Peter Hook and Perry Farrell Play Joy Division’s “Transmission” Live in L.A.

Posted December 14th, 2010 by eric

I’m still a bit weirded out by the fact that Peter Hook is touring his former band’s debut album with a group of unknowns. That former band being Joy Division, whose legacy has remained untarnished all these years. It’s a questionable “tribute” to say the least. One can’t help but take the cynical view on this as some sort of shameless cashing in on a sustaining, legendary legacy. How ventures like this affect said legacy remain to be seen. That notwithstanding, Peter Hook and “Friends” played Los Angeles last weekend on the final night of the Unknown Pleasures tour, where Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell joined the band on stage for a version of the Joy Division classic “Transmission.” I have a mutually exclusive appreciation for both Joy Division and Jane’s Addiction (the former much more so than the latter), so hearing Farrell sing one of my favorite songs was somewhat underwhelming. He kept the histrionics to a minimum, never even venturing into his patented scream. So, his presence was in name only, as his performance was little more than a paltry mimic. The view from the crowd in the video is less than ideal, but the sound is decent. The following video offers a closer look of the same scene, but it’s only 33 seconds long. [via Slicing up Eyeballs]

Tags: video

1 response so far ↓

  • 1 K // Dec 15, 2010 at 3:39 am

    This is really shameless and transparent. He should be embarrassed.