The Blue Monday Code (New Order)
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- In 1983, New Order dropped Blue Monday, a track that didn’t just break musical boundaries-it came wrapped in a cryptic code. I decided that message and the entire Blue Monday Code before the solution was officially revealed, and in this video I show you how I did it. And I show you another unexpected cosmic gift that no one’s reported on-until now. And finally, I show you how to use the code to make music.
Sound sources used in this video:
Behringer RD-9
Behringer Pro-1
Behringer Model D
Behringer DeepMind 12R
#neworder
#bluemonday
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction to Blue Monday
01:08 - Personal connection to Blue Monday
01:40 - The bold artwork of Blue Monday
02:32 - New Order’s transformation
03:19 - The significance of the cover design
07:05 - Decoding the message: step by step
09:29 - Solving the FAC code
10:59 - Cracking the full alphabet code
12:28 - Revealing the final piece of the puzzle
13:04 - The missing colour
16:18 - Turning the Blue Monday Code into music
17:42 - And the music…
Probably the best 22 minutes I've watched on UA-cam. Thanks
Oh that’s amazing! Very kind! Comments like this help me get out of bed.
Define having a small life.
@@jedgould5531 😂😂😂 I take the point, which is well made!
I was just going to say the same thing myself 😂
Totally agree
Thank yóu for an amazing and surprising TED-talk about an album cover.
It was way more interesting than I expected!
Haha! Thank you! I was a bit worried that a lot of people would fall asleep with boredom 😂 So I really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :)
Excellent. What a great story. And such a surprise ending. Thank you!
Thank you! Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment ;) and for making it to the end 🙏
The winter evenings must just fly-by in your house 😄
😂Funniest comment ever 😂😂😂
@@DistortThePreamp BA!
the photo in the background changing when the color changes was a wonderful touch.
Thank you so much for noticing! I think you’re the first person to note this in the comments :)
Am very impressed that you even thought there was a code in there. Chapeau, sir!
Haha - chapeau 🎩 🙂🙏
I keep watching your videos because of your English pronunciation. Thank you for being so helpful to improve my English level.
Haha! That is an added bonus 😂
beware the 'transatlanticisms' !
eg. Ian Curdis / compuders / aesthedic / eighdy three .... edc edc 😀
This video/channel is what makes me happy to be alive!
That’s very kind indeed!!!
It's been sitting amongst my vinyl for 40 odd years. I always knew it had to have some meaning but never looked into it. Utterly fascinating. Keep making the content.
Oh fantastic! Very glad you liked it. Do you have the same cover as me?
@DistortThePreamp haven't pulled it out for years as obviously have in digital format as well, but from memory, it's the floppy disc version.
@@georgeb3383 Ah. Very posh.
Love Peter’s Themes at the end. Great video.
They turned out great, right! I was worried they would all sound dreadful, which I why I caveatee them so heavily. But in the end every one of them is listenable!
That was a "Godlike" video. WOW I rarely smile this hard from a video but dang, this one really tickled something in me in a very unexpected way. Much respect to you.
That’s completely awesome! The best response someone could ever wish for…
I was just thinking I would have been even more blown away if when converting the color sequence to music it turned out to play the bass line to the song
Yes, that would have been amazing! But I think that the reality was that the graphic designer Peter Saville was probably doing the sleeve without a huge amount of input from the band. I definitely didn’t understand this as a child.
The secret services like people like you! I have this record, with this artwork, knowing this makes me cherish it even more. Many thanks.🙏
Oh you are very welcome!
LOL.... I've had that sat there since 1983 and never once even thought about that as a code. I just assumed it was artwork based on those CMYK swatches you see in the gutter of offset printing. Genius!!! Fab video as always.
I was wondering if that’s what Saville was thinking about. One of the squares il almost certain is actually a printing error. And he would have probably had to get the printers to actually out the artwork together using traditional screens (70% Cyan, etc). You obviously understand print, and Saville would have routinely reviewed Cromalin proofs from the film (pre plate) and they all look like they’ve got the Blue Monday code printed down the edge 😂
@@DistortThePreamp :) In fact, every time I flatten out a box for recycling and see those printing marks, I actually think about that record sleeve :) Mine is floppy disk version... I had no idea there was a plain one. I think I prefer the plain one.
