A few thoughts on kids in the comments, New Order’s Brotherhood, and brilliant closing tracks.
The kids are all right.
NPR recently shared a story about comments that were appearing underneath its podcasts. In isolation, they didn’t make much sense, but they did seem to be talking to one another. At first blush, staffers assumed they were bots and set out to clean up the comment sections.
But then they asked a Gen Z coworker for their take, and her response will shock you…
Just kidding—we’re not doing that here. But it is an interesting story. As most of you know, social media platforms have started age-gating, and, well, like water seeking its natural level, kids got creative in trying to find new places to chat. It just so happens that the relatively empty comment sections under NPR podcasts fit the bill, so there they were. I don’t know who these kids are—though Ira Glass spoke to one of them, because of course he did—but I hope all of ’em wind up at NASA someday. That’s my kind of subversion.
Kids will always find an overlooked corner of the internet and make it their own. In a much less technologically advanced version of that impulse, I’ve spent the week thinking about New Order’s Brotherhood: a great record that has spent far too long in an overlooked corner of the band’s catalog. If ever a record had middle-child energy, New Order’s Brotherhood is it. It’s also magnificent.
Talking about the record for an article on What Am I Making, I wrote:
Can a record have middle-child energy? If that’s possible, Brotherhood is it. Other records by the band spark lively discourse on fan forums or get slapped with a critic’s-darling label. Brotherhood has been unfairly exiled to a purgatory of inattention. Meanwhile, it’s just in the corner doing its thing, happy to be left alone. Split in half between electronic and analog, it’s a wild ride—and well worth it.
Brotherhood often gets overlooked in discussions about the band’s discography, and, to be fair, it does occupy a bit of a weird space in the group’s timeline. With one foot in the analog world and the other firmly planted in the electricity of Italian discos, the band was split on which direction to go. So they did the only thing they could: Side A is primarily acoustic, and Side B is dominated by digital. That represents a literal split in musical stylings and a fracture within the band.
So, you have a band growing tired of one another as people and split into two distinct tribes—rock and electronic—as musicians. All the while, their label was pushing them for a follow-up to Low-Life. No pressure, then! Those factors are a sure bet for disaster, and yet, once again, despite—or in spite of—themselves, they released a record that holds up well.
“Paradise” feels almost claustrophobic, with Sumner’s pleading vocals feeling almost smothering. Up next is the much brighter “Weirdo,” a track where everything feels like it’s this close to flying off into space, and the only thing holding everything in stable orbit is Hook’s bass. To my ear, it’s them at their best, and anytime I get a new stereo—or AirPods—this is the song I use to test them. “As It Was When It Was” gives listeners a wistful breather before things ramp back up with “Broken Promise.” Side A closes with “Way of Life,” a track that feels like a close cousin to “Weirdo.”
Initially intended to be a single, it was even released as a promo 12”, but it wasn’t meant to be. From Hook: “I really wanted to get another bass riff that was as good as ‘Age of Consent’… I managed it here by turning that riff backwards and using it again. Distorted bass intro. We got that by putting it through an Akai cassette player!”
“Bizarre Love Triangle” kicks off Side B and sets the tone early. As good as Side A is, the song isn’t halfway over before it’s clear what the future looks like for New Order.
That record turns 40 tomorrow, and I think it’s pretty clear that the future for the band did indeed include a lot of 808 synths and an overindexing on digital. I’m not mad about that, but it also included a lot of internal strife and the eventual fracturing of the band, with bassist Peter Hook advocating for a more analog sound and the rest of the band determined to follow the muse they’d first heard thundering out of clubs in NYC. The cracks really first start to appear here.
Hook is now performing with a supporting band, Peter Hook and the Light. Meanwhile, recent health issues have sidelined Gillian Gilbert and, by association, Stephen Morris, leaving frontman Bernard Sumner as the last original touring member. It’s a real Ship of Theseus situation, and, if I’m honest, for two people so at odds with one another, there’s not much daylight between what Messrs. Sumner and Hook are currently doing. One history, two ways. So be it. I guess this is my way of both plugging a great band and saying: get out and see yours while you can.
And listen to Brotherhood! Turning 40 tomorrow, it is no longer a kid, but what it does do—and does well—is hold up. For a record heading headlong into middle age, it sounds as good as it did the first time I heard it… as a kid.
In the above article, Morris talks about the band’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” and how it was initially grossly overlooked. He also talks about “Face Up” (from the band’s “Low Life” LP), which he loves but that fans met with indifference. You could’ve fooled me; it’s one of my favorites from the band, and arguably their best closer.
In my talk with Matty at WAIM, I mention another track from Brotherhood, “Weirdo,” and how anytime I get a new stereo, speakers, or even AirPods, it’s the song I use to first test ’em out. I don’t see that changing anytime soon; I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.
Onto the music:
“Face Up” and “Weirdo” are both here, as is “Way of Life,” which was initially slated as the record’s “breakout” single (You didn’t really think I wasn’t gonna try to squeeze a third New Order track on here, did you?). But there’s also much newer stuff, including the latest from community favorite Lydia Loveless, Julia Jacklin, and Nathan Kendall. We’ve also got one from Louisville’s Future Fossils that, if you’re not careful, will melt your speakers, and one from the Klittens. Isa Heller’s also here, closing things out with a sticky groove in “Wildflower.”
Speaking of closers, besides “Face Up” and Wildflower, there are a couple of others here. Over at The Runout Grooves, our friend Mitchell Stirling is running a survey on the best closers of the 2000s, and to say they’ve been on my mind and in my ears would be an understatement. If you’ve got a second, check out the survey and vote for your favorites. I can almost guarantee a couple will still be in your heavy rotation, and maybe some you’ve completely forgotten about.
If you’ve got some thoughts on closers, New Order, or anything else on this list, I’d love to hear them.
And if some random kids show up in the chat, be cool!
KA—
The Playlists: | Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music | Tidal (NEW) |
Now it’s your turn.
What’s been exciting you lately? Any releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!
