"It's impossible to quantify the emotional landscape of a song-there's no judgment more subjective-but to my ear, "Ceremony" captures the drama of an unforgettable moment that feels like it's going to change your life forever, one where everything that's been is about to meet the future, and you can feel the unnamable tension of possibility swelling until it's about to burst."
"The immortal opening bassline, played on the next with a tension that sounds as if the strings might break, clangs like an alarm as if to say: listen: this is important. It might be the most liminal pop song ever created, not just in its affective pull but also in the story of how it came together, written as one dream began to die and realized only when another was being born."
"Though it would be New Order's first single and would define New Order's sound, "Ceremony" began as a Joy Division song. By early 1980, the Manchester foursome-singer Ian Curtis, guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook, drummer Stephen Morris-had been at it for almost four years and appeared from the outside to be poised for a breakthrough."
New Order's 1981 single 'Ceremony' represents a pivotal moment in music history, serving as both the final Joy Division composition and the inaugural New Order release. The song's distinctive opening bassline creates an urgent, tension-filled atmosphere that conveys the drama of transformation and possibility. Joy Division formed in Manchester in the mid-1970s following the Sex Pistols' influence, with members Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris developing a dark, distinctive sound by their 1979 debut 'Unknown Pleasures.' 'Ceremony' embodies the emotional and sonic transition occurring as Joy Division dissolved and New Order emerged, capturing the liminal space between endings and beginnings with unprecedented artistic power.
Read at Pitchfork
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