The Giant Panther

Wire is a long forgotten band that I really loved. A product of the late 70's out of the UK, Wire had several musically interesting records that were off the beaten path. Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154 were albums that featured short bursts of post punk energy. The were released between 1977 and 1979. I had never heard of them until I started managing a CD store in the late 80's and we started ordering imports. A friend of mine kept playing them at our store and I started to get the hang of them. I can't help but think Gang of Four was a fan of theirs back in the day. Wire took an unheard of break between 1979 and 1987 as far as the releasing of original studio material is concerned, but when they resurfaced I was right there to buy their records. The Ideal Copy (1987), A Bell is a Cup...Until It's Struck (1988) and It's Beginning To and Back Again (IBTABA) (1989) all featured at least one killer track. At least I thought so at the time...

From early Wire I used to love the Three Girl Rhumba (all 1:23 of it). It was typical of their two minute drill style of releasing music. It was also gold for filling in the end of your ill conceived mixed cassette tapes in those days. Less than two minutes left? Reach for Wire. It'll sound like you planned it all along. Later on though Wire began stretching out their concepts. Two songs that stick with me from their late 80's output were Kidney Bingos and Eardrum Buzz. I know they were quasi college radio hits, but they had this cool sound to them. I wish I could put it into words, but there was something different about their "new" sound I felt was very pleasing. I'm not going to go on long about Wire here. Frankly, there isn't much to tell as far as I can see. They had a drummer named Robert Gotobed who actually fired himself when he decided a drum machine could do the work live with little differential. They tried to go on as "Wir" (pronounced the same) for a time in deference to his departure, but the band never again captured the public's imagination the way it once had. The band is still working according to their web site, but I have to admit to losing track of them.

The song I leave you with, Kidney Bingos, is such a cool tune. Don't ask me what the lyrics mean and I won't tell you no lies, but the melody is great. I hope you like...