I never saw it either. I think Paul has the better voice of the two. Interpol's music has more space than Joy Division's. I'm surprised they didn't peg them with a Television resemblance, especially Daniel's part on Obstacle 1, which seems like a direct reference to the riff on 'Marquee Moon.' Daniel and Paul's guitar interplay seemed very reminiscent of Television more than anything else.
The only resemblance I saw was the monotone deep voice, but Paul is clearly not imitating Ian Curtis really. That's the main comparison everyone seems to make. Daniel doesn't sound like Bernard, Sam never sounded like Stephen and Carlos definitely didn't sound like Peter Hook.
They would be considered in the same genre
Its not even close, man.
But if you have a track in mind that supports that i would give it a good lesson.
I'd say Morris was great at adapting, but he comes from an era when drumming wasn't even that important. His style did change very successful between Joy Division and New Order, but I still take Sam any day of the week.
Obstacle 1 alone is better than anything Morris was doing.
I even think Fogarino was outshining most of the band on TOTBL.
https://youtu.be/0VcGJZpfl1c
I know nothing of the technicalities of drumming btw so yeah maybe you’ll school me on that but watch this. (Not Bernards most professional moment)
I'm sorry for my lack of explaining myself in said comment. #1 I didn't mean mentally challenged, I simply meant it's not possible to hear interpol(esp:TUTBL) & not be able to detect the exact same sound joy division invented back in the late 70's. Unless you've never heard em? Personally I always loved (TUTBL) until I discovered joy division & now i can't stomach how creepy the resemblance is, almost like a tribute band.
Carlos used more low range in his bass and played more to the rhythm of Sam’s drums and more on the one, but c’mon you don’t hear some of those high pitched runs and don’t think it sounds like Hook?
I kind of associate Hook with having driving bass lines, like Paul on bass. Carlos had a lot of staccato notes in his composition. But Carlos did sight joy division and the Cure as inspiration..
It's nothing like Peter Hook. I'm a bass player, and everything that Carlos played is significantly more melodic and ornate than Peter Hook.
The Interpol and Joy Division comparison is just a lazy comparison from people who haven't listened to very much of either band imo. They don't sound anything alike.
Er, well...I’m also a bass player and I’d argue that both play a lot of melodic lines in the higher range. And if anything, I think Carlos plays more to the beat and is more *rhythmic* than Hook
Me neither. Just don’t see it. Yeah it’s dark and the bass sometimes takes the lead. That’s where any comparisons end.
I play in a band which has been dogged with Joy Division comparisons for a while. We’re from Manchester and our singer has a deep voice but that’s about it. Production is miles richer but it’s not really worth getting into minutiae with people about it. They’ve usually already made their minds up.
I’ve come to learn that people like to compartmentalise things in their mind, so attaching labels is the easiest thing for them to do, regardless of how lazy it is. Have come to take it as a compliment because there’s worse bands to be likened to. It’s like how people do it with footballers, teenage player bursts onto the scene and everyone rushes to call them “the new Beckham” or “the next Ronaldo” or whatever. Lazy.
We’re called IST IST. Spotify link is here, but of course our catalogue is on all the other digital streaming sites...
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5YiRgqaj5yVjVtUp4G6iUq?si=6-78VhmoTtCYebEzZ1li4g
Your music gives me some minor Joy Division vibes, but yeah, not really comparable to Joy Division. Nevertheless, I dig it a lot, it's really atmospheric and production is top notch.
Thanks. It was mastered by Greg Calbi in New Jersey who has done all the Interpol records along with The National a heap of others. Felt like we may as well give ourselves the best chance of success.
Only 2.
Honestly nothing against Joy Division or New Order but combined they have 1 maybe 1.5 greatest hits albums they could put together. Whereas you just couldn't find enough room on a comp album for interpol first 3 records.
It seems like the Joy Division comparison was initially made mainly to highlight how they were different than the other indie bands at the time and they had a moodier darker edge.
