Joy Division and the Fall represent opposite ends of Romantic modernism

Evidence

Both bands were dominated by forbiddingly intense vocalist-visionaries. But where Curtis was the depressive-neurotic, the end of the European Romantic line, Smith was the psychotic, the self-styled destroyer of Romanticism. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1108

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader project on affect and music criticism — Curtis as end of Romantic line vs. Smith as destroyer of Romanticism is a usable critical polarity. — connects to: Modernist ambiguity stems from a romantic refusal of objective commitment — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism: A Marxist…, 212; Romanticizing resistance collapses meaningful distinctions between its forms — Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival…, 76; Tale form replaced lyrical subjectivity in post-Romantic rock — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1109 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• The Fall’s album cover art staged a deliberate aesthetic war with prog rock #exemplifies (0.85) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1129
• The Fall’s aggression was formal disassembly of rock, not mere force #exemplifies (0.85) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1161
• Modernist ambiguity stems from a romantic refusal of objective commitment #corroborates (0.80) — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism, 212
• Tale form replaced lyrical subjectivity in post-Romantic rock #exemplifies (0.80) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1109
• The Fall’s Mark E. Smith treated England as a pathological poison and cure #exemplifies (0.80) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1142
• The Fall’s vocal polyphony was mediated through borrowed styles like Lewis’s telegraphic headlines #exemplifies (0.80) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1113
• Romanticizing resistance collapses meaningful distinctions between its forms #corroborates (0.75) — Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety, 76
• The myth of the Fall seeds the secular West’s capacity for horror #exemplifies (0.75)