Wire: Outdoor Miner

[seagbb]

I like Dennis Waterman's version of this song, called "Outdoor Minder".

[spencermax]

@seagbb He could be so good for you

[blackpoolphotography]

biggest load of shit ive ever seen or heard sounds like kids in a bedroom get of the fucking stage

[davidoffon]

@blackpoolphotography get off the page!!

To anyone else who's listening, it's quite nice but needs to be a bit tighter, very lively!!

Very good tune.

[revolverator]

@blackpoolphotography keep your idiotic comments to yourself, or save them for mellanare lol

[randomeddie]

This is an absolutely wonderful video for a beautiful song, one of my all-time favorites. Well done! Thanks for posting...

[selenedianaify]

Adorei seu vídeo (traduza do português)...



[Ramtinch]

lush's version is good but the original is better.

[keddw]

Who are Lush?

[davidoffon]

@keddw Just north of Dublin.

[pierre59000live]

Lush's version is better... dissapointing !

[agsupermags]

@pierre59000live  Did you prefer Alexandra Burkes version of 'Hallelujah' too?

[benjaminrichardshoop]

definatelly the best wire song, fucking one of my favorites ever

[MrTheblackdouglas]

are there any better lyricists than Wire, anywhere, ever? I can't think of any.

[glaeken14]

jajaja no Bad,I like

[streetfightchamp07]

this version is so clean, it's giving me diarrhea.

soooooper weak.

[heroiniskindacool]

this song is why wire is up there with joy division and mission of burma! Chairs missing is probably one of the best post-punk albums of all time!

[besaha57]

best album --all tracks monsterkillers

[BeckoningChasm]

Kudos for using the longer version. I've always liked Thorne's piano solo.

[krischa63]

my fav, also lovely greets to Sweden al

[kopfrepublik]

It's nice to hear them again after all these years. Timeless

[La77a]

Brilliant and under rated Wire track.

[RH98]

On the "he lies on his side..." lines there is a pedal note in the vocals which sounds so shoegazey however many years ahead of the event.

[napoleonbonerpart]

Another crazy cyclical lyric, this time from Men 2nd and one of my favourites from the LP:

Holed beneath the water line / a shift in the Plimsol line / pumps in the engine room.

So hang on, wait wait wait... is he still talking about a sinking ship or is it actually just a hole in his shoe.

ha ha ha

I've met both Bruce Gilbert and Colin Newman, great guys.

[brittlerichard]

Our belief structure, the egg timer.

[JurricaChiannaNycole]

Not an awful son, but the worst song i've herd by Wire. I have higher standards for them.

[BigNewPrinz1]

@JurricaChiannaNycole you are a total knob

[andreaprodan]

@JurricaChiannaNycole

surprised by wire's lyrical vein?

[pacific707]

Slightly different from the album version - that doesn't include the piano solo. Can't make up my mind which I like better. I love em both!

Kiddies, if you don't know who Wire are, at least purchase Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, 154, The Ideal Copy and A Bell Is A Cup Before It Is Struck. Their later records are an acquired taste (exception: Red Bark Tree).

[MrJeepsters]

Sacré groupe, sacré titre

[concray]

the shot at 0:24 looks like it could be out something of blade runner or children of men. Great song, great video.

[spolier]

Eternal dust less ticklish

[saintrobski]

Check out Mike Thorne on Wiki. He produced the first three Wire albums and played the cool piano solo on this track. He's a dude.

[fanzig0]

Excellent video. Well done, fits the song really well...Is it Blackpool in winter?

[wwaaenn11]

@fanzig0 Here here !

[BrotherDown1]

I'm here because of Caribou.

[PatrickBalfe]

@BrotherDown1 me too!

[YHAVR]

Before I only knew of the shorter 'Chairs Missing' version, and that already totally blew me away. Unknowingly winding up listening to this version the other day, not expecting the brilliant piano break laced with those lovely vocal harmonics, I experienced a classic full-on goose bump bombardment. It was kind of like discovering the hidden treasure room beneath the hidden treasure room.

And yeah, this indeed sounds like the blueprint to a lot of Robert Pollard songs.

Hail the drone angelic!

