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 Rarely do you find an individual artist who expresses his/her emotions and pain as clearly as did Ian Curits. He was the lead singer and song writer for the band Joy Division. In May of 1980, two days before their first U.S. tour, Curtis hung himself in his kitchen. Joy Division reformed as New Order and had a major impact on dance/rock music. But Joy Division was an amazing band. Curtis’ lyrics read like a suicide note. He had epilepsy and the medication he was taking for it supposedly depressed him. The lyrics on their two albums (Unknown Pleasures and Closer) are fought with pain, shame and depression. Two years ago there was a bio-pic about Curits (“Control”) and a documentary about Joy Division. Again, rarely do you find someone who expresses his pain in such clear terms. Here is a sampling of Curtis’ lyrics:
Isolation
Mother I tried please belief me
I’m doing the best that I can
I’m ashamed of the things I’ve been put through
I’m ashamed of the person I am
Isolation, isolation, isolation
New Dawn Fades
Different colours, different shades
Over each mistakes were made
I took the blame
Directionless so plain to see
A loaded gun won’t set you free
So you say
Passover
Forgive and forget’s what they teach
Or pass through the desserts and wastelands once more
And watch as they drop by the beach
This is the crisis I knew had to come
Destroying the balance I’d kept
Turning around to the next set of lives
Wondering what will come next.
Atmosphere
Your confusion
My illusion
Worn like a mask of self-hate
Confronts and then dies
Don’t walk away
 Mindy McCready, of whom I have recently written regarding BPD, attempted suicide again…
Newsday.com
Mindy McCready in hospital after another suicide try
BY ROBERT KAHN
December 18, 2008
Anguished country crooner Mindy McCready has been hospitalized after what appears to be her second suicide attempt this year.
McCready, who was treated at a Texas rehab center this summer after an attempt to kill herself, was taken to a Nashville hospital yesterday morning with wounds to her wrists, according to local police officials.
The attempt comes at the end of a tumultuous year for the 33-year-old singer, who went public in April with claims that she was the other woman in an adulterous affair with superstar pitcher Roger Clemens. Clemens has never acknowledged such a relationship took place.
-Click here to see photos of Mindy McCready through the years
Nashville police last night said that McCready, whose legal first name is Malinda, called her assistant, Brent Young, at 7:50 a.m. to say she needed him to come over, because “she had done something bad.” Young arrived at 10:15 a.m. “and discovered that she had cut her wrists and taken several pills.” McCready was taken to Centennial Hospital, according to the report.
McCready’s attorney, Lee Offman, told Newsday last night that he was “still trying to gather details.” A call to Clemens’ agent, Randy Hendricks, was not immediately returned.
As recently as last month, McCready was publicly discussing the alleged affair with Clemens. “Carrying on a relationship with him is not something I’m proud of,” McCready said on the syndicated program “Inside Edition.”
McCready met Clemens at a Florida karaoke bar when she was 15 and he was 28. She has said her attraction to the athlete was instant.
“He treated me like a princess,” she said. McCready says the relationship did not become intimate until several years later. Her mother has said she believes the pair shared a “platonic” friendship.
Clemens has only apologized for “mistakes” in his personal life. Congress this year held hearings on the baseball pitcher’s alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. Even as she attempted to refocus on her music career, McCready was interviewed by FBI agents for Clemens’ perjury investigation.
McCready suffered what she called a “nervous breakdown” in July and entered into rehab. After her release in September, she told reporters she was excited about recording a new CD.
The singer, who was once engaged to ” Superman” actor Dean Cain, has written a song about the tumultuous past few years in her life, “I’m Still Here.”
A prescription drug problem has landed her in jail twice. She most recently served time for violating probation after a drug arrest. Last month, she told “Inside Edition” she was optimistic about her future. “Redemption is out there for everybody to get, and just watch me. I’m gonna show you how to do it.”
-Click here to see photos of Mindy McCready through the years
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
 After learning about BPD and reading a biography of Kurt Cobain, I suspect that, if he was not a borderline, he suffered from a similar disorder. So, here is a detailed analysis of the case for Kurt Cobain having Borderline Personality Disorder.
