It's approaching that time of year that media outlets like to call "Blue Monday" - that is, supposedly the most depressing day of the year. The idea that the third Monday of the year is the most depressing comes from an advertising campaign, which claimed its results came from a hilariously flawed formula with no basis in science - yet every year the same articles crop up, and the idea of a "Blue Monday" persists. Even the creator of the day claimed to have disproved the concept - by going to the Cayman Islands - and it should be obvious to everyone that just because a day exists, it's not necessarily going to be the greatest or worst ever.
Should the 15th January this time around turn out to be particularly gloomy, however, there is one song I can rely on to cheer me up, even if it's not overtly joyful - that is, New Order's addictive single Blue Monday. It saddens me that the notion of a "Blue Monday" is higher than the song in Google's search rankings, even if it's just one Wikipedia link higher, but I'd have thought that the song would have been more popular. Either way, this is a review of the song, and I'll stop ranting about the date.
It's the perfect club hit, the kind that supposedly got Factory Records' Hacienda rushing to dance - and it's no wonder as to why. This song hardly sounds like early New Order at times, whilst also being clearly by the band - it's more ambitious and futuristic than anything they'd released before, driven by a synth-led groove and punctuated by Peter Hook's bass, whilst trumpet-like sounds mark the end of each verse. But the song gets great right from the beginning, what with the iconic drum opening - the only thing you hear for a few seconds; a rather atypical start to a hit.
The intro might be the best part of the song, as all the various synths start to come together and form a catchy disco-esque melody, one that's discernibly 80s, yet also somewhat sinister at the same time, not least due to a haunting sample from Kraftwerk's Uranium (itself from a bleak album - Radioactivity), alongside the gloomy bass riff which persists throughout - not unlike an excerpt from Joy Division. And its this mix of pleasure and anxiety which persists throughout the song, one which never truly takes a side - and that's probably why the song is so great, as it arguably makes the song unique amongst a sea of cheerful club hits. At times, the intro may even sound somewhat recognisable, as parts of Blue Monday are derived from New Order's lengthy piece Video 5 8 6, from which songs such as 5 8 6 from Power, Corruption and Lies are built on.
Yet everything then takes a backseat to let Bernard Sumner's vocals take control, with lyrics and a delivery which certainly aren't all bubbly. His singing is lecture-like, lacking the high notes scattered throughout Power, and he thus sounds disillusioned - and it makes the song even better, makes the sound seem even more "industrial" in nature. There's no chorus that's instantly quotable to be found, with synths filling in alongside a cold, unrelenting drum machine. Eventually, though, the lyrics come to an end completely, focusing on the word "cold", before we're treated to a crescendo, with every component now getting involved.
It's chilling and stunning at the same time, with every instrument playing the same programmed notes as before, and it's obvious that the song is certainly full of life - yet it's rather monotonous, almost mechanic, in the end soulless. Like a standard Monday, I suppose - and maybe the song is intended to parallel the dread one feels when they have to go to work again. Funny that it became a club hit.
Later remixes of Blue Monday made it even more obviously danceable, not that the original wasn't, most notably Blue Monday 1988, which I don't think holds a candle to the original. This version very clearly tries to be perfect for all clubs, with the song's gothic undertones partially stripped out and the intro cruelly cut - you go straight into the buoyant synths. Yet the fact that the song was being remixed many years after the song's release just goes to show how great a song it is, even if the remixes sway towards a more upbeat side. There's even this reworking using instruments from the 1930s, which is brilliant and the best reworking I've heard yet.
Blue Monday is one of those songs which still sounds exciting on every listen. So on any so-called "Blue Monday", I'm hoping for people to abandon the notion of that date, and to instead listen to this song - if anything, it would give the third Monday of January some more credibility which it so desperately desires.
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