So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Dr. Medulla
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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Marky Dread wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 8:04am
Can't really add much here. But when "Rise" came out I though that it was an exceptional single. It was more corporate sounding yet still managed to sound like nothing else being produced at the time. Steve Vai did some of his best work on "Album" maybe it allowed him some freedom to explore. I don't know just how much Ginger Baker contributed to the drums but the drum sound is also excellent on "Album".
It's really well done hard rock. There's a slickness there, but so much better than the slick metal that was reaching the mainstream. A more conventional singer and it could have been a hit album.
I also like "Happy" it isn't as strong as "Album" but it is decent enough. "Fat Chance Hotel" showed some real promise of where the band could go with their sound.
Yup, FCH is the one song on there that is a proper keeper in the catalogue.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 7:32am

I'm the same way—until his recent Trumpist turn, anyway—in that as much as his music has left me flat in recent, well, decades, the guy was the spark that changed my life by introducing me to punk. There's a debt there. He supercharged my imagination and provided a kind of outlet for my frustrations and inadequacies.

Even if "Seattle" no longer does much for me, I have a very clear memory of buying the 12" single, stopping in Saskatoon on my way to my sister's farm. It was a complete surprise, as I had no idea a new album or anything like that was coming. I got to my sister's and played both sides over and over, all weekend, just transfixed. I was still in my religious awe of punk and its most celebrated figures, so something new from John Lydon was Moses finding a new tablet and letting us know. I loved it so damned much, that uncomplicated relationship with music at that age, before we get older and more critical and often cynical.
Religious awe isn't too far off. At the height of his powers I'd say he was possessed of a supernatural charisma I've yet to see anywhere else. it doesn't quite translate to the screen in the same way it doesn't for Joe, but I've never seen anyone command the attention of a crowd the way Lydon did. You definitely got the sense you were in the presence of something unordinary. He really embodied that malevolent Joker archetype way before its time. Makes me wonder if Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix studied any video of him the way they clearly did with Jaz Coleman. Lydon's fatalism and cynicism prevented him from exploiting it to the fullest, which is probably a good thing.

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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IkarisOne wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 12:34pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 7:32am

I'm the same way—until his recent Trumpist turn, anyway—in that as much as his music has left me flat in recent, well, decades, the guy was the spark that changed my life by introducing me to punk. There's a debt there. He supercharged my imagination and provided a kind of outlet for my frustrations and inadequacies.

Even if "Seattle" no longer does much for me, I have a very clear memory of buying the 12" single, stopping in Saskatoon on my way to my sister's farm. It was a complete surprise, as I had no idea a new album or anything like that was coming. I got to my sister's and played both sides over and over, all weekend, just transfixed. I was still in my religious awe of punk and its most celebrated figures, so something new from John Lydon was Moses finding a new tablet and letting us know. I loved it so damned much, that uncomplicated relationship with music at that age, before we get older and more critical and often cynical.
Religious awe isn't too far off. At the height of his powers I'd say he was possessed of a supernatural charisma I've yet to see anywhere else. it doesn't quite translate to the screen in the same way it doesn't for Joe, but I've never seen anyone command the attention of a crowd the way Lydon did. You definitely got the sense you were in the presence of something unordinary. He really embodied that malevolent Joker archetype way before its time. Makes me wonder if Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix studied any video of him the way they clearly did with Jaz Coleman. Lydon's fatalism and cynicism prevented him from exploiting it to the fullest, which is probably a good thing.
Between 1977 and 1980, he was terrifyingly significant w/r/t the nature of popular music. I remember reading a piece by Lester Bangs on, I think, Metal Box, where he said that he was unsure whether he should commit to the sound because he was scared Lydon would turn around and say it was all a big joke. He occupied a spot in a way so few artists ever do that status of seemingly everything they say and do was *Important* seemingly by force of will. He applied his resentment so well in that short period, but after that it's mostly been pantomime.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Feb 2021, 8:16pm
Kory wrote:
03 Feb 2021, 8:02pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Feb 2021, 7:08pm
Kory wrote:
03 Feb 2021, 6:57pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
03 Feb 2021, 6:00pm


