Winter has hit hard these last few days. The drafts are seeping into the house and walking the dog in the morning has lost its charm. The awful weather has coincided with the rotten news from Missouri and a growing sense of despair I have been feeling about the future. The combination of lack of sunlight and lack of justice has been a killer one.
Changes in the seasons tend to have a profound impact on me, and over the years I've developed an informal soundtrack of music that acts like a warm blanket when I'm not feeling all that great. Over the years I've found that very early New Order, circa 1981-1982, really suits the onset of winter. It has a kind of cold, distant feel to it and sense of mourning after the death of Ian Curtis, who had lead the band's earlier incarnation, Joy Division.
"Everything's Gone Green" is not one of the band's more famous singles, they still hadn't quite developed their sound just yet. I still love it, not least for Peter Hook's typically hook-y, melodic bass and the way that it combines hard, metallic drum loops with floating guitar and synthesizer textures. It's appropriate that the first words are "Help me, somebody help me." The repeated line "It seems like I've been here before" is poignant in a song I listen to with each returning winter. I don't know how many times during my two frigid winters in Michigan I sat listening to this song swathed in a heavy cardigan in my cold apartment with a cup of tea in my hand, looking out the window at the deep snow and wondering how the hell I was going to make it to springtime.
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