The Complicated Legacy of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis in Times of Isolation [Video]

“Surrendered to self-preservation/ From others who care for themselves” — Joy Division, “Isolation”

I know I’m beholden to the perpetual motion machine of anniversary cycles because I’m the press, but what’s your excuse? Yes, it’s the 40^th anniversary of a day that was particularly grim long before there was any pandemic. On May 18, 1980, Ian Curtis died by suicide, possibly the most “famous” hanging in rock history, a morbid martyrdom that secured his legacy as the accidental inventor of just about anything goth. But that doesn’t mean you have to do something stupid like listen to Joy Division. Not here, not now, not at this time. This is a band whose most upbeat song is called “Isolation”. Why are you doing this to yourself?

One thing Joy Division did not do was romanticize this stuff. That’s one thing Curtis’ suicide proves, just like Kurt Cobain’s. Yes, Curtis’ exemplary post-punk band named themselves …