{
  "slug": "joy-division",
  "name": "Joy Division",
  "description": "Joy Division appears 3 times in our Post-Punk, The Eighties, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred lists, placing as high as No. 1. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.",
  "updated": "2026-08-29",
  "url": "https://waxonia.com/artist/joy-division/",
  "appearanceCount": 3,
  "distinctRecordings": 1,
  "years": {
    "first": 1980,
    "last": 1980
  },
  "highestPlacing": {
    "rank": 1,
    "list": "Post-Punk"
  },
  "appearsOn": [
    {
      "kind": "genre",
      "slug": "post-punk",
      "name": "Post-Punk",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/post-punk/",
      "entries": 1
    },
    {
      "kind": "curator",
      "slug": "the-eighties",
      "name": "The Eighties",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/theme/the-eighties/",
      "entries": 1
    },
    {
      "kind": "curator",
      "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
      "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/",
      "entries": 1
    }
  ],
  "tracks": [
    {
      "trackKey": "joy-division--love-will-tear-us-apart",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/joy-division--love-will-tear-us-apart/",
      "title": "Love Will Tear Us Apart",
      "year": 1980,
      "label": "Factory",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Peter Hook plays the melody on bass, Bernard Sumner plays the atmosphere on a cheap synth, and Ian Curtis writes the plainest lyric of his life. The genre's one unarguable pop record.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-eighties",
          "name": "The Eighties",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/theme/the-eighties/"
        },
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Joy%20Division%20Love%20Will%20Tear%20Us%20Apart",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=zuuObGsB0No",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": 1,
      "on": {
        "kind": "genre",
        "slug": "post-punk",
        "name": "Post-Punk",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/post-punk/"
      },
      "artist": "Joy Division"
    },
    {
      "trackKey": "joy-division--love-will-tear-us-apart",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/joy-division--love-will-tear-us-apart/",
      "title": "Love Will Tear Us Apart",
      "year": 1980,
      "label": "Factory",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Factory gave its bands the copyrights and had no contracts to speak of, which was ruinous as a business and is the reason this record sounds like nobody was consulted. The decade's most covered song, released by a Manchester club with a design habit.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "genre",
          "slug": "post-punk",
          "name": "Post-Punk",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/post-punk/"
        },
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
          "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Joy%20Division%20Love%20Will%20Tear%20Us%20Apart",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=zuuObGsB0No",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": null,
      "on": {
        "kind": "curator",
        "slug": "the-eighties",
        "name": "The Eighties",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/theme/the-eighties/"
      },
      "artist": "Joy Division"
    },
    {
      "trackKey": "joy-division--love-will-tear-us-apart",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/joy-division--love-will-tear-us-apart/",
      "title": "Love Will Tear Us Apart",
      "year": 1980,
      "label": "Factory",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "The bass carries the melody, a cheap synth carries the weather, and the lyric refuses every available metaphor. Guitar music's most perfect three minutes.",
      "alsoOn": [
        {
          "kind": "genre",
          "slug": "post-punk",
          "name": "Post-Punk",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/post-punk/"
        },
        {
          "kind": "curator",
          "slug": "the-eighties",
          "name": "The Eighties",
          "url": "https://waxonia.com/theme/the-eighties/"
        }
      ],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Joy%20Division%20Love%20Will%20Tear%20Us%20Apart",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=zuuObGsB0No",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": null,
      "on": {
        "kind": "curator",
        "slug": "the-desk-the-hundred",
        "name": "The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/"
      },
      "artist": "Joy Division"
    }
  ],
  "curates": null
}