WIPERS Is This Real? (Jackpot) lp 19.98
Now available (again) on vinyl, one of the best records EVER, from one of the greatest, most intense, brooding and rocking post punk band of all time.
For those who are new to the Wipers, these guys were one of those bands that never got all that popular, but were definitely a band's band, the kind of group that gets namechecked by everybody, and thus influenced everybody, but still remained way below the radar.
Formed in 1978, the Wipers spent their career toiling away in obscurity, seemingly adverse to recognition or popularity, even turning down the opening slot on several Nirvana tours, worried that it would seem too opportunistic. And Cobain was probably the Wipers' biggest supporter, even covering a bunch of their songs. In fact, lots of people who hear the original versions of "D-7" or any of the Wipers' tunes Nirvana usually covered, think it must be some punk band covering Nirvana, instead of the other way around. And the more Wipers you hear, the more you realize Cobain did more than just cover their songs, his songwriting style and melodic flair is definitely heavily indebted to the Wipers. Some of the more brooding less rocking Wipers songs sound just like Nirvana tracks that could have been. Minor key mope rock that sort of builds and builds, not necessarily getting louder and faster (although sometimes they did) but getting more and more intense, threatening to explode, the kind of genuine angst and fury that can NOT be faked and imbues music with that sort of emotional charge that turns good music into great music. Cobain had it. So did Greg Sage. And Is This Real? proves it. Big time. One of those record where EVERY track feels like a hit. Like a classic. "D-7", the title track, "Tragedy"... all dark and driving, murky and moody, rough and totally rocking. But at the same time impossibly catchy and poppy. Big time pop. Hooks all over the place. But of course wrapped in all sorts of minor key murk, and fuzzy distorted heartbreak. One of the best bands, and best records, you may have never heard. Until now!
MPEG Stream: "D-7"
MPEG Stream: "Is This Real?"
MPEG Stream: "Tragedy"
MPEG Stream: "Mystery"

WIPERS Over The Edge (Jackpot / Zeno) lp 19.98

WIPERS Youth of America (Jackpot) lp 21.00
At this point, the saga of Greg Sage and the Wipers is so much a part of the American rock canon that it hardly needs restating: maverick, hermetic genius shuns the mainstream; makes a holy trinity of blown out garage punk; leaves an indelible influence on every young turk with a guitars and chip on his/her shoulder over the next two+ decades. Similarly, the story behind Youth Of America itself is equally well known. After being pressured by their label into a professional studio to re-record their debut, Is This Real, prior to its release, Sage and Co. opted to record Youth of America entirely on their own in Sage's home studio. The result is a sprawling work of guitar sturm und drang layered over wiry pre/post/peri-punkitude that references everything from Neu!-style space riffage, to vintage '80s new wave skitter, to the best possible blissed-out-fuzz-soaked psych. There are faint touches of Joy Division and The Buzzcocks lurking in the shadows of this record, what you'll be struck by more than Sage's influences is the degree to which this record (perhaps moreso than any other in the Wipers' catalog) has influenced others; it's hard to imagine bands like Husker Du, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, or Hot Snakes (to name but a few) existing without the groundwork laid down on the first three Wipers LPs.
It's a shame that the backstory behind The Wipers is perhaps more oft-heard than the band's records, but this wicked nice deluxe LP reissue provides a great chance to rectify that. You get heavy 180g vinyl and a version free of the terrible gradeschool-quality goth/ghoul painting that has inexplicably graced the covers of previous reissues. If your exposure to the Wipers is limited to watching The River's Edge or hearing them name-checked ad infinitum by Kurt Cobain, then pick this up immediately and discover exactly why Youth Of America is a seminal work by one of the most important and influential bands in the American punk canon.
MPEG Stream: "Youth Of America"
MPEG Stream: "In Effect"

WIRE On the Box: 1979 (WDR) cd + dvd 21.00
As much as we may extoll the virtues of Wire, Dome, He Said, and any / all other Wire side projects, those albums would have never seen the light of day had Wire not released the ultra classics Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154. Infinitely smarter than the Sex Pistols and not as gloomy as Joy Division, Wire initially appeared as a bright 3-chord punk band on Pink Flag, but quickly authored the template of a post-punk ethos that moved beyond simple rock structures and orchestration on Chairs Missing and 154. As distinct as each of those album are, Wire connected the dots with a very strong signature that they didn't really exhaust until the early '90s. While the latest reincarnation of Wire has boasted a return to their early glory, we haven't been entirely convinced.
Fortunately for big Wire fans like us, there's On The Box: 1979, a DVD / CD set of a live set that the band performed for the German television show Rockpalast. Recorded in between Chairs Missing and 154, the band was at that point experimenting with more obtuse songs; but given the live context and their apparant dissatisfaction with the rather placid and polite audience, the songs that would later appear on 154 (i.e. "The 15th" and "Map Ref. 41 N 93 W") have a definite edge that's not found on the studio recordings. For a live recording, this is as good as you'll find: great performance, tight and aggressive, great song selection, and good sound quality.
The DVD also features an interview in which the four are particularly difficult and curt to an increasingly confused journalist, and the CD just houses all of the audio from the show.
MPEG Stream: "The 15th (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "French Film Blurred (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "Pink Flag (Live)"

