In Every City? Wire's Drill

When I was in high school, I had a friend who shrugged off the idea of Wire records after 154, because they "started doing techno or something." That's narrow and inaccurate, but that's how we thought. And anyway, though they used synths the music was more like a left-field pop — and the "p" word is even more damning than "techno."

The inspiration for my friend's comment, though, may have been a "single" that Wire put out during their second phase. The song is "Drill," from The Ideal Copy. It features no less than 9 different reworkings, remixes, and live performances of the song that often bear no resemblance to the original. It's a fun release that hangs alright on its own because the versions are all different. Here's one.

Some of the versions are very industrial in tone, with processed vocals, textures made of samples, heavy programmed beats, and an almost-danceable pulse.

If you knew me at the time I owned the cassette, you were probably subjected to The Drill repeatedly in my Dodge Spirit. I apologize, but only a little.