three from Wire

[Mr. FOLLARD]

[Sneelock]

I like all 3 but “map ref” hits my special spot.
We had this rock critic Ira Robbins who ran the magazine ”Trouser Press”
He wrote these over the top praising reviews of 154. I knew pink flag but what he described was a whole different thing.
I wasn’t remotely disappointed when I bought it.

[rayge]

Surprised to find Eardrum Buzz on here. Was the first Wire track I really loved, the one where I finally 'got' them, although I remember my 12" of it being much more dominated by a supple, elastic bass riff. Maybe it was a remix, maybe I'm going mad(der). 12XU I also had on a single, although I tended to hear it as yet another ramalama punk thing and it got lost in the general mayhem (I was buying maybe ten to fifteen 7" and 12" singles a week, plus the odd album, back then); with the benefit of hindsight, and knowledge of their later career, it sounds a lot more distinctive than I remember. I didn't get a copy of 154 (or indeed any Wire album) until this century: it's also pretty nifty, but Eardrum Buzz is more my thing right now.

[Deleted]

Wire have always been hit and miss for me. But at their best I can definitely see the appeal.

Eardrum is annoying, gimmicky shit with a horrible production. I can't listen to it.
Map is driving and propulsive. One of their best for me. I can hear the Krautrock influence now really clearly. The obvious winner here.
12 is straightforward punk. It has a certain power, but ultimately is not very memorable.

[toomanyhatz]

I mostly agree with G, other than I've always loved "12XU." It's straightforward other than the guitar tone, which is so much thicker and wider than most punk. Plus I think my beloved Minutemen got a lot from it.

It's also the shortest, though contrary to that my favorite song of theirs is their longest (at least from the first three).

[DarknessFish]

Eardrum Buzz is embarrassingly bad. For a band with such an effortless run of three great albums, it's pretty astonishing how they returned in the late 80s as a fully-formed bag of shit.

Map Ref is a slice of pop perfection, isn't it? I love the strange phrasing of the verses, especially the "An aerial photographer ... over-exposed ... To the cartologist's 2D ... images knows". But really, it just seems to take Eno's sound from "Taking Tiger Mountain" and making it as catchy as Abba, without losing any of its strange playfulness. This and "Outdoor Miner" just feel like Wire were taking the piss with how easy they could write a proper pop sog with a brilliant melody. Bonus marks for singing "Chorus!" and not sounding shit.

12XU is alright, but its a fairly ordinary slice of punk. Not a bad song, but kind of unremarkable. A bit like their last couple of albums.

[Deleted]

Like Map Ref and 12XU equally and depending on the mood, would choose either..Might prefer Outdoor Miner or I am the fly off Chairs Missing

Not sure what they were thinking with Eardrum, though..Agree with G, kind of a gimmick and that too clean production that emerged in the late 80s..Gets more points off for that Ear Shirt..