Wire (1987-1991) - C/D, S/D, RFI

I actually have had Bell is A Cup sitting in my "to listen to" pile on my desk for a couple weeks now, but haven't fired it up yet.

ALso, I'd like - in the politest, most conciliatory way possible - to recommend to Fergal this thread:

Wire in the 80s - Classic Or Dud?

I wouldn't say it's better than 154, though.

The sublime production, the obsessive attention to sonic detail they attained on 154, I ... I... it makes me speechless! It's right up there with Eno's best albums in terms of the effort poured into the creation this beautiful sound world.

As far as the '86-'91 incarnation, out in the desert a couple of years ago I heard somebody blasting "Illuminated" at searing volumes and it sounded great.

Also they earned my eternal admiration for cheeky bastardness for the background vocals on "Kidney Bingoes." During the big pop uplift at the end of the track, they appear to be singing "Now hiiiigh, high, high, high . . . now looooow, low, low, low . . . then hiiiiigh . . . " and so on. If they're NOT singing that, please don't spoil it for me by telling me so.

I never bought A List because I have all the records but I imagine it's an amazing listen. Send just made me pull out all the Wire Mk II records, but I'm old.

So I'm not interested in later Wir(e) because of it.

Has anyone else heard The Menace? I might like it as much as the original.

I need to hear The First Letter.

As accurate a description of the symptons of clinical psychosis as i have ever come across

Just remembering 154's dirgier moments makes me want to swallow my fist. Miccio OTM upthread.

Besides, I felt the lad had to learn some things for himself. Good job, js!

Anyone know of a college radio station that played Wire a lot before they reformed?

I remember when R.E.M. were just an extremely hip underground phenomenon among "alternatively minded" people. I watched their sphere of fame grow slowly, like a flower.

Is that enough sentimental nostalgic shite for you?

Yeah, the first time Wire meant anything to me was when I heard "Ahead". I still don't care for Pink Flag.

Yesterday while cooking dinner I put on It's Beginning To And Back Again, and it sounded fantastic.

The Vien EP on Touch (recorded '93, released in '97) is one of the best and most overlooked items of the period. It's got 2 songs performed live in Vienna: a 15 minute goth/noise jam where Colin Newman sounds like he wants to eat your children, and a quirky pop-ish Graham Lewis number about being sexy and rich.

Also seek out their remix of Erasure's "Fingers & Crumbs," doomed to obscurity on a CD single, another epic gothy dirge.

The First Letter has crappy production, but definitely some gems in there like Gilbert's "Ticking Mouth," "So and Slow It Goes," and that goofy ambient techno piece "naked whooping cough and such" (or whatever it's called.)

Sublime! I played it this morning. If I'm not mistaken it's got Newman and Gilbert on guitars. Nearly 10 minutes of trance.

When The Ideal Copy came out there was a segment on MTV's alternative show, I think it was "IRS The Cutting Edge."

They played the video for Ahead and had a brief interview with the band. The one thing that stuck out was Colin Newman saying something to the effect of, "It's the same band, but not the same music."

Despite keeping it in my car's CD player for about a month straight and pissing off whatever passengers I had, I could never get into it. If I disliked that, would I like any Wire Mk II material?

As I remember, "Drill" was played more than "Eardrum Buzz". At the time, I wasn't aware of the 70's trilogy, but then again, my local station was perpetually stuck on Spirit of '77 punk and never really played stuff like Television or Wire.

rofflage.

i love mkII wire, and prefer it to the 70s stuff. there, i've said it. it's all about that guitar sound: the slightly phased choral wash thing. and the dugga. don't forget the dugga. what was it they described the "drill" album as? "experiments in monorhythmic repetition?" heheheh, the wacky funsters.

that said, "ahead (II)" - the stereo-panned and all-but-guitarless remix thing - is still a jaw-dropping moment in recorded sound.

i would love to get hold of that vienna EP; i suppose i need to look harder.

