Oh 80s, how I love and hate that I grew up in your giant bang/legwarmer/off-the-shoulder culture. Some things never go out of style (especially according to Urban Outfitters)—even though they probably should—but even though my fashion sense evolved, my taste in music has stayed pretty much the same. Sure, I find bands I like now, but for the most part it’s because they all remind me of the bands I loved when I was a teenager.

Lace up your Docs and dive into a pile of nostalgia as I run through three albums that helped get me through the confusion and terror of my high school years, and which I still play on repeat 20-something years later.

The Cure: Disintegration
Affectionately (?!) titled  “the wrist-slitting album” by my group of constantly black-clad Goth-y friends, Disintegration is a depressing tearjerker of an album, meant for playing just after you’ve been dumped while you write long tomes of terrible poetry, burning that candle you shoved into a cheap Chianti bottle, next to the dead rose you still keep in a vase decorated by torn black lace.

The first strains of the opener, “Plainsong” tinkles in quietly, gradually building to an explosion of gorgeous notes that fall slowly, which make it the perfect sad movie song (major props to Sophia Coppola of sticking it into Marie Antoinette at just the right moment). And then Robert starts in with his mantra of heartbreak, and any hope you have of keeping it together totally crumbles. And that’s how the rest of the album goes: 12 songs of beautiful, amazing tunes focusing on love gone wrong, obsession, and pain. Even the strange “Lullaby”, about a frightening nightmare, is really about having your hopes dashed and your heart torn asunder. And everyone remembers sobbing through “Pictures of You”—while actually looking at photos of their exes, right? "I've been living so long with my pictures of you, that I almost believe that the pictures are all I can feel..." Oh Robert Smith. You get me. You really, really get me.

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Bad Lieutenant, the new band formed by frontman Bernard Sumner (Joy Division, New Order), guest drummer Stephen Morris (Joy Division, New Order), guitarist Phil Cunningham (New Order), and guest Alex James (Blur) has released "Sink or Swim," the first single off of Never Cry Another Tear on their MySpace page.

The song will be made available as a free download beginning August 28th and if you sign up as a member of the Bad Lieutenant mailing list at www.badlieutenant.net, you will receive the track as part of a mass mailing. The download will only be available for a limited time, and the album will not be released until October, so act quickly if you like it and you want continued access to it.

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This divorce is getting ugly faster than Brit and K-Fed ...

The New Order breakup/reunion/breakup saga continues!

Peter Hook issued a statement on his myspace page saying that he will take Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris to court if they try to use the name "New Order" for a band that doesn't feature Peter Hook. Sounds like he's none too pleased with the other 2/3rds of New Order saying they will continue on without his basslines and he ain't taking it anymore!

And just to remind us of better days, here's a "live" performance of "Regret" by New Order featuring the cast of Baywatch!

 

{Hat tip to NME for this news order}

 

New Order break up... for real this time?

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KEXP uber-DJ John in the Morning just completed a wondrous feat: an hour and a half of music all straight outta 1987. At first I thought myself caught in a timewarp, and then I wondered aloud, "who died?"

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Tales from a Brave Ulysses is a traveling epic through modern art, music, and culture. This week's installment: Power, Corruption, Lies, and Urine in Chicago.

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