Wire

Wire on the Box: 1979 (Pink Flag)
by Lex Marburger

When you hear people like us (pretentious music critics, in case you didn’t know) talk about “seminal” bands that “influenced hundreds” of people, about the “best band you never heard,” and all that crap, you tend to tune it out, don’t you? Be honest. You listen to what you like, and don’t want to be told why your favorite band sucks, and why a group that only released one album back in ’76 or something is so much better. Still, we have to try, because we know we’re right, and that they’re truly superior bands. See? I told you we’re pretentious.

That much said, you really should know about Wire, especially if you care about any sort of post-whatever rock music being played today. Rather than go on about how fucking awesome Wire is/was (you can go to www.trouserpress.com for that), let’s just take it as a given that they’ve done more for interesting music than most, and should be up there with Can, Velvet Underground, and The Fall as far as unknown influence goes. Anyway, an old German TV show has surfaced, featuring none other than Wire. The resulting package is Wire on the Box: 1979. As a testament to Wire’s staying power, the music (including “I Feel Mysterious Today,” “Practice Makes Perfect,” and “Pink Flag”) is as challenging and disturbing as it was back then, even with the obvious detraction of a terrible mix and shoddy production. The CD comes with a DVD of the show, which gives visual insight into the musical adventures of a band you should know about, even if you fucking heathens never own a damn thing by them.
(www.pinkflag.com)