Line #5 Music/LowLife


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2_low_life_9.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''"Let's go out and have some fun."'']]
3	''Low-Life'' is the third album by English AlternativeDance group Music/NewOrder. Released in 1985, the album further explores the mix of PostPunk and SynthPop featured on ''Music/PowerCorruptionAndLies'' and its surrounding singles, bringing New Order into their signature brand of AlternativeDance (after having [[TropeMaker singlehandedly invented the genre]] with their single "Temptation" three years prior).
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5	This was the first album released under the band's U.S. deal with Music/QuincyJones' Creator/WarnerBrosRecords imprint, Qwest, giving the band much more American exposure than before. While the band had had earlier singles success on the dance charts and had built a stateside audience through touring, club, and CollegeRadio play, major label distribution allowed the album to be the first to make the Billboard charts, peaking at no. 94. Qwest would later reissue the band's earlier material as well as Music/JoyDivision's albums, which had previously been handled by Factory US and distributed by fellow indie label Rough Trade.
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7	Notably, this was the first of New Order's albums to have some of its songs released as singles; previously, Music/JoyDivision and New Order singles were recorded and released independently of studio albums.[[note]]"She's Lost Control" from ''Music/UnknownPleasures'' '''was''' included as the BSide to the "Atmosphere" single in 1980, but the version there was a more electronically-driven re-recording. The last true non-album single New Order released was "Be a Rebel" in 2020, with the band specifying upon its release that it's intended as a standalone track.[[/note]] For ''Low-Life'', "The Perfect Kiss" and "Sub-Culture" were released as both 7" and 12" singles, with the 12" ones containing extended versions of the songs. Specifically, the 12" release of "The Perfect Kiss" features it in its unedited format, clocking in at 8:46 compared to the album version's 4:51, while "Sub-Culture" received a club mix by American record producer John Robie.
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9	!!Tracklist:
10	[[AC:Side One]]
11	# "Love Vigilantes" (4:16)
12	# "The Perfect Kiss" (4:51)
13	# "This Time of Night" (4:45)
14	# "Sunrise" (6:01)
15
16	[[AC:Side Two]]
17	# "Elegia" (4:56)
18	# "Sooner Than You Think" (5:12)
19	# "Sub-Culture" (4:58)
20	# "Face Up" (5:02)
21
22	!!Principal members:
23	* [[Music/JoyDivision Bernard Sumner]] – vocals, guitars, melodica, synthesizers, electronics and programming, percussion
24	* [[Music/JoyDivision Peter Hook]] – 4 and 6-stringed bass, electronic percussion, backing vocals on "This Time of Night"
25	* [[Music/JoyDivision Stephen Morris]] – drums, synthesizers, electronics and programming
26	* Gillian Gilbert – synthesizers, guitars, electronics and programming
27
28	!!''Life was just an open trope'':
29	* AlbumTitleDrop: The album title is featured at the start of "This Time of Night", in a sample of British Journalist Jeffery Bernard. The sample is partly buried in the instrumentals and hard to hear, the result of Bernard's objections to the sample's inclusions, but it's still audible if one listens closely (or simply turns the volume up).
30	-->"I'm one of the few people who live what's called a low life."
31	* AlternateAlbumCover: Thanks to the unusual and expensive design for the UK LP packaging (swappable cards behind an onion paper overlay), releases across different regions and formats tend to get creative with how they carry it over:
32	** Factory's cassette releases feature the band logotype against a solid white backdrop, while Qwest's US cassettes feature the unaltered photo of Stephen Morris on the front and the band name and album title above it; both include the other band photos in the J-card foldout.
33	** Factory and London [=CDs=] in the UK replicate the LP packaging with jewel case-sized cards and a printed onion paper sheet, while Qwest goes for a gatefold booklet with the logotype printed directly on the front page; said booklet can be re-folded and reinserted as desired.
34	** Qwest LP releases forgo the overlay altogether and simply have the unaltered band photos printed on the sleeves, with the logo included on an obi strip.
35	** The Collector's Edition reissue also prints the band photos directly onto the digipak panels, though include the logotype on the front.
36	* BookEnds: The video for "The Perfect Kiss" begins with close-ups of the band members glancing at one another and the camera crew in preparation for their performance. It ends again with close-ups of the band members glancing at one another and the camera crew, this time gauging each other's responses to the performance (as the video had been shot in one take).
37	* CallBack:
38	** "Face Up" features the phrase "can you see your own dark face/it's dying in a lonely place," apparently referring to the BSide of the 1981 "Ceremony" single, "In a Lonely Place".
39	** The video for "The Perfect Kiss" has a Music/JoyDivision poster hanging in the background.
40	* ChangedForTheVideo: The music video for "The Perfect Kiss", directed by Creator/JonathanDemme, featured a live version, as the band refused to lip-sync. It's still faithful to the 12-inch version.
41	* {{Dedication}}: "Elegia", which itself is New Order's tribute to [[Music/JoyDivision Ian Curtis]].
42	* DeadAllAlong: The narrator's wife in "Love Vigilantes", and possibly the narrator himself depending on the listener's interpretation.
43	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The album cover and associated photos.
44	* DrivenToSuicide: Happens to both the wife in "Love Vigilantes" (upon receiving a telegram claiming her husband was killed in action) and the narrator's friend in "The Perfect Kiss" (whose state of mind collapses during a night out).
45	* EpicRocking: "Sunrise" clocks in at 6:01. The 12" versions of "The Perfect Kiss" and "Sub-Culture" are also pretty lengthy, clocking in at 8:47 and 7:26, respectively. "Elegia" was infamous for being ''nearly 18 minutes'' before being cut down to just under five for the studio album.
