C/D: Wire - The Ideal Copy

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Punk band goes electro before the term was coined. First new material since the 70s. "Ahead" is the only thing that stands out from my recollection, but that may be due to my copious 120 Minutes viewing. I'm gonna throw the vinyl on after I get home.

Also, wtf is that on the cover?

― john'n'chicago, Friday, 21 January 2005 21:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Search: "Ahead", the "Snakedrill" EP (on the CD as a bonus)
Destroy: "Ambitious"

― donut christ (donut), Friday, 21 January 2005 21:50 (twenty-one years ago)

the only 80sish Wire to destroy is Manscape and the wir album.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 21 January 2005 21:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm pretty happy with the first third or so of The A-List

― miccio (miccio), Friday, 21 January 2005 22:36 (twenty-one years ago)

cool, second time today i've pasted this!

Wire in the 80s - Classic Or Dud?

FWIW, i think it's a total and utter classic ... although i prefer a bell is a cup, which is hugely underrated.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Friday, 21 January 2005 23:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I love Wire so i like the album but "Ahead" is an awesome New Order pastiche

― evan chronister (evan chronister), Saturday, 22 January 2005 05:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm pretty happy with the first third or so of The A-List
-- miccio (anthonyisrigh...), January 21st, 2005.

me too, cuz i'm lazy.

the video for "eardrum buzz" is rather wince-inducing. good song though.

― the first church of latebloomer, friend of plebians and santa (reformed) (latebl, Saturday, 22 January 2005 06:31 (twenty-one years ago)

what's wrong with the video? I think it's kinda funny.

― hstencil (hstencil), Saturday, 22 January 2005 06:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I really like the Wir album, especially "No Cows On The Ice" and "Footsi-Footsi". "Ahead" and "Drill" are the only songs off of The Ideal Copy that I really like.

― Bryan (Bryan), Saturday, 22 January 2005 06:43 (twenty-one years ago)

what's wrong with the video? I think it's kinda funny.
-- hstencil (hstenc!...), January 22nd, 2005.

well i shouldn't probably be so harsh, as it's meant to be a silly video. i just don't like videos much to begin with i guess.

― the first church of latebloomer, friend of plebians and santa (reformed) (latebl, Saturday, 22 January 2005 06:47 (twenty-one years ago)

x-post: ticking mouth. brrr.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Saturday, 22 January 2005 14:15 (twenty-one years ago)

"In Vivo" and "Kidney Bingoes" might be my favorite Wire songs ever (I know, they're not on The Ideal Copy).

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 22 January 2005 14:24 (twenty-one years ago)

the only 80sish Wire to destroy is Manscape and the wir album.

That is OTM. The Ideal Copy sounds a lot better today, though, than it did then. A Bell Is A Cup I liked immediately.

What is on the cover for the Ideal Copy? I do not know. Keys? Phallic symbol? I guess they were trying to be as obtuse as their lyrics often are.

I do not think "Ahead" bears any relation to New Order at all.

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Saturday, 22 January 2005 17:59 (twenty-one years ago)

it's a photocopy of something, but i can't remember what. i think it's explained in "everybody loves a history" but i don't have it to hand.

hang on, bimble, ahead is new-order-tastic!

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Saturday, 22 January 2005 18:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha ha! Yer tryin' to wind me up, I know you. Look "Ahead" is brilliant, but it doesn't have a thing to do with New Order. Sorry.

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Sunday, 23 January 2005 07:09 (twenty-one years ago)

The only thing in "Ahead" that's New Order-ish is the Peter Hook-ish bassline that permeates the verses. But Wire have always had a high string chorused bass playing style, since Chairs Missing anyway. It may sound particularly Hook-y in "Ahead", but otherwise, yeah, that's as far as I can see in the comparison, which isn't much.

― donut christ (donut), Sunday, 23 January 2005 08:47 (twenty-one years ago)

..and I supposed the jangly guitars sound a little like Sumner's janglyness on some of the tracks on Brotherhood, but now I'm just projecting the similarities only because the comparison was brought up.

