Wire - 154: Classic or Dud?

You should be slapped across the face with a sandpaper glove for that comment.

I was listening to 154 this morning and the lyrics are fantastic.

and yeah i love it

Hey Jess, why do ya think that Chairs Missing is better than Pink Flag?

That said Ned's post way back when is the only one of these that actually says why 154 is so damn loved. Can someone tell me what exactly I'm supposed to be enjoying on that thing (aside from the pre-Pixies prettiness of "the 15th" and "Map Ref" actually having a hook).

all that said, "map ref" is still probably in my top 10 favorite songs of all time.

but its not that prog really. but then again I've only heard 154 and pink flag.

J: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Hahahaha.

TY: Um.

J: Ha. Hahaha. Ha.

I don't get the love for The 15th so much and I'm surprised at the lack of love for Song 1. Is Blur's Song 2 supposed to be a reference to Song 1?

I've come round to most of Lewis' vocals, not least after experiencing his awesome arrogant over-affected supervillain shtick on the 1979 video. That 'fighting brave-ly, WILL SHE SAVE ME' bit in A Touching Display is so melodramatic it's genius.

This is being issued legitimately, soon.

Classicobv.

Miccio, man, I love ya, but FUCK DAT...

anyway, CLASSIC. such a cold, chilly album. the textures are so bleak, atmospheric. "I Should've Known Better" sort of reminds me of Dracula.

I did have it when I was 15! I love "Map Ref." on the Troublemakers comp, and found a used copy not long afterward. Still my favorite Wire LP.

it's out now! i've just ordered mine from posteverything.com. get *in*.

tragically, they don't have any of those stunning a-list T-shirts left.

154 is a landmark; a colossus. it's so spectacularly under-rated (in general) too. is chairs missing better? not quite. but it's not worth arguing. two of the greatest albums in the history of time.

am i the only person in the world who loves - *loves* - a bell is a cup?

and i think i'm one of the few who actually enjoys the drill LP. i don't actually own manscape. i keep meaning to get it. it's a long time since i've heard it; i remember being hugely underwhelmed. which is why i never bought it, see?

i dug out my copy of the wir album the other day. holy christ, ticking mouth! one of their all-time finest moments. what a beautiful, bleak, terrifying song.

And I loves Drill (drill drill, dugga dugga dugga and "1 2 drill .... U")

Also, The Wir Remix of Erasure's "Fingers & Thumbs" is ace ace ace.

But yeah, I would say most fans don't rate the Manscape/Drill/First Letter era highly.

According to Discogs:

Culture Vultures
French Film (Blurred)
Indirect Inquiries
Used To
Being Sucked In Again
I Should Have Known Better
The Other Window
On Returning

"...have never been officially released; the remaining tracks appear on the 1995 CD Behind The Curtain (Early Versions 1977 & 1978)."

Didn't all of these tracks come out with the 2018 3CD expanded editions?

Yes.

Anyway, my copy has just arrived, so..

A guy's gotta make a living. Colin Newman, that is.

the best fucking album ever made!!!!

yes. yes!!

I feel like all the criticisms of this album are like "oh it's so silly and OTT and comically doomy".

But that is what I love about it??

a touching display, you might conclude

You'd be very wrong if you did though.

My favorite album. (Thanks, Fischerspooner.)

Am I the only one who prefers Colin Newman's A - Z? I don't object to "silly and OTT and comically doomy" in general but the tracks led by Lewis and Gilbert just aren't as interesting melodically, harmonically, or vocally (though they are very interesting conceptually and lyrically).

(and texturally)

Ever tried "In Esse" ?

(Makes Metal Machine Music sound tuneful. I sort of like it, but)

I've heard all four Dome albums, and collectively they equal about one fine record plus a lot of mildly interesting experiments.