[ara1970]

I think the keyboard solo in the Manics' "Virginia State Epileptic Colony" is a nod to this song...

[leosperez1970]

syd barrett

[lMaximumlHeat]

That piano solo is like a musical orgasm. Just perfection.

[MrSKINFLICK]

Perfect.....just perfect !

Check out my channel´s WIRE playlist !

[pacific707]

One of the best songs written by Wire...

[minestrone3]

I like Gary Glitter's version of this song, called "Outdoor Minor'.

[seatomb]

I highly recommend Polar's version of Outdoor Miner. Way different, obscure version that maybe a lot better than the original. Its available on Amazon.

Enjoy!

[randomeddie]

@minestrone3 You're terrible! LOL!!!

[hitachicm721f]

I'm 49 and Wire is still my favorite band. I remember seeing them at Club 930 in DC in the 80s and being impressed how they're even better in person. I also remember after their set, they hung out by the bar and talked to the fans in a low-key way.

They were great on every possible level.

[Alex23Gallo]

I was 17 , my love for music ( Genesis with Peter Gabriel ) . One night , staying with Ana my first girlfriend

When this music started ( she had a brother ) . So , sex and WIRE first time !! Fantastic Tune . Best use of distortion , ever !

Wire , no way you can put a tag in their music

Smart use of distortion ! They started in the Punk scene but they played pogressive Punk !

[guitarslf132]

its off the "chairs missing album".It was awite single.did u make this vid cos it is cool

[spencermax]

@guitarslf132 Yeah I made it. To be honest I didn't have any music in mind when I shot the footage. I've always loved this song so started working with it and it seemed to fit nicely. Thanks for your comments

[elmaeks]

@spencermax Hi spencermax, thank you for makin this video, I love this song since I was 15 years old. But I have one question: I`m not a native english speaker, and I never really got the meaning of the lyrics (if there is one), it just made me melancholic in a very special and unique way...so is there a meaning or do I have to find it for myself?

[cavvysaster]

@elmaeks It's about the life-cycles of insects. The "outdoor miner" is a tiny insect called a leaf miner that burrows within the structure of a leaf, leaving little serpentine (twisting) tunnels. They need to avoid predators (he lies on his side, is he trying to hide?) and, until they pupate into a flying adult, the leaf is "the Earth which he's known since birth". Silverfish are insect pests living in houses. The opening lines are not insect related, but brilliant. Hope this helps.

[elmaeks]

@cavvysaster Thanks a lot cavvysaster, know I`m smarter : ) ......and now that I know what an "outdoor miner" actually is, I like the song even more, thank you very much and have a nice day!!!

[coordinatezero]

@cavvysaster Specifically, the song is asking what it's like for a serpentine miner when the inside of the leaf collapses...

[napoleonbonerpart]

@cavvysaster Hey I never knew that. Very good, adds yet another dimension to the song. They did tend to do that on the Chairs missing LP - the lyrics had a meaning which was maybe obscure, but they touched on other levels of meaning. I had thought of a kind of literal interpretation for the song - miner as in a coal miner, and the leaf structure was found in fossilised coal. Egg timer = roof fall, but also the passing of time from prehistoric ages.

[FunhouseJr]

That was pretty good.

[londonemski]

Lovely film. I think I prefer the shorter version on the album myself: it says it all, and no more than is necessary. Either way, it's a beautiful song: gorgeous, artful light touch, enigmatic without being overbearing about it: possibly one of the best pieces of pop ever, in my view. 32 years later it sounds as fresh as when I first heard it.

[guyphawkes]

What can I say, WIRE are The GODS of the Minimalist movement, Cant beat these guys, Tried several times to see them live then got the chance in 02, it was close to the rapture of the Magi seeing the Allmighty as an infant. NO, seeing The allmighty give the sermon on the mount, Wire live was that incredible.

[smithjedediah]

sizone has gives good advice

[deahanco]

fantastic post punk song ill always have a spot for wire

[thatgoodnight1]

maybe the best song ever

[TheSodiumhaze]

Fantastic!!!!!!!!!

[Zelda36J]

That was what made the gig !!!