WIRE 154 (Pink Flag) cd 14.98
While we're not sure we would really want to do it, had we been asked Continuum Press to write one of their 33 1/3 mini books about a favorite album, we just might have to choose Wire's third album 154. Partially, this choice would be something of a compromise as we doubt that a book on Nurse With Wound's Homotopie To Marie would make for a saleable product. 154 stands in our minds as the epitome of what post-punk should be: a bold fusion of post-situationist / punk antagonism and legitimately experimental methodologies with an undercurrent of smarty-pop to keep the kids bouncing up and down.
I (Jim) actually came to Wire somewhat late in my record nerd existance, and I actually grew to admire the band through a reverse history of sorts, as I didn't really start enjoying the first three Wire albums (Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154) until other Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert projects entranced me with thier experiments in proto-electronica. This was especially true for the ghostly post-structuralism found on their Dome records. And those Lewis / Gilbert projects took their genetic code for shadow and gloom from elements of 154. An album that was made under personal duress, 154 drips of disintegration. In fact the band split apart for almost 7 years after the making of 154, pursuing a variety of projects -- traces of which are quite present in this album as Colin Newman's pop sarcasm continued through his solo records and the vast array of Lewis / Gilbert projects.
Recorded in 1979, 154 marks the band's third radical reinvention in three years. Wire's pacing has slowed to a lugubrious, Factory-esque crawl but lost none of their punk antagonism. The slower pacing better suited the baritone vocals of Graham Lewis, who had penned many of the lyrics that Colin Newman sang. In lesser hands, the patchwork of forboding atmospheric dirges and punchy power pop numbers would appear disjointed; but Wire's deft use of synthetic coloring, exquisite timing, and simply great songwriting smear the whole album into a wholly convincing masterpiece. "I Should Have Known Better" and "A Touching Display" represent a few of Graham Lewis' baritone marches through plodding drone and heavy basslines, which have more in common with the late '80s, proto-doom of Swans than of the snarl of the Buzzcocks. Newman's pop brilliance also shines on 154 through "The 15th," which sadly more people recognize from the tepid Fischerspooner cover than by this punk-pop gem. Of the first three Wire albums, 154 proudly stands as the most challenging and most rewarding. So good, I may have to buy it, yet again.
MPEG Stream: "I Should Have Known Better"
MPEG Stream: "The 15th"
MPEG Stream: "A Touching Display"

WIRE 154 (4 Men With Beards) lp 15.98
Now available on vinyl, a super deluxe lp reissue of this post-punk gloom pop gem!!
While we're not sure we would really want to do it, had we been asked Continuum Press to write one of those 33 1/3 mini books about a favorite album, we just might have to choose Wire's third album 154. Partially, this choice would be something of a compromise as we doubt that a book on Nurse With Wound's Homotopie To Marie would make for a salable product. 154 stands in our minds as the epitome of what post-punk should be: a bold fusion of post-situationist / punk antagonism and legitimately experimental methodologies with an undercurrent of smarty-pop to keep the kids bouncing up and down.
I (Jim) actually came to Wire somewhat late in my record nerd existence, and I actually grew to admire the band through a reverse history of sorts, as I didn't really start enjoying the first three Wire albums (Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154) until other Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert projects entranced me with their experiments in proto-electronica. This was especially true for the ghostly post-structuralism found on their Dome records. And those Lewis / Gilbert projects took their genetic code for shadow and gloom from elements of 154. An album that was made under personal duress, 154 drips with disintegration. In fact the band split apart for almost 7 years after the making of 154, pursuing a variety of projects -- traces of which are quite present in this album as Colin Newman's pop sarcasm continued through his solo records and the vast array of Lewis / Gilbert projects.
Recorded in 1979, 154 marks the band's third radical reinvention in three years. Wire's pacing has slowed to a lugubrious, Factory-esque crawl but lost none of their punk antagonism. The slower pacing better suited the baritone vocals of Graham Lewis, who had penned many of the lyrics that Colin Newman sang. In lesser hands, the patchwork of foreboding atmospheric dirges and punchy power pop numbers would appear disjointed; but Wire's deft use of synthetic coloring, exquisite timing, and simply great songwriting smear the whole album into a wholly convincing masterpiece. "I Should Have Known Better" and "A Touching Display" represent a few of Graham Lewis' baritone marches through plodding drone and heavy basslines, which have more in common with the late '80s, proto-doom of Swans than of the snarl of the Buzzcocks. Newman's pop brilliance also shines on 154 through "The 15th," which sadly more people recognize from the tepid Fischerspooner cover than by this punk-pop gem. Of the first three Wire albums, 154 proudly stands as the most challenging and most rewarding. So good, we may have to buy it, yet again.
MPEG Stream: "I Should Have Known Better"
MPEG Stream: "The 15th"
MPEG Stream: "A Touching Display"