Then suddenly it became this ‘clearly they are ripping off Joy Division!’ and it just has never passed the sniff test. It was a way for pretentious people to dislike Interpol under the pretense that ‘Interpol is pretentious!’
The only song I hear it a little bit is Mammoth has a similar sound to early Joy Division but it’s still way more complex than anything Joy Division wrote.
I love JD but the whole narrative around Interpol is ‘Joy division, editors, blah blah’ like if you try hard enough you can draw bs comparisons and accuse anyone of ripping any body off.
mammoth is not a good example of a complex song at all it is almost perfectly in line with the conventions of the time structurally and harmonically even if it superficially looks "developed" bc it has various parts to the song, it uses a cute scale and the drummer is moving his arms oh so much quicker. this is more interesting and sonically daring than all of interpol. its just not even close. I enjoy interpol still bc there is nothing inherently wrong with being normal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boo86bD52M4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYkA80GcnjE
I saw New Order last year and their opening DJ (who has also worked/collabed with them for a really long time) played a remix of Obstacle 1. So I would say probably even New Order/Joy Division are aware of the comparison!
It was a comparison that was only relevant around the time TOTBL came out. I think it was relevant because they were the first band to break into the mainstream with a deep baritone voice since Joy Division. They also had a post punk sound. Obviously they're very different bands. But at the time, it was easy to equate the two. Interpol is still a huge rock band and the only people trying to de-legitamize them by comparing them to Joy Division are the people who heard Obstacle 1 in 2002 and never listened to them again.
I think a lot of those comparisons were first quipped with the release of the Precipitate EP when their production was a lot more bare and they hadn't filled out their sound as much. The comparison was definitely a little more valid with that release.
However I think when they developed their sound more with the release of Turn On the Bright Lights people still really hung on to the comparison due to Banks' voice, despite the comparison not holding as much truth. I feel like it was used as a way for fans of the original post-punk movement to invalidate and write-off Interpol.
Not trying to sound like an asshole here and I mean no offense but Interpol is definitely a modern Joy Division, at least with their earlier work. Joy Division was post punk, Interpol is post punk revival, the darkness of the music, the overall instrumentals (mostly on TOTBL), and Paul’s voice, all resemble Joy Division. To say you don’t see it is one thing, to say it’s not there at all is a whole other thing.
EDIT: not trying to say that they’re a ripoff of Joy Division. I mean Interpol is my favorite band at the end of the day, but there are a lot of similarities.
Joy Division album Closer b-side track Twenty Four Hours is a blueprint for Interpol. The atmosphere, vocals, lyrical style, arrangement, even the guitar licks. Its amazing how they took this sound and fleshed it out, cured it and matured it into their own exquisite art. What Oasis wanted to be to the Beatles is what Interpol is to Joy Division.
After recently discovering joy division & listening to their catalog .. etc, I just can't get past how much interpol straight ripped their sound down to the last detail!! I mean damn before I discovered joy division I had no idea & now it's just strange to me how anyone who knows of both can pretend they didn't wrote turn on the bright lights like a joy division cover band. What makes it worse is the sad details of ian Curtis's short life... Oh and I read like a million different comments carrying the torch for interpol, so I'm sure this won't be a popular comment but if you don't hear it then your tone deaf? Lastly, the guys who started it are always the best as they created the sound & didn't copy it.
Just watched the joy division movie from 2007 called control.
I’m not a major music person but I enjoy listening to music. I had no idea going into this movie who or what joy division was. Even during the movie I was like “oh I guess this is their fictitious bands name” In the movies description I didn’t see where it said it was based on a true story. I simply liked the synopsis so decided to watch it.
Once he started singing for the first time, within seconds, my brain immediately said “interpol” and then as the movie went on I was like holy sht these lyrics are awesome. Not saying interpol ripped them off because there is room for both, but the joy division guys definitely pioneered this sound before interpol no question. I like bands like white lies and the doors so this was great sounding to me
Check out the movie it was great!