― donut christ (donut), Sunday, 23 January 2005 08:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Mind you, The Cure, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, and possibly Wire have always had moments in their music that sounds like one is ripping the other off...

New Order's "Murder" were accused of ripping off the Cure's druming sound in "The Hanging Garden"

There's a Pet Shop Boys song that was accused of being a rip-off of New Order's "Touched By The Hand Of God".

It was a popular contest amongst anglophile/new wave geek friends of mine in the mid to late 80s to see who could out-argue the other on these matters. Ah youth.

― donut christ (donut), Sunday, 23 January 2005 08:51 (twenty-one years ago)

New Order's "Murder" were accused of ripping off the Cure's druming sound in "The Hanging Garden"

You can't even be serious. To that I say: HA!

I shall not even for a MOMENT engage in ANY kind of argument as to the truth of that statement. Those people will have to get their beers on ANOTHER side of the pub, mate, unless we can find something else to talk about.

..and I supposed the jangly guitars sound a little like Sumner's janglyness on some of the tracks on Brotherhood, but now I'm just projecting the similarities only because the comparison was brought up.

I'm confused. Are you talking about "Ahead" or the new New Order single? Oh right. This isn't the New Order thread. Sorry!

Anyway, thanks for responding.

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Sunday, 23 January 2005 09:08 (twenty-one years ago)

No I mean that sincerely, Brian. I hate killing time 'til the Brits get awake sometimes. Cheers.

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Sunday, 23 January 2005 09:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Also I was listening to Can's song "Red Hot Indians" off Cannibalism 2 the other night and it suddenly struck me that it sounded a lot like Wire. Even though I've heard the song at least 4 or 5 times before.

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Sunday, 23 January 2005 10:26 (twenty-one years ago)

ahead/new order: again, it's all in the melodies. god damn, i wish i'd paid more attention during piano lessons. then i'd be able to wang on about modal wotsits instead of sounding like the chump i am.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Sunday, 23 January 2005 10:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Fiendish you're on! Hey I really dug how you recounted that Human League song The Black Hit Of Space on the other thread.

I am quite pissed and very tired.

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Sunday, 23 January 2005 10:53 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm on in body but not in mind. i'm hungover and trying to work out what the bloody hell i need to do today. i started trying to post on the section 25 thread but my brain wasn't up to it :(

coffee, food ... then ILM.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Sunday, 23 January 2005 11:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha! Sounds like good medicine, my friend. Not too much coffee though. Coffee's not good for hangovers in my experience.

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Sunday, 23 January 2005 11:21 (twenty-one years ago)

two years pass...

Three tracks in and this I think this album is fucking awesome. (I've never heard Wire before.)

― Curt1s Stephens, Saturday, 14 April 2007 01:11 (nineteen years ago)

"Feed Me" reminds me of And Also the Trees, with more electronics.

― Curt1s Stephens, Saturday, 14 April 2007 01:14 (nineteen years ago)

Utter classic tho "A Bell is a Cup Until It is Struck" is better

― President Evil, Saturday, 14 April 2007 01:23 (nineteen years ago)

AND DO NOT DESTROY "AMBITIOUS"!

― President Evil, Saturday, 14 April 2007 01:23 (nineteen years ago)

ambitious is my favorite 80's Wire song

― latebloomer, Saturday, 14 April 2007 01:44 (nineteen years ago)

When "The Ideal Copy" was released, Wire claimed that in 10 years it would be acclaimed as an almighty classic in much the same way as the first three Wire albums. I laughed even then, but it's still an okay album, albeit a step down from the "Snakedrill" EP.

― deedeedeextrovert, Saturday, 14 April 2007 02:19 (nineteen years ago)

What Miccio said upthread. I listen to The A List more than any other Wire.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Saturday, 14 April 2007 02:46 (nineteen years ago)

YOU KNOW DAMN WELL IT IS CLASSIC. FAR MORE THAN IT SEEMED AT THE TIME. But those who would compare early Wire with later Wire are kindof...off their rocker. Apples and oranges, folks.

Guilty confession: I too felt A Bell Is A Cup was better at the time...still kinda think so now even though I see it all quite differently in hindsight.

