Nostalgia, what’s that all about?

Coming back from my lunch today, I was kicking some leaves along the path and suddenly I was reminded of this.

 

It’s the cover of New Order’s single, True Faith from 1987 (FAC183 for all you nerds out there). I’ve always been drawn to this cover, as I repeatedly claim it’s the first single I ever bought. This is probably not true, but it’s the way I remember it and that’s the story I’m sticking to. The designer Peter Saville, claims that the inspiration for the cover came from a personal experience, while driving his car home shortly after breaking up with his girlfriend. He pulled the car over and stopped, as he was crying uncontrollably. At some point he took his head out of his hands and looked up, to see one autumnal leaf falling from the sky, coming to rest on the windscreen. So there you go, what has it got to do with New Order’s True Faith? Nothing! But I still think the two are intrinsically linked in some way, to me they were both made for each other.

When I was 12, I spent a summer in Rotherham listening to my cousin’s Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Pet Shop Boys singles, and suppressing an irresistible urge to steal a 7″ boxset of Jam singles that he no longer cared for. I finally managed to get some money together and went record shopping, but didn’t really know what I liked, or what I wanted. I was drawn to the cover of True Faith, and never looked back really. It was from this, and my brother’s collection of Factory/Joy Division records that I managed to backtrack through this era of music, and develop an unhealthy obsession for it.

The chances of True Faith being the first record I ever bought are slim, to none. It’s most likely The Wombles, or The Jungle Book OST, but for now I’m running with New Order and the leaf. But if I’m being really honest here, I can also remember the other single I bought that day, not so cool. Hysteria by Def Leppard. Oh well, 1 out of 2 ain’t bad. At least I’m honest! Nostalgia can be a cruel friend.

I wonder will the kids of today look back in the future, and remember with fondness the very first ringtone they ever bought, or the first song they downloaded from Limewire. Hmmm…..doubtful.

Nostalgia part 2.

I got an email from a colleague today, and someone called Jed was cc’ed on it. That immediately reminded me of this, a Grandaddy video made by a fan for one of their tracks, Jed’s Other Poem. I think it’s one of the best, beautiful, most haunting videos I’ve ever seen, and an amazing song too. Again, like above, they seem like they were made for each other.

What was the name of the guy who took a bite of a biscuit one day(a biscuit he ate as a kid growing up), and all these memories just came flooding back to him? He proceeded to write 8 volumes of memoirs as a result of one bloody biscuit! I feel like him today.

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