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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
sad
medium-paced
A fun read, despite the obviously sad content. It's gotten me on a huge Joy Division kick, too.
I thought this was an excellent book. I could hardly put it down. It is a must read for every Joy Division fan. I haven't yet read Touching From a Distance but I get the impression that Unknown Pleasures is the only book that really shows what Ian Curtis was like with the rest of the band. The funny stories that Peter Hook has to tell that involve Ian and the rest of the band make the singer's suicide even more tragic. This book made me laugh and it also made me cry which I think is a sign that it is excellent. The only detail that I can fault is Hook's tendancy to go off on a tangent about an event that happened years after Joy Division. Despite this, I thoroughly recommend this to anyone who has even a slight interest in Joy Division.
Not only does this book tick off a dozen categories of things I like to read about, it is solid black and filled with pictures of insane ephemera. Peter Hook remembers everything relating to money and pranks, so this is a new and fun way to think about Joy Division. Also, he comes off as quite honest and open. Delightful!
Update: I read the book back in 2013, and now I'm listening to the audiobook. What can I say - it's that good. I saw Peter Hook play last week and I just want more. I've been listening to some of the book, then listening to Joy Division, back and forth.
Earlier review:
I've had this out of the library once before, and now renewed it twice, and I'm finally getting around to reading it. I guess I was a bit reluctant because I've never really been into "band" books. However, I've been a New Order and Joy Division fan for a long time, and I saw Peter Hook & the Light play earlier this year and they absolutely blew me away. (And blew away the new New Order, who I also saw play earlier this year.) So, it was time to read this book.
Update: I loved this book, and wish I hadn't finished it. Hook has a way with words, and I enjoyed learning more about Joy Division than I had from the few books I've read and movies I've seen. Now I'm hoping he'll pen something about New Order. Looking forward to reading his Hacienda book now as well.
Earlier review:
I've had this out of the library once before, and now renewed it twice, and I'm finally getting around to reading it. I guess I was a bit reluctant because I've never really been into "band" books. However, I've been a New Order and Joy Division fan for a long time, and I saw Peter Hook & the Light play earlier this year and they absolutely blew me away. (And blew away the new New Order, who I also saw play earlier this year.) So, it was time to read this book.
Update: I loved this book, and wish I hadn't finished it. Hook has a way with words, and I enjoyed learning more about Joy Division than I had from the few books I've read and movies I've seen. Now I'm hoping he'll pen something about New Order. Looking forward to reading his Hacienda book now as well.
This book was incredibly repetitive and sadly didn't get interesting until Ian started having major problems. Even then it was still repetitive and hard to get through
Part of me wants to give this book five stars just because it's written by Peter Hook and is about Joy Division. I've been a BIG fan of the music for years (JD & New Order) yet there was a surprising amount of stuff I didn't know about the band. I guess because they were never in all the magazines and didn't tour much. (I only saw them live once -in 1985 in Austin. It was a big,big deal to see them.) I own a ton of their bootlegs I got in Europe and feel I know their music catalogue quite well. But personal stuff - nope. So a lot of this book was quite interesting to me. I didn't feel like I was reading about someone I knew a lot about. I also enjoyed the music details Hook included. When I read a rock memoir of a person whose music I'm not a fan of, the details about the songs and recordings can be a bit dull. Not in the case of this book. I feel like I have a deeper appreciation of their music now.
I ended up giving four stars because I feel like there is a lot I still don't know about the band. Obviously this is his memoir - not a bio of the whole band - and Hook mentions several times that this is only his perspective and he can't give a definitive answer to every question. Still, Hook seemed to not spend very much time with the band members at all - he hung out more with the crew and staff. SImilar to David Lee Roth's memoir I read - and Gene Simmons too - in that while the band worked musically(for a while at least) personally there were a ton of issues. I hope Bernard Sumner ends up writing his memoir. I think it'll really add to the information in this book.
Although I have always thought Peter Hook really hot - he was my favorite in HS, sigh (I made sure to stand in front of him the one time I saw New Order) he is an asshole. He would have scared me in real life - he's quite the curmudgeon. And he admits it - admits that he was a right arsehole and a wanker to others - but still, he is not a sympathetic character a lot of the time even with his self-knowledge/20-20 hindsight. I appreciate that he admits the times he was flat out wrong or stupid. I've read other memoirs where the person still think they were 100% in the right and the other band members were morons - it's hard to believe a memoir like that, one so delusional. Hook seems honest - honest and jerky.
