Drums and Wires

Before that, The B-52's from their self-titled album from 1979, Dance This Mess Around.

Before which we had XTC, also from '79, Drums and Wires, the name of the album.

When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty Concentrating.

Before that, David Ackles from 1972, the American Gothic album, One Night Stand.

We basically went in a studio.

had all the multi-tracks of everything XTC, including all of Drums and Wires and all the B-sides and things up to Drums and Wires.

In fact, I went to see them doing Making Plans for Nigel at Top of the Pops at the BBC while we were mixing what was Mr Partridge, The Allure of Salvage, which was the Dove versions.

And they all came out on CD as XTC Explode.

And so there was the dub from Go 2, which became Go Plus, and the dubs, I think 5 or XL5 might even be on there, but every attempt we made to pull it apart and change it.

And that thing probably reflects in the Dukes as well, as a kind of pull it all apart and put it back together again kind of thing.

And then what happened, they went off and did drums and wires and lots of other records up to the 90s.

It's a lot, I

And basically that's money.

And what's amazing is I found this assignment that XTC has perhaps the best opus of work songs like from the drums and wires days there's day in day out even making plans for nigel's about working on british steel uh this song paper and iron from black sea love on a farm boy's wages from

mom earn

enough for us is like the culmination of it all uh so andy partridge knocked it out of the park with work songs i thought And I'm choosing one from, like I said, Black Sea songs, Paper and Iron.

Show anybody else my ways I'm playing in the crowd now Is this anybody's golden age? Or am I dreaming of a golden cage?

I'm always happy to re-listen to XTC.

Every few years, I just pull out Drums and Wires or English Settlement and just pop it in the CD player in the car and do a road trip.

And it always feels great to come back.

We're only making plans for Nigel We only want what's best for him We're only making plans for Nigel Nigel just needs this helping hand We're only making plans for Nigel I see the future in a breeze Still, still, still, still, still, still, yeah And we're only making plans for Nigel

Released in August of 1979, that was XTC with Making Plans for Nigel from their album Drums and Wires.

And we started the hour with The Smiths and Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now.

Band member Johnny Marr wrote the music in his room at New York's legendary Algonquin Hotel using a Red Gibson ES-355 he had received earlier that day with a little help from Sire Records.

xtc uh they started out pretty like post-punk but they do all types of stuff like you know they they uh power pop 80s pop they do um they got big orchestral arrangement stuff it's it's all over the place

where I would start you would be drums and wires

drums and wires is fantastic

and like you can put on I still rock making plans for Nigel making plans for Nigel is one of the

greatest songs ever

incredible so yeah you listen to drums and wires that's just crazy yeah I got put on by my rock people to XTC great stuff but yeah definitely during that weird transitionary period uh of where with music we me and uncle benji patreon member

shout out to uncle benji

we're on title and we're like the only people on title so we are making playlists together and just picking random years uh and we picked 1976 and it was interesting it was interesting uh he brought he brought the reggae it was fabulous I brought the Lido shuffle.

Granite.

Why XTC? Because on this day in 1979 XTC released their third studio album, Drums and Wires.

And that was the first track.

And