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Miles - 2004-10-03 21:37:48
Wire, hurrah! Interesting that you did the same thing that delayed my Wire fandom: I, too, started ex post facto with Pink Flag, around 1989 when Enigma/Restless reissued their first three albums on CD. I'd read their entry in the Trouser Press guide and liked R.E.M.'s cover of "Strange," so I thought "let's start at the beginning" and picked up Pink Flag. At the time, I liked it well enough, but it didn't grab me either, and I didn't feel moved to pick up anything else by them.

FFWD to 1992: Trawling through the Great Escape's bargain bin, I spied a copy of the final album of the 1986-92 version of the band, The First Letter, and bought it on a lark. Then I rode the lark back home and gave the CD a listen, and I was completely hooked. Within a couple of months I'd acquired the entire catalog, and they'd become one of my very favorite bands. It also turns out that I'd enjoyed "Ahead" on Vandy's radio station but never understood who the artist was (damn mushmouthed mumbling college DJs!)

I like all versions of the band in roughly equal measure, and my favorite albums in order are equally divided between 1977-80 and 1986-92: A Bell Is a Cup, 154, The Ideal Copy, and Chairs Missing. I'm so happy that you've gotten into them! �
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Paula - 2004-10-03 21:41:02
You wanna hear somethin' funny? The first time I heard "I am the Fly," I thought, "man, this sounds so familiar--did some other band cover this? Did someone put it on a mix tape?"

So I Googled "I am the Fly" and "cover versions" and, though I discovered that many bands have covered it, the reason it was so familiar was 'cuz of that Elastica song that caused all the brouhaha for sounding like Wire. That''s where I'd "heard" it.
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Miles - 2004-10-03 23:41:13
The main riff of Elastica's "Connection" is actually "Three Girl Rhumba" from Pink Flag, but yeah, Justine went ahead and lifted from "I Am the Fly" for good measure (plus both riffs are in the same general Wire riff family). Wire's publishing company successfully sued Elastica over it, though it's my understanding that the band members themselves see no dough from it. There's a song on Elastica's second album that's a rewrite of Wire's "Kidney Bingos," but Justine headed off the lawsuits at the pass by giving Wire the "co-write."

"Connection" is still a damn catchy song, though.
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