What is LJ listening to?

These days, I'm listening to the 2nd (and last) album by one of the most influential British bands of the late 70's. The music was rhythmic, the lyrics were introspective and tended to be sad and painful. And they had an event occur that usually cements the on-going legacy of a band - tragedy. They were THE band of the post-punk era; they were major influences of bands ranging from U2 to The Cure. Their live shows were a bit different, from the lack of lighting to the lack of stage banter to the audience. The cd I'm listening to is a remastered reissue, which includes a cd of one of their last live performances (recorded in February 1980). What is striking is that while the songs on the studio albums are very melodic and clean, they actually preferred the raw, aggressive and loud style you hear on the live cd. The band is Joy Division - the cd is "Closer".

My favorite songs are "Twenty Four Hours", "Isolation", and "Passover". After their lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide just before their first US tour, the band changed their name (and musical style) to New Order. One of the greatest songs of the rock era, "Love Will Tear Us Apart", was released just after the suicide of Curtis. And for anyone that is interested, "Control" was a biographical film of Ian Curtis released in 2007. It is very good and the actor (who I don't recall at this moment) who played him did a great job.