I'm not sure how much a non-fan would enjoy this book. It's not like reading Keith Richard's memoir or that Motley Crue book The Dirt - where there is so much lurid, entertaining gossip the music takes a back seat to the band's antics. Joy Division weren't big druggies, they didn't lark about with models and celebrities. the stories are more interesting to fans than the general public at large. Don't get me wrong, there are so funny stories but not like Led Zepplin/Keith Moon wild.
I ended up giving four stars because I feel like there is a lot I still don't know about the band. Obviously this is his memoir - not a bio of the whole band - and Hook mentions several times that this is only his perspective and he can't give a definitive answer to every question. Still, Hook seemed to not spend very much time with the band members at all - he hung out more with the crew and staff. SImilar to David Lee Roth's memoir I read - and Gene Simmons too - in that while the band worked musically(for a while at least) personally there were a ton of issues. I hope Bernard Sumner ends up writing his memoir. I think it'll really add to the information in this book.
Although I have always thought Peter Hook really hot - he was my favorite in HS, sigh (I made sure to stand in front of him the one time I saw New Order) he is an asshole. He would have scared me in real life - he's quite the curmudgeon. And he admits it - admits that he was a right arsehole and a wanker to others - but still, he is not a sympathetic character a lot of the time even with his self-knowledge/20-20 hindsight. I appreciate that he admits the times he was flat out wrong or stupid. I've read other memoirs where the person still think they were 100% in the right and the other band members were morons - it's hard to believe a memoir like that, one so delusional. Hook seems honest - honest and jerky.
I'm not sure how much a non-fan would enjoy this book. It's not like reading Keith Richard's memoir or that Motley Crue book The Dirt - where there is so much lurid, entertaining gossip the music takes a back seat to the band's antics. Joy Division weren't big druggies, they didn't lark about with models and celebrities. the stories are more interesting to fans than the general public at large. Don't get me wrong, there are so funny stories but not like Led Zepplin/Keith Moon wild.
My third book about Joy Division. I found it at a booth selling cds during Wave Gotik Treffen, and I'm so glad I bought it. I immediately loved it. The difference is obviously that it's written by Peter Hook, the bassist of Joy Division. The two other books I have are not written by members of the band.
Peter Hook writes like he's your friend who is telling you about the ''good old days'' - but he makes you feel like you were there. He says he doesn't remember much, but there is so much detail to the story. He takes you through everything, from before the start to after the end.
Content summary:
The prologue is about their first gig as Joy Division.
Part 1 - Insight takes you back to Peter's childhood and up to 1976, when Sex Pistols changes his life.
Part 2 - Disorder starts with a famous Sex Pistols concert, and Joy Division (Warsaw) is formed.
Part 3 - Transmission tells many crazy stories the band went through.
Part 4 - Love Will Tear Us Apart tells more band stories, and Unknown Pleasures is released. It includes a track by track commentary of the album.
Part 5 - Ceremony is when things get really bad for Ian. Up to this point I had read quickly through it, but now I had to slow down, cause I knew what was to come.
The epilogue is after Ian's death.
The postscript is about what happened in recent years regarding Joy Division (dated 2013).
Then we have a track by track commentary of Closer.
After each part there is a timeline that summarized everything that happened in that part.
The back of the book has tons of black and white pictures.
Like I said the book is very detailed, it includes pretty much everything that happened with the band. No one else could tell you this except the band themselves! Joy Division has this huge reputation and they're very glorified, but when you hear Peter Hook's version, you realize they were just kids, they had no clue, they just wanted to play gigs and have fun. It wasn't glamorous. You really get a good insight into how it was back in the day, and how lucky they got, becoming so big. This book makes them seem so human, and you definitely see another side to Ian Curtis.
I loved reading every single story and detail and Peter Hook's tone throughout the book - So I have already ordered his two other books!
If you're a fan of Joy Division, you NEED this book!
Peter Hook writes like he's your friend who is telling you about the ''good old days'' - but he makes you feel like you were there. He says he doesn't remember much, but there is so much detail to the story. He takes you through everything, from before the start to after the end.
Content summary:
The prologue is about their first gig as Joy Division.
Part 1 - Insight takes you back to Peter's childhood and up to 1976, when Sex Pistols changes his life.
Part 2 - Disorder starts with a famous Sex Pistols concert, and Joy Division (Warsaw) is formed.
Part 3 - Transmission tells many crazy stories the band went through.
Part 4 - Love Will Tear Us Apart tells more band stories, and Unknown Pleasures is released. It includes a track by track commentary of the album.
