy Division was not on a major until a few years later. New Order was never played on pop radio (or much of any commercial radio whatsover) in the USA until True Faith, and then very little. New Order was ignored by MTV until True Faith. They were hardly even remotely big with the preteen crowd. New Order was considered "leftfield" or "alternative" or "indie" back in the 80s... they were hardly a pop band like Duran Duran or something. There never was any New order lunchboxes or teen centerfold posters for the prepubescant girls, no matter how much Barney hoped and prayed.
No, New order was not like the Backstreet Boys!

New Order were the Herman's Hermits of their day.

Originally posted by Nikos Malakas I know the question sounds insane--but todays teenagers would probably not be able to tell the difference on a few listens.New Order was considered POP in their day correct? I know a few teenagers who have heard parts of my NO cd's and thought it was the backstreet boys or something during certain tracks.They did not actually hear the entire song(s). Like for example Bizarre Love Triangle (extended dance mix) I downloaded and played once on my friends computer and my friend kind of gave me a funny look after hearing it a little while and immediately changed the song.That same friend really liked the Blue Monday song by NO from their Substance CD. He wanted to listen to it several times--plus he had already heard Orgy's version of it and thought New Orders was much better obviously.But this brings me to an interesting question that sort of stems from another thread. What makes New Order so special to you? And why is New Order in its time no different than a Backstreet Boys with more substance and understanding of music and not just into the glamour of the pop culture?It kind of distrubs me that some teenagers of this generation think that New Order sounds like a Backstreet Boys or something because I don't think they do--and I defintely think they have more Substance than any Pop bands or even Electronic bands today.I am actually 20 years old, and recently bought the Substance CD because I liked the song Bizarre Love Triangle from back when I was a little kid in the late 80's.What do you guys think in terms of how other young kids perceive New Order today--and how does New Order (since they began) compare with the best POP bands and best ELECTRONIC bands/producers of today?

Where I grew up (US) New Order was no where near pop. They were a major underground band getting airplay on college radio only... along with a few (and I mean few) high school radio stations. Them along with OMD, Cure, TG, Skinny Puppy, REM (old REM), and a few other bands. 90% of the people I knew did not know who New Order was until Pretty In Pink and True Faith. New Order "pop"? What were you smoking when you wrote that? Now, I cannot speak to whether NO was considered "pop" in England. In Canada they were underground... way underground. I remember their very underadvertised St Andrew's Hall concerts in the early and mid eighties. New Order's sound became pop when bands like Pet Shop Boys took their sound and replicated it, adding some more dancy beats.

LIKE I BEEN SAYING I DONT THINK BACKSTREET BOYS ARE ANYTHING LIKE NEW ORDER.

Like I said other teenagers today who FIRST HEAR New Order for the first time say it sounds almost like the Backstreet Boys--I know two kids who have said this--I IN NO WAY AGREE WITH THIS ACCESSMENT--the mentioning of Backstreet Boys actually made me CRINGE.

WHICH is why I ask why people of todays generation of Pop/Rap/whatever lovers think that NEW ORDER sounds like cheesy 80s pop or something.

AGAIN, I DO NOT AGREE--I am simply SAYING and WONDERING WHY KIDS TODAY THINK OF NO as cheesy Pop?

I do not agree--just bringing up a point about todays society and how NEW ORDER is viewed today.

Originally posted by Nikos Malakas LIKE I BEEN SAYING I DONT THINK BACKSTREET BOYS ARE ANYTHING LIKE NEW ORDER.Like I said other teenagers today who FIRST HEAR New Order for the first time say it sounds almost like the Backstreet Boys--I know two kids who have said this--I IN NO WAY AGREE WITH THIS ACCESSMENT--the mentioning of Backstreet Boys actually made me CRINGE.WHICH is why I ask why people of todays generation of Pop/Rap/whatever lovers think that NEW ORDER sounds like cheesy 80s pop or something.AGAIN, I DO NOT AGREE--I am simply SAYING and WONDERING WHY KIDS TODAY THINK OF NO as cheesy Pop?I do not agree--just bringing up a point about todays society and how NEW ORDER is viewed today.

I think this is the problem when 20+ year old bands try to pick up new fans. If I heard NO for the first time, and I was under 20 years old, it would be very unlikely that they would become my favorite band. Their sound is not very progressive for the times (2000's) like it was in 1982. Joy Division has much more of a timeless factor than NO does. I would be willing to wager that 70% of New Order's current fans have been fans for 10+ years. Their music is timeless to those of us who got into them during the post punk era and who grew up in the new electronic age.

i'm 19, and i can see why kids today would not get into new order. i knew who they were when i was 13, and i too liked bizaare love triangle. i borrowed my sister's copy of substance and just thought it sucked. the main reason was cuz it was simply old...dated music to my young ears.(took me 5 years to warm up to them...) i don't care what anyone says, electronic music dates itself very quickly cuz the technology constantly changes.

if you look at the psychology of teenagers, they really are rebelling against those who are older than them and want nothing to do with something that isn't their generation. just a simple fact. it's generational possessive thing, where it's like you want music where the musicians are in their prime and are (dare i say it) popular. i knew when i got into new order, they didn't feel like they were my band, that didn't they belonged to me cuz i was too young to experience them at their prime. so, more or less, it felt like listening to your parent's music or something. something that was foreign and didn't belong to you. thus, anything that was popular before you turned 13, is an acquired taste.

now, the fact that the majority of new order's music is dated and old does not mean that they're of low standard or quality. it doesn't have anything to do with quality, but rather it has more to do with comformity and finding something that's your own. NO's failure to appeal to teenagers is not purely about backstreet boys and ignorance...rather it's more complex than that. granted, there are exceptions and i've known a few teens who go beyond their generation and looked up music in the past, but as a whole, it's not likely.

as for the backstreet boy comparison...that's stretching it. pop music is such a broad genre that's it's like alcohol...there's the cheap stuff that tastes nasty, and the fine wine that gets better with age. i don't need to tell you who's who.

It depends on which New Order you're talking about. The 81-83 New Order were very much an experimental, post-punk band and their music from this era has the same timeless quality that JD had. After that they did become a pop band and their output from this point on starts to sound dated.

They hadn't invented Boy Bands back then though ;) They are a perpetration spawned from the spleen of MTV.

I hope this isn't the day any of the band choose to have a peak at what's going on with their fans - please, for gods sake Nic', CLOSE THIS THREAD.

Don't just close it, delete it and consign it to the place in history reserved for fads like MTV dross.

¡¡¡MY GOD!!! What a topic!!! Well... In short: 1- Do you imagine Backstreet Boys singing a part like "Grow up children, don't you suffer, at the hands on one another"? NO lyrics have sense, are deep and ambiguous. 2- Their music is MUSIC, not just beats one after anoher and a midi song. 3- Their attitude is different. (No need to explain) So... NO is music, with themes different from the ones that backstreet have= I love you / let's go to the party

Of course, if your friends like backs. & also NO... They would probably like hearing to Las Katchup or Velvet Underground...