Whilst we're all here because of Wire making such wonderful & startlingly original music over the past 3 decades, i'll bet there's not a single one of us that listens to Wire solely! So why don't we list who else we like & why? & not just, say, Bowie, JD, whoever who are well known & successful, but other lesser known bands (from any era) & new bands that have come to your attention.
i'll kick start with a few....
Einsturzende Neubauten. I've only recently got into them, having dismissed them back in the 80's. They're well known for using power tools & bits of metal as their only 'instruments', but after 1st coupla years they incorporated conventional instrunments & made a very raw & powerful sounds. Now they are incredibly melodic & listenable. I saw them for the 1st time last week at London's Forum & what a great show it was. Blixa (formerly a Bad Seed) is a great frontman! http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=35623913
The Black Keys. Been around a few years & now gaining in popularity (they're touring the UK in the autumn at larger venues). Just a guitar/drums duo from Akron (Devo-city), but they make a B.I.G. sound - especially live. they play 'rock' music with a large chunk of blues - hardly original, but with their talent it's exceptional! http://www.myspace.com/theblackkeys
Songdog. A small south London band that deserve to be a lot bigger! mostly acoustic with some great electric guitar weaving in & out & bewteen the vocals. the songs all tell a story & Lyndon's lyrics can be hilarious as they are poignant http://www.myspace.com/songdog1
there's a few - more to come if the thread takes off. let's here yours!
Worm is Green: awesome Icelandic electronic pop and doodling. I was lucky enough to catch the band live, in Reykjavik, purely by chance, and they were suitably brilliant, with the mental drumming noises being particularly memorable. The band's released two totally different and equally excellent albums so far, and a third is due soon. http://wormisgreen.com/
1/ Camera Obscura (Scottish) 2/ Shout out Louds (Swedish) 3/ Linda Guilala (Spanish)
Personally luv these 3 indie bands. Wouldn,t shove them in peoples faces though. But there is so much great music around just now. The indie scene is flourishing thanks to MySpace I think!!
Well, I know you said to try to forgo ones like Bowie, buuuuuuuuut.... I feel like I have to mention him if we're talking about bands/artists that we love. Bowie's my absolute favorite musician. He's the closest thing to a hero I have, as goofy as that might sound. I enjoy his entire discography, even the offerings from his 80's creative nadir and the spotty Tin Machine project. He just exudes effortless intelligence, charm, and wit. My first proper concert experience was a Bowie show during his Reality Tour, and I count that among the best days of my life. I'm hoping that he'll eventually get off his butt and release at least one more album and tour before he calls it a day (in large part so that my brother can see him in person), but if he doesn't I won't sweat it. The man deserves a break. As far as relatively lesser-known bands go...
Grandaddy was a special band for me, I was sad to see them go. I've been listening to a lot of St. Vincent and Antony & The Johnsons. Both very unique acts (for very different reasons), and both absolutely wonderful. Oh, and A Place To Bury Strangers (noise rock band, will be opening for NIN when I see them in August).
As far as somewhat obscure 80s go, I love Associates and Altered Images (though I think the latter's more of a guilty pleasure).
Greg Macpherson - Brilliant singer/songwriter from Canada who often performs solo (which is great) but I think he excels when he play with his backing band (usually consiting of members of The Weakerthans, another great band) His one chord accoustic cover of the Clash's "Bankrobber" (http://www.g7welcomingcommittee.net/mp3/bankrobber.mp3) is nothing short of inspiring... http://www.gregmacpherson.com
The Minutemen - Legendary punk/hardcore band who sound as far removed from punk/hardcore as 80's wire is from the sex pistols. Taking their influences originally from the likes of Wire (the speed, urgency and sheer rawness of Pink Flag) and then added a dose of funk into the mix and became one of the most unique (and underrated/misunderstood) punk bands ever. http://www.myspace.com/theminutemen (not the best tracks here)
Rudimentary Peni - Had Wire gone slightly insane during the recording of Pink Flag they might have produced an album not too unsimilar to the first two Rudimentary Peni EP's...most of the songs are under a minute, a lot of the lyrics and either very weird or very twisted, the artwork was frightening and an insight into the mind of guitaist/vocallist Nick Blinko. One of their albums (perhaps one that takes their art a little too far!) Pope Adrian 37th" was recorded during Nick's recent recovery from a lengthy illness, and is believed to be the only punk album ever made whilst being detained under Section 3 of the of the 1983 Mental Health Act. As such, the subject matter of the album relates to the delusions Nick was experienceing at the time, particularly the idea that he was said Pope. The songs also address topics such as psychiatric medication and hearses. Certainly one for the more adventurous, but their early material stands up very well!! http://www.myspace.com/rudimentarypeniofficial
Worm Is Green. Hmm, interesting - could be a grower! & i think theirs is a GREAT cover of JD's Love Will Tear Us Apart! just what a cover should be - not just a straight copy!
