When we talk about a song having a groove, an entrancing repetition, it’s generally pleasurable. Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control Again has a groove but not in a fun way. The percussion and instrumentation lock into a repeating spiral that is cold, arid, compelling, compulsive, obsessive and centripetal. While the lyrics talk about a woman losing control again, the drums and bass line feel like they are doing their damnedest to hold it together. The tension builds, never resolving, until everything just… ends. The song is a black hole from which light, hope, life – and certainly not sound – cannot escape. Or a record capturing a needle on its periphery and channelling it to its centre via its groove.
Groove
Groove
Groove
When we talk about a song having a groove, an entrancing repetition, it’s generally pleasurable. Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control Again has a groove but not in a fun way. The percussion and instrumentation lock into a repeating spiral that is cold, arid, compelling, compulsive, obsessive and centripetal. While the lyrics talk about a woman losing control again, the drums and bass line feel like they are doing their damnedest to hold it together. The tension builds, never resolving, until everything just… ends. The song is a black hole from which light, hope, life – and certainly not sound – cannot escape. Or a record capturing a needle on its periphery and channelling it to its centre via its groove.