Saw them in 87 at hackney little pub and you're right they were fantastic - at the time best gig I'd been to - saw them last year at islington - think he had his son on guitar !! ;) still fuckin' great though !!

[rollagasper]

I did not expect the piano solo to come from Wire, but it's pleasant nonetheless! Such an amazing band and I wish more people of my generation listened to them nowadays. When I went to see them live, I was surprised that the crowd was not very large...

[bent2]

It's the 12* version, that's why there is piano on it ;P

[billybadbrakes]

@bent2 ..Don't know what the 12" version is like, but this version is exactly the same as the 7" version which I still have (on white vinyl), Including the piano solo at 1:24!!

[lepopnoir]

This might be about my 8th comment on this vid BUT I LOVE THIS LONGER PIANO VERSION xxxxxxxxxxxx

[AlabamaRockCompany]

wow neat

[biccioorg]

it's the 7" single version.

[TheLooby101]

yes it is......i havent heard this for bloody years....its still brill

[lMaximumlHeat]

Wow, I NEED to get this version

[MadameBeaujolais]

1:22 That's just the best part of the song!

[JeanChristopheMr]

One of my favorite songs... A piece of advice : the album "A Houseguest's Wish" : 19 verions of "outdoor miner", a tribute for the 25th anniversary of the Wire's song...

(sorry for my english)

[PhDude]

I've been meaning to pick that album up for a while now. Thanks for the reminder!

[erictapeworm]

Fantastic song

[electricmongoloid]

Best song ever with The Kinks 's "Waterloo Sunset"

[lexo30]

Gorgeous tune. My favourite Wire song.

[peterf1966]

image what it would sound like if someone spent more that £2.38 on the production.

[erictapeworm]

Ruined?

The production is just fine

[jlToolfan]

the version in this video sounds *very* tinny. everything is distant. it might just be Youtube's generally poor sound quality.

the version on the album has great production though

[PHAEDRIDER]

i caught that too.. but this version has some different stuff. great song one way or the other ..

[lMaximumlHeat]

but unfortunately, you don't get the excellent 20 second greatest piece of music recorded: the piano solo.

[VL1302]

always loved this track :-)

[jlo1226]

geez, anyone think Bob Pollard was a fan of Wire prior to forming GBV?

[HamburgerMartyr]

Yup. I think he mentions an appreciation for Wire (and early R.E.M) in the Hunting Accidents biography.

[Lafeth]

genial!! =D

[lepopnoir]

I just looooove the piano in this version, it makes me want to hug everyone.

[AntheaFlattus]

OH! People are still listening to Wire! That is so wonderful... I got 3 of their albums for my 21st birthday many years ago... circa 1978 ish .. they still sound great! noone I know these days has even heard of them!.. actually noone I knew in those days had heard of them either.

[calimaeochango]

great video man, good job, appropriate

this song makes me want to curl up fetal and cry for mama

[rayolacer]

deerhunter are sounding a lot like this NICE

[antonfjordson]

what they said.

[TheVitaminB12Member]

Timeless and glorious.

[dmrichkt]

Mining disaster-lol-Lightning seeds? LMAO. Got this on pinky white vinyl, like a drumstick lollypop. If you like this maybe you'll like 'The Yachts"

[departments2006]

A brilliant song, though I prefer the version without the piano.

[arita2006]

Classic song

[miakirshner09]

bloomin marvellous. joy

[inputmodule]

excellent! this and 'map ref' are Wire's most brilliant. other bands have tried their approach but few have even come close.

[childbadger]

Mining Disaster in your ass maybe. It's about the life cycle of domestic insects (the writer got the idea from a magazine article) Prefer the original album version m'self..that piano bit in the middle always sounded strange. I'm sure they did this song on TOTP. I used to have the white vinyl 45...succulent white vinyl......

[duncancumming]

"no blind spots in leopards' eyes can only help to jeopardise the lives of lambs, the shepherd cries" - genius

great video too

[santoshasong]

awesome 5 starts, thanks fatcat

[mogus55]

i heard Luna's version at first but this is the real thing.though they're version is quite good too.

[fatcatbuzz]

Lush does a good version, too. In fact I just found out that version was a cover today and found this original version. I like this and have to check out more of this band.