Really great episode. Thanks for that!
Thank you so much! And also thank you for calling it an “episode”. That is exactly how I think of them. :) 🙏
incredible video peter. this was truly a joy to watch. i was so sucked in to the world this video created. if i were your mom i'd be so stinking proud.
Could guess with “Peter” but that’s not it 😂 But I’m so glad you enjoyed the video! There are quite a lot of hidden tricks in it and it was huge fun to make.
This channel is really coming into its own. Great work!
Thank you so much! I’m having a day of rest!
I can feel your “eureka” moment. I had the same feeling when I decode the Morse code in Kraftwerk’s Radio Activity. And that was something very simple to do
It’s extremely satisfying! Like solving crossword puzzles
What a wonderul story. Thanks so much
Thanks Simon! Appreciate the comment :)
Amazing, an artistic flourish 40 odd years ago and we're still talking about it because its still interesting.
Yes. I don’t want to talk smack about current music, but it’s hard to imagine people telling stories about songs from 2024 in forty years
Bloody masterpiece, I had to physically go an put on a hat so I could take it off to you 🎩
Hahaha! Very kind comment. Much appreciated :)
Every one of your videos has the sly confidence of a Christopher Nolan film. You should have heard my quiet chuckle when I figured out why that cheeky portrait of Mitchell was in the shot.
Hahaha! Did you see the photo change when the screen went Blue? ;)
@@DistortThePreamp That's when all the puzzle pieces slammed into place. "This cheeky bastard," I said. 😆
Hahahaha!
Even the comments on this are gold.
They *really* are. There’s a trolling comment along the lines of “It took you ten minutes to say THAT?! Gimme a break!” Very refreshing. Like coming back down to earth 😂
A different type of frequency analysis than this channel would usually cover - quite fun!
😂😂😂
The Da Vinci Code for synth-pop lovers.
Haha! Given how many of my records have been nicked, I’m amazed it’s still in my possession! Although when I was editing the video I did notice that I threw it around a bit and didn’t treat it with a lot of respect. It’s looking a bit crumpled these days…
Absolutely love your videos. Thank you 🙏
Thanks Sven!!!
11:55 Holy cow! I have seen this code many times, but now for the first time, I see what looks like an 8-bit code.
Exactly. Once you look at it in that kind of way it’s really obviously a code ;)
super fun! thanks for sharing your journey with this!
You are very welcome! This was a lot of fun to make…
I am blown away at this!!!!!!!
Oh amazing! Thank you!
Well that was amazing...thanks for sharing
Thank you for this! Very much appreciated!
The motif generated for 'Monday' sounds incredible. Great stuff!
I think that was the best one. Or possible THE which is what I’m speaking over at the end…
After I published I discovered a mistake - I think my motif for FAC73 was actually FAC37. That’s what happens when you make eight generative pieces at 2am under time pressure 😂
@@DistortThePreamp My second fave is NEW, but they all sound good
These were great times, you remembered me of how I used to play the Reptile House EP of the Sisters of Mercy backwards in order to get the extra lyrics in Burn, or discover what secret message was left in the run-out grooves.. Records were much more thoughtfully designed. Thank you for your videos!
This is a really cool video, which makes refreshing change from yet another reaction. I hadn't heard about this cover until now and I'm way old. Just be glad that the sleeve designer didn't use a one-time pad. Otherwise, you might still be trying to crack the cipher over four decades later.
Hahaha! Very true!
Really loving your very cool content. Every video is ACE!
From an original hacienda fac head!! ❤❤
Fabulous! Really appreciate this! Very happy days.
Didn´t even drop the mic at the end. 10/10
Hahaha! Although mysteriously I put the mic down at 7:22 😂
Wow, you are now a hero, this is fantastic. I've always been too lazy to figure out easter eggs and stuff. Supposedly Boards of Canada album art is filled with them, and I own every one of their albums on CD. But this is extra cool because of who the band is, when it came out, and so on. Not only did you crack the code, but you actually discovered hidden New Order tunes that very few people have ever heard before.
