Title: An Ideal for
Living: An History of Joy Division
Author: Mark
Johnson
Publisher: Proteus Books (original), Bobcat Books (reprinting)
Year: 1984
Publisher: Proteus Books (original), Bobcat Books (reprinting)
Year: 1984
I stumbled onto this
book at a local bookstore and quickly realized I'd found something
special. An Ideal for Living is an obsessively detailed book
about Joy Division and early New Order. It's been long out of print
and copies on eBay go for dozens of euros. The book chronologically
documents the bands from their earliest beginnings in 1976 until the
end of 1983. While we may have the internet today to compulsively
research and document every studio session and live performance of a
beloved band, in the post-punk heyday this task was left up to the
most hardcore of fans. This is a testament to that sort of
dedication. Apparently, Mark Johnson was both loved and hated for his
work: the band members were annoyed with his persistence and
plentiful errors, but fans can only marvel at the amount of
information in the book.
Most of the content of
An Ideal for Living takes the form of a combined gigography,
sessionography, and discography. Although the bands and some related
parties were interviewed, the text primarily describes notable
aspects of the live performances and recording details. Very few
concerts are left without some sort of note, and every show for which
a bootleg was available at the time is marked with an asterisk. (The
introduction humorously states that to obtain these bootlegs, just
ask around at the next New Order concert. Times have changed!)
Accompanying these notes, there are also over a hundred reproduced
photographs, most of which I'd never seen before.
There is one confusing
aspect to this: it is unclear where the most of the information
actually comes from. Sources are scarcely listed for anything except
the direct quotes from the band members, their associates, and the
local press. It would appear that the author attended many of the
gigs in question, and has heard bootlegs where available, but one can
only assume the rest of his information simply came from the fan
community.
In addition to the
comprehensive primary text, the other source of content is a series
of pseudo-philosophical essays that also go largely uncredited. With
only a few exceptions, they are only vaguely related to the bands in
question. Most of these essays are nonsensical and an utter waste of
space. They don't even do a good job of constructing mystique around
the music, which might have been welcome considering how
deconstructive the rest of the material is. Paul Morley is listed as
contributing "Faces and Masks", and he is likely the author
of some of these essays, especially considering his penchant for
abstract, irrelevant prose. I generally like Morley, and he seems to
like the same bands as me, but his writing often wanders too far off
course. At any rate, the authorship is never fully clarified.
While the book is fun
to peruse just to ponder the history, the author made no attempt to
maintain a consistent narrative. Information is simply presented
chronologically as it is available, and the book sort of awkwardly
trails off at the end as the material had to be wrapped up for
publication. There is also no attempt whatsoever to describe the
musicians' personal lives; unlike Deborah Curtis' Touching from a
Distance, family members and mental health are largely ignored.
In the few words that are used to describe Ian Curtis, his suicide is
considered a complete surprise, his depression is left unmentioned,
and his epilepsy is downplayed. This may have been the general trend
of the time, but with the benefit of hindsight, it's hard not to feel
like warning signs were certainly present.
While reading the book,
I tried to consider if this book is still relevant. It's a great
resource, but apart from being out of date (new audience recordings
have appeared since publication, and of course New Order is still
active today!), most of this information is now well-documented
online, on multiple websites, with additional details. The
sessionography and discography are also available in the booklet
accompanying the Heart and Soul box set. However, hardcore
fans may still appreciate having all of the material in print,
especially considering the photographs and the unique nature of many
of the incidental details of the various concerts. Considering the
limitations of the work and the difficulty in procuring a copy, I can
only recommend it to the hardcore, which is presumably for whom the
book was written anyway. It's a cool collection of information, but
not essential.
Score: B
References and Further
Reading:
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