[rugshort]

There is an album of covers of just this song called 'A House guests Wish' which I totally recommend.

[fatcatbuzz]

Thanks. I found Lush's version on their For Love single in 1992. I like the jangly guitar on this version as well as the piano. This is a very nice video as well.

[sizone]

And My Bloody Valentine did a version of of Map Ref... talk about an absolutely awesome combo.

Flying Saucer Attack also covered this. They were also pretty awesome and heavily overlooked in the drone/wash scene... definitely worth finding.

[Rich27014]

@fatcatbuzz - I was just wondering if anyone would have mentioned Lush's fine cover of this. I have to admit to hearing their version a long time before I heard this origianl, I love them both and I reckon Lush did a fantastic job of covering it.

[deahanco]

a great song , wire were the one of the best groups around '77 without the hype

[mycheezyhelm]

Ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long

[rugshort]

Did you know there's a compilation album called 'A Houseguest's Wish' that is a whole album of covers of this song?

[mycheezyhelm]

No. No I didn't.

Did you know that, in France, it is illegal to name your pig Napoleon?

[rugshort]

Zut Alors!

[mycheezyhelm]

Well there's no need to be like that!

I was only trying to help

[rugshort]

Means 'Dang!'

[amicka75]

lol what do you mean.. you can call anything napoleon there's no law about that ahahah

[jeannec1]

I have it, and it's pretty good, but most of the tracks sound like garage band covers. Still it's worth getting I think for the few gems on it.

[ginoricca]

FIVE STARS Always !  Beautiful WIRE

[perfectofc]

... and here I thought the Lightning Seeds' version was an original. What a brilliant song. Thank you for posting it.

[sizone]

please dont kill yr idols.

next your going to tell me you've never heard of Sonic Youth but love the Silversun Pickups.

The next generation always owes much to the previous, even if they're not covering their songs.

Go buy the first 5 Wire albums immediately. You will not be disapointed. (Also get some Swell Maps.)

[ecosmart123]

@sizone The good news is that you can find these albums (did I say albums..god I'm old) these days. I did not discover Wire until 1983 and it was extremely difficult to find their records ( Records? I am old) at that time. Pink Flag and Chairs Missing were found in the cut out bin ( Cut Out bin? What is this old fart talking about?) in my local record shop (Record shop? I'm a geezer.) Oh, well... time for bed. It is almost 21:00.

[duxberry1958]

my was white vinyle with lron bars @ a lion or tiger behind the bars

[windmills20]

I'll be screen printing that leopard design on a t-shirt. You're lucky to have that vinyl; Wire's singles are all out of print now.

[windmills20]

I think it's a leopard. Without blind spots in it's eyes.

[duxberry1958]

in 70s l found a record shop in manchester which was in a underground market which did a lot of punk @ new wave were l got this single

[siarung]

ahh the old underground market,brown st was so cool .All gone now alas,manchester town centre has been"transformed" and none of it benefits the good folk of manchester,Not sure? stroll down granby row,canal st,princess st and ask ppl where they from,if you hear a manc accent its probably the postman

[yitsmoses]

please leave this for the BNP forum....no need for it here

[blusonic]

They are hardly saying "England for The English" they seem to be lamenting the change in their city. I'm from Dublin and my city is so changed too, all the hidden record shops are gone its become very glossy and "modern" now.

[yitsmoses]

record shops and nostalgia are one thing, commenting on the only real mancunians being working class nowadays implies something else. However I may be wrong and it is possible that I interpreted it incorrectly. If so, my apologies, and point taken...

[televisionsover]

Early Wire singles were notoriously short. I heard that the record company would only issue this as a single if it was longer - hence the piano break!

This is an absolutely brilliant song - always cheers me up. So much so, I've asked my wife to play it at my funeral!

[KevorkianDude]

One of the more beautiful songs in Wire's discography. Damn I wish I could have been around to hear it for the first time, instead I'm stuck hearing it on 'On Returning' 30 years after it was made.

[largebluecat]

The long version was the one from the 7"; it's on the compilation album "On Returning". The short one is on "Chairs Missing". Have to say that I prefer the short one; like all the songs on "Pink Flag" it goes for as long as there are words, and then it stops. That's long enough.