Rudimentary Peni are certainly 'of their time' (assuming they're not still going). though i thought that most, if not all, the 2nd wave of punk bands were pretty poor - just taking the energy from the 1st wave & just making the music louder & faster, which just diluted any effect they may've had. the ones that stood out were really (4 me) just Crass & Flux Of Pink Indians & Poison Girls. they may've started as just thrash punk bands (like Wire?!?!?!), but quickly transformed into somat more thoughtful (also like Wire!??!?!).
Minutemen - i can certainly hear The Pop Group in them, but they didnae take it far enough & left them between genres, if you like
gonna see The Dirtbombs 2nite. a nice clash of 60's soul & garage (weird combo eh) with 2 drums & bassists - shopuld be interesting! http://www.myspace.com/thedirtbombs
Bit of a cheek asking this, but i'm gonna do it anyway!!!
Back in the day (late 70's) there was released a Siouxsie & The Banshees live bootleg lp entitled Love In A Void. It mostly contained tracks what were to appear on The Scream & was very good recording quality. does anybody still have it? do they still want it? i'd love to lay my hands on a copy again - not heard it for getting on for 30 tears!!!!
MAGAZINE! i thought that'd get your attention! i'm sure that there's many that like Wire also like Magazine. yes those other post-punk art-rockers have reformed!!! well they've announced some dates for early 2008, anyway. they've announced 13th February at The Forum in London and a venue yet to be announced the following day in Manchester!
it's a shame it's such an average venue & an even bigger shame that i'm away in Vegas at the time! F*CK IT & B.O.L.L.O.X.!!!!
Lol, was thumbing through my collection tonight on what to bring down for tomorrow nights record session and Magazine,s real life was one of the LP,s that was carried down!! The Au Pairs,Pink Military and Pere Ubu were some more for what is worth!!
For an old diehard Magazine fan like myself this is great news - though the cynic in me gets a whiff of post-punk revivalist bandwagon, something that surprises me certainly where Devoto is concerned, as he seemed to turn his back on music for years (brief foray with Shelley aside) after Luxuria, and Adamson has had a pretty successful solo career for the last 20 years, soundtrack work etc. From what I can remember of the McGeoch radio documentary, Formula ploughs the soundtrack furrow too. No idea about Doyle. So, will this be an old numbers tour, or will they attempt to put together some new material ? Seems weird to imagine after such a long time out of commission.. ('81/'82 ?)
Garage band I must have missed your earlier post, but I believe I have the Vinyl boot you are talking about. I bought it as a school kid from a record shop in Glasgow called Bloggs which is long gone. It cost me £6, a fortune for a 15 year old in 1978! The cover is black and has Siouxsie Sioux on it grabbing a mic wearing either a t-shirt with her tits showing through or a t-shirt with a pair of titties printed onto it. I believe it was actually recorded live for a John Peel session if my memory serves me well??? It has 2 versions of Love in a void on it. Label is Sioux records. My copy is in fantastic condition I must say considering it must have been played 100,s of times in the late 70,s by myself. Her best period. Couldn,t honestly listen to her now. Actually went in looking for Spunk LP and picked this one up. As for selling it no chance lol. Selling a record from my collection is like cutting an arm off.
now yer just teasing me, stef! that partic pic is a t-shirt with tits on it, tho' she used to wear a t-shirt with a kinda 'window' so her tits were visible as well. i never had Love In A Void (which i remember as a recording of a gig, but could easily be wrong), but i did have Spunk (& Gun Control) & would happily have swapped both for Void! I saw it on ebay recently for £32 + postage from Italy, but ah wasnae that foolish to risk it!
(i kept Spunk, but recently sold Gun Control for nearly £50 - there's some that'll pay extortionate prices, but i ain't 1 of 'em!)
Prices for vinyl boots are going through the roof. Like you I won,t pay over the top prices unless it is really a record I MUST have. I See that Wire Mittnacht Banhof Cafe LP is on E-Bay quite a lot recently. One copy went for £12. Which I think is a great price!!! Just wondering if it is a re-run? I,ll keep my eye open for you on the Love in a void front.
In the tradition of Wire (a band going 30+ years and still making great music), I was quite happy when the new Fall "Wax Imperial Solvent" turned out to be quite good. Wasn't expecting anything, especially since MES has been churning through bands at a higher than usual rate.
Along those lines, I thought the Von Sudenfed collaboration of MES and Mouse on Mars turned out to be rather successful.