WIRE Chairs Missing (Pink Flag) cd 14.98
In 1978, being qualified as "the Pink Floyd of the New Wave" might have come across as something of an insult; and by today's artistic strategies of rampant revivalism such a pithy remark may ring true to many a listener. That statement was, in fact, the critique prescribed to Chairs Missing, Wire's second album, as the album decelerated the pogo punk minimalism found on their first album with an increasing use of experimental production. In hindsight, Chairs Missing is the perfect transition between the high-strung velocity of Pink Flag and the staggering gloominess of 154; yet most transition records have a clunkiness about them, like a lanky teenager not quite able to fit into his sunday best. But Chairs Missing is miles above the average transition album. To many a listener, Chairs Missing stands as the ultimate Wire album, with near perfect pop songs alternating between anthemic punk and eccentric production techniques (i.e. atonal synth drone, staccato guitar chops, overdubbed guitar distortion, etc.). Where Pink Flag kept many of the songs under a minute and half, Chairs Missing is downright baroque in its presentation of 3 minute tunes. The genius of Chairs Missing is how Colin Newman, Robert Gotobed, Bruce Gilbert, and Graham Lewis manage to steer through the diverse songwriting landscape, in how the album's opening track "Practice Makes Perfect" transitions from a delicate prance for jangled guitar into a precise expression of menace, in how "Outdoor Miner" creates the catchiest, Beatlesque chorus you'll never be able to sing back to yourself given the complexity of its rejoining, nonsensical syllables, in how jaggedly clean the guitars of Newman and Gilbert attack each other, in how Lewis' bass is fluid and effortless, in how this run-on sentence seems to have lost its way trying to fathom the complexity of Wire. If you believe that the length of Aquarius' reviews directly correlate to how good the record actually is, then we have failed as we would need to write a fucking a book about how stunning this album is. Yeah, Chairs Missing is incredible; and if you don't have it, you really should.
Okay, one thing to bitch about the reissue of Chairs Missing is that the cover is curiously bleached out of its color; the reissue also doesn't come with the (really great!) bonus tracks found on the EMI cd version of the album. Come on Wire, you released this album on your own label. At least you could give us all the bells and whistles found on other versions of this album! This is our only complaint, and a minor quibble for sure.
MPEG Stream: "Outdoor Miner"
MPEG Stream: "Practice Makes Perfect"
MPEG Stream: "I Am The Fly"

WIRE Chairs Missing (4 Men With Beards) lp 15.98
Now available on vinyl, a super deluxe lp reissue of Wire's second album, an all time experimental post-punk classic and unanimous AQ fave!!
In 1978, being qualified as "the Pink Floyd of the New Wave" might have come across as something of an insult; and by today's artistic strategies of rampant revivalism such a pithy remark may ring true to many a listener. That statement was, in fact, the critique prescribed to Chairs Missing, Wire's second album, as the album decelerated the pogo punk minimalism found on their first album with an increasing use of experimental production. In hindsight, Chairs Missing is the perfect transition between the high-strung velocity of Pink Flag and the staggering gloominess of 154; yet most transition records have a clunkiness about them, like a lanky teenager not quite able to fit into his sunday best. But Chairs Missing is miles above the average transition album. To many a listener, Chairs Missing stands as the ultimate Wire album, with near perfect pop songs alternating between anthemic punk and eccentric production techniques (i.e. atonal synth drone, staccato guitar chops, overdubbed guitar distortion, etc.). Where Pink Flag kept many of the songs under a minute and half, Chairs Missing is downright baroque in its presentation of 3 minute tunes. The genius of Chairs Missing is how Colin Newman, Robert Gotobed, Bruce Gilbert, and Graham Lewis manage to steer through the diverse songwriting landscape, in how the album's opening track "Practice Makes Perfect" transitions from a delicate prance for jangled guitar into a precise expression of menace, in how "Outdoor Miner" creates the catchiest, Beatlesque chorus you'll never be able to sing back to yourself given the complexity of its rejoining, nonsensical syllables, in how jaggedly clean the guitars of Newman and Gilbert attack each other, in how Lewis' bass is fluid and effortless, in how this run-on sentence seems to have lost its way trying to fathom the complexity of Wire. If you believe that the length of Aquarius' reviews directly correlate to how good the record actually is, then we have failed as we would need to write a fucking a book about how stunning this album is. Yeah, Chairs Missing is incredible; and if you don't have it, you really should.
MPEG Stream: "Outdoor Miner"
MPEG Stream: "Practice Makes Perfect"
MPEG Stream: "I Am The Fly"

WIRE Live At The Roxy, London - April 1st & April 2nd 1977 (Pink Flag) 2cd 21.00

WIRE Object 47 (Pink Flag) cd 14.98
Now over 30 years old, this British art-punk trio has released their 47th recording, whether that be a single, a concert document, a compilation, or a full-length album. Yup, this one is a full album, but something is missing on it. And we aren't simply referencing the absence of guitarist Bruce Gilbert from the band. Wire - now the trio of Colin Newman, Graham Lewis, and Robert Gotobed - have sought to sound a lot like Wire, but their mimesis of themselves is not for the classic sound of Pink Flag or 154 but rather the quasi-angular, plasticine collage-rock of the late '80s which did produce a handful of legitimately great singles: "A Head," "Kidney Bingos," and "Drill" being the most noteworthy. Lyrically, Wire are just as punk-smart as ever, twisting the banal vernacular of daily life into something slightly sinister and misanthropic; but where Graham Lewis had previously penned some fine basslines in the past to augment the drone-plus-chime of Colin Newman's guitar, many of the songs aspire to a punchy pogo-pop, but Lewis lets us down with some less than imaginative riffs. For a man whose work in Dome and in collaboration with John Duncan have produced some ecstatic experiments with sound, this is a bit of a head-scratcher. To be fair, Object 47 is an entirely different beast than the extremes found on many Wire related releases; but this could have been a whole lot better.
MPEG Stream: "One Of Us"
MPEG Stream: "Patient Flees"

