Tuesday, December 15, 2009

ROCK Sex: When WIRE Met Elastica



ROCK Sex sees how "a vital connection is made".

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I love Elastica because they were the sum result of a lot of great influences gelling into something unique.

Every act is the sum of their parts, it's true, but sometimes someone pulls it together just right for you. It's the difference between laying all the ingredients out on the table versus cooking them with your own touch.

Elastica expanded on some melodies from the great PostPunk band Wire, and get no end of grief for it from literalists. Whatever. I enjoy what they brought to already fine songs.

WIRE -"Three Girl Rhumba" (1977)


ELASTICA -"Connection" (1994)




WIRE -"I Am the Fly" (1977)


ELASTICA -"Line Up" (1995)


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Perversely, in light of all the flak they got in '95, Elastica returned in 2000 to also do a couple more songs almost willfully interpolating melodies from Wire.


WIRE -"Kidney Bingos" (1977)


ELASTICA -"Nothing Stays the Same" (2000)




WIRE -"Lowdown" (1988)


ELASTICA -"Human" (2000)



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Elastica's leader, Justine Frischmann also admired the arpeggiated use of guitars in the riff for this song...

THE STRANGLERS -"No More Heroes" (1978)


Though The Stranglers didn't get any grief from Bach fans for their baroque moves, Elastica didn't escape so lightly in kind for using the same playing approach with their own unique song.

ELASTICA -"Waking Up" (1995)




I say it's all good. We're lucky to have had each and get such great work between them.



© Tym Stevens



See Also:

"Boredom"/ "Rip It Up" - Buzzcocks > Orange Juice

LADIES FIRST: "Mind Your Own Business" - Delta 5 > Chicks On Speed > Pigface


The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist


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