From '' Transmission EP '' Label: (1) Vernon Yard Recordings, (2) Virgin Records America, Inc. Catalog#: (1) YARD CD16, (2) 0170 4 60016 2 5 Format: CD, EP Country: US Released: 1996 Tracklist 1. Transmission Producer -- Mark Kramer Written-By -- Bernard Sumner, Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris 2. Bright Producer -- Steve Albini 3. Caroline 2 Producer -- Steve Albini 4. Hands Producer -- Mark Kramer 5. Jack Smith Recorded By -- Jonah Rainey, Matt Letsinger Mixed By -- G. Jonah Rainey Written-By -- The Supreme Dicks 6. Untitled Written-By -- Alan Sparhawk (tracks: 2 to 4), Mimi Parker (tracks: 2 to 4), Zak Sally (tracks: 2 to 4) ------------------------ "Transmission" is a song by post-punk band Joy Division, released on Factory Records in November 1979 on 7" and re-released as a 12" single with a different sleeve in December 1980. The single charted twice in New Zealand, debuting at number two in September 1981, and re-appearing again at number 24 in July 1984. In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Transmission" at number 20 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, one place below "Love Will Tear Us Apart". It was played on-stage in the film 24 Hour Party People, a scene in which Ian Curtis suffers an epileptic fit. It has been covered by Low (on its EP Transmission), Indiana band ...revel in the morning (on the God Less America EP), Bauhaus (as well as by frontman Peter Murphy on his solo tours) and Innerpartysystem. A version by Hot Chip is on the War Child charity album, Heroes, released in February 2009. It was also played by The Smashing Pumpkins on the Adore Tour in 1998, with performances of the song usually lasting from 15 to 25 minutes. ------------------------ Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis (vocals and occasional guitar), Bernard Sumner (guitar and keyboards), Peter Hook (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion). Their self-released 1978 debut EP, An Ideal for Living, caught the attention of the Manchester television personality Tony Wilson. Joy Division's debut album, Unknown Pleasures, was released in 1979 on Wilson's independent record label Factory Records, and drew critical acclaim from the British press. Despite the band's growing success, vocalist Ian Curtis was beset with depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis with epilepsy. Curtis found it increasingly difficult to perform at live concerts, and often had seizures during performances. On the eve of the band's first American tour in May 1980, Curtis, overwhelmed with depression, committed suicide. Joy Division's posthumously released second album, Closer (1980), and the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" became the band's highest charting releases. After the death of Curtis, the remaining members reformed as New Order, achieving critical and commercial success. Legacy Joy Division has influenced bands ranging from contemporaries U2 and The Cure to post-punk revival artists such as Interpol, Bloc Party and Editors. U2 frontman Bono stated that his group loved Joy Division. The singer said in the band's 2006 autobiography U2 by U2, "It would be harder to find a darker place in music than Joy Division. Their name, their lyrics and their singer were as big a black cloud as you could find in the sky. And yet I sensed the pursuit of God, or light, or reason...a reason to be. With Joy Division, you felt from this singer, beauty was truth and truth was beauty, and theirs was a search for both." Artists including electronica performer Moby and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante have described their appreciation for Joy Division's music and the influence it has had on their own material. In 2005, Joy Division were inducted along with New Order into the UK Music Hall of Fame. Two biopics have been released that dramatise Joy Division on film. 24 Hour Party People (2002) presented a somewhat fictionalised account of the rise and fall of Factory Records, in which the members of Joy Division served as supporting characters. Tony Wilson said of the film, "It's all true, it's all not true. It's not a fucking documentary", insisting that whenever possible during the production of the film, he favoured the "myth" over the truth. The 2007 film Control, directed by Anton Corbijn, is a biography of Ian Curtis (portrayed by Sam Riley) that uses Deborah Curtis's biography of her late husband, Touching from a Distance (1995), as its basis. Control had its international premiere on the opening night of Director's Fortnight at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, where it was critically well-received. That year Grant Gee directed the band documentary Joy Division.

• published: 29 Apr 2011
• views: 53202