WIRE Pink Flag (Pink Flag) cd 14.98
Really, what more can we say about Wire's Pink Flag that hasn't already been said? The album is so good, so burned in the retina of our brains (even though we still cannot for the life of us unscramble Graham Lewis' lyrics), so nearly perfect that it's sort of hard to write about. In a perfect world, whatever nonsense we may have to say about the record would be moot, as you should already own this record (along with Chairs Missing and 154, Wire's second and third albums respectively). But for those of you who may be enraptured by the recent flurry of post-punk revivalists who continue to make quite a stir, let the reissue campaign of the first three records introduce you to the band that Interpol, Maximo Park, Franz Ferdinand, and Bloc Party only wish they could be.
Recorded in 1977, Pink Flag is an immaculately concise punk record, even as Wire recognized that punk was becoming a self-parody and willed themselves to develop through experimentation with structure, technology, and process. Pink Flag's 21 songs cover a mere 35 minutes, many of themclocking in around 90 seconds or "when they ran out of words" as bassist / vocalist Graham Lewis once quipped. Energetic and volatile, each of the songs on Pink Flag thrash through the repetoire of reductivist power-pop riffs as immediately catchy and aggressive as anything by the Damned, the Ramones, and the Sex Pistols. But even on their first album, Wire demonstrated an uncanny ability with chord changes and melodic shifts that by '70s standards were much artier than their punk bretheren. Of course, in the aftermath of math-rock's acrobatic twists and turns, Wire's Pink Flag hardly sounds unpredictable... but if it weren't for Wire would we really have Laddio Bollocko? Probably not. The album's opening track "Reuters" is an anxious introduction to Wire's provocation with lead vocalist Colin Newman over-annunciating a polemic against government's abuse of propaganda (sound familiar?) on top of an increasingly agitated metronomic blast of bass, twin guitar, and drums. Elsewhere near perfect pop songs develop out of the angular punk slashing, as heard on "Ex Liontamers" and "Mannequin." Wire ends the album with the monotone anthem "12 X U" which many have declared their "Anarchy In The UK." With a motorik rhythm punctured by concise punk riff, the track simultaneously decries homophobia and censorship with the song's entire lyrics "I saw you in the mag kissing the man / 1 2 X U!" So yeah, Wire are a seminal band for a reason, and it all started with this album. If you don't have it, please do yourself a favor and buy this album. You won't regret it!
MPEG Stream: "Reuters"
MPEG Stream: "Mannequin"
MPEG Stream: "12 X U"

WIRE Pink Flag (4 Men With Beards) lp 15.98
Now available on vinyl, a super deluxe lp reissue of what just may be the best Wire record ever, heck, maybe the best post punk record ever! Their kick ass debut, another unanimous AQ fave!!
Really, what more can we say about Wire's Pink Flag that hasn't already been said? The album is so good, so burned in the retina of our brains (even though we still cannot for the life of us unscramble Graham Lewis' lyrics), so nearly perfect that it's sort of hard to write about. In a perfect world, whatever nonsense we may have to say about the record would be moot, as you should already own this record (along with Chairs Missing and 154, Wire's second and third albums respectively). But for those of you who may be enraptured by the recent flurry of post-punk revivalists who continue to make quite a stir, let the reissue campaign of the first three records introduce you to the band that Interpol, Maximo Park, Franz Ferdinand, and Bloc Party only wish they could be.
Recorded in 1977, Pink Flag is an immaculately concise punk record, even as Wire recognized that punk was becoming a self-parody and willed themselves to develop through experimentation with structure, technology, and process. Pink Flag's 21 songs cover a mere 35 minutes, many of them clocking in around 90 seconds or "when they ran out of words" as bassist / vocalist Graham Lewis once quipped. Energetic and volatile, each of the songs on Pink Flag thrash through the repertoire of reductivist power-pop riffs as immediately catchy and aggressive as anything by the Damned, the Ramones, and the Sex Pistols. But even on their first album, Wire demonstrated an uncanny ability with chord changes and melodic shifts that by '70s standards were much artier than their punk brethren. Of course, in the aftermath of math-rock's acrobatic twists and turns, Wire's Pink Flag hardly sounds unpredictable... but if it weren't for Wire would we really have Laddio Bollocko? Probably not. The album's opening track "Reuters" is an anxious introduction to Wire's provocation with lead vocalist Colin Newman over-annunciating a polemic against government's abuse of propaganda (sound familiar?) on top of an increasingly agitated metronomic blast of bass, twin guitar, and drums. Elsewhere near perfect pop songs develop out of the angular punk slashing, as heard on "Ex Liontamers" and "Mannequin." Wire ends the album with the monotone anthem "12 X U" which many have declared their "Anarchy In The UK." With a motorik rhythm punctured by concise punk riff, the track simultaneously decries homophobia and censorship with the song's entire lyrics "I saw you in the mag kissing the man / 1 2 X U!" So yeah, Wire are a seminal band for a reason, and it all started with this album. If you don't have it, please do yourself a favor and buy this album. You won't regret it!
MPEG Stream: "Reuters"
MPEG Stream: "Mannequin"
MPEG Stream: "12 X U"

