THINGS I CANNOT HIDE ANYMORE FROM MYSELF

I've been New Order fan since the mid-90s. They've been a soundtrack for most of my entire adult life. And most of it was based on the 1981—95 output (⅓ of the band's entire ongoing career, if you think about it). I also used to post here in thousands.

I really tried to like Get Ready, WFTSC and Music Complete when they were released but eventually I would pick 1 or 2 (!) tunes and never go back to these albums. What is it, I was asking myself more and more with every new release, especially when Music Complete came out, which sounded pretty good, despite the unoriginal music production. And I think I narrowed it down to one thing: THE LYRICS of the past 30 years.

I JUST CAN'T TAKE THEM ANYMORE.

They're boring, generic and just really embarrassing to hear. Sure, Sumner has never been a great lyricist and words are not that important in the music of New Order, some say. But...

It started probably around the time of the Republic sessions and got worse with every record since. "Hey you, you'll be okay, do what you do..." became Sumner's new-found mantra for over twenty years. WTF?! We are punks, we don't care. We don't want to feel okay or to be told what to do to feel okay. And that's what he tells us in every song since 2001.

I mean, there's no humor here or straight fucked up shit or exquisite nonsense like New Order had circa 1982-1984. No emotional drama of 1987-1990. What happened was is that, I think, Prozak really cured our hero because ever since then we have all these happy go around songs about nothing. "Two step forward, one step back..." Is it a group physical therapy class? Sure, it has a nice beat...

Fuck...

I'd be more content with Sumner singing about docking the yacht and late Amazon orders. This new tune... "You're not devil, you're a rebel..." It'd be more funny and poignant if it were "YOU'RE NOT A REBEL, YOU'RE A DEVIL..." Who is "you"? Not me, bud. I think Bernard should make an effort to break new grounds lyrically, however small they might be at this point. So yeah, I am really pleased sonically with some of the new music but the words just kill it for me to have an enduring enjoyment.

All the best.

Edited by user 19 March 2021 03:24:35(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Hope it felt good to get that off your chest.

Barney's lyrics have always been shit. I don't care. I'm 100% a "sound" person, and his voice is just another instrument in the mix to me. I still don't know all the proper lyrics to songs I've listened to thousands of times.

I do appreciate the effort he made on Music Complete. I think those are lyrically some of the best he's ever written.

Anyway, it's certainly better than singing about cars, or girls, or Simon LeBon-like pretentious shit that was bad in the '80s and hasn't aged any better.

"Behind closed doors we listen to The Corrs"

come on!

Flicker. I always thought it was a joke - bathos and all that.
I guess you're right - Bernard's voice is an element in the mix. Johnny Marr said he liked it and it was, ahem, distinctive, at least until 2000ish.

I think with Bernard the lows are very low and he's (rightly) called out for that a lot, but the highs are very high as well and he often doesn't get enough credit for that.

Songs like True Faith, Vanishing Point, Run, All Day Long, Leave Me Alone, Ultraviolence, Lonesome Tonight, Temptation have absolutely top notch lyrics that just work so well. Something like say the chorus of BLT is absolutely iconic. I think there's a kind of snobbery going on to Barney because he's not the literary type that journos love like e.g. Ian Curtis or Morrissey, but I think the lyrics of some of those songs I've just mentioned are easily on a par with more celebrated lyricists.

Admittedly though the post-factory period has been more meagre pickings and all the 'hey yeah how's it going' type guff is rubbish.

Well he's simple and a man.
That's two of their best tracks. If you don't like those, you're fucked.

Yes, indeed!

But I do want Bernard to sing about what matters to him: yacht repair bills, flat tire on M1, disobedient kids... NOT about the mystical "you" in all his songs of the past 20 years who constantly needs to be assured it's all okay. No, it's not okay.

I dread the new album will be all about "hey you, you're okay if you listen to this album and you will be okay when you don't".

Then they aren't fans. Why even bother?

They're Joy Division fans. Joy Division were the band from whose ashes New Order rose.

I mean, they're pop songs, 99% of pop songs have a simplistic rhyming structure, even those by more 'celebrated' lyricists. It doesn't mean the use of language and turns of phrase isn't evocative. Something like the opening of True Faith I think is really poetic and interesting:


I feel so extraordinary
Something's got a hold of me
I get this feeling I'm in motion
A certain sense of liberty...

And yes, the opening of True Faith is strong and appealed to Neil Tennant, who used to have a thing about wishing he'd written half their songs. Novelty has worn off over the last 35 years though.
It's also important to consider lyrics in the context of the music. Imagine Strawberry Fields Forever without the sounds. It's easy if you try. It isn't hard to do.

Edited by user 28 March 2021 23:33:02(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

If New Order had behaved like any other '80s pop band, I don't think I could overlook the lyrics. Imagine if they'd participated in Band Aid, Live Aid, were on the cover of Smash Hits and did poptastic things?

But they had their own sound, their own look (granted, Barney's shorty-shorts weren't a wise choice - nor Hook wearing SWEATPANTS for The Perfect Kiss video), and created a real mystique by giving limited interviews and shunning the spotlight. Because of that, I always viewed Barney as having a certain mystery, and his lyrics were an attempt to get across his feelings. Does that make sense? Maybe he wasn't so articulate and was struggling to get across the things he needed to express. Everything else about them was so unlike their peers, I could excuse the occasional clunky lyric, because you got the feeling it was sincere.