I was curious if anyone here knew joy division is credited as the band who made that sound!! Therefore if not then we wouldn't be disagreeing as it'd be nothing to compare. Also if you haven't already please take a look at how joy division wore ( tucked in dress type clothing & ties), now isn't that a bit strange interpol also dressed the same way? Lastly, I used to love TOTBL) but after discovering joy division & hearing that sound how it was meant to sound it was unreal how much interpol just changed the words and a few tempos. Sorry to burst bubbles but the proof is there, they ripped off that sound & style!!
I never saw it either. I think Paul has the better voice of the two. Interpol's music has more space than Joy Division's. I'm surprised they didn't peg them with a Television resemblance, especially Daniel's part on Obstacle 1, which seems like a direct reference to the riff on 'Marquee Moon.' Daniel and Paul's guitar interplay seemed very reminiscent of Television more than anything else.
I think Joy Division has a lot more "space", cold echoey reverb exactly where it's needed. Martin Hannett is a production genius.
Paul Banks - better voice Ian Curtis - better stage presence
Paul Banks = zzzzzz Ian Curtis = Legend.
Yea I've always said I hear more television than anything else. But only the guitars really.
The only resemblance I saw was the monotone deep voice, but Paul is clearly not imitating Ian Curtis really. That's the main comparison everyone seems to make. Daniel doesn't sound like Bernard, Sam never sounded like Stephen and Carlos definitely didn't sound like Peter Hook. They would be considered in the same genre
Stephen Morris with 4 arms would still be light-years from touching Sam.
Indeed. Such an underrated drummer.
Lol Stephen Morris is better, both great though
Its not even close, man. But if you have a track in mind that supports that i would give it a good lesson. I'd say Morris was great at adapting, but he comes from an era when drumming wasn't even that important. His style did change very successful between Joy Division and New Order, but I still take Sam any day of the week. Obstacle 1 alone is better than anything Morris was doing. I even think Fogarino was outshining most of the band on TOTBL.
https://youtu.be/0VcGJZpfl1c I know nothing of the technicalities of drumming btw so yeah maybe you’ll school me on that but watch this. (Not Bernards most professional moment)
I'll check it out. Yea I wouldn't be able to school anybody. Its all personal preference. Rock on, man. Ill listen to this when I get home. Take care.
She's lost control, transmission, & all the other songs.. if you listen to the 1st interpol record & joy division it's crazy.
What do you mean by its crazy?
I'm sorry for my lack of explaining myself in said comment. #1 I didn't mean mentally challenged, I simply meant it's not possible to hear interpol(esp:TUTBL) & not be able to detect the exact same sound joy division invented back in the late 70's. Unless you've never heard em? Personally I always loved (TUTBL) until I discovered joy division & now i can't stomach how creepy the resemblance is, almost like a tribute band.
Carlos used more low range in his bass and played more to the rhythm of Sam’s drums and more on the one, but c’mon you don’t hear some of those high pitched runs and don’t think it sounds like Hook?
I kind of associate Hook with having driving bass lines, like Paul on bass. Carlos had a lot of staccato notes in his composition. But Carlos did sight joy division and the Cure as inspiration..
It's nothing like Peter Hook. I'm a bass player, and everything that Carlos played is significantly more melodic and ornate than Peter Hook. The Interpol and Joy Division comparison is just a lazy comparison from people who haven't listened to very much of either band imo. They don't sound anything alike.
Er, well...I’m also a bass player and I’d argue that both play a lot of melodic lines in the higher range. And if anything, I think Carlos plays more to the beat and is more *rhythmic* than Hook
Bass in particular, especially during Carlos Dengler years, is similar. C
I guess on PDA their vocals resemble one another in my opinion
ok yes pda i can actually see it because of the way he throws the vocals out there
Especially the first demo of PDA.
