310. Wire, "Pink Flag"

 


Wire is like the Velvet Underground of the UK - loved by record store clerks, a big influence on a lot of people who started bands, and never really cracked the mainstream.  This, their debut album, never charted on its initial release, but is now widely considered a punk, or post-punk, I guess, masterpiece.

Even if you don't like a song, don't worry, there's another one about to happen; the longest song on here is "Strange," at 3:59, but most of them are under 2 minutes.  In contrast to yesterday's audio marijuana, this is not a soothing album at all.  It's all pretty fast tempo-wise and that weird affected British punk vocal style and punchy distorted guitars.  I'm saving up the word "angular" for Gang of Four, but this is at least "pre-angular."

There are so many covers of songs on this album!  R.E,M. covered the aforementioned "Strange" on Document, for example.  Well, "covered" isn't exactly the right word; they used all the same chords in the same order and some of the same words but built a whole new song on its framework.  Henry Rollins covered "Ex Lion Tamer," a great song.  Spoon covered "Lowdown," and so on and so on.  You can also tell that bands like Minutemen relied on this album (and other Wire albums) for  big part of their sound.

I'm gonna shit all over my music cred here by saying that I like, but don't love, this album.  (Other than "Fragile," which sounds like the basis for the Three O'Clock's entire sound, I do love that one.)  Just between you and me, I like a lot of the songs qua songs, but I don't love the vocals.  That British Punk Tone just kinda bugs me. I know, I'm not punk and you're telling everyone.

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? Yeah, I think so.

Comments

  1. StephenAugust 12, 2021 at 10:40 AM

    Salem 66 covered Fragile.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TKAugust 12, 2021 at 12:46 PM

      Well there you go! (Stephen, for those who don't know, was a member of 80's college raido faves Salem 66.)

      That is wild that you covered my favorite song on the album.

      Delete
  2. GGAugust 12, 2021 at 11:01 AM

    You almost had me ready to go listen to this album again but then you had to throw that curveball in at the end, and now I have to listen to 24 Hour Revenge Therapy in its entirety instead

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TKAugust 12, 2021 at 12:48 PM

      That's always a good listen! (I checked and it's not on the list, a SHOCKING oversight.)

      Delete

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