S1E41 – Wire – “Pink Flag”

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In lieu of a scheduled appearance by the entire Big Dipper ensemble (next week, come hell or high water), Rob and Barry make haste not waste and deliver an episode about a monolith of underground music, Wire’s debut, “Pink Flag.” The list of luminaries (and lesser lights) who have copped to stealing wholesale from this treasure trove of ideas would fill the rest of this page. Brief songs touching on politics, sexuality and boredom are given a buff and shine by genius producer Mike Thorne, who copped to calming Wire’s uptight art school nerves with a “jar of homegrown.” Whatever the method, the results stand on their own in this first of Wire’s trilogy of landmarks (Pink Flag-1977, Chairs Missing-1978, 154-1979). It’s 21 songs in 35:19 – all killer no filler.