WIRE Read & Burn (Pink Flag) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wire were never a band that tried to rock. If anything, the quartet of Colin Newman, Graham Lewis, Bruce Gilbert, and Robert Gotobed made their best music when they struggled to escape the trappings of punk rock they initially embraced on their debut 1977 album "Pink Flag." Their constant investigations into electronics, adventurous songwriting, and lyrical complexity resulted in several pinnacles in the history of punk with "Chairs Missing" and the willfully obtuse "154." The band then parted ways in the early '80s to pursue a huge number of side projects, only to reform as a mildly entertaining new-wave pop band in the mid-'80s that relied far too much upon cute lyrical surrealism and clever idiosyncracies. Wire would like for you to believe that the band split up, but there was the ill-fated Wir project with all members present except Gotobed. Regardless, "Read & Burn" is the result of Gotobed rejoining the band after a number of successful gigs in which the all four blasted out the classic tracks from those aformentioned early albums. It needs to be said that during the late '70s when Wire was making huge leaps towards experimental rock, the band was outwardly antagonistic towards live audience requests for their punk anthem "12xU." So their return to such numbers needs to be viewed with a certain degree of skepticism. Such is the case for the six songs on "Read & Burn," which finds Wire trying very hard to rock. This is pretty much straight forward monochord punk dating back to '70s, but with the production techniques of today with an emphasis on heavy low-end thuggishness and very cleanly defined distortion. The success of this album is wholly based upon how much the audience is willing to suspend their disbelief that "Read & Burn" doesn't sound like Graham Lewis and a generic Nu-Metal band trying to sound like old Wire. An entertaining experiment, but inherently flawed.
RealAudio clip: "I Don't Understand"
RealAudio clip: "The Agfers Of Kodack"

WIRE Read & Burn 03 (Pink Flag) cd ep 10.98
"Return to form" is the ubiquitous tag granted to aging rockers who enjoy a certain cultural cache from way back when even when the new material may pale in comparison. Yet, the problematic "return to form" claim doesn't really stick for Wire, even as they've never attempted to rewrite the punk and post-punk textbooks they penned with their first three records, Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154. Since the band has split and reformed numerous times with a bunch of commendable side projects filling the gaps (i.e. Dome, He Said, Duet Emmo, etc.) and with numerous stylistic changes, each with their own merit, Wire doesn't really have a stylistic norm, to which "return to form" applies. So with the third (and probably best) chapter of the Read & Burn saga, Wire "return to form" only in the fact that they managed an edgy, post-punk set of recordings that continue to follow the adventurous trajectory set forth from Pink Flag. Clocking in at almost 10 minutes, the first track parallels the opening of 154, with Graham Lewis deepening his slightly sinister baritone voice to that of Nick Cave's. But when the slow acceleration of bass / guitars / drums hits cruising speed, Wire find themselves in familiar territory -- perfect pop-punk choruses with tonguing tying lyrical twists. The production on the entire 4 song ep enjoys a digital polish, and on the introduction, when Colin Newman takes over on vocals from Lewis on the pogo-punk chorus, his voice is smoothed from the spittle and snarl of Pink Flag into what is found here. For the other songs, Wire pull in the long-form art-rock reigns for three equally nice tunes with Newman alone at the vocal helm. Well done.
MPEG Stream: "23 Years Too Late"
MPEG Stream: "No Warning Given"

WIRE Send (Revolver) cd 14.98
Because Wire were so influential to so much of the punk and post punk music that followed in the wake of their amazing 1977 debut album Pink Flag, there's no surprise that any millenial efforts by them will be regarded with doubt and worry. Well, although I've heard from the camps that love it and the ones that hate it, I have to say I find their new material decent, even excellent. And ferociously intense, with throbbing bass, thick layers of guitar, spit out lyrics (plus occasional singing). Send resides somewhere between Pink Flag's early punk ferocity and the cleaner production of their mid-career experiments like "Drill". Listen to the soundclips to see for yourself. This appears to share seven (!) tracks with Wire's 2002 pair of EPs, Read & Burn 01 and Read & Burn 02, so buyer beware if you already own those two. If you don't already have those two, then buy now! And if you've never heard Wire before, buy Pink Flag NOW, you'll be glad you did.
MPEG Stream: "Spent"
MPEG Stream: "Half Eaten"

WIRE Send PF456REDUX (Pink Flag) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

WIRE The Scottish Play: 2004 (Pink Flag) dvd + cd 21.00

WIRE #280 #280 June 2007 magazine 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hard to believe a month has gone by already but it's most definitely that time again! More adventures in modern music, this month, grime-lord Wiley on the cover, inside, Ukrainian electronic musician Zavoloka, Dutch lutenist Jozef Van Wissem, Swiss guitar / electronics improvisor Tomas Korber, a global ear on San Francisco, artist / musician Brian Duffy, an Invisible Jukebox with Vibracathedral Orchestra's Neil Campbell, The Sea And Cake, Brazilian avant bossa trio Kassin + Mareno + Domenico (featuring the son of Caetano Veloso), plus the usual assortment of reviews, record, show, print, installation and otherwise, and an last page Epiphany from write Michael Faber about discovering mysterious music on the streets of Budapest.

WIRE THICKET Dust, Static (Students Of Decay) 3" cd-r 7.98
Wire Thicket is the duo of Alex Cobb, aka Taiga Remains and Students Of Decay head honcho, and field recorder and musician David Kirby (whose Inside, It Is Ringing cd-r we just discovered a few more copies of, it's relisted elsewhere on this list!) and this is as far as we know their only release.
Self avowed practitioners of "power drone", the main track here is a single 15 minute chunk of slow burning low end smolder, that thickens as the track progresses, layer upon layer, the tones shimmering and burning white hot, soaring, moaning, almost a symphony of deep resonant tones, by the final few minutes, the tone has shifted from corrosive and ominous to effulgent and sun dappled, serious Sunroof! ur-drone territory, massive and epic and heavy, yet mesmerizing and meditative. The sort of track that deserves to drone on forever and ever. There's a second shorter track, a minimal hushed coda of sorts, a glimmering whisper drifting ghostlike over a vast black expanse, a little bit new age-y, a bit black ambience, the perfect comedown chill out after the exhaustive and cathartic first track.
Packaged in a mini 3" jewel case with a printed full color cover. Limited to 100 copies, but looong out of print, we have only a handful left, and you know what that means...
MPEG Stream: "Dust, Static"
MPEG Stream: "Brilliant Dead Highways: Revisited"

WIRE, THE #220 June 2002 magazine 7.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
On the cover: DJ Shadow, plus Super_Collider (Cristian Vogel) on the Invisible Jukebox, Frederic Rzewski, Bernhard Gunter, Susie Ibarra, The People Band, Murcof, Taj Mahal Travellers, Otomo Yoshihide, Sonic Youth, Vincent Gallo, Coil.

