Outis

Last night I went to a bar in L.A. for the first time, I think, since we returned to the U.S. after a year in Spain.

I was only slightly surprised to hear two Joy Division songs within a span of 90 minutes (the first being “Ice Age” of all things.) Like anyone else monitoring “indie music” these past five years, I know Joy Division is back, and then some.

Likewise, as a 33 year-old, I can understand how this short-lived but highly influential band would end up on a nostalgia mix that also included Siouxsie & the Banshees, Guns & Roses, OMD, X and The Cure.

Got it. But here’s my question: Why? Why was Joy Division so influential? Why does that band and that sound still resonate in a Los Angeles bar filled with 25-35 year-olds? That is, with people likely born after the songs in question were written.

Clarity of sound and purpose, OK. Bold repurposing of familiar elements. Check. But there’s got to be more to it, I think.

(Or, maybe, I’m damaged goods: having heard and been shaped by this group’s songs at the age of 13, I can’t help but have a visceral reaction to Ian Curtis’ voice and lyrics, to the cold chamber in which the instruments were placed or the deceptive simplicity of the melodies.)

In which case, maybe I was having my own little listening party while others were thinking: “I wish they would play some Judas Priest.”

Soundtrack here.

From the BBC, Attack on Iraqi market kills 48:

In the past 24 hours, almost 100 Iraqi civilians have been killed in violence across the country.

According to the CIA Factbook, Iraq has a population of 26,783,383.

The U.S. population is more than 10 times larger at an estimated 298,000,000.

Thus, over the 24 hours, the U.S. equivalent of more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq, casualties to a horrific civil war we, the U.S., through our leaders’ wilfull lack of planning and concern, helped unleash.

Heckuva job!

“You are going to be the proud owner of 25 million people,” he told the president. “You will own all their hopes, aspirations, and problems. You’ll own it all.” — Colin Powell, United States secretary of state

Fun with the “burst mode” of my new camera.

Larger version (1.6mb)

Bonus: Look! Down on the ground! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Cicciolini! Also available in a larger version (1.7mb)

I neglected to include the movie by the same name on my list of movies my friend Chris should watch. So, Chris, put it at the top of your list. You won’t regret it.

Update: Oh, and, also, Punch-Drunk Love which is magical.