The Verve - Forth
The band most likely to have split up by the time you finish the review return with a decidedly schizophrenic and mostly underwhelming fourth LP
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
Hailed by fans, critics, and even Mark E. Smith as their greatest long-player, Hex Enduction Hour receives another reissue.
Primal Scream - Beautiful Future
Veteran genre hopping Scots return with their poppiest album yet. It's got handclaps, it's got bells, and at times it's very, very funny.
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Rock royalty return with an arty title, a legendary, experimental producer and promises of an innovative new sound...but little else.
Various Artists - Independent's Day 08
A noble concept which ultimately fails to exceed the sum of its parts. Probably because it's got Feeder on it.
The Wire: ...and all the pieces matter. Five Years of Music from The Wire
Jul 9, 2008
The whole ethos of The Wire, the most perfectly realised vision of American urban decay imaginable, was, to paraphrase head writer David Simon in the lavish accompanying booklet of this soundtrack album, to fuck the average viewer. TV is "generally a condescending medium which offers no ambiguities." Yet The Wire, with its intricate weave of subplots, was a show that demanded total dedication.
The pay off for your attention, though, was always worth it. Over the course of five seasons, the writers exposed the myths and hypocrisy within American society towards the drug trade, police brutality, the death of the American working class, the education system, the political process and the workings of the media, always blurring the traditional lines between good and bad.
The music that accompanied the show was a mirror image of this: often understated, sometimes pure bombast, and rarely missing the target. Each season began with a title sequence containing a different take on Tom Waits' precautionary tale 'Way Down in the Hole', from Waits' own stripped back blues of Season 2 to the slinky soul of Baltimore's own Domaje. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Aside from the various versions of 'Way Down in the Hole', this impeccably compiled soundtrack contains a mixture of iconic snippets from the show itself (the inclusion of 'Omar comin'' being particularly inspired), plus an eclectic selection of tunes used throughout The Wire's run. Some inspire vivid reactions of characters or particular scenes: The Pogues' 'The Body of an American' is intrinsically linked to McNulty's cack handed attempts to retain his Irish heritage, while Solomon Burke's folk gospel version of Van Morrison's 'Fast Train', all swathes of rich Hammond, instantly recalls the montage at the close of Season 3. The predominantly Baltimore based hip hop tracks such as 'What You Know About Baltimore' were used sparingly in the show, as background noise to the Projects. The hip hop tracks, while authentic, are fairly standard fare which outside of the context of the show pale next to gems such as the raucous bluegrass of The Nighthawks' 'Sixteen Tons' and Jesse Winchester's 1976 sleaze funk classic 'Step By Step'. In fairness, it wouldn't be an authentic representation of the show without them though. And as you all should know, The Wire doesn't do lack of authenticity. A brilliant accompaniment to the show, and a genuinely superb compilation in its own right.
