Unknown Pleasures
Inside Joy Division
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4.3 • 10 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
'Genuinely funny: indeed, the story will… keep you entertained for a very long time' Sunday Times
Joy Division changed the face of music. Godfathers of the current alternative scene, they reinvented rock in the post-punk era, creating a new sound - dark, hypnotic, intense - that would influence U2, Morrissey, R.E.M., Radiohead and many others. This is the story of Joy Division told by the band's legendary bassist, Peter Hook.
'Hook has restored a flesh-and-blood rawness to what was becoming a standard tale. Few pop music books manage that'Guardian
'An honest, enthusiastic account … It's a window like no other into the reality of life in this most aloof of bands' METRO
'An immense account of Joy Division's rise…Having read Hook's book, you'll feel like you were the fifth member of the band' GQ
'A bittersweet, profanity filled recollection… If you like Joy Division, you really have to read it' Q Magazine
'Hook lifts the lid on the real Ian Curtis' NME
'He's frank, incredibly funny, and isn't shy'Artrocker
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
One of the progenitors of what became alternative rock, Joy Division pioneered a sound that would reverberate for decades, inspiring a litany of bands in its wake. The recording career of the band was tragically cut short by the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis . Founding member and bassist Peter Hook recounts the history of Joy Division, offering insight, righting wrongs, and separating fact from fiction. Hook is humble and affable (he's the first to admit he's not the world's greatest bass player), and his tone is more like that of a lengthy discussion with a pal at the pub, rather than a studied, academic assessment of the band and its legacy. This warts-and-all approach results in a warm, occasionally melancholy reminiscence, as Hook discusses the band's process, as well as its members' willful ignorance of Curtis's declining mental state. While the book ends on a sad note, Hook's fond recollection of various moments in Joy Division's short life, such as meeting a young U2, wrestling with a temperamental van on early tours, and a track-by-track commentary on the band's albums (he recommends readers put on the album in question when reading about Closer and Unknown Pleasures) will likely give readers a deeper appreciation for the people behind the music. Hook has written one of the warmest, most honest musical memoirs in recent memory.
Customer Reviews
An ok read
Peter Hook’s writing is warm and direct but the story wasn’t engaging. There is interesting insight into how it is so easy to miss the signs of an oncoming tragedy. But the other elements of the Joy Division story don’t pull you in.