Part 5 - Ceremony is when things get really bad for Ian. Up to this point I had read quickly through it, but now I had to slow down, cause I knew what was to come.
The epilogue is after Ian's death.
The postscript is about what happened in recent years regarding Joy Division (dated 2013).
Then we have a track by track commentary of Closer.
After each part there is a timeline that summarized everything that happened in that part.
The back of the book has tons of black and white pictures.
Like I said the book is very detailed, it includes pretty much everything that happened with the band. No one else could tell you this except the band themselves! Joy Division has this huge reputation and they're very glorified, but when you hear Peter Hook's version, you realize they were just kids, they had no clue, they just wanted to play gigs and have fun. It wasn't glamorous. You really get a good insight into how it was back in the day, and how lucky they got, becoming so big. This book makes them seem so human, and you definitely see another side to Ian Curtis.
I loved reading every single story and detail and Peter Hook's tone throughout the book - So I have already ordered his two other books!
If you're a fan of Joy Division, you NEED this book!
Few years back when I watched the 'Joy Division' documentary, I didn't know much about the band members. I was interested in Ian Curtis' persona and the myth surrounding it, and I wasn't really interested in anyone else. Then I saw the documentary, and I liked Peter Hook the least. He had this way of telling stories and anecdotes, but in a very peculiar way... he'd say it half-trough, then laugh to himself, all in a way 'oooh you should have been there'. Well Peter, I would if I could.
I guess that's why I was pretty reluctant to read this book because I had a feeling it would go down a similar path. I wasn't wrong. Again, here comes Peter with anecdotes, 'oooh that one time we...' and then he would just say 'oh but I'll just have to leave this to your imagination'. Son, just don't. I found this really annoying.
It was a bit lengthy, or at least it seemed that way, it took ages to finally get to the point - Joy Division. It was pretty detailed, the stories behind gigs. Sometimes it was a bit jumbled (I had to check the list of their gigs for consistency cause I thought I was confused with the chronology), and it got repetitive at times. It's just that, in the end, it wasn't really a book about Joy Division, really. It was a book about Peter Hook.
I wish Peter was a bit more humble about it. It annoyed me how contradictory he was about money, saying how they didn't care about it, they just wanted to play. But pretty soon he started complaining how they earned very little money off it, and later on how he earned so little money from bootlegs and t-shirts, taking things to court and whatever. Right, you weren't in it for money. Right. Cause it seems to me this book was just it. Earning money off of his dead friend, telling a story that has very little to do with the band, and focusing on himself. He did pointed out - 'It's my book' - so fair enough.
The reason why I'm giving it such a high rating is because it's very well documented, it holds an extensive chronology of the gigs and other important dates in the band's history. It provides commentary on the songs for both of the band's albums that I found really interesting to read, to see how the songs came to be.
I guess that's why I was pretty reluctant to read this book because I had a feeling it would go down a similar path. I wasn't wrong. Again, here comes Peter with anecdotes, 'oooh that one time we...' and then he would just say 'oh but I'll just have to leave this to your imagination'. Son, just don't. I found this really annoying.
It was a bit lengthy, or at least it seemed that way, it took ages to finally get to the point - Joy Division. It was pretty detailed, the stories behind gigs. Sometimes it was a bit jumbled (I had to check the list of their gigs for consistency cause I thought I was confused with the chronology), and it got repetitive at times. It's just that, in the end, it wasn't really a book about Joy Division, really. It was a book about Peter Hook.
I wish Peter was a bit more humble about it. It annoyed me how contradictory he was about money, saying how they didn't care about it, they just wanted to play. But pretty soon he started complaining how they earned very little money off it, and later on how he earned so little money from bootlegs and t-shirts, taking things to court and whatever. Right, you weren't in it for money. Right. Cause it seems to me this book was just it. Earning money off of his dead friend, telling a story that has very little to do with the band, and focusing on himself. He did pointed out - 'It's my book' - so fair enough.
The reason why I'm giving it such a high rating is because it's very well documented, it holds an extensive chronology of the gigs and other important dates in the band's history. It provides commentary on the songs for both of the band's albums that I found really interesting to read, to see how the songs came to be.
Wonderful! Down-to-earth, everything you want to know, great perspective, and more. Did I mention SIGNED copy? Hooky’s charming and signed my vinyl as well after a very lively and spontaneous discussion for over an hour at the local book shop. Way to go Jos. Beth! Now if we could just get New Order all back together.