 When Hope is Not EnoughGet the Non-BPD book that is designed for staying and working on the relationship Substance Abuse
I don’t think I have to cite any references on this one. The bio I read makes it clear that Cobain was a junkie and used consistently. Also, despite his slim frame (5’7″, 130 pounds), he used far more heroin than others in his final days and his body was, for the most part, able to take it. He did overdose numerous times. Abuse of pain killers (of which heroin is one), is not uncommon with BPD (sometimes called “Bellman’s Syndrome”).
His heroin use eventually began affecting the band’s support of Nevermind, with Cobain passing out during photo shoots. One memorable example came the day of the band’s 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live, where Nirvana had a shoot with photographer Michael Levine. Having shot up beforehand, Cobain nodded off several times during the shoot. Regarding the shoot, Cobain related to biographer Michael Azerrad, “I mean, what are they supposed to do? They’re not going to be able to tell me to stop. So I really didn’t care. Obviously to them it was like practicing witchcraft or something. They didn’t know anything about it so they thought that any second, I was going to die.”
Eating Disorder (or chronic pain leading to one)
Kurt Cobain had a chronic, undiagnosed stomach disorder from which he developed an eating disorder, being unable to keep down food.
Throughout most of his life, Cobain battled chronic bronchitis and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition. This last condition was especially debilitating to him emotionally, and he spent years trying to find its cause. However, none of the doctors he consulted were able to pinpoint the specific cause, guessing that it was either a result of Cobain’s childhood scoliosis or related to the stresses of performing.
Volatile Relationships
His relationship with Courtney Love was volatile. He also had volatile relationships with others in his band and with managers and ex-girlfriends.
Love arranged an intervention concerning Cobain’s drug use that took place on March 25. The ten people involved included musician friends, record company executives, and one of Cobain’s closest friends, Dylan Carlson. But Bassist Krist Novoselic tipped him off as he considered the idea to be “stupid”. However, by the end of the day, Cobain had agreed to undergo a detox program. Krist Novoselic drove him to the airport to catch his flight, but Cobain was far from wanting to go, in a fit of panic, Cobain drew violence and the two fought at the airport, eventually Cobain freed himself and ran through the airport lobby screaming “fuck you”, this would be the last time Krist would see Kurt alive.
Shame and Unstable Self Image
His lyrics probably do the best for this…
All Apologies:
I wish I was like you
Easily amused
Find my nest of salt
Everything is my fault
I’ll take all the blame
Aqua seafoam shame
Sunburn, freezeburn
Choking on the ashes of her enemy
Dumb:
I’m not like them
But I can pretend
The sun is gone
But I have a light
The day is done
But I’m having funI think I’m dumb
Or maybe just happy
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter:
What is wrong with me?
What is what I need
What do I think I think?
This had nothing to do with what you think
If you ever think at all
Bi-polar opposites attract
All of a sudden my water broke
I love you for what I am not
Did not want what I have got
Blanket acne’d with cigarette burns
Speak at once while taking turns
And of course, there are probably twenty more examples in his various lyrics. The only other musician that I can think of off the top of my head who consistently used the words “shame” and “I’ll take the blame” is Ian Curtis (Joy Division’s lead singer who also committed suicide).
Suicide Attempts
I think these go without saying, considering his eventual actual suicide. But we know of at least one other:
Following a tour stop at Terminal Eins in Munich, Germany, on March 1, 1994, Cobain was diagnosed with bronchitis and severe laryngitis. He flew to Rome the next day for medical treatment, and was joined there by his wife on March 3. The next morning, Love awoke to find that Cobain had overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol (Love had a prescription for Rohypnol filled after arriving in Rome). Cobain was immediately rushed to the hospital, and spent the rest of the day unconscious. After five days in the hospital, Cobain was released and returned to Seattle. Love later stated that the incident was Cobain’s first suicide attempt.
 Well, Amy Winehouse is in the news again. This type she supposedly threatened suicide. Some times it makes you wonder if she or Pete Doherty will be the first U.K. celeb with (possible) BPD to burn out completely. Here an article from “Now” (who knows how much truth there is to it though):
Amy Winehouse threatens to kill herself
Singer on 24-hour watch by worried friends
Monday, 6 October 2008
Amy Winehouse is said to be on suicide watch after she allegedly threatened to stab herself.
The singer is thought to have been pushed further downhill after her husband Blake Fielder-Civil rejected an offer of parole last month – because he didn’t want to stay with his mum Georgette Civil or wear an electronic tag.
