A difficult thing to describe. Joy Division was a product of a man tortured by his internal demons. To me, their music was never really about the usual topics. It was about the a desire for a just (yet unattainable) world given the barbarism of everyday life. If you're fifty, it may be trite idealism but to a teenager in the 1980s who could see the shallowness of it all but could not express it, Joy Division was wonderful. And because of Ian Curtis' suicide, that added to the authenticity and romance of it. Of course suicide is never something to romanticize and is a painful tragedy that leaves family and friends with wounds that will never fully heal. The experience of an adult eventually override the idealism of youth.

> The experience of an adult eventually override the idealism of youth.

You don't have to override it completely. Some hold onto a bit of both. Things can still happen you wouldn't anticipate.

Just commenting to say that you worded that very well. I'd have just linked 'New Dawn Fades'

I became a recent fan after catching a feature film [0] and a documentary [1] about the band. Worth a look and listen.

[0] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421082/ [1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1097239/

"24 Hour Party People" covers the music scene in Manchester at the time, including Joy Division:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274309/

It's good fun (apart from the obvious not fun bit) but nowhere as good as Control.

Mind if I ask your age and nationality?

EDIT: Maybe a more interesting question, can you give a couple of examples of your favourite albums/songs/bands?

50, American. I like rock, punk, garage, and some country.

So the punk thing didn't extend to British post-punk?

Growing up in the UK (born 1971) with an interest in an alternative music, Joy Division were just canon.

Love Will Tear Us Apart received significant airplay in the US, at least where I grew up in the 80s. Even if you’ve never heard of the band, you might know that one song: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zuuObGsB0No

I'm guessing you're from the Midwest. Maybe from a rural area. No way you've never heard of Joy Division if you lived on the coasts.

Please name some rock and punks bands you liked growing up.