WIRE, THE #221 July 2002 magazine 7.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
...can't live without it: The Wire! Another monthly installment of adventurous music coverage from our friends in England. This, the July issue, has been eagerly anticipated 'round these parts due to its cover feature on Keiji Haino. Yay! We just got it in today, so we haven't read the article yet, but we expect writer Alan Cummings, already a Tokyo psych expert and Haino authority, to delve deep and insightfully into his world. Another big AQ fave, Philip Jeck, is interviewed this month, along with features on DJ/Rupture, the WordSound label, and John Coltrane, etc. Plus a Nurse With Wound Primer, and of course tons of reviews. A good ish indeed! (We see from Haino's cover pic that he -- now 50 years old -- is showing some more gray in his hair. What if he also slowly adjusted his all-black wardrobe into shades of gray and then to all-white as his hair fades? Wouldn't that be cool?)

WIRE, THE #227 January 2003 magazine 7.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The English-speaking world's leading journal devoted to the hippest of rock, jazz, electronica, dub, etc. On the cover: Asian Dub Foundation. Other features include MC5 guru John Sinclair doing the "Invisible Jukebox", articles on the Schimpfluch noise collective, SF's own avant rock brutes Oxbow (yay!), and a trio of pieces focusing on free jazz legend Albert Ayler, Ayler bassist Henry Grimes, and the Shandar Records label. Plus a zillion reviews, news, etc. AND, this is the year-end "2002 Rewind" issue, so you can peruse the Wire's Top 50 Albums Of The Year list (#1: Sonic Youth) and read about what various artists and writers thought about the year that was. These lists are sure to spark some dissension, 'round AQ they did anyway!

WIRE, THE #231 May 2003 magazine 7.50
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Our monthy dose of good reading about good music, Britain's The Wire, this time brings us stuff about Matthew Herbert (on the cover), Steffen Basho Junghans, Akio Suzuki, the Mego label, the Nonesuch Explorer Series, and even The Cramps (doing the Invisible Jukebox). And more, of course, including the usual slew of reviews.

WIRE, THE #237 November 2003 magazine 7.50
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Still pretty essential to anyone trying to keep up with 'new music', the UK's Wire magazine is here again with another monthy installment.
Aphex Twin is the cover star this time around (nice pic!), and other features include a Taku Sugimoto interview, an Invisible Jukebox session with Christian Marclay, shorter bits about Erik Friedlander, Tim Hecker, and the reactivated Earth. There's a Primer on 'Spectral Music', and this year's Burning Man rates 2 pages as well. Then there's lots more, the usual plethora of reviews and such. And don't think we didn't notice Dimmu Borgir's Death Cult Armageddon in the reviews section (and it got a good one).

WIRE, THE #239 January 2004 magazine 7.50
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Not just any ish of The Wire, but their "2003 Rewind" edition, looking back on the year that was. In addition, the usual assortment of interviews and reviews, including features on Basil Kirchin and Arthur Russell.

WIRE, THE #240 February 2004 magazine 7.50
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Sun City Girls! Einsturzende Neubauten! Davis Redford Triad! Charles Mingus! Joe Boyd! Hafler Trio! And more! As always every month, an informative issue of the English speaking world's premier music magazine dedicated to avant rock, electronica, improv, dub, etc.

WIRE, THE #241 March 2004 magazine 7.50
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Cloudead cover.

WIRE, THE #242 April 2004 magazine 7.50
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The Wire sure got it right this ish: Masaki Batoh of Japanese psych heroes Ghost is the cover star. Inside, you'll also find Jack Rose, Rammellzee, Dean Roberts, Pelican, CocoRosie, Luc Ferrari's Invisible Jukebox, a primer on Cecil Taylor, and all the usual reviews and stuff. Lots of our faves this time around!

WIRE, THE #243 May 2004 magazine 7.50
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Another issue of the Wire, this time with articles on Hafler trio, Nautical Almanac, Taj Mahal Traveller Takehisa Kosugi and more, a huge piece on the pop song, specifically singers and songs who push the boundaries of their craft, a really funny epiphany from AQ pal and Oxbow frontman Eugene Robinson on the violence inherent in the music and life of Dean Martin! and lots more.

WIRE, THE #244 June 2004 magazine 7.50
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On the cover: Fennesz. Also on the cover, glued to it in fact: The Wire Tapper 11 free cd sampler (16 tracks from To Rococo Rot, Arthur Russell, Green Milk From The Planet Orange, Albert Ayler, Juana Molina, Poire_z + Phil Minton, and others). Inside: the usual reviews and news and interviews and whatnot, including stuff about Eric Dolphy, Philip Corner, Sixtoo, P.G. Six, and Finnish weirdness.

