Welcome back! So, last week we rang in the New Year with an Under Cover: New Order (for a New Year) Edition promising it would be a two-parter. Let’s face it, kids. When it comes to goodass music, it’s always best to super-size it! And when dealing with such a great band, sometimes one post isn’t nearly enough.  While ”Bizarre Love Triangle,” “Ceremony” and “Blue Monday” are incredible tracks, they only represent some of New Order’s best musical offerings.  And there’s more… much, much more!
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“Regret” by New Order (1993):
My earliest memory of falling in love with this song was back in the early 90s, specifically the first time I heard/saw the video for it at like 3am on VH1 or something. The pictorials were beautiful, the visuals were bright and stunning, the flashes of light and color completely captivated me, and the lyrics and music were so incredible… it was unlike anything I had ever heard before and completely woke me from my zombie-like state, leaving me preoccupied to find out where I could hear more. This was the pre-internet days, so researching music was much harder. A pre-pubescent, self-professed music guru, I already knew who New Order was, but their catalogue is so diverse that I wouldn’t have automatically recognized them, considering most of their tunes around then were on the electronica tip and not nearly as guitar-driven as this. But I figured it out and a life-long love affair began.
“Regret” is incredible from start to finish, whether it’s the flash of synth coupled with the plaintive guitar riff in the intro, the earnest lyrics, lead singer Bernard Sumner‘s catharctic vocals, or the lush musical outro. And I couldn’t possibly narrow down my favorite lyric or chorus (they alternate, but each is poetic), but the closing “Just wait ’til tomorrow / I guess that’s what they all say / Right before they fall apart” always kills me. And for those who enjoy fun facts– not only was this one of New Order’s biggest hits, but it simultaneously topped Modern Rock Charts as well as Hot Dance Music charts, a rare feat for rock n’ roll songs.  Yeah.
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The Get Up Kids cover (2001):
Mama always said “Beware of kids who don’t like the Get Up Kids.” Okay fine, she didn’t really say that, but I’ve learned that anyone who loves the GUK as much is usually a person worth knowing (and loving). Apart from soundtracking my entire college career, their seminal emo-meets-indie sound borrows heavily from 80s downer pioneers and front runners, such as New Order. Paying homage on their compilation record Eudora (get this, it rocks), the GUK put out their own version complete with their signature style: knob-twisting, whiny vocals and background yelps, keyboards, ambitious guitar, and they close out their track with this upbeat synth I can’t get enough of. This track is a must for your collection if you dig the GUK, New Order, covers, or just great music.
website | myspace | 2008 reunion show
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Marsheaux cover (2006):
Okay, I admit this track may single-handedly make me lose any kind of music cred I actually have or purported to have, but I found this “interesting” cover track by accident and thought I’d share it for some of our readers who don’t dig guitar-driven shit as much as myself. Once you get past the point of wanting to kill yourself after facing the inevitable music identity crisis that will likely surface if you legitimately enjoy this cover, it’s not all bad. Greek synthpop duo Marsheaux clearly have a jones for electronica since they covered “Regret” on their album called (are you ready for this?) Peekaboo. While this song (even if it were an original) doesn’t exactly make me want to break plates on the floor and scream “Opa!” it’s a relaxing tune for elevator music for hipper companies with good taste in music (i.e.- no Kenny G allowed). If you dig this, they actually cover When In Rome‘s “The Promise” on their album, too. I’m actually kinda curious to hear how that one turned out? (j/k! Well, not really. Or am I? Ugh, kill me.)
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“Age Of Consent” by New Order (1983):
Sometimes a song is so great that I don’t want to write wh it is, I’d much rather make my readers turn it on and figure out their own reason why they love it, or don’t love it (inconceivable!). If it helps, one night my best friend Shaun and I were driving home after an indie show and this was the only song we could agree to listen to (3 times, I believe) on his iPod. We were so excited and happy that we also spent a considerable amount of time discussing which points of the song we both love (**).  The guitar loop is so pretty, the lyrics are touching, the vocals pull you in as if you, too, are going through the same thing and singing a song about how you’re feeling is your only salvation. Maybe doctors should bypass the meds and prescribe listening to “Age Of Consent” to their manic-depressive patients since it makes you want to laugh, cry, be high, be low, and celebrate life all at once. And by song’s end, all the emotions kinda/sorta cancel each other out and everything turns out fine.
Grant-Lee Phillips cover (2006):
It was only a matter of time I featured a worthy acoustic cover, so why not start with Grant-Lee Phillips? If you’re a big fan of Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) or even Neil Young, you’ll probably brake for this version since Phillips would probably be their musical love child if they ever mated. All three singers share that same vocal sincerity, huskiness, and drawl. This cover differs greatly from the original in tempo, style, genre, vocal delivery, yet keeps the same beautiful sadness in tone. If you love this, check out the rest of his 80s covers on his album nineteeneighties. Selecting some of my favorite tracks from bands like the Psychedelic Furs, The Church, Nick Cave, and The Cure, Phillips compiled a pretty amazing acoustic cover collection for any 80s downer music enthusiast.
Honorable mentions “Age Of Consent” I highly recommend:
-The Arcade Fire‘s live cover. They replace the synth with violins!
-The Envy Corps live cover. Standard cover, done well.
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** For those who are curious/equally geeky, those favorite parts of “Age Of Consent” are: the “ooh ooh” at 3:22, the “I’ve lost you” (x 5) lyric whispered three times, the sweet whimpering at 3:50, and guitar splices at 4:14. Oh, and the entire song too.
