Sarah Recommends “Crystal,” by New Order

We’re like crystal
we break easy…

In his kill-your-idols book Substance: Inside New Order , Peter Hook calls “Crystal” a “tour-de-force,” and he’s right. I chose the longer version because the intro has a lilt, but doesn’t announce what it becomes right away. It turns into an exhilarating monster of a song, with all of the instruments charging together, slamming each other, pulling apart, and fusing into this perfect thing. I’ve heard it performed live twice (without Hook on bass, unfortunately), but it’s a song that catches you. You can’t refuse it, and why would you want to ? It demands that you dance to it, to feel the frenzy it creates. It’s perfect.

(Song recommendation by Sarah Nichols)