WIRE, THE #245 July 2004 magazine 7.50
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Cover (a great seismograph-inspired illustration): Alvin Lucier. Inside, also: Damo Suzuki, Ellen Fullman, Devendra Banhart, Bark Psychosis, Dengue Fever (yay!), and (the usual) more... including an "Invisible Jukebox" with our pal Stephen O'Malley of metal-drone acts SUNNO))) and Khanate! We noticed that they played O'Malley a bunch of stuff like Abruptum and Burzum that never got much (any) coverage in The Wire before.

WIRE, THE #246 August 2004 magazine 7.50
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Cover star: Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Inside: Phil Minton, Asian Dub Foundation, Beth Anderson, Margareth Kamerer, and a primer on NOISE. Plus the usual assortment of reviews and news you can use.

WIRE, THE #247 September 2004 magazine 7.50
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On the cover: 74 year old British free improv guitar iconoclast Derek Bailey, whose interviews are always entertaining and interesting, even if you're skeptical about his music... Also pieces on Mira Calix, Felix Kubin, AQ-fave Bjorn Olsson, Tim Barnes, Kenneth Anger, and more -- including an "Invisible Jukebox" session with another AQ-fave, field recordist Chris Watson. And all the usual reviews and epiphanies and charts and all that...

WIRE, THE #248 October 2004 magazine 7.50
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On the cover: Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori. In the magazine: all the usual stuff...including a Corrupted review!

WIRE, THE #250 December 2004 magazine + 2cd 7.50
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To celebrate their big two five oh, the UK's (heck, the English speaking world's) premier monthly magazine of "adventures in modern music" has included a free double cd compilation with this issue, with all kinds of crazy stuff on it, from The Necks to Ergo Phizmiz to Bonnie 'Prince' Billy to DJ/Rupture to Henry Grimes...mostly previously released or upcoming stuff I guess but still a cool sampler of what's what in the world of The Wire. Also this issue: a eulogy for John Peel, Irr.App.(Ext.), a Finnish Underground report (Kemialliset Ystavat, Avarus, Es...), Greg Davis, an Invisble Jukebox with Sun Ra saxophonist Marshall Allen, all the usual reviews and such, and a big section called "In Praise Of The Riff" (with 'the riff' meaning a lot of different things to a lot of different people, apparently). Too bad they had to diss on metal so hard in the process...

WIRE, THE #251 January 2005 magazine 7.50
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James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem, not the death metal guitarist) graces the cover of this month's issue of The Wire, which is also the "2004 Rewind" issue. Ah, 2004. Bad year for politics, good year for music, and various musicans and Wire contributors comment on both. Also this ish: My Cat Is An Alien, Dalek, Afrirampo, Glenn Jones (doing the Invisible Jukebox), Zeitkratzer, Joanna Newsom, Nils Okland and more, including the usual reviews and an "Epiphany" from Bruce Russell of the Dead C.

WIRE, THE #252 February 2005 magazine 7.50
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On the cover: the one and only Anthony Braxton. Also: Soft Pink Truth (Drew doin' the "Invisible Jukebox"), Mike Ladd, Gang Gang Dance, Dylan Nyoukis, Toshiya Tsunoda (interviewed by our own Jim Haynes) and more. Including an "Epiphany" about the Firesign Theater. And the usual slew of reviews. Oh, and of especial interest to some of us here, there's a guide to what the Wire calls "Subterranean Metal"! Edwin Pouncey talks about Earth, Corrupted, Sleep, Abruptum, Khanate, Leviathan, Boris, SunnO))), etc. -- lots of our faves. Wow, there's more metally stuff here than the last year's worth of Wire's combined! Although, as opposed to noisy-avant-sludge-drone stuff made by hipster types, there's really not so many actual full-on metal albums discussed in depth. And we wonder if Ulver's Nattens Madrigal would even be there if that band hadn't latter morphed into an electronica act. Still it's a good sign of what we hope might be the Wire's newly expanded coverage of metal, which has been creeping up and up anyway.

WIRE, THE #253 March 2005 magazine 7.50
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On the cover (and what a great photo!): MF Doom aka Madvillian aka Viktor Vaughn aka King Geedorah. Also, inside: this week's AQ Record Of The Week honoree M. Ward, along with Colin Potter, Bill Fay, James Tenney, Wally Shoup, and a look back at 25 years of Hijokaidan noise mayhem! Plus writing by Michael Gira and an Invisible Jukebox with Ken Vandermark...and news from Berlin, tons of reviews, letters about metal...all the usual tidbits we expect from a new issue of The Wire.

WIRE, THE #254 April 2005 magazine 7.50
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On the cover: the ubiquitous Mike Patton (hiya, Mike!), whose fab new Fantomas album we have in stock but has made us too dizzy to review in time for this list...soon though! Also: recent AQ Record Of The Week honoree Venetian Snares, C-Schulz, MIA, Antony & The Johnsons, Elliott Sharp, and an "Invisible Jukebox" with poet and photographer Ira Cohen. Plus a primer on Grime, and all the other usual regular features and reviews.

WIRE, THE #255 May 2005 magazine 7.50
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On the cover: Electrelane. Inside: AQ-fave Boris, Josephine Foster, The Complainer, Annie Gosfield, Steve Beresford (doin' the Invisible Jukebox), Kali Z Fasteau, Foetus, Alex Von Schlippenbach, and a full color photo of Martin Schmidt's (of Matmos) NAKED BUTT!!! Being SPANKED by Drew Matmos. YOWZA!!