Amy, 25, apparently held a knife to her chest in front of friends.
‘She said she was “caught up in a nightmare”,’ a source tells the Daily Star. ‘Her friends managed to get the knife away from her but are now holding a 24-hour watch on her.
‘Her emotions are exaggerated. She is either high as a kite or, when she hears something she doesn’t like, she is suicidal.’
Blake, 26, is being held at Edmunds Hill Prison after he was found guilty of GBH and attempting to pervert the course of justice. It is now thought that he has accepted another offer of early release.
Britney Spears has given up custody of her sons…
 Britney Agrees to Sole Custody for K-Fed
Claudia Rosenbaum
Fri Jul 18, 3:47 AM ET
Britney Spears has agreed to hand the parenting reins over to Kevin Federline.
K-Fed’s longtime attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, exclusively tells E! News the divorced duo have reached a settlement in their long-gestating custody case.
According to the agreement signed by all parties, Federline gets sole legal and physical custody of sons Sean Preston and Jayden James and Spears will have visitation rights.
“The case has been settled,” Kaplan said. “The court still has to approve it. ” Both parties are due in court Friday morning.
The case had been set to go to trial next month but all had been hoping to settle up beforehand.
“As of this evening there is a fully executed deal memo…All the issues that would have been addressed at trial have been settled,” Kaplan told E! News. “Can’t speak to the exact terms of the deal, [but the] orders in place…will stay in place.”
Although this is theoretically good news for Federline, Kaplan maintains it isn’t exactly what his client had in mind.
“Kevins was not [out] to get custody. Kevin’s goal was to set up some kind of template so the mother of his children can coparent,” Kaplan said.
“He said, ‘I need to have Britney to be involved in the coparenting of the kids, but I need there to be a structure.’ ”
But this is the structure he got, and “Kevin is absolutely delighted,” Kaplan continued.
“Nobody could have anticipated the terms of events that have occurred…This was a two-year journey that will be halted at a point that is good for these children. Custody is always modifiable. If there is a final order, it means there is nothing to try.”
Spears has been enjoying monitored visits with her boys since late February after temporarily losing any on-hand-mommying privileges following a stretch of noticeably erratic behavior on her part and two brief hospital stays.
Federline’s camp has credited the influence of Spears’ father, Jamie, who was appointed a coconservator of his daughter’s estate Feb. 1, for helping to get the 26-year-old popster back on track.
A court commissioner is scheduled to review whether to make the conservatorship permanent at the end of this month. If the arrangement were to end, what then happens to Spears’ current deal?
“While I can’t tell you the terms, the order does anticipate what happens if the conservatorship is ended,” Kaplan told E! News. “The devil is always in the details, and this is a very detailed deal memo.
“Nobody can predict what the future will bring, but to the extent possible, I think we have really anticipated how to proceed.”
 Here’s an article from CNN about guns in homes:
More than half firearm deaths are suicides
- Recent Supreme Court ruling on guns focused on protection from home invasion
- Suicides accounted for 55 percent of nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005 in U.S.
- More gun-related suicides than homicides and accidents in 20 of last 25 years
- Research shows if gun in home, higher likelihood of suicide or homicide in home
ATLANTA, Georgia, (AP) — The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on gun ownership last week focused on citizens’ ability to defend themselves from intruders in their homes. But research shows that surprisingly often, gun owners use the weapons on themselves.
Suicides accounted for 55 percent of the nation’s nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There was nothing unique about that year — gun-related suicides have outnumbered firearm homicides and accidents for 20 of the last 25 years. In 2005, homicides accounted for 40 percent of gun deaths. Accidents accounted for 3 percent. The remaining 2 percent included legal killings, such as when police do the shooting, and cases that involve undetermined intent.
Public-health researchers have concluded that in homes where guns are present, the likelihood that someone in the home will die from suicide or homicide is much greater.
Studies have also shown that homes in which a suicide occurred were three to five times more likely to have a gun present than households that did not experience a suicide, even after accounting for other risk factors.
In a 5-4 decision, the high court on Thursday struck down a handgun ban enacted in the District of Columbia in 1976 and rejected requirements that firearms have trigger locks or be kept disassembled. The ruling left intact the district’s licensing restrictions for gun owners.
