Unplugged. Out of Control. Depressing. Gloomy.

... These are the words to describe what I've been listening to and what I've been watching. No, I'm not sad. I'm not depressed, not really. It's the Holiday time of year and I can't wait to hang out with my relatives and eat eat eat...

but over the past couple of days, I've enjoyed the dark, gloomy side of life watching some rather depressing films of music icons; anti-heroes.

The first of which is the newly released Anton Corjbin film, "Control." The film was named after Joy Division's song, "She's Lost Control" which is terrifyingly what happened with Ian Curtis's life, the main character of the film, and lead singer and song writer for the influential post-punk band, Joy Division. For those who don't know of them, following Curtis' suicide in 1980, the three remaining members dissolved their band name, and started anew under the title of "New Order." Now, I'm sure you have heard of them....

Joy Division was the guiding light for the post-punk rock scene of the late 70s and early 80s, and the easily the main influences of today's popular alternative music from bands like Interpol, British Sea Power, The Hives, Franz Ferdinand, and the Killers, who cover Joy Division's "Shadowplay" for the film's soundtrack...

but the film isn't all about the band. It's about the life and dreams.... and depression of Curtis. On the outside, he's got a rising rock star career, a legion of devoted listeners, and even has been on John Peel's BBC radio... but on the opposite side is a normal Manchester kid who's battling epilepsy, suffering through a falling apart marriage and an affair, and all the guilt that it brings...

It's an interesting story, and Corjbin films it in film noir style which makes it even more captivating. There's plenty of good music, and Sam Riley not only looks like Ian Curtis but plays the role very well. He even sings... :)

http://www.controlthemovie.com/

Sam Riley as Ian Curtis

Then there's the other DVD I recently purchased.... Nirvana's landmark MTV Unplugged performance in New York on November 18, 1993. Everyone's heard this performance before, I'm sure, but it was finally released on DVD this Tuesday. It features the set in its entirety and unedited.

It's freakin' brilliant. It's also painful, depressing, and heart wrenching to watch. I don't think I've been moved by any concert DVD this way. The Muse Hullabaloo DVD definitely made me excited and ecstatic, and the Flaming Lips DVD made me smile, but Nirvana's live performance just makes me want to weep.

The performance is uncanny. The side of Nirvana seen here, and mostly Kurt Cobain, is so raw and so powerful, but in a completely different way then their normal electric guitar, punk, grunge sound... we're talking unplugged, acoustic here. And its fantastic.

Yada yada, i'm sure this has been read about, heard of, and whatnot so many times, but I just have to say how great this set is.

And yea, during the performance of "Pennyroyal Tea" where Kurt decides at the last second to do it solo.... it made me almost shed a tear. Maybe I did. It was that powerful.

Kurt Cobain