[DinosaurTeeth]

I've never heard this version of the song with so much piano before, awesome! What album did it come off?

[spencermax]

I can't remember. I thought it was the single. I have the original white vinyl and that has long piano on it from what I can remember.

[adamsez]

@spencermax Yep, it was the single which had the extended piano segment, presumably to make it a respectable length for radio play

[TalkToTheBody]

@DinosaurTeeth well i may be 2 years late but to answer your question Outdoor miner was never released on any of their original albums. The track was released as a single on white vinyl at the time when Chairs Missing was released if my memory serves me well. Not sure why it never made the album maybe because it was deemed too pop sounding at the time but the later re-releases of Chairs Missing has the song on it's short list of extra tracks.

[nesplayer94]

@TalkToTheBody Actually, Outdoor Miner was track 2 on side 2 of Wire's 'Chairs Missing' LP in 1978 but that version was only 1:44, it was missing the piano solo that this version has.

[saintrobski]

@nesplayer94 The label made them do this version for the single release because the lp version was too short. There can't be many examples of that happening....

[trevormail]

awesome video

[spencermax]

Thanks :)

[Refrescospepito]

Brighton piers?

[spencermax]

Blackpool :)

[icedtea0]

this song is about an insect

[mikeb67091]

Is the song about an insect? Didn't they say that couldn't write poetry, only prose?

[icedtea0]

I think the whole point is that this couldve been a love song or something, but why does it have to be?

I read that they said something lke "People expected the song to go on about love, when I was singing about an insect"

[firecoalman]

It's about a mining disaster...

Stuart Adamson of Big Country refered to Wire as 'one of the most under rated bands ever... I read this in a 'Smash Hits' article circa 1983 - The song was no. 2 or 3 in his top ten songs.

Read the lyrics again and see all the references: Coal leaves ash in the grate of a guest room. His risk to keep us warm. Darkness deteriorates his eyes jeopardising safety:.. Shaft disaster returns the miner to after life. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

[firecoalman]

Lyric "No blind spots in the leopard's eyes Can only help to jeopardize The lives of lambs, the shepherd cries An afterlife for a silverfish Eternal dust less ticklish Than the clean room, a houseguest's wish He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? In fact it's the earth, which he's known since birth Face worker, a serpentine miner A roof falls, an underliner Of leaf structure, the egg timer..."

[xyaqua]

Genius. Brilliant. Erudite. Naturally gifted. Byzantine lyrics.

These lyrics, albeit helped by the melodies, by Wire, and the many other they write, this is te definition of art.

Gilbert, Lewis, Newman, and Gotobed/Grey are the four horsemen of the awesomeness!

The words to "the offer' reminds me of my first dog, Sarah, a beautiful retreiver/shepard mix, the song just wrenches my soul when i listen to it.

Wire means different things to different people, but they all feel it as deeply.

[weedipikia]

I used to think they were saying "In fact it's the earth, which is long since birth"

[woogedy]

its 'a staffordshire miner' u n00b

[pattayapolice]

Pink Flag is one of the most underated Lp's ever. This track is brilliant.Thank you for posting it.

Wonder what a Dickies take on one of their tracks would, lol..done it 45 seconds.

[jesuscrowbar]

Except this track is off Chairs Missing, not Pink Flag :P

[pattayapolice]

Well spotted (oops), but l have to say it is in the same genre as the 1st Lp.

Trouble is l will have to get this lp on cd now...

Amazon here l come.

[ginoricca]

I always liked this one. Chair Missing and Pink Flag , both

very good albums. Great band ... the 49th is coming up I heard.

[steffclarke1]

This is arguably Wire's best song

[chumbersdee]

Can anyone help me find their song "Torch it"?

[gnoshis]

yeah, i do agree!!!!

[mynameisdondeyoung]

cool

[instrumentofdestruct]

this song, whilst not Wire's best by any means, is incredible. I can name few bands that burned so incendiary nor developed so greatly in such a short space of time (yes, I know they're still going)

[spurtfather]

what's this video? Tarkovsky visits England? ...and gets into Wire?? nice video, looks early in the morning.

[spencermax]

Yes...