Your videos never cease to impress. I'm sure it's not your bag but I'd love to see a video bio - you are clearly a smart, well-educated and musically-gifted person that I think it would be interesting to find out what influenced you as a child growing up.
Ah - I think that might be a narcissistic step too far, but I really appreciate the request. If I ever get big enough for someone to interview me (which doesn’t seem likely at the moment) then it would all come out… but maybe in the meantime…
@@DistortThePreamp Shame but totally understood. 🙂
Nicely done, sir!
Thank you! 🙏
Bloody *brilliant*! And the music really is great!
I didn't have this album, and I doubt I would've recognize the code. But I did do a "crack" of the numbers on Arcadia's So Red the Rose album. That one was much simpler though, as it was very easy to guess at a crib. 😁
Oh awesome, and I don’t know that so now I wil’ definitely look it up!
Fantastic work - a great listen!!
Thoroughly enjoyed that. Thanks so much👍
Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏
Great video as always!
Thank you!
thank you for this information, I had never heard of it, although I have heard their albums many times.
Best channel on UA-cam!
That’s an extremely kind thing to say! Thank you!
There's a parallel universe where you went into cryptography instead
I don’t think I would be having as much fun 😂
We had to make our own entertainment in those days. Playing Call of Duty 13 3/4 is no preparation for decoding the mysteries of record sleeves. Perhaps that's why we now have Spotify instead of 12" singles.
What a fantastic video - this was a great angle to come at this record from. It must be one of the most discussed pieces of pop music of the last 50 years so to create something so original was particularly impressive.
I spotted Joni Mitchell - I was thinking "Why Joni Mitchell? "Blue"? Ah, yes: one House Point to me." (That's a rare feeling!) But why nanti ajax? A video made in London about a band from Manchester? Your records are still in storage somewhere? No-one else got close to solving the whole code? Your next video will be about M.C.Hammer's "U Can't Touch This"? (That would be a surprise).
Thank you again for making these.
There’s a band called Nanti Ajax?!?! I had literally no idea! The reason for those words is that I’m enjoying putting Polari slang on the mic flag and Nanti Ajax literally translates as nothing adjacent, or nothing close which felt not inappropriate for the subject matter. Why Polari? Just because I like codes, wrapped in riddles, wrapped in codes… :) Thank you for the kind words :)
I now see how I might have inadvertently suggested that there was a band called "Nanti Ajax" - I don't think that there is (not to the best of my knowledge, anyway). The Polari is definitely a lot of fun - the mic flags are great.
You've done nothing to suggest that your next video won't be about "U Can't Touch This"😂
This video felt like a lost Sherlock Holmes story, "The Blue Monday Code Case". You should try writing a plot where Mr. Holmes is now in the 80s helping New Order or something like that. Although before helping New Order he would have helped Joy Division I'd say... Anyway Thanks and Congrats on the video.
A very fun description of something I wouldn’t have noticed myself back then. It was very insightful to recognize the record company catalog code as part of the sequence. I can’t remember if this was around the same time as Yes’ “90125” record where the catalog codes suddenly became relevant to the band and its projects altogether. It would have been a useful hint if it was around the same time, even if from an unrelated band.
And OU812 which was presumably “oh, you ate one too” as Van Halen’s response to Dave Lee Roth’s “Eat Em’ and Smile” album (or that’s my theory, anyway) 😂
@@DistortThePreampThat does seem a decent theory. We need to ask Sammy or Mike.
Wow, super interesting story, thank you.
Thank you! Very much appreciate you being one of the first to watch, and taking the time to comment! Means a lot :)
Absolutely fascinating stuff! In a similar vein, I seem to remember that OMD had some sort of code on their Electricity single.
Yes, and also designed by Peter Saville! It’s basically a musical score, though a very weird ‘artistic’ one. For some reason I’ve never dug into it, but I’m 100% certain it will turn out to me the music written in some kind of shorthand. Saville is a very interesting designer. There are a handful of 80s graphic designers who IMO has a huge influence on music culture because they really captured visually what was happening musically while somehow producing visuals that also fitted politically and sociologically. Neville Brody is another. In an ideal world my audience will expand enough beyond music for me to make videos about that too - it will always come back to music, but music *culture* is incredibly important and it’s one of the things that I think has somewhat vanished.