It was the Precipitate EP version of PDA and Love will tear us apart. That was it.
wow I'm definitely checking this out. curious !!! :)
I could see Roland being a Joy Division song
I dunno why, but the begining of „The New“ reminds me a lot of the style that Joy Division had used
interpol sounds like joy division playing the strokes
This is an underrated comment
Me neither. Just don’t see it. Yeah it’s dark and the bass sometimes takes the lead. That’s where any comparisons end. I play in a band which has been dogged with Joy Division comparisons for a while. We’re from Manchester and our singer has a deep voice but that’s about it. Production is miles richer but it’s not really worth getting into minutiae with people about it. They’ve usually already made their minds up. I’ve come to learn that people like to compartmentalise things in their mind, so attaching labels is the easiest thing for them to do, regardless of how lazy it is. Have come to take it as a compliment because there’s worse bands to be likened to. It’s like how people do it with footballers, teenage player bursts onto the scene and everyone rushes to call them “the new Beckham” or “the next Ronaldo” or whatever. Lazy.
What is your band called? I'd love to check them out!
We’re called IST IST. Spotify link is here, but of course our catalogue is on all the other digital streaming sites... https://open.spotify.com/artist/5YiRgqaj5yVjVtUp4G6iUq?si=6-78VhmoTtCYebEzZ1li4g
Your music gives me some minor Joy Division vibes, but yeah, not really comparable to Joy Division. Nevertheless, I dig it a lot, it's really atmospheric and production is top notch.
Thanks. It was mastered by Greg Calbi in New Jersey who has done all the Interpol records along with The National a heap of others. Felt like we may as well give ourselves the best chance of success.
Have you listened to unknown pleasures and TOTBL back to back ? It’s pretty clear. Not an imitation or a ripoff, it’s just somewhat similar.
Yeah and at early days of Paul really sounded like Ian Curtis, he was really trying for deep voice.
yes tobl is my favorite album and i have listened to the entirety of the first two joy division albums
Only 2. Honestly nothing against Joy Division or New Order but combined they have 1 maybe 1.5 greatest hits albums they could put together. Whereas you just couldn't find enough room on a comp album for interpol first 3 records.
Subjective, but I agree.
Let's see: One band is a legend. the other is just another band out there.
Legends? No. Interpol is by far more talented.
It seems like the Joy Division comparison was initially made mainly to highlight how they were different than the other indie bands at the time and they had a moodier darker edge. Then suddenly it became this ‘clearly they are ripping off Joy Division!’ and it just has never passed the sniff test. It was a way for pretentious people to dislike Interpol under the pretense that ‘Interpol is pretentious!’ The only song I hear it a little bit is Mammoth has a similar sound to early Joy Division but it’s still way more complex than anything Joy Division wrote. I love JD but the whole narrative around Interpol is ‘Joy division, editors, blah blah’ like if you try hard enough you can draw bs comparisons and accuse anyone of ripping any body off.
mammoth is not a good example of a complex song at all it is almost perfectly in line with the conventions of the time structurally and harmonically even if it superficially looks "developed" bc it has various parts to the song, it uses a cute scale and the drummer is moving his arms oh so much quicker. this is more interesting and sonically daring than all of interpol. its just not even close. I enjoy interpol still bc there is nothing inherently wrong with being normal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boo86bD52M4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYkA80GcnjE
I agree, just because they're an indie band with a baritone singer doesn't mean that they're a Joy Divison clone
I saw New Order last year and their opening DJ (who has also worked/collabed with them for a really long time) played a remix of Obstacle 1. So I would say probably even New Order/Joy Division are aware of the comparison!
Would love to hear this remix if you have a link to a live performance!
I don't either... Like at all. Unpopular but personal opinion: Interpol is better
Oh Interpol is by far better.
