As discussed earlier, Pitchfork (“the Internet’s brattiest voice”) is unimpressed with Moby. Especially his New Order cover:
Laura Dawn is also a collaborator on the album’s most egregious sin, the track that drops Hotel from being mediocre dreck, easily quarantined and ignored, to something far worse. I’m talking, of course, about Melville’s cover of New Order’s “Temptation,” which takes the lovestruck dancefloor daze of the original and strips it down to nauseating Rhodes, preset, and canned strings slowcore. Suddenly, I find myself longing for the halcyon days of Frente!
Ouch. Bernie Sumner’s got a second opinion in the NY Times:
Moby just recorded a version of New Order’s song “Temptation” for his new album, Hotel, which he sent us for approval. The original is an up-tempo, almost danceable track, but it’s got a really emotive quality to the lyrics. (Don’t ask me what they’re about; it’s been so long.) I think it’s one of our best songs live, and I’d go so far as to say it’s my favorite New Order track of all time. I’m really glad Moby did a version of it. He slowed the track down and stripped it to its basic elements, and I think it really works. It displays the words and the melody in all their wonderful nakedness.
If you’re curious listen (REAL) to 30 secs from Moby’s version. And since y’all probably have New Order’s original, here’s a different version from the joint Radio 1/BBC2 program “Sight & Sound” (via treasure trove new-order.net)…
New Order’s new CD is out later this month, but you can hear it here now. They play NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom on 5/5.
Previously: Stereogum hearts Joy Division.
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Oy gevalt! Bernard Sumner shouldn’t talk about music. Especially post-1990 Bernard Sumner.
Fuck Pitchfork! They hate everything. I, for one, enjoyed listening to “Hotel,” and especially the New Order cover. Though I will admit it’s becoming pretty apparent that Moby’s never gonna be able to top “Play” anytime soon. I also downloaded New Order’s new album and, I have to say, it’s pretty sweet. Thanks for the live MP3, man!
the thing with moby is that he’s kissing ass so much he’ll be vomiting up bernard sumner’s shit soon. he recently appeared at barnes and noble in my lovely hometown of san mateo, california. someone asked him about covering “temptation” & he spoke about how when he & new order performed together HE had to teach THEM how to play THEIR songs. & how HE was the first one to play the song since ian curtis was alive. blah blah blah, the recorded version isn’t even that great.
I’m digging this Waiting for the Siren’s Call. And Moby is a douche. He’s electronic music for people who don’t want to take the time to discover better stuff, and instead buy what they hear playing at Starbucks. I dig his older stuff, back when his music was ballsy (Animal Rights, Everything is wrong) but man, what happened?
How far have we fallen when you can simultaneously “heart” Joy Division and Britney Spears and be taken seriously. Thanks Stereogum, for helping to turn indie-rock into a commodity we can now buy, sell, and trade. You fucking die.
Pitchfork is so much cooler than everyone else, they’ve transcended the need to proofread or factcheck anything they post. Once or twice I sent them corrections, but I don’t bother anymore. With the revenue they earn pimping goth porn sites, you’d think they could hire a high school graduate to teach them how to operate the English language. Sadly, grad school indoctrination seems to have deprived the Pitchfork staff of this ability.
Anyway, the notion of a record store not stocking a CD because some bored, pretentious fuck in Chicago was looking to make himself seem superior than the band he’s reviewing… let’s just say it’s not a record store I would spend any money at.
What I like about Pitchfork record reviews, despite the fact that their reviewers are all narcissistic, whiny, self-important, too-cool-for-school arseholes, is… oh, yeah: nothing.
No shit, Joey Headset. Great post!
I emailed Pitchfork when they reviewed the White Stripes’ vinyl-only single last year because they didn’t even review the right track. They reviewed “I Fought Piranhas” from their s/t as if that was the b-side on the single. Actually, the *real* b-side was a live performance of “I Fought Piranhas”/”Goin’ Back to Memphis” from a radio session at Electric Lady Studios in New York (2003-11-16). Lazy bastards never corrected the review. They probably just saw IFP on the single’s tracklist on the internet and figured it was the old album track. Perhaps because it was a limited edition, 7″ they thought no one would notice. I even offered to send the correct track…to no reply. Assholes.
They don’t even have a reader mail section anymore, so I guess they really don’t care.
Moby’s version is fucking terrible. I downloaded it out of curiosity, and absolutely hated it. He totally butchered the song.