Dead Souls (1980)
It's All Hallows Eve Eve and today's selection isn't your typical song about ghosts or spooky stuff, but it's pretty scary nonetheless. With Joy Division's "Dead Souls," the song details the inner torment of lead singer Ian Curtis and it was released only a few months before he committed suicide.
As detailed previously, the post-punk act had released an EP in '78 and debut album Unknown Pleasures in '79. Curtis provided moody lyrics and a deep baritone while fronting a killer band: Bernard Sumner on guitar and keyboards, Peter Hook on bass and Stephen Morris on drums. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was a hit and the band in March 1980 recorded their second album, Closer.
Also that month, Joy Division released the "Licht und Blindheit" (Light and Blindness) single, with "Atmosphere" on the A-side and "Dead Souls" as the B-side. The song was named after a 1842 Nikolai Gogol novel. The first two minutes are instrumental, powered by a circular Hook bassline; the band would use the long intro to size up the audience as Curtis did an odd dance behind the mic. Finally, at 2:12, Curtis begins to sing in a haunted tone.
"Someone take these dreams away/That point me to another day/A duel of personalities/That stretch all true realities/That keep calling me/They keep calling me/Keep on calling me/They keep calling me."
Sumner plays a Stooges-like riff behind him as Curtis maintains the creepy mood.
"When figures from the past stand tall/And mocking voices ring the hall/Imperialistic house of prayer/Conquistadors who took their share/That keep calling me/They keep calling me/Keep on calling me/They keep calling me."
Curtis' anguished vocals have been analyzed endlessly after the fact: Was he referring to his own personal demons or singing about dreams of historical figures? Whatever the case, it's both compelling and intense.
By this point, Curtis was struggling with epilepsy, exacerbated by a lack of sleep and long hours; he was having seizures more often, sometimes while performing on stage. In April 1980, he attempted suicide by overdosing on his anti-seizure medication. The band ended up cancelling a few gigs as Curtis recovered.
Joy Division was about to begin their first North American tour in May 1980, which Curtis had been enthusiastic about. But he was also feeling the strain of his marriage crumbling. The night before the band was to leave for the U.S., Curtis went home to talk to his wife Deborah, asking her to drop her plans to divorce him. He asked her to leave him alone in the house before he left the next morning to go on tour. After watching a Werner Herzog movie and listening to Iggy Pop's album The Idiot, Curtis hung himself in the kitchen. Deborah discovered him in the morning.
The remaining members ended Joy Division and formed New Order, which went on to become a success and is still going.
"Dead Souls" found some renewed popularity in 1994 when Nine Inch Nails recorded a faithful cover for the soundtrack of The Crow. The creep factor of the NIN version was boosted by the fact the band recorded it at the house where Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the Manson family; in addition, during the filming of The Crow, star Brandon Lee died after being shot by a prop gun during filming.
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