@@DistortThePreamp nobody following your channel will prevent you from making videos about music culture as your videos are great in- and by themselves. Please.do.more.
Genius! I love this.
Thank you!!!!! 🙏
Great video, really interesting how you cracked the whole code. I‘ve got the original sleeve with the floppy disk punches, the blanks look a bit different than on your edition. Some sort of a grey octagon. Originally bought from a shop in Germany.
That’s right! They put grey octagons in to signify the spaces! I remember seeing a copy of the floppy disk cover in the wild, but I don’t remember noticing the grey octagons. Then again, according to my memory the cipher was revealed on the Confusion record rather than Power, Corruption & Lies so clearly the passage of time has made everything a bit foggy 😂
Thanks again for your videos
What an awesome video. Thanks!
Thank you very much!
Your mother demonstrated amazing predictive skills in that text. I hope they have been used wisely - with great power does, indeed, come great responsibility. (And who wouldn’t want chips for supper?)
I appreciate that this comment might make me the saddest viewer of this video but I wanted something to do on the train home from work and I’d already completed the Wordle, so…
Incidentally, this video has sent me on a Factory Records listening rabbit hole (there are worse things to be sent down but I really am SO suggestible) and I’m reminded that Peter Saville also used this code for the ranging rods on the cover of Section 25’s “From The Hip.” At the time I bought it (on LTM CD reissue, in Tower Records) I’d not actually heard of Section 25 but liked the cover so much I bought it anyway.
Fascinating - I’m off to experiment
Patterns!
Godlike genius!
Joni!
Generative ideas!
Ah! You noticed Joni! In case you didn’t spot one of the many hidden Easter eggs, watch Joni’s picture at the point when the screen turns blue. Which is obviously why it’s her ;)
@@DistortThePreamp she looked a bit blue for a moment but then she perked up ;)
😂😂😂
Fantastic video, thanks!
I bet you were decoding the message AND solving the Rubik’s cube at the same time! 😎
Haha :) 😂😂😂
Great stuff! Cheers!
🙏🙏🙏
Wow great work !🎉
Thank you! Really appreciate you watching and making a comment :)
I've had this record since 83 never even knew it had a code !
Oh fantastic! Have you got the same sleeve as me? I think there were lots of variations, and apparently some had grey octagons in between the words…
@@DistortThePreamp yep mine looks the same as yours!!
@@adeevision1297 I know everybody talks about the floppy disk cover, but TBH I don’t remember it being available at the time. I’m pretty sure I bought my copy relatively quickly and this was def the only option.
I think some had cut outs as well, according to Peter hook biography on NO they never made any money on it, it cost to much to make!!!
Really amazing how much time we had back then to do all that since we did not have a screen to write and read all the time.
This is a very good point. Also it turns out that when you had taken the time and trouble to go all the way to a record store and spend money on a record, you cared about it quite a lot…
Excellent Video!
Now that you've finally unlocked the code for blokes (myself included!), we will all be able to get a decent night's rest...finally! 😂
Saw NO when they rolled through town, a couple of years back with PSB, and they didn't disappoint!
I think your channel is the best for All Things Retro Synths!
Keep Up the Great Work!
Awesome! Very much appreciate the comment of support! What year was that? I’m a huuuuuge fan of the stuff PSB have put out in the last decade (as well as obviously the OG stuff). I don’t think they play it much live, but they should…
@@DistortThePreamp October 2022 at Rogers Arena, here in Vancouver BC. New Order Opened that evening. A few days later, Elton John rolled into BC Place. An Amazing Week for Concerts!
Oh that’s a big week! I’ve just looked up the set list from that show and, as well as all the classics, the penultimate song they did in the main set was Vocal which is one of their recent tracks that I was mentioning. That would have made the evening for me.
@@DistortThePreamp They haven't really skipped a beat (pardon the pun) on anything they've done. I think their newer releases actually sound, and hold up, better against their older material.
superb editing
Thank you! This was such a lot of fun to make!
