Published on Apr 21, 2004
Brevity is key in the punk ethos.
If any band understood this, it was Wire.
In the span of one Tool song, Wire was about halfway through
Pink Flag, their amazing 1977 album.
21 songs.
39 minutes.
No bullshit.
Even if you have never heard a note of the original
Pink Flag, you’ve likely heard the entire album over the
course of 20 years. “Oh, that’s that cool guitar riff on
‘Connection’ by Elastica?” (See “Three Girl Rhumba.”) “Oh, you mean
REM didn’t write ‘Strange’ on
Document?” (See the track of the same name.) Not to say that
either Elastica or REM are rip-off artists. Both songs are great
homages to Wire.
It’s hard to call
Pink Flag “punk.” In fact, most of Wire’s collection defies
definition. Released amidst the punk “zenith” of 1977 (The Clash,
Talking Heads, Sex Pistols, Ramones all had stuff out), Wire leaned
toward the artier side of the punk movement. Think punk music
geared toward uptight, Kafka-worshipping grad students rather than
glue-sniffing skaters.
With most songs lasting less than two minutes, Wire cover
enormous ground with
Pink Flag. “Reuters” has a political energy so urgent, it
sounds like it was written about Gulf War II, “Lowdown” has a heavy
Zeppelin-like feel, “Fragile” is a great stab at delicate pop and
“Mannequin” has a subtlety that would later show up on REM’s
Murmer.
Still, lyrically,
Pink Flag is as punk as punk comes. “Mr. Suit. You Can take
your f*****g money and shove it up your arse / ’cause you think you
understand / well it’s a f*****g farce,” Colin yells on the
cathartic “Mr. Suit.” And while “Mannequin” has a soft, groovy
guitar riff, the lyrics creep up on you: “You’re an energy void/a
black hole to avoid.”
In the spirit of the album’s brevity – it rocks. Buy it.
Now.