46	* EverythingIsAnInstrument: "The Perfect Kiss" includes a sampled interlude of frog croaks of all things, simply because Stephen Morris loved the recording and jumped at the chance to make use of it, as well as synthesized sheep bleats at the end of the 12" version. The latter sample would become an aural RunningGag on later New Order material.
47	* FaceOnTheCover: The only case of this in the band's discography thanks to designer Peter Saville wanting to take a break from "concept covers," and even then it's spun in an unconventional way: Polaroids of the band members appear as interchangeable cards that can be swapped around and slotted in onion paper sleeves. CD versions vary in their approach, with Creator/{{Factory\|Records}} and London featuring miniature versions of the cards and an onion paper overlay that slot into the front of the jewel case, Qwest using a re-foldable gatefold insert, and the Collector's Edition just omitting the effect altogether. [[http://petergabriel.com/focus/the-day-good-became-so/ According to Saville]], the band were initially reluctant to depict themselves on the front cover, but were convinced to go ahead with it after being impressed by the results.
48	* GratuitousPanning: The synth hits at the end of the intro to "The Perfect Kiss" jump between the left and right audio channels; these hits are actually taken from the song's B-side, "Kiss of Death" (the 12" version of "The Perfect Kiss" lacks them).
49	* GriefSong: "Elegia", dedicated to the late [[Music/JoyDivision Ian Curtis]].
50	* IdiosyncraticCoverArt: The sleeve for "The Perfect Kiss" repeats the wraparound text style seen on the cover of this album. This would set a trend of New Order's album singles having at least one piece of cover art that takes after the cover of their parent album, something they would maintain throughout their careers.
51	* {{Instrumentals}}: "Elegia", a wordless synthesizer & bass dirge.
52	* InTheStyleOf:
53	** "Sunrise" is a noticeable pastiche of Music/{{The Cure\|Band}}'s GothRock style, which the members of New Order had previously pioneered as Music/JoyDivision.
54	** The music video for "The Perfect Kiss", directed by Creator/JonathanDemme, is a straight PerformanceVideo done in the same manner as ''Film/StopMakingSense'', the Demme-directed Music/TalkingHeads concert film from the previous year.
55	* LastChorusSlowDown: Done at the very end of "Sub-Culture", where the tempo quickly deaccelerates to the point where the final chorus stops midway through.
56	* LastNoteNightmare: The 12" version of "The Perfect Kiss" ends with the sound of a synthesized bang, implied to be the narrator's friend [[AteHisGun shooting himself dead]].
57	* LyricalDissonance: This album marked the point where New Order really started dabbling in this trope, on "The Perfect Kiss" (which describes the narrator's friend going insane and killing himself) and "Face Up" (where the narrator angrily reflects on a failed relationship, openly resenting his former lover).
58	* NewSoundAlbum: The integration of PostPunk and SynthPop becomes even more overt than on the previous album, and the music overall sounds more concretely structured and danceable.
59	* NonAppearingTitle: As is the standard with New Order. The 12" version of "The Perfect Kiss" notably [[AvertedTrope averts]] this, featuring an extra verse not present in the album version where the narrator realizes that "'''the perfect kiss''' is the kiss of death" upon seeing his friend commit suicide.
60	* OneWordTitle: "Sunrise" and "Elegia".
61	* OutOfGenreExperience: Bernard Sumner noted the CountryMusic influences on "Love Vigilantes", something not otherwise seen in New Order's oeuvre.
62	* PerformanceVideo: "The Perfect Kiss", which notably features the band performing live (in the studio) due to Bernard Sumner's refusal to lip-sync.
63	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Despite being rumored to be about [[Music/JoyDivision Ian Curtis]], "The Perfect Kiss" is actually about an experience New Order had in the United States where a man they were hanging out with randomly showed them the collection of guns hidden under his mattress before going out for a night on the town.
64	* RearrangeTheSong:
65	** "The Perfect Kiss" is edited down from 8:46 to just under 5 minutes thanks to LP space limitations. The album cut axes the track's latter half, fading out prematurely, though compensates by swapping in the intro to the song's B-side, "Kiss of Death". The latter was likely deemed sufficient enough to keep the LP edit across formats even after more spacious [=CDs=] and digital releases became the norm.
66	** "Sub-Culture", meanwhile, got the exact opposite treatment, receiving a remix for its 12" release that edited some of the lyrics, incorporated soul singer backing vocals, and featured more club-oriented rhythms; ironically, the album version ended up being considered ''more'' club-friendly.
67	* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: One possible interpretation of the ending to "Love Vigilantes".
68	* RuleOfCool: The sole reason for the non-sequitur frog solo in the middle of "The Perfect Kiss".
69	* SanitySlippageSong: "The Perfect Kiss" examines this trope from the perspective of an outsider, specifically a mentally stable friend of the person going insane.
70	* SuddenDownerEnding: "Love Vigilantes" tells the story of an air force pilot in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar finally being granted leave after what is implied to be years of fighting. He gleefully returns home to his wife and child, only to find his wife dead on the floor, having committed suicide after receiving a telegram stating that the pilot had died.
71	* UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode: While ''Low-Life'' is by no means sunshine and rainbows, "Elegia" is far darker than any other track on the record, owed to it being an open eulogy for late Music/JoyDivision frontman Ian Curtis, whose death spawned the creation of New Order.
72	* UnusualEuphemism: "The Perfect Kiss" idiosyncratically describes jerking off as "playing with my pleasure zone."

Context Music / LowLife