Never knew that one, or if i did long forgotten. I remember the artwork at the time.
Trying to figure out nanti ajax and who's face that is when it all goes blue. I also had to check Joni Mitchell hadn't pegged it...
Also the beach sounds like a goa trance party, on the beach 😆
Hahaha (about the Goa beach party) 😂 My goal is to get big enough that I can meet Joni before she dies. I’ve been playing her guitar parts in her tunings for about 30 years and i have a lot to say to her…
AS ALWASY thanks for making , your a living synth legand
Thank you so much! I am not worthy 🙂🙂🙂
get this lad to crack the zodiac killer messages, only joking
@@DistortThePreamp :)
If only! Dream job ;)
@@DistortThePreamp hehehe
I thought i was mistaken,
But I know you just blew my mind.
For Fact(ory's) sake!
To completion
I won't question it no more.
Please add.
I've got to thank the Al Gore rhythm for serving this one up.
We must all thank the algo. I for one welcome our new algo overlords.
@@DistortThePreamp I'm beginning to think they are not all bad.
well I didnt expect this.
That could be good, or bad!
@@DistortThePreamp All good mate. I had no idea there was a code. Those crafty musio's.
Ahhh! Those crafty, crafty people! I’m pretty sure it was all Peter Saville (the graphic designer) driving it with Tony Wilson who ran Factory Records. At the time I completely believe that everything creative was driven by the band. But in retrospect clearly not 😂
This was awesome. I didn’t even realise the single cover was a code.
How much did you have to play with the last bit of the code to get something musical sounding?
ha ! very interesting, sir. nice one.
So glad you liked it!
Very nice video, sir. Def worth that look on your face at the end, lol
Now, can you program the Kraftwerk ZAP! On the Pro-1, mix up your Rubiks cube, translate the sides and colours to notes and write 13.5 bars of music with liberal DMX pls 😅
Hahahaha! You *know* I’m now gonna do this, right 😂
@@DistortThePreamp...in the style of Joni Mitchell pls 🎶🎵🎸
Hmmm. All possible. I’m what’s known in polite circles as a ‘Joni Mitchell Nutter’ so I know how to do this…
What i really didn't expect... The Mic is not plugged in!
It’s actually a magic mic. It picks up my speech perfectly even when it’s on the table.
@@DistortThePreamp When you're ...not nearby?
Fantastic
🙏🙏🙏
Excellent very interesting
Just when I was getting frustrated and fed up with youtube, here comes this wonderful video! Thank you!
No I didn’t, though I know the story and love Poe. I don’t remember who told me but it has to be my mother. I think she told me that E was the most common letter, and then I decided to take matters into my own hands and check. Or something like that. I was reading a lot of detective stories at the time but it’s all lost in the midst of time…
Now *that’s* an awesome comment! 🙏
How sad that I only found this on Tuesday.
Still very much made my day though 😎🤘
Link being forwarded to one of the tutors on my MA in Professional Media Composition (completed a couple of years back) who will Lol (Creme) his White (Denim).
That was partly my fault. It was 3 hours late going up because of a last minute technical problem. In the end it only _just_ went up on Monday!
I got the original version with the cut outs. It still sounds great. 😎
Thanks!
Very cool story and amazing story telling! :-)
Thank you very much indeed for this! I didn’t get much sleep doing the edit of this video, and support like this makes it all worthwhile :)
Genius
🙏🙏🙏
really well done - one thing, what do the two dashes (''') after the notes mean?
Each dash denotes an octave up. It’s a way of describing notes without having to specific about the exact octave. Some of the melodies were in different registers (meaning different octaves) so I wanted a way of showing the scale without saying specifically C4 (middle C on the piano). So wherever you choose to position c, then c’ is the octave up, c’’ is the octave above that, and c, (which is c folllowed by a comma or subscript dash) is the octave below c. Sorry if that part got a bit confusing!
Somebody else passed comment on this below and I've been making to ask for a while. Have you ever lived in the US? You definitely have some Transatlantic thing going on on certain words, particularly on the hard 'T' sounds? also, thanks for another interesting video.