i think i've posted this before, but this is the tracklisting for an "introduction to wire" CD i made for a friend a couple of years ago. it was called "buzz buzz buzz, dugga dugga dugga", and it pretty much sums up the grimly wire experience. but i think most people's approach to the band is vastly different. any thoughts?

read and burn
ahead (II)
i am the fly
ambitious [1]
marooned
ticking mouth
the offer [2]
the other window
strange
the queen of ur and the king of um
a touching display
99.9 [live]
vivid riot of red [live]
a chicago drill [live]

[several minutes of silence]

arriving/staying/going?

[1] the short version, not the 18-minute thing, which even i find a little excessive.

[2] b-side of ... fuck, what? was it "eardrum buzz"?

christ, that's a GREAT CD. i must listen to it again myself.

Haha! Hahahahaha! Applause @ grout! I'm actually listening to SSP right now.

A thing I like about Wire mk 2 is that the Beatles Game works so well due to already realized solo projects. The Beatles Game is about connecting band members to elements in the music, obv; eg:

Rock solid backdrop with simple means = Gotobed. Guitars signifying (rather than actually being) pop plus half-obscure lyrics = very Newman. There are growly rumblings! vocal and instrumental, aha Lewis! Oh look, there come the Gilbert sheets of guitar signifying (rather than actually being) avantgarde!

I also rather desire an earshirt like the one in the "Ear Drum Buzz" vid.

Despite keeping it in my car's CD player for about a month straight and pissing off whatever passengers I had, I could never get into it. If I disliked that, would I like any Wire Mk II material?

I really don't think Wire Mk II can be compared with the Colin Newman solo work you mentioned (which to be honest I wasn't all that wild about either). One really key difference is the fact that Wire Mk II came about 4 or 5 years later than that and therefore, uses a lot of late 80's type sounds in it. Another difference is you're more likely to get catchy pop songs with Mk II.

Maybe I will try some of the stuff Michael Gill mentioned. I bought The First Letter, really didn't like it. I tend to forget about that and Manscape which I didn't like either.

Playing "German Shepherds" now - love it! I can't believe the lyric talks about a drunk lady pissing in a bin.

i listened to latterday wire continuously in high school. i would cue up the IBTABA version of german shepherds and stand in the middle of the hallway between classes listening to it.

top ten wire 1987-1991:
1. the offer
2. kidney bingos
3. ahead
4. silk skin paws
5. a serious of snakes
6. the queen of ur and the king of um
7. german shepherds (IBTABA version)
8. (a chicago) drill (live)
9. in vivo
10. a craftsman's touch/you hung your lights in the trees

number ten being the reason you pretty much have to own manscape, it's a beautiful 11 minute song.

So, I took the CD back and got a refund, and bought the box.

Which was nice.

That Wire / Erasure mix thing. That was actually quite good though normally I absolutely cannot stand Erasure at all.

Also that Wir era b-side called "Sexy and Rich (Janet)" That is a great song. And the (Janet) part makes me think of Janet in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but maybe that's the point.

DUDES! the fucking vien EP is available for download from pinkflag!

not only that ... i've just realise that yon "scottish play" DVD is the bloody triptych gig from 2004 that a) i was at and b) rocked my world. why haven't i bought it yet?

i am a knob.

i just picked up manscape for super cheap used... couldn't get past track 2 on the first attempt. we'll see what happens.

jump ahead to the last track (You Hung Your Lights In The Trees/A Craftsman's Touch) - that and "Torch It" are the standouts on there in my world.

Terrible album

Also seek out their remix of Erasure's "Fingers & Thumbs," doomed to obscurity on a CD single, another epic gothy dirge

Sublime! I played it this morning. If I'm not mistaken it's got Newman and Gilbert on guitars. Nearly 10 minutes of trance.

Bloody hell, I can NO IDEA THIS EXISTED!! It really is fantastic, too!