The first vinyl LP I ever purchased new. 14, I convinced my mom to drive me to an alternative record store (this was long, long before the word 'alternative' was a genre of music- in this case what was notable about the record store was that it had vinyl by independent record labels), where I searched the bins of punk and postpunk (fascinatingly obscure and entirely mysterious to me) until I found this, which I'd read a review of and in fact came specifically for. (The review, a sort of head-shaking equivocation in Rolling Stone, somehow indicated something so wierd I had to hear it immediately).
On the way home I read some of the lyrics to my mom out loud. She shook her head. "Methamphetamines", she said. "They make you unable to express yourself properly."
For those of you who know Wire as an angular minimalist punk band, this is liable to be a bit startling- it's lush, sort of decadent, world-weary, surrealist synth-pop. Though, lyrics from the chorus in the catchiest song, "Kidney Bingos", run "money spines paper lung/kidney bingos organ fun", so pop might not really be the proper word. And despite the terrible 80s gated reverb snare drum sounds, the synths and guitars are very muted and sombre. The overall mood is sort of a decayed afterparty where everyone is ready to go home and cry, except the acid is only just settling in and the band is a little freaked.
As a 14-year old, I actually thought the only explanation was that the band members must be both gay and insane. I always thought that was a neatly transgressive combo... In retrospect, I can think of other explanations. Like, the horrific experience of being on lots of acid in the 1980s. My mom's explanation may even be correct, who knows. Some of the lyrics, I've been listening to for 20 years now, and still don't have a clue what they mean.
Though, meaning isn't everything.
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