WIRE, THE #256 June 2005 magazine 7.50
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Uh oh. Titled "Laugh Til It Hurts", this is the comedy edition of The Wire! There's a 14 page special section devoted to humor-in-music, touching on everyone from John Fahey to Derek Bailey to Blectum From Blechtum to Frank Zappa (natch) to Masonna and Sun Ra. More serious subjects elsewhere this ish include Tod Dockstader and The Books, along with an Invisible Jukebox session with Mark Stewart of The Pop Group. And then there's the usual reviews, letters, charts etc. Oh yeah, and a free 20 track cover-mounted cd comp, The Wire Tapper 13.

WIRE, THE #257 July 2005 magazine 7.50
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The monthy music magazine that we can't imagine any serious AQ customer kind of person wouldn't find useful is here with July's ish. Jamie Lidell makes the cover. Inside, you'll find Monolake, Ornette Coleman, Magik Markers, Tony Bevan, Animal Collective and Ariel Pink. Along with a primer on solo horn improv (Evan Parker, Kaoru Abe, Anthony Braxton, Peter Brotzman, Charles Gayle, Albert Mangelsdorff, and many more), and (this is worth the price of admission sez Allan) an "Invisible Jukebox" session with Keiji Haino, wherein he has an illuminating chat with Alan Cummings about Blue Cheer, medieval music, and Wilson Pickett among other faves. Plus this issue's got all the usual reviews, charts, ads, letters, news bits, etc.

WIRE, THE #258 August 2005 magazine 7.50
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The Red Krayola's Mayo Thompson on the cover (snazzy photo!). Inside, also: Marissa Nadler, Ikuro Takahasi, This Heat, Pierre Schaeffer, the Musique Actuelle festival, Carla Bozulich doin' the "Invisible Jukebox", and SF's The Skaters. Plus reviews and charts and letters and ads and all the usual stuff.

WIRE, THE #259 September 2005 magazine 7.50
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Yet another action packed issue of everybody's favorite new music magazine. AQ fave Richard Youngs on the cover (at last!). With articles about / interviews with Hugh Hopper (of Soft Machine), Ralf Wehowsky, Tracy And The Plastics, Alexander Hacke, a Xenakis primer, an "invisible jukebox" with Broadcast, as well as tons of record reviews, live show reviews, book reviews and loads more!

WIRE, THE #260 October 2005 magazine 7.50
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Another issue of the Wire, as always bringing us loads of weird and wonderful music. This time, Boards of Canada are on the cover. Invisible Jukebox with Warren Ellis of the Dirty Three, interviews with and articles about Jarboe, Birchville Cat Motel, Eliane Radigue, Alexander Tucker, and the usual maasive helping of record reviews, show reviews, book reviews and more!

WIRE, THE #261 November 2005 magazine 7.50
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Latest issue of everyone's favorite UK modern music mag. On the cover, and covering many pages inside, a look at 60 cover songs, with indepth reviews by various Wire scribes. Also inside, Invisible Jukebox with Steve Reich, a chat with countrified doomsters Earth. Also Rolf Julius, Oren Marshall, Mazen Kerbaj, Jackson And His Computer Band and Alan Cummings takes a look at the birth of Japanese free music. Of course as usual. loads of book reviews, show reviews (Byron Coley reviews Arthurfest) and record reviews (inlcuding a page of outer limits reviews from our own Jim Haynes).

WIRE, THE #262 December 2005 magazine + cd 7.50
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New issue of the UK's new music Bible, The Wire. On the cover this month, LIGHTNING BOLT. Inside: Vashti Bunyan, Ray Russell, Tujiko Noriko, Ken Hyder, Susanne Brokesh, a primer on Jamaican deejays, tons of reviews and all that jazz, er, we mean, modern music. This issue includes a copy of the Wire Tapper 14 cd compilation including tracks by This Heat, Nels Cline, Cobra Killer, Dirty Projectors, Cage, Secret Mommy, Ray Russell and more!

WIRE, THE #263 January 2005 magazine 7.50
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You know what the January issue of the Wire means dontcha? 2005 top ten lists!!! And as always a big ol' chunk of this issue is dedicated to all the best and weirdest records of the year, as well as individual picks from all your favorite Wire scribes. Time to catch up on all the stuff you may have missed or kick yourseld for leaving stuff off of your end of year list! Alos this month, Nurse With Wound's Steven Stapleton takes on the Invisible Jukebox, articles on Noah Howard, Burning Star Core, Volcano The Bear and more, and as always a whole bunch of reviews, records, books, shows, installations, and otherwise!

WIRE, THE #264 February 2006 magazine 7.50
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It's that time again! Another issue of everybody's favorite new music magazine. MC /producer Edan is on the cover, inside we've got Battles, invisible jukebox with Steve Reid, Bardo Pond, a tribute to Derek Bailey (R.I.P.), the usual load of reviews, books, records, shows and otherwise. Peep the Inner Sleeve section inside, who would have thought you'd ever see a Team Dresch record in the Wire? Alright!

WIRE, THE #266, April 2006 magazine 7.50
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It's that time of the month again. No not -that- time of the month. The new Wire features ex-Television frontman Tom Verlaine on the cover. This month's Invisible Jukebox is with Burnt Friedman. The Wire Primer schools us all on the British institution that is the Fall. This month's Global Ear focuses on Kyzyl, the capital city of Tuva. Elsewhere, articles on and interviews with: Mouthus, The Knife, Ned Sublette, legendary UK artist / musician Linder, Spring Heel Jack, and as always tons and tons of reviews of records, shows, performances, installations, books et al. And finally a back page epiphany from Genesis Breyer P-Orridge.