Editing Joy Division (section)

=== Lyrics ===
Curtis was the band's sole lyricist. He typically composed his lyrics in a notebook, independently of the eventual music to evolve.{{sfn|Curtis|1995|p=74}} The music itself was largely written by Sumner and Hook as the group [[Jam session|jammed]] during rehearsals. Curtis's imagery and word choice often referenced "coldness, pressure, darkness, crisis, failure, collapse, loss of control".{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|p=110}} In 1979, ''NME'' journalist [[Paul Rambali]] wrote, "The themes of Joy Division's music are sorrowful, painful and sometimes deeply sad."<ref name="Rambali">{{cite magazine |author=Rambali, Paul |author-link=Paul Rambali |date=11 August 1979 |title=Take No Prisoners, Leave No Clues |magazine=NME}}</ref> [[Music journalist]] Jon Savage wrote that "Curtis's great lyrical achievement was to capture the underlying reality of a society in turmoil, and to make it both universal and personal," while noting that "the lyrics reflected, in mood and approach, his interest in [[romantic literature|romantic]] and [[science-fiction literature]]."<ref name="savageguardian">{{cite web|last1=Savage|first1=Jon|title=Controlled chaos|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/may/10/popandrock.joydivision|website=The Guardian|date=9 May 2008 |access-date=21 March 2016}}</ref> Critic [[Robert Palmer (American writer)|Robert Palmer]] wrote that [[William S. Burroughs]] and [[J. G. Ballard]] were "obvious influences" to Curtis, and Morris also remembered the singer reading [[T. S. Eliot]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Palmer |first=Robert |date=August 1988 |title=The Substance of Joy Division: A Talk with New Order |magazine=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]}}</ref> Deborah Curtis also remembered Curtis reading works by writers such as [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], [[Franz Kafka]], and [[Hermann Hesse]].<ref name="savageguardian"/>

Curtis was unwilling to explain the meaning behind his lyrics and Joy Division releases were absent of any lyric sheets.<ref name="Rambali"/> He told the fanzine ''Printed Noise'', "We haven't got a message really; the lyrics are open to interpretation. They're multidimensional. You can read into them what you like."{{sfn|Curtis|1995|p=75}} The other Joy Division members have said that at the time, they paid little attention to the contents of Curtis's lyrics.<ref name="Lester"/> In a 1987 interview with ''[[Option (music magazine)|Option]]'', Morris said that they "just thought the songs were sort of sympathetic and more uplifting than depressing. But everyone's got their own opinion."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Woodard |first=Josef |date=November 1987 |title=Out from the Shadows: New Order |magazine=[[Option (music magazine)|Option]]}}</ref> Deborah Curtis recalled that only with the release of ''Closer'' did many who were close to the singer realise "[h]is intentions and feelings were all there within the lyrics".{{sfn|Curtis|1995|p=139}} The surviving members regret not seeing the warning signs in Curtis's lyrics. Morris said that "it was only after Ian died that we sat down and listened to the lyrics{{nbsp}}... you'd find yourself thinking, 'Oh my God, I missed this one'. Because I'd look at Ian's lyrics and think how clever he was putting himself in the position of someone else. I never believed he was writing about himself. Looking back, how could I have been so bleedin' stupid? Of course he was writing about himself. But I didn't go in and grab him and ask, 'What's up?' I have to live with that".<ref name="Lester"/>
{{quote box
| quote = "I saw three attacks, and it was always two-thirds of the way through a set ... it came to a point where in the last year, you'd watch the group and suddenly you'd feel Ian may be dancing great and suddenly really great. [[Peter Hook|Hooky]] and [[Bernard Sumner|Barney]] would be looking nervously at the stage and you could see what was going through their minds ... for something was happening within a set, doing what he did, that actually took him to that point, that actually overcame the drugs and made him have the attack."
| source = [[Tony Wilson]], reflecting upon Ian Curtis's seizures while performing live with Joy Division.{{sfn|Curtis|1995|p=114}}
| width = 30em
}}