"Transmission" is a song by English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

. Originally recorded in 1978 for the band's aborted self-titled album, it was later re-recorded the following year at a faster

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

and released by record label

Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...

as the band's debut single.

Release

"Transmission" was released on 7" vinyl in October 1979 by record label Factory. It was re-released as a 12" single with a different sleeve in December 1980. The single charted twice in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, debuting at number 2 in September 1981 and re-appearing again at number 24 in July 1984. The song was performed once by the band on television, for the BBC ''Something Else'' programme. Twenty seconds of the song is shown in the movie ''Control'' (2007), directed by Anton Corbijn, a film based on the biography of Ian's wife, Deborah Curtis's ''Touching from a Distance''.

Reception

Greil Marcus has a chapter on this song in his book ''The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs''. According to Marcus, "'Transmission' is not an argument. It's a dramatization of the realization that the act of listening to the radio is a suicidal gesture. It will kill your mind. It will rob your soul." Marcus also quotes the band's bassist Peter Hook about the importance of this song: "We were doing a soundcheck at the Mayflower, in May, and we played 'Transmission': people had been moving around, and they all stopped to listen. I realized that was our first great song."

Legacy

In May 2007, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' magazine placed "Transmission" at number 20 in its list of the 50 "Greatest Indie Anthems Ever", one place below "

Love Will Tear Us Apart "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock band Joy Division, released in June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis's marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was released the m ...

". In 2016,

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

placed "Transmission" at number 10 in its list of "The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s".

Cover versions

"Transmission" has been covered by: Low (on its EP '' Transmission'');

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

(as well as by frontman Peter Murphy on his solo tours);

Innerpartysystem Innerpartysystem (often stylized as InnerPartySystem) is an American electronic rock band. The group consists of Patrick Nissley, Jared Piccone and Kris Barman. The band is well known for their live performance lighting largely by Andrew Nissle ...

;

The Weather Station The Weather Station is a Canadian folk music band fronted by Tamara Lindeman, formed in 2006. The band membership has changed over the years, and as of 2022 includes Lindeman (lead vocals, piano), Ben Whiteley (bass), Johnny Spence (keyboards), ...

;

Girl in a Coma Girl In a Coma was an American indie rock band from San Antonio, Texas, United States, formerly on Joan Jett's Blackheart Records label. The band consisted of Nina (vocals/guitar), Phanie Diaz (drums) and Jenn Alva ( bass). The name is a refer ...

; and Hot Chip on the 2009 War Child charity album ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

''. It was played by

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...

on their '' Adore'' Tour in 1998, with performances of the song usually lasting from 15 to 25 minutes. It was also covered by the cast of ''

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

'', a biographical film about the life of Ian Curtis. In 2009, the song was covered by Russian post-punk group Последние танки в Париже as "''Радиоволна''", in 2012 by Italian black metal band

Forgotten Tomb Forgotten Tomb is an Italian metal band from Piacenza. It was founded in 1999 by Ferdinando "Herr Morbid" Marchisio as a one-man black metal project after the disbanding of his previous black metal band Sacrater. The lyrical themes of the band's ...

, by Nomeansno, and by

BadBadNotGood BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski. In 2016, they w ...

with the song " Mass Appeal" on their debut album, '' BBNG''.

Track listing

Both tracks written by Joy Division. ; 7"/12" # "Transmission" – 3:36 # "Novelty" – 3:59

Notes

References

External links

* * * Usage in film and television: se
"Joy Division - Soundtrack. 'Transmission'"
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{Authority control 1978 songs 1979 debut singles Joy Division songs Songs written by Bernard Sumner Songs written by Peter Hook Songs written by Stephen Morris (musician) Songs written by Ian Curtis Songs about dancing Songs about radio Factory Records singles Song recordings produced by Martin Hannett