Under Review
Label: Sexy Intellectual DVD
WorkNameSort: Under Review
First, the good news: No Sinbad. No Kathy Griffin. No Carlos Mencia making rope jokes. Now, the bad news: No Joy Division. Well, no uncut Joy Division ‘ just enough of a sampling to whet the appetite for the real thing. In fairness, anyone indulging themselves in this 70-minute ‘independent critical analysisâ?� DVD has probably collected the band’s material and knows something about them. However, it is a picture of the band on the cover of this DVD package, not British journalists Barney Hoskyns, Pat Gilbert and David Stubbs, who are actually featured speaking. They do a presentable job. None resort to the VH1 schtick of trying to appear too clever, and each addresses the songs and issues of the time with a balance that seems practically quaint juxtaposed against the mind-melting rancor that passes for discourse on cable news. Hardly indispensable ‘ six minutes of a hissy, noisy audio-only Ian Curtis interview as a ‘bonusâ?�? ‘ but for the hard-core devotee, it’s something to consider.
This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2006.