ORIGINAL VERSUS COVER: PART NINE, LOVE WILL TEAR US APART
Joy Division:
Here's my next post in the series in which I'll argue that the cover is better than the original version of the song. This time I'm going to compare Joy Division's original version and Nouvelle Vague's cover version of the song, Love Will Tear Us Apart.
Love Will Tear Us Apart, released in 1980, was Manchester-based Joy Division's breakthrough single. The song is about Ian Curtis', Joy Division's singer's, marital difficulties and his struggle with epilepsy. He committed suicide just before the band was due to tour America. The single was released a month after his death. In 2002, New Musical Express named Love Will Tear Us Apart as the greatest single ever; and in 2004, 2010 and 2021, Rolling Stone listed the song as one of the 500 greatest songs ever. After Ian Curtis' death, Joy Division became New Order and took a slightly different musical direction, post-punk fused with disco. Perfect in my book!
Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart:
Nouvelle Vague are a French cover band led by Olivier Libaux and Marc Collin. The band always had a couple of chanteuses to sing their cover songs. The name of the band takes its cue from the English new wave and the Portuguese bossa nova terms, very appropriate as the band largely covered new wave songs often in a bossa nova samba-like style. Nouvelle Vague's brilliant first album, released in 2004, included cover versions of Depeche Mode's Just Can't Get Enough, The Clash's The Guns of Brixton, Public Image Ltd's This Is Not a Love Song, XTC's Making Plans for Nigel, The Cure's A Forest, The Undertones' Teenage Kicks and The Specials' Friday Night Saturday Morning, as well as Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart. Nouvelle Vague are brilliant live.
Nouvelle Vague's Love Will Tear Us Apart:
This is a tough call. To be honest, whether I like Joy Division's original or Nouvelle Vague's cover version of Love Will Tear Us Apart largely depends on what mood I'm in. If I'm melancholic, it's Joy Division's version; if happy, it's Nouvelle Vague's version. But I'm happy today because I can now watch the Tour de France live and Labour has just handsomely won the general election here, so Nouvelle Vague have it!
Which version of Love Will Tear Us Apart do you like best, Joy Division's or Nouvelle Vague's?
Below are links to my other blog posts in this 'original versus cover' series:
1. Hotel California - https://bowandarrowman.
2. The Sound of Silence - https://bowandarrowman.
3. Valerie - https://bowandarrowman.
4. Walk This Way - https://bowandarrowman.
5. Knock on Wood - https://bowandarrowman.
6. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - https://bowandarrowman.
Nouvelle Vague:
Ohhhh tough question because I like them both and could see myself jamming to either depending on my mood.
ReplyDeleteYay Labour and Yay for being able to watch Tour De France.
Labour's Keir Starmer's first phone call to a foreign leader after being made Prime Minister was to Zelensky!
DeleteOutstanding, that's what I want to hear.
DeleteThere'll be no change in British support for Ukraine.
DeleteI'm happy to hear that. Now, if you could chat with him about an MI6 plot to do something about the orange turd, that would be grand. LMFAO
DeleteI'll suggest that to Keir when I next speak to him!
DeleteHi S, As usual, an intersting post!, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, AFF's founder, has just announced his return to and control of the site. Things will get better, Below is his Club 7 post:
Delete___
What if the founder of Friend Finder... just bought back control of the company...
What would you want him to discuss in his first message back?
Some background.
Born rural, to blue collar parents, raised Christian (and glad he was, life as a service to others)
Got a Phd in engineering from Stanford
While studying there, he invents the first online dating site in 1994
Started Friend Finder in 1996
Grew it to over 20 communties for all types of relationships
Sold control to bankers in 2007... when Friend Finder was twice the size of Match.com
... went off to find himself
Started a few philantropic ventures
Always cared about Friend Finder... consulted off and on but never had control ... bankers did.
Watched as MatchGroup bought up all the free competitors and monopolized via Match/Tinder.
As a big tech goliath, their primary motivation is maximize profit.
These sites make a $billion in profit a year... from people who feel exploited (rightly so).
Saw how Friend Finder was not giving the best service relative to what it charged members and wanted to do something about it. "Hold my beer"
... has a new vision for what will be the best platform to interact with other adults.
... Note: he's an inventor type (e.g., his 1997 PhD was about using AI agents to best connect people)
Three years ago, he bought the majority of the debt of the company
... Note: Almost all of the profit of Friend Finder since 2007 sale has gone to pay just interest on the debt.
He then voluntarily cuts the 14% interest rate on it in-half to 7% because he feels 14% is unjust. It's too much to extract from our members. Fights off lawsuit from bankers, and wins
Doing so, he saved the members of this site about $20 million that would otherwise gone to him.
... had some challenges getting control of Friend Finder which delayed him for almost two years.
But now... finally in control, he can finally turn back some of the "dumb" things they have changed... especially in the last couple months.
He wants to put members above profit.
Give everyone a much better experience and make it more friendly for women.
Be more transparent about our financials so we can be fair about profits
Make Friend Finder the best company to connect adults for fun, love, and friendship
... details to follow
I do like bossa nova and I like the cover. But the original is iconic, and provokes memories of my salad days (when I was young and green) - so it gets the nod.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with being young and green. We seem to share a lot of music, give or take.
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