Queen - "Get Down, Make Love" (the song remains the same)

I'm still not the biggest Queen fan, yet I saw "Bohemian Rhapsody" again this weekend.  This time it was the "sing along" version at the Naro.  The previous time I took the opportunity to introduce you to Laibach, and this time I'll introduce the freaky side of Freddie Mercury that the movie hinted at but did not dwell on.

Everyone has heard of Nine Inch Nails (NiN) now, but when "Pretty Hate Machine" came out in 1990, it was revolutionary -- the first of industrial music that went mainstream and was accessible while still being menacing.  It sounds dated now, overtaken by the genre it helped create but in 1990 it was amazing.  Being a super collector, I got the "Sin" CD single  not long after the LP came out.  Aside from the three different version of "Sin" was the B-side of Queen's "Get Down, Make Love", from their 1977 LP "News of the World".  Not being a fan I never had this LP, and thus had never heard the song -- you certainly won't hear it on classic rock radio.

I was immediately struck by the NiN version and it was in high-rotation during many a 1990s party.  While it clearly sounded like NiN, it had an extra dimension that many of their songs did not.  Turns out, that's the Queen contribution (and Al Jourgensen/Ministry too!).

And as crazy, raw, dungeon-esque as the NiN version is... it's all there in the Queen version too, albeit with a sparser, non-synth instrumentation.  It's still pounding, steamy, and intimidating.  It's also the type of song that few performers could can pull off without sounding like a hollow parody of a rawk song.  Led Zeppelin (there are obvious similarities to "Whole Lotta Love"), Prince, maybe a few others... and Trent Reznor.

If you want to take a detour from the uplifting, Live Aid elements of the film and focus on BDSM elements they hinted at, then listen to both versions of "Get Down, Make Love". 

Queen - "Get Down, Make Love"
NiN - "Get Down, Make Love"


If we see the film again I'll have to blog about "Stone Cold Crazy", and although it's cool that Metallica covered it I'm sad to say I don't love it.  If we see it a fourth time, then I've got nothing.

Bonus link (just in case the BDSM link was not clear): 

NiN - "Sin"

(somehow this video snuck through the Youtube censors)

Joy Division - "Atmosphere" (the song remains the same)

"Atmosphere" might be Joy Division's best song, arguably even better than the popular "Love Will Tear Us Apart". The latter still gets airplay, but I don't recall ever hearing the former on the radio. JD fans know, of course, but the casual listener has probably never heard "Atmosphere".

A non-LP single, it was first released in 1980 as the A-side on a very limited release 7" "Licht Und Blindheit" and then later the same year as a double A-side 12" single: with the UK version having "Atmosphere" as the A-side and the US version having "She's Lost Control" as the A-side. Of course, most of us have it on 1988's compilation LP "Substance".

In many ways, "Atmosphere" sounds unlike any of their other songs. While still sounding desolate, it does not have the typical menacing, frenetic JD sound. As the name suggests, it has a soundtrack quality to it: slow, majestic, sprawling. The video evokes the same feelings, but I have to admit the hooded figures running through desert remind me of Jawas. I don't think that was JD's intent, but they can't claim prior art since the song came out three years after Star Wars.

The slowcore band "Codeine" does an excellent cover of "Atmosphere" which can be found on the tribute LP "A Means To An End - The Music Of Joy Division". Although I'll eventually review the LP, here's a spoiler alert: there are only a few gems on it, but Codeine's version is amazing. First, the slowcore sound allows Codeine to out-desolate JD: true to their name "Codeine", they have the Black Sabbath, slow-doom sound but without the distortion pedals. Second, although "Atmosphere" is best recognized for Stephen Morris's innovative drumming, the percussion is almost entirely removed in the Codeine version. I can only imagine the conversation went like this:

Q: "How do we honor the trademark drum work on this track?"
A: "We don't even try."
Q: "What do we do instead?"
A: "Play it even slower."
Q: "Do you feel sleepy too?"
A: "Yes."

Third, as if the above weren't enough, they slightly changed the lyrics. According to Shadowplay, in JD's version the third verse is:

People like you find it easy
Naked to see - walking on air
Hunting by the rivers
Through the streets, every corner
Abandoned too soon
Set down with due care
Don't walk away - in silence
Don't walk away

Codeine's version is:

People like you have it easy
Face like the sun - walking on air
Haunted by your face, every street, every corner
Abandoned too soon
Don't walk away - in silence
Don't walk away - in silence

Although I hesitate to go against Ian Curtis, I really think the Codeine version is better. I suppose it could have been a lyrical variation from Curtis himself, but the Shadowplay site would presumably mention if that were true. Codeine's changes to the song both expand and honor the original.

Peter Murphy (formerly of Bauhaus) and Trent Reznor (of NiN) also did a cover of "Atmosphere" on the "2006 Radio Sessions". And while I love the idea of a Murhpy & Reznor cover version, it is a pretty straight forward interpretation. More JD covers is a good thing, but their version doesn't push like Codeine's.

Joy Division: "Atmosphere"
Codeine: "Atmosphere"
Peter Murphy & Trent Reznor: "Atmosphere"

Bonus links:
"Dead Souls" (B-side of "Licht Und Blindheit" 7") (live version)
"She's Lost Control" (Alternate A-side of 12")