May 9, 2019
The Album: Joy Division Closer (1980)
Moby has been in the game for over three decades, making punk, electronic, alt-rock, dance, and everything in between. When we heard he was coming on Heat Rocks, we had no idea what album he'd pick, but we knew it was going to be some absolute fire.
Joy Division were pioneers, blending genres and helping create and popularize the sound that would become post-punk. Unfortunately, Closer would be Joy Division's final album. On May 18th 1980, just weeks before Joy Division's first tour in America, lead singer Ian Curtis took his own life. Factory Records released the album a few months later, and the remaining members would go on to form New Order.
We sat down with Moby to talk about post-punk, the wildly varied music scene on the East coast in the 80s, and the shift from Joy Division to New Order. We chat about Ian's deteriorating mental wellness and Moby's own experiences playing with New Order and covering Joy Division songs.
Grab a chair, this conversation goes deep.
Moby's new book, "Then It Fell Apart" is out now. Cop it at your local bookstore.
More on Moby
More on Closer
Show Tracklisting (all songs from Closer unless indicated otherwise):
Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
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