When it came time to pick this week's Mojo Monday selection, there was only one inspired choice. Friend o' the blog AJ recently began blogging again over at The Dimension of Imagination. As I told him, I was proper chuffed to see him back in the saddle after what had been an 8-month sabbatical. I think he called me a wanker. He's a proper internet bud.
He posted the 1983 New Order classic, "Power Corruption & Lies" on the same day I found this Mojo comp from 2011, covering the same-said record, plus THE BEST-SELLING 12" OF ALL TIME (TM), "Blue Monday". It was serendipity; one follows another.
The likes of Tarwater, Destroyer, and Fujiya & Miyagi perform yeoman-like work here in reproducing New Order's second record. It's worth listening to a few times, even as it inspires you to pull out that "Blue Monday" 12" for the first time in a while..As someone who was barely alive when "PCL" came out, and whose initial exposure to New Order was through a Frente! cover, I can't claim New Order had some great influence over my life. They've always been there, a living link to things that, at the time, I found more interesting. But you hope that, with age comes wisdom, and I've grown more attached to these Mancunians in recent years. I've been downloading New Order remixes and live records as they've popped on my radar, and, yeah, of course it's all great. A well-earned reputation here.
What this does remind me of is the resilient crew of bloggers, still out there writing, trying to let punk kids and bored teenagers know why a recording is worth hearing. I have a list of the folks I think are worth checking out on the right side of the page there. I stop by every day, paying a visit to see if anything cool is worth commenting on. When someone dips out for a while, it gets a bit scary, like your local coffee shop, bakery, or record store being unexpectedly closed. It's a great feeling when that disappearance ends up being temporary. These are the little things that make getting online worthwhile. It's while I try my best to be here on Mondays and Thursdays at midnight my time. Gotta open the store, you know?
2 comments:
Thanx for the props...and while I'm here, I've reopened for re-ups Themes From Great Cities [ https://tfgc1.blogspot.com/ ] Reborn Bitches
I feel the same way about music blogs -- I worry about folks like AJ when the blog goes silent, and feel happy for them (and for myself as a reader) when they return.
Speaking of which, last summer 23Daves turned off the lights at "Left And To The Back", but he was soon back in the blogging game with "Everybody's Number One to Someone", a weekly digest of the British indie charts in the 1980's. It's not just the dry details of obsessive trainspotters -- it's fascinating to see what actually charted back then (Husker Du's "Eight Miles High"? Really?).
Anyway, he's got a thoughtful take on THE BEST-SELLING 12" OF ALL TIME (TM), among other New Order singles:
https://indienumber1s.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20Order
Hooray for AJ, 23Daves, Ape Mummy, and everyone else who keeps the music blogosphere alive and kicking. And pour one out for our dead homies Mythkoz, Gaius and Jeremy (Shiny Grey Monotone).
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