Here's the next round of updates that I've written over the last couple of months but never got around to posting.  Enjoy!

I'm having more fun writing these summaries, I think I found my new format.  Now if I can only put this together quicker I might do it daily instead of sporatically.  Anyway, lots of links in this one, enjoy!

Apparently I'm still not back on track but managed to go through my leads and pick out some interesting stories.  So if you've been AWOL like me for the last couple of weeks then this should help you get caught up, read on!

Freebass was a bass super group formed by Peter Hook and some prominent bass players.  Last week Andy Rourke (ex-Smiths) left the band and now Mani is taking a dig at Peter Hook as well.  He writes on twitter (of all places):

"Three things visible from space, Great Wall Of China, Peter Hook's wallet stuffed with Ian Curtis' blood money, Man City's empty trophy cabinet!" he tweeted, adding: "I've actually got an ongoing career, so I don’t feel the need to exploit my past glories. I exist in the here and the now."

"It's where it belongs mate… in the fucking bargain bin before it's even released," he wrote. "You live and learn."

I, personally, was thinking along the same lines, sorta torn about Peter Hook going on the road to play Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" album in full with no other members of Joy Division.  Then again, it's probably the closest thing I'll ever get to seeing the band so it might be worth it.

UPDATE on Sept 14:  Mani has apologized for his outburst and Peter Hook forgives him.  Personally I'm way to cynical as this whole thing could've just been manufactured to bring attention to their Freebass album which comes out next week.

Peter hook is the legendary bassist for Joy Division and New Order.  On the 30th anniversary of Ian Curtis' death, he performed Joy Division's album, Unknown Pleasures, in full.  This December he will bring the tour to the US on a quick nine date US jaunt that starts in Washington DC on December 1st and wraps up in Los Angeles on December 11th. 

Personally I'm a little torn about this.  On one hand, I have never seen Joy Division live and this will probably be the closest chance I get (and no, the cover band, Joy Revision, doesn't count).  On the other hand, I'm not sure if this is memorializing the legendary singer or is it just continuing to cash in. 

Moby covered Joy Division at an intimate show sponsored by Los Angeles public radio station KCRW last night (July 31). - Source

Peter Hook has been speaking to Xfm about the theft of his old Joy Division bandmates' headstone and asks that the memorial be returned. - Source

BBC reports: *The gravestone of former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis has been stolen from a Cheshire cemetery. Curtis was 23 when he hanged himself in the kitchen of his Macclesfield home in May 1980, shortly before the band was due to go on tour in the US. Cheshire Police said his memorial stone was taken from where he is buried in Macclesfield Cemetery. Officers are appealing for anyone with information on its whereabouts to contact them. Detectives said the stone, which has the inscription "Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80" and the words "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was taken sometime between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.*  - Source

As far as Peter Hook is concerned, New Order is finished. But that doesn't mean fans won't be treated to loads of new New Order releases in the coming months, including the previously reported Live in Glasgow deluxe DVD set (due June 24 Stateside via Warner/Rhino, and out now in the UK) and a spate of expanded reissues, amp;agrave; la last year's Joy Division catalog clearout. Nor does it mean the name Joy Division isn't still making headlines, what with the aforementioned reissues, a pair of recent DVDs, and even a limited edition Zune. - Source

Ain't she something? That's the previously reported limited edition Joy Division Microsoft Zune up there, bearing Factory Records design guy Peter Saville's iconic Unknown Pleasures artwork. Though initially set to arrive in conjunction with the DVD release of the Grant Gee-directed Joy Division documentary on June 10, both DVD and Zune now go up for sale June 17. - Source