Actually the weirdest thing of all is that after all these years I think IBTABA is my fave Wire album. Go freaking figure.

Also I feel way, way silly for saying Wire's Ahead sounded nothing like New Order. I mean I guess it doesn't a whole lot but since then I think this thread has planted a seed in my brain that makes it okay to say to folks who haven't heard it "Ahead kinda sounds New Ordery"

Christ I wish folks would talk more about Wire on this board instead of all this mediocre new crappy indie shite.

― Bimble, Saturday, 14 April 2007 04:15 (nineteen years ago)

Cheeking Tongues is my favorite.

BUT....sorry to be pedantic about a 2 year old post, but the term Electro was coined several years before Wire reunited. And if you want to use the term electro to describe a sort of electronic new wave rock, punk bands went electro as early as what, 78? If you want to use the term electro in it's proper setting as a genre relating to hip-hop, i.e. Electro-Funk, then New Order among others certainly were doing it before Wire.

But I also don't think The Ideal Copy is that far off of 154, just a bit poppier.

― dan selzer, Saturday, 14 April 2007 04:57 (nineteen years ago)

I'll have to disagree with that last statement, Dave. 154 is a dark beast indeed.

― Bimble, Saturday, 14 April 2007 05:10 (nineteen years ago)

Dave? Anyway, I'm thinking of 40 Versions, which wouldn't sound that out of place on The Ideal Copy. Or Map Ref, or The 15th...it's not all dark in there!

― dan selzer, Saturday, 14 April 2007 07:07 (nineteen years ago)

Hahahah...Dave...I work with two guys named Dave. Sorry!

― Bimble, Saturday, 14 April 2007 07:10 (nineteen years ago)

As for 40 Versions etc. I dunno. It's very hard for me to link the Ideal Copy to 154 because even where there may be darkness on Ideal Copy, it's always brightened up by the synth sounds and such. It's very "80's". Whereas 154 is...well...I'll leave the pretentious music journalists to describe that one in words. I'd feel quite a fool trying to.

― Bimble, Saturday, 14 April 2007 07:18 (nineteen years ago)

get your beers on the other side of the pub, mate

― RJG, Saturday, 14 April 2007 11:39 (nineteen years ago)

Whereas 154 is...well...I'll leave the pretentious music journalists to describe that one in words. I'd feel quite a fool trying to.

How about "uneven" if not "boring"?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Saturday, 14 April 2007 12:24 (nineteen years ago)

ten years pass...

this shit rules

― Karl Malone, Monday, 24 July 2017 05:36 (eight years ago)

<3 madman's honey <3

― J. Sam, Monday, 24 July 2017 14:23 (eight years ago)

I've always loved this just a bit more than "A Bell Is A Cup", it's a bit less produced and more fun. The CD version is definitive for me, adding the "Ahead" and "Snakedrill" EPs. Which means you've got the immortal "Drill", the incredible live acappella "Vivid Riot Of Red" (and it's studio version "Up To The Sun"), "Ahead"'s deep intricate sound and energy, "Ambitious", which is just that, and "Over Theirs" is wonderfully sinister.

Sure, the moody pieces "Feed Me" and "Still Shows" slow things down a bit but it's all part of the flow.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Monday, 24 July 2017 16:13 (eight years ago)

I listen to The A List more than any other Wire.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, April 13, 2007

― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 24 July 2017 16:35 (eight years ago)

I've got the Ideal Copy on DAT, although I never had a DAT player.

― erry red flag (f. hazel), Monday, 24 July 2017 17:06 (eight years ago)

eight years pass...

I listen to The A List more than any other Wire.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, April 13, 2007

― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 24 July 2017 17:35 (eight years ago) bookmarkflaglink

― you can see me from westbury white horse, Thursday, 15 January 2026 16:03 (five months ago)

Me and a friend have been discussing 'couldda been big 80s hits' and I feel like Wire have way more of these than many. like the Paperboys' Tenure, The A List has a 'best-selling greatest hits from a different universe' feel to it.

― you can see me from westbury white horse, Thursday, 15 January 2026 16:06 (five months ago)

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