I haven’t but I lives with an American for many, many years. That must be where the accent comes from!
You might want to take a look at the Uniqlo t-shirts released a few years ago - Saville / New Order inspired. They also look like they have a code on them. I will dig it out later if you cannot find images of them. Would be interested to know if they represent something.
you're so amazing
That’s very kind! 🙏🙏🙏
Joni Blue 👍👍
Exactly! I think you’re the first to notice 🙏🙏🙏
Why does that picture behind you change from a girl to a guy when it torns blue?
Ive clearly missed something
Ah, the girl is Joni Mitchell who’s a 60s folk singer songwriter. Her most famous album was probably a record called “Blue”. In the video, when the screen turns blue her photo changes to the cover art. Well dont for noticing - I think a lot of viewers haven’t spotted this!
awesome
🙏🙏🙏
Level up! 😁
🙂
I bought PC&L back in 1984, and of course the US version (unlike the UK version) included Blue Monday. Never bothered with the code though!
And then... MI6 suddenly knocked at your door:
- Madam, we really need to talk...
🕵
😂😂😂
Cool
Thank you! 🙏
The 12" sleeve should have cut outs in to make it look like an enlarged floppy disc.
A further reference to their computerised sound
Did you get the idea of searching for most common letters in the ciphers from Edgar Allan Poe's The Gold Bug?
I think my reply got lost… I think the idea must have come from my mum. I was a huge fan of detective stories and had probably read Pit and the Pendulum and Rue Morgue by then, but not Gold Bug. But I think it must have been her. I think she must have told me that E was the most common letter, and then I decided to check. Or something like that. Having said that, who knows… such a long time ago…
@@DistortThePreamp Thanks for the great videos you make! This channel is a gem!
Thank you for the support!
Joni was a clue too ..
I thought nobody would get that 🥇Did you notice what happened to her when the screen turned blue? ;)
@@DistortThePreamp I confess I missed that - but now I have a good excuse to watch again already 👏
🙂
Mint
🙏🙏🙏
Add some Fibonacci Sequence to it and it opens a portal to another universe! That was awesome. What made you start the notes with C? I don't know theory, is it the center of the piano? Those sounded really cool.
No particular reason to start with c at all! You tend to consider C as being the ‘first’ of the major keys because in terms of classical theory it has no sharps or flats. But I definitely could have rooted the scale anywhere :)
Clever clogs 😀🤗
Thank you! This one was *a lot* of fun to make. Especially the all generative music. I was up against a deadline because I was committed to getting the video up on the Monday (for obvious reasons) so I only had about 3 hours to do all of the music, and it was like 2am. So I literally did all eight of the pieces between 2am and 5am. I’m certain it was better because of the time pressure.
Any chance you know what it says on the confusion cover ?
Well I remember it says FAC93 in the top right using the Blue Monday code. Let me check…
That's interesting. 10 colors, 10 notes, decatonic scale, make sense, but why exactly did you leave out c# and e? 10 colors also correspond to 10 numbers, which is a common tens number system, but is sadly not enough to make a chromatic scale. What if you take the number symbols as MIDI notes? There must be 100 notes. But you would then probably need to add a pitch bias, lets say starting at 36. 🤔
That’s a very interesting question. I wanted to have the scale repeating in the same way that the pattern repeats, so I needed a ten note scale. I though a long time about whether to include the flat 2nd but I decided that would have worked really well with 8 notes (like the Phrygian mode) but with 10 notes it sounds too chromatic. So I just made a choice and lived with it. There were definitely lots of alternatives. But the thing that surprised me the most is that none of the little pieces sounded particularly awful!
@@DistortThePreamp ChatGPT: "This would be a decaphonic scale (10 tones) without e and c#. This form of scale would have a special timbre, as these two tones often play important roles in major and minor scales. The note e is missing, which plays a central role as a third in C major, and c# (cis) would play an important role in A major or the Lydian scale.
This decaphonic scale could theoretically be used in experimental or avant-garde music, in which certain tones are deliberately omitted to create specific sounds or harmonic tensions."