One public-health study found that suicide and homicide rates in the district dropped after the ban was adopted. The district has allowed shotguns and rifles to be kept in homes if they are registered, kept unloaded and taken apart or equipped with trigger locks.
The American Public Health Association, the American Association of Suicidology and two other groups filed a legal brief supporting the district’s ban. The brief challenged arguments that if a gun is not available, suicidal people will just kill themselves using other means.
More than 90 percent of suicide attempts using guns are successful, while the success rate for jumping from high places was 34 percent. The success rate for drug overdose was 2 percent, the brief said, citing studies.
“Other methods are not as lethal,” said Jon Vernick, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research in Baltimore.
The high court’s majority opinion made no mention of suicide. But in a dissenting opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer used the word 14 times in voicing concern about the impact of striking down the handgun ban.
“If a resident has a handgun in the home that he can use for self-defense, then he has a handgun in the home that he can use to commit suicide or engage in acts of domestic violence,” Breyer wrote.
Researchers in other fields have raised questions about the public-health findings on guns.
Gary Kleck, a researcher at Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, estimates there are more than 1 million incidents each year in which firearms are used to prevent an actual or threatened criminal attack.
Public-health experts have said the telephone survey methodology Kleck used likely resulted in an overestimate. iReport.com: Watch William Bernstein share his views on gun ownership
Both sides agree there has been a significant decline in the last decade in public-health research into gun violence.
The CDC traditionally was a primary funder of research on guns and gun-related injuries, allocating more than $2.1 million a year to such projects in the mid-1990s.
But the agency cut back research on the subject after Congress in 1996 ordered that none of the CDC’s appropriations be used to promote gun control.
Vernick said the Supreme Court decision underscores the need for further study into what will happen to suicide and homicide rates in the district when the handgun ban is lifted.
Today, the CDC budgets less than $900,000 for firearm-related projects, and most of it is spent to track statistics. The agency no longer funds gun-related policy analysis.
Now, consider that a person with BPD is 400 times more likely to commit suicide than the general public. And consider that:
Nearly 3/4 of borderlines attempt suicide or display self-mutilating behaviors like cutting themselves with razors or burning themselves. Only about 10% of suicide attempts are successful.
If only 10% of suicides are successful and 75% attempt suicide, what do you think the successful suicide rate for BPD would be if they all had access to a gun? Suicide attempts in BPD are usually impulsive. They are not usually a “call for help” or manipulative. A lot of non-BPs think that they are, but typically the suicide is not thought out. The BP just wants to end the huge amount of pain that they are in. They will use whatever method is at hand (i.e. take all the pills in the cabinent). If a handgun is at hand and loaded, suicide is much more likely to occur.
If you look at Kurt Cobain (who MAY have had BPD), he tried to commit suicide with pills at one point (that we know of) and drug overdose is not very effective. When he got a hold of his shotgun, the deed was done. From the above CNN article:
More than 90 percent of suicide attempts using guns are successful, while the success rate for jumping from high places was 34 percent. The success rate for drug overdose was 2 percent, the brief said, citing studies.
So, gun suicides are 90% sucessful, drug overdose 2%. Please don’t keep a loaded gun around someone with BPD.
 So, it turns out that smoking crack is bad for you…
Cocaine ‘damaged Winehouse’s lungs’
Amy Winehouse could struggle to catch her breath and hit high notes as a result of suffering emphysema, a lung expert has said.
The singer’s father spoke out at the weekend about his worries that Winehouse could lose her life unless she kicks her drug habit.
In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, Mitch Winehouse said his daughter – who was rushed to hospital recently after collapsing – had developed the chronic lung disease emphysema, possibly brought on by smoking crack cocaine.
 Well, I found out today that Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty are hanging out together. Wow! What a match. Amy is leading my celeb-o-meter of possible celebrities with BPD, and Pete has (maybe) jumped to the head of the line and pinned the meter with his blood paintings, self-harm, drug usage and you name what else. I guess there’s some sort of attraction to someone like you. According to most sites, it’s platonic – but would can have sex after doing a boat load of drugs anyway?
Well, she got arrested again….
Amy Winehouse arrested on suspicion of drugs possession
13 hours ago
LONDON (AP) — Amy Winehouse was arrested Wednesday in connection with a January video that allegedly shows her doing drugs at a party at her north London home.