I can't conceive of Levene signing off on that stuff. Album represents a clean break—PiL II, if you wish. It's the point where PiL is no longer about charting its own unusual path and becoming more easily classifiable in terms of what's going on around them. Lydon surrounded himself with more dedicated musicians, but it meant taking several steps towards conventionality. Don't get me wrong, I still love Album, even beyond nostalgia. But it's the moment where Lydon stops being essential.
I dunno, Bags sound very much like a pop-oriented FoR, Fishing could have existed on TIWYW in a less developed form, etc. It doesn't feel as clean of a break to me as does Happy.
How much of a role did/does Lydon have on the music? It was a completely different set of songwriters and producer from before, so the continuity would be strained unless Lydon was more hands-on in shaping the sound.
I would expect that he has veto power over the music, or at least chooses promising candidates from a set of instrumental demos or something like that. I'm speaking purely in musical terms, like the type of drumbeat, the sparseness of a bassline, etc. I imagine that musicians working with Lydon have a sense of the kind of thing he's likely to approve of and write with that in mind.
That makes sense. Sort of a conductor. I gather he trusts the current incarnation of PiL a great deal and is more open to their input.
I get that sense too, which is heartwarming as it can be coming from a guy like him.
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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Marky Dread wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 8:04am
I don't know just how much Ginger Baker contributed to the drums but the drum sound is also excellent on "Album".
Wiki reports that Baker played on Fishing, Round, Bags, and Ease, with Tony WIlliams covering the other three.
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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Anyway, I'm listening to Send now, my personal favourite Wire album, even tho I know 154 and Chairs Missing are more accomplished and influential. Fantastic and energizing minimalist aggression all over this record.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Kory wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 3:10pm
Marky Dread wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 8:04am
I don't know just how much Ginger Baker contributed to the drums but the drum sound is also excellent on "Album".
Wiki reports that Baker played on Fishing, Round, Bags, and Ease, with Tony WIlliams covering the other three.
Yep I know all that stuff mate. Like him playing in his barn etc. I'm referring to the sound on the record. How much of that sound is down to Laswell's production or the drummers playing.
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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Marky Dread wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 4:23pm
Kory wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 3:10pm
Marky Dread wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 8:04am
I don't know just how much Ginger Baker contributed to the drums but the drum sound is also excellent on "Album".
Wiki reports that Baker played on Fishing, Round, Bags, and Ease, with Tony WIlliams covering the other three.
Yep I know all that stuff mate. Like him playing in his barn etc. I'm referring to the sound on the record. How much of that sound is down to Laswell's production or the drummers playing.
With that amount of reverb, I'd put my money on Laswell. Drummers can't really control anything other than the velocity of their hits and what that does to the natural timbre of the instrument, and those drums sound anything but natural.
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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 3:48pm
Anyway, I'm listening to Send now, my personal favourite Wire album, even tho I know 154 and Chairs Missing are more accomplished and influential. Fantastic and energizing minimalist aggression all over this record.
The Scottish Play show is a fun viewing too.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Kory wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 4:54pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 3:48pm
Anyway, I'm listening to Send now, my personal favourite Wire album, even tho I know 154 and Chairs Missing are more accomplished and influential. Fantastic and energizing minimalist aggression all over this record.
The Scottish Play show is a fun viewing too.
And solid evidence that Wire in concert is a mighty beast. Arguably, they've always been better live than on record.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Kory wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 4:54pm
Marky Dread wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 4:23pm
Kory wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 3:10pm
Marky Dread wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 8:04am
I don't know just how much Ginger Baker contributed to the drums but the drum sound is also excellent on "Album".
Wiki reports that Baker played on Fishing, Round, Bags, and Ease, with Tony WIlliams covering the other three.
Yep I know all that stuff mate. Like him playing in his barn etc. I'm referring to the sound on the record. How much of that sound is down to Laswell's production or the drummers playing.
With that amount of reverb, I'd put my money on Laswell. Drummers can't really control anything other than the velocity of their hits and what that does to the natural timbre of the instrument, and those drums sound anything but natural.
Yes that's my take on it also. Before I knew there were two different drummers on "Album" I assumed it was one as the album only has the one drum sound throughout. So it has to be Laswell who set that sound.
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Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 5:00pm
Kory wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 4:54pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 3:48pm
Anyway, I'm listening to Send now, my personal favourite Wire album, even tho I know 154 and Chairs Missing are more accomplished and influential. Fantastic and energizing minimalist aggression all over this record.
The Scottish Play show is a fun viewing too.
And solid evidence that Wire in concert is a mighty beast. Arguably, they've always been better live than on record.
I'm glad I've gotten to see them a couple times at least. Harpooned was HUGE live.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Kory wrote:
04 Feb 2021, 6:06pm
Harpooned was HUGE live.
I can imagine. It's possibly their "heaviest" song—just a juggernaut of menace.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Listening to the He Said Omala album right now. Not counting the Dome records, it's probably my favourite Wire-related solo album. Graham Lewis' collaborations in the 1990s interregnum were generally exceptional.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: So- how didn't I know the new Wire was out?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Mar 2021, 12:53pm


Listening to the He Said Omala album right now. Not counting the Dome records, it's probably my favourite Wire-related solo album. Graham Lewis' collaborations in the 1990s interregnum were generally exceptional.
I have the Take Care album by He Said, but I think I like this better.
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