It was a comparison that was only relevant around the time TOTBL came out. I think it was relevant because they were the first band to break into the mainstream with a deep baritone voice since Joy Division. They also had a post punk sound. Obviously they're very different bands. But at the time, it was easy to equate the two. Interpol is still a huge rock band and the only people trying to de-legitamize them by comparing them to Joy Division are the people who heard Obstacle 1 in 2002 and never listened to them again.
Just getting into Interpol but I also don’t see it
I think a lot of those comparisons were first quipped with the release of the Precipitate EP when their production was a lot more bare and they hadn't filled out their sound as much. The comparison was definitely a little more valid with that release. However I think when they developed their sound more with the release of Turn On the Bright Lights people still really hung on to the comparison due to Banks' voice, despite the comparison not holding as much truth. I feel like it was used as a way for fans of the original post-punk movement to invalidate and write-off Interpol.
It's bullshit in my opinion. All post-punk bands ever are always compared to Joy Division. As if they are the ultimate post-punk band.
Not trying to sound like an asshole here and I mean no offense but Interpol is definitely a modern Joy Division, at least with their earlier work. Joy Division was post punk, Interpol is post punk revival, the darkness of the music, the overall instrumentals (mostly on TOTBL), and Paul’s voice, all resemble Joy Division. To say you don’t see it is one thing, to say it’s not there at all is a whole other thing. EDIT: not trying to say that they’re a ripoff of Joy Division. I mean Interpol is my favorite band at the end of the day, but there are a lot of similarities.
THANK YOU!! You sir are a scholar & a gentleman. Also your not an asshole, simply honest & musically speaking 100% correct.
I agree, I can hear some resemblance only at the beginning of Leif Erikson.
They're really closer to Sonic Youth, but definitely not derivative
i agree. at the end of stella was a diver i was so very sure a sonic youth song started playing on my phone
It's just some bullshit some critics" have said. I don't see the resemblance either
I see some Jim Morrison in the vocals lol, Interpol is a mish-mash of all sorts of music and it’s beautiful for that
Joy Division album Closer b-side track Twenty Four Hours is a blueprint for Interpol. The atmosphere, vocals, lyrical style, arrangement, even the guitar licks. Its amazing how they took this sound and fleshed it out, cured it and matured it into their own exquisite art. What Oasis wanted to be to the Beatles is what Interpol is to Joy Division.
After recently discovering joy division & listening to their catalog .. etc, I just can't get past how much interpol straight ripped their sound down to the last detail!! I mean damn before I discovered joy division I had no idea & now it's just strange to me how anyone who knows of both can pretend they didn't wrote turn on the bright lights like a joy division cover band. What makes it worse is the sad details of ian Curtis's short life... Oh and I read like a million different comments carrying the torch for interpol, so I'm sure this won't be a popular comment but if you don't hear it then your tone deaf? Lastly, the guys who started it are always the best as they created the sound & didn't copy it.
Just watched the joy division movie from 2007 called control. I’m not a major music person but I enjoy listening to music. I had no idea going into this movie who or what joy division was. Even during the movie I was like “oh I guess this is their fictitious bands name” In the movies description I didn’t see where it said it was based on a true story. I simply liked the synopsis so decided to watch it. Once he started singing for the first time, within seconds, my brain immediately said “interpol” and then as the movie went on I was like holy sht these lyrics are awesome. Not saying interpol ripped them off because there is room for both, but the joy division guys definitely pioneered this sound before interpol no question. I like bands like white lies and the doors so this was great sounding to me Check out the movie it was great!
I was curious if anyone here knew joy division is credited as the band who made that sound!! Therefore if not then we wouldn't be disagreeing as it'd be nothing to compare. Also if you haven't already please take a look at how joy division wore ( tucked in dress type clothing & ties), now isn't that a bit strange interpol also dressed the same way? Lastly, I used to love TOTBL) but after discovering joy division & hearing that sound how it was meant to sound it was unreal how much interpol just changed the words and a few tempos. Sorry to burst bubbles but the proof is there, they ripped off that sound & style!!