London’s Metropolitan Police said the Grammy winner was released on so-called police bail following several hours of questioning at a police station in the city.
Winehouse’s spokesman, Chris Goodman, confirmed that his client had been arrested Wednesday and held in police custody to answer police questions.
“Amy Winehouse voluntarily attended a London police station today by appointment. She was arrested in order to be interviewed and is cooperating fully with inquiries,” Goodman said in a statement.
“The interview relates to a video handed to police earlier this year,” he said.
Britain’s The Sun tabloid in January published still images from a video that it claimed showed Winehouse inhaling fumes from a small pipe. The images were said to have been filmed during a party at her home.
Winehouse, famous for her hit “Rehab,” has had a turbulent private life. Last month she was cautioned by police for assault after she slapped a man during a night out. That means no charges were filed, but the incident was placed on her record.
Shortly after The Sun published the photographs, Winehouse entered a London rehabilitation center.
Her release on police bail means she has not been charged with an offense, but that officers can recall her for more questioning at any time.
 OK, well, the other day I posted on how Pete Doherty has jumped to the top of my Celebrities with Borderline Personality Disorder (possibly, but not for sure) list. Why? Well, he just released a series of paintings done in his own blood. Let’s examine the other “evidence” of possible BPD….
(For those of you who don’t know who Pete Doherty is: he’s the lead singer of two British bands: Babyshambles and the Libertines. He dated Kate Moss and he is a regular in the tabloids in London for his erratic and criminal behavior.)
Self-Harm
Painting in one’s own blood seems to indicate self-harm. Here’s another article about Doherty’s self-harm.
Quotes from the self-harm article:
Graphic footage of rock star Pete Doherty deliberately harming himself will not appear in a forthcoming fly-on-the-wall documentary about the former Libertines’ singer, as had been feared by mental health charities.
The scenes of Doherty cutting himself with a broken bottle feature in a rough edit of the documentary, to be shown on BBC3 on Sunday 28 August. The images of Doherty slashing his chest, taken from the edit, were leaked to the national press last week, raising concerns about his mental health.
Substance Abuse
Well, duh… He’s been put in jail numerous times for drug offenses, including heroin and cocaine abuse.
Quotes:
He appeared at Ealing Magistrates’ Court to face charges of possessing heroin and cocaine.
The 26-year-old was arrested by police after he was spotted driving a speeding car in west London on 30 November.
The former Libertines singer has continually been in the headlines over his drug abuse and his relationship with model Kate Moss.
He is due to reappear at Ealing Magistrates Court on 8 February.
The prosecution said police pulled Mr Doherty over after he was spotted speeding and officers said he had a glazed look.
He was found to have three packets of heroin, with a weight of 0.875gm (0.03oz), and one packet containing 0.234gm (0.008oz) cocaine.
Inappropriate Anger
More quotes:
Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty has been fined £750 after he admitted assaulting a BBC reporter in March.
The star pleaded guilty at Thames Magistrates’ Court to kicking a microphone out of her hand outside the same court after a separate appearance.
In a statement, the 27-year-old said: “If I hurt this lady I’m sorry.”
The star, who is currently being treated for drug addiction, was also ordered to pay £250 compensation and another £200 in court costs.
Painful hand
He had previously pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault by beating after he kicked out at Radio 1 Newsbeat’s Trudi Barber.
His defence lawyer, Sean Curran, said Doherty changed his plea after watching television footage of the attack.
Indentity Issues
He’s turning to Islam? I wonder how long that will last.
Quotes:
One of Doherty’s friends said: “He’s been reading the Quran since he went into segregation. He’s got a lot of Muslim friends and they’ve been on at him for ages to study it. Now he’s on his own and he’s got time on his hands to study it.
“I’m surprised how much it has calmed him down as he was very on the edge inside. He definitely seems more chilled. He’s lapping it up and really interested in it. I think it’s helping him in there.”
Doherty has been having a difficult time since his 14-week sentence began for violating probation by taking drugs.
Volatile Relationships
 The UK hottest couple, Pete Doherty and Kate Moss, split up, after the beautiful supermodel dumped Pete, arguing she cannot stand his way of life anymore, always worrying about him.
On July 22, 2005, Pete Doherty was involved into
a street fight. British newspapers The Sun and Daily Mirror reports that Pete and musician friend Alan Wass fought with a group of Somali youths after they shouted “crackhead” at him.
Farid Khan of Supersave store in Camden Town, said: “The singer ran in pursed by six man. There was a big fight. We got them out but they hurled a brick at the door.”
Kate reportedly told friends: “I can’t go on spending day and night worrying about Pete. He would disappear without a word and I would not hear from him for days. He has to change his lifestyle. Until that happens we are finished.”
Sexual Confusion
DOHERTY: ‘I WAS A GAY RENT BOY AND DRUG DEALER’
Troubled rocker PETE DOHERTY has shocked fans by boasting he worked as a homosexual prostitute and drug dealer to fuel his drug addictions, before he shot to fame in his former band THE LIBERTINES.
The wild singer confesses he was so desperate for money to fund his cocaine and heroin habits, he worked as a rent boy and once robbed a gay client after tying him up at his home.
Dangerous Driving
Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty has been fined £300 and disqualified from driving for two months.
The 27-year-old admitted two charges of driving without insurance or a licence at Thames Magistrates Court in London.
District Judge Jane McIvor warned the singer that he faces jail if he drives without a licence again.
The rock star was arrested in November 2006 by officers who spotted him driving his Jaguar erratically near his east London home.
Shame
So you’ve got this support act, some posh bloke with a discomfited smile, slowly eating himself from the inside out from pure embarrassment. One guy with a guitar strumming idle fancies like ‘The Blue Ridge Mountains Of Dakota’, incapable of holding a note or playing a tune, and, what’s worse, he clearly hates himself for it. Pretty soon, he’ll be dead. And then he’s joined by a nonchalant Doherty in trenchcoat and hat. The place breaks out into hysteria. I’m blinded by about twenty camera phones flashing, then I’m nearly sucked under by the wave surging forward. Even Doherty, the boy in the bubble, advises everyone to move back because there’s a girl in the front whose eyes are bulging.
Suicide Attempts
Pete Doherty tried to kill himself in rehab after discovering that Kate Moss was dating a new man. British tabloids tattled that the ‘Babyshambles’ singer downed an entire bottle of pills-he just ended up making himself ill.
“He saw an opportunity to take an overdose and took it. He told me he didn’t know what the pills were but thought ‘fuck it’ and took them all,” says a NOW insider.
“He doesn’t care what drugs do to him—in fact, he likes finding out.”
“To begin with Kate was ringing him up all the time, concerned for his well-being.”
“But when Pete started to quiz her about the new guy, she was evasive and it got to him. She messed with his head.”
Impulsive Behavior
Anthony Thornton, the reviews editor of NME and an authority on The Libertines, said: ‘Pete is at a lower point than he was a year ago. He’s hit depths he didn’t even know existed. He’s not aware of how bad a state he’s in, and the drugs make it worse. He’s incredibly impulsive, he doesn’t take on responsibilities, he’s unreliable and likely to do himself harm.
Unsafe Sexual Behavior
I think anyone who was a male prostitute qualifies in this regard.
So, ole’ Pete hit just about all the categories that I applied to other celebrites. While I am not a doctor and can’t officially diagnose anyone… Pete Doherty looks suspiciously like he may have Borderline Personality Disorder (or something very close to it). And everyone, you will notice that I used mainly news articles in this analysis (with a bit of blogging, didn’t have time to look up interviews for shame – although I’ve been told he says he hates himself and he is a bad person).
Here’s his Wikipedia entry.
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Rarely do you find an individual artist who expresses his/her emotions and pain as clearly as did Ian Curits. He was the lead singer and song writer for the band Joy Division. In May of 1980, two days before their first U.S. tour, Curtis hung himself in his kitchen. Joy Division reformed as New Order and had a major impact on dance/rock music. But Joy Division was an amazing band. Curtis’ lyrics read like a suicide note. He had epilepsy and the medication he was taking for it supposedly depressed him. The lyrics on their two albums (Unknown Pleasures and Closer) are fought with pain, shame and depression. Two years ago there was a bio-pic about Curits (“Control”) and a documentary about Joy Division. Again, rarely do you find someone who expresses his pain in such clear terms. Here is a sampling of Curtis’ lyrics: