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Stop Loving Everything: If a Blog Falls in the Forest When No one Comments, Does it Make a Sound?
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New York City. Where the Bluetooth has you wondering who's the crazy guy and who's not.
Aside from the swell vinyl Long Blondes 12" I bought last Friday, I also snagged Zero: A Martin Hannett Story 1977 -1991, a compilation of choice cuts produced by the man who made his name by crafting Joy Division's eerie sound for Factory records.
I see litttle use including common Joy Division and New Order tracks here, because anyone buying this comp must surely already own them, in addition to the uselessness of including the Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty in Pink" (although I'm 23% embarrassed to admit I didn't know Hannett had produced that track), but the remainder includes some hard-to-find-ish stuff, a relevatory track or two (see Wasted Youth below), and some sorely needed relistens, like Magazine.
Hannett was crazy. Really. Treated most bands like shit, but most of them had nothing to say other than "yeah, he's batshit, called us names and fucked with our music, but it was great, so we shut up." And then crazy turned to heroin, and then heavy drinking, and then ecstasy by the hour, and that lead to obesity and death by 1991. Great liner notes in this comp. And for JD freaks, the cover includes a reproduction of Hannett's hand written notes and designs for the recording of JD's Closer. A process which, like the recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken or stained glass windows, he never fully divulged or replicated.