I remember seeing Pink Flag in a record shop window on Eighth Street in the Village in 1977. It was an import, expensive, and I hadn’t even heard of the band, but the look was clean and lovely, different than the artwork that smudged across a lof of the new punk music elpees, and it made me curious. Not long after, reviews started appearing and Wire were quickly critics’ darlings. That’s what short and incisive pop noise and catchy melody does.
I waited for the US release, I think, a few months later to finally hear what I’d been reading about. I was rewarded, with a punchy tunes that got in and out quicker than you’d want, but more powerfully than you could hope for. Pink Flag is one of the great rock ‘n’ roll albums of all time. Rolling Stone says No. 412, NME says 378, Steve Moyer says 32. I say closer to Moyer than NME, but whatever.
So, this comes up because Wire has a new song out. They’ve been releasing records off and on for the past four or five years, and even more off and on through the aughts and 90s. I have to admit that I haven’t been paying attention, so I can’t speak to what they’ve been doing, but this is a good one. Short Elevated Period.
Good one, like you don’t hardly hear any more.
Can I change my Remnants name to Mr Negative?
I was REALLY excited about this post until I played the song. A solid OK. If I saw this this on the TV at the gym, it would certainly be a welcome respite from the drivel. Unfortunately, in this context I’m not jumping up and down or looking where to buy it.
Too long, first of all, for Wire (the best Wire) at least. And what’s with that singing? Did they hire some guy from The Voice or something?
First, you have had that moniker long before you were a remnant, Steve, and perhaps you should delineate again between what you like and what is objectively good (not exclusive ever by any means for any of us).
Wire was a band I always heard of, but they got very little west coast play. However, for several years “Chairs Missing” kept popping up (w/4-plus stars) in my Amazon around “people who liked this also liked that.”
So, I dropped it onto my main Spotify playlist and the album is really good and listenable and Amazon was right.
Johnny Negative and the No No’s.