Dear Friends,
In my haste, I set this for 6pm. Dumb.
The blog will be brief for the next several days as the road tripping begins today. I will do my best to share our tales of the highways and byways, but I know for past experience that I’m often way too tired to string together coherent thoughts after a long day driving across the USA. It’s a marathon and not a sprint.
Today is a short day, though. We head to my brothers’ cabin so we can jump start from there. Michael is being a super gracious host and I look forward to culinary delights this evening on the rim. Should be a good day.
I’ll start off with my last work duty for five weeks, which is nice. After that, we’ll go visit Granny and then pack the car. A couple of these activities will be nice and one is bittersweet.
It’s difficult to say goodbye to Granny as I truly don’t know how much longer I will get with her. As far as I know, she’s not in any immediate danger or anything, but I also don’t want to take anything for granted with her anymore. I have come by my ability to worry honestly as Granny is among the world’s greatest hand wringers.
There will be fretting, for sure.
But there will also be joy. I’m excited to drive across the country for the third time with Liam. I’m also excited to see friends and family and new places. I get to add a new state to my list, as well as a new state that I have slept in as we spend Saturday night in Nebraska. Sounds like a Bruce Springsteen song.
I think I have slept in half of the states in the union now, and maybe over half. I feel like I’m forgetting at least one. That’s a cool thing.
Next up, Colorado for the first time in a long time.
*****
As an interviewer, it is amazing when a well-known interviewee really turns the tables on you in a good way and does something completely unexpected. This doesn’t happen very often but when it does, it's quite extraordinary and makes you feel like part of a real conversation. It also reminds you that this person who is famous enough to be the subject of an article is still just a person.
In 2017, I was working in Tempe for these insane people. That’s another story all together, but as a freelancer, sometimes I would have no choice but to schedule interviews during work time or, in this case, on my way to work due to a significant time difference. It also had to be a skype call because it was overseas.
I was used to using skype in those days although I’m quite curious if skype is still even a thing. Most of the time, it was just used like a voice call and the interviewee did not have their camera on. In March of 2017, though, I got a few surprises.
When it was time to join the skype, I was cruising on the 202 towards Tempe. The traffic wasn’t too bad as I didn’t start until 9, but there were a few cars. That didn’t stop me from working my phone and joining the skype call with Colin Newman of Wire.
To my surprise, his camera was on and there he was. He figured out (he might use the term “sussed it out”) I was driving and insisted I pull over. He didn’t want to be responsible for my untimely death. For those of you who read this on a regular basis, I talked about this a couple months ago when I wrote about Pink Flag.
As I mentioned then, he was very curious about me and ended up inviting Bobby and Michael to their show, too, they did on the tour supporting the record I want to talk about today: Silver/Lead.
Fans of Wire are used to hearing the different sides of the band on their recordings. To their credit, no two Wire records sound exactly the same or use the exact same style. The band evolved continually, and while it was probably disappointing for many Wire fans, me included, that they never did another record in the same style as Pink Flag, it is a small gift that they put out so many other great records.
Admittedly, having such a cool personal connection with Newman, I was probably more included to dig Silver/Lead when I first heard it, but seven years later, I continue to enjoy it even more every time I listen to it. I would also venture to say that it sounds like what you might expect to hear if you were to say, “The guys who made Pink Flag have grown up.” It’s definitely got a mature post-punk vibe.
Most of the tracks are very mid-tempo. Not too slow and definitely not fast at all, but there is power there. It all revolves around a tension that builds within the songs but also in the album itself. Silver/Lead is definitely a slow burn that culminates in a ridiculously good title track at the end.
I would venture to say that the song, “Silver/Lead” is my favorite on the album most days. “Short Elevated Period” is also really great. It reminds me of the early 80s and could have easily been a song from a montage scene in a cool John Cusack movie. If you’re listening, Mr. Cusack, check it out.
The thing that you can take to the bank with Wire is that their records are going to be good. If you don’t like them right away, give them a few listens, and they will grow on you. Silver/Lead
is not particularly flashy or bombastic, but it just keeps going period and when it is over, you want more.
And how cool is it to be able to take your bandmates to a show and have a fucking legend come hang out with you and talk for 20 minutes before the show. We all felt pretty damn cool after that. I hope it happens again.
*****
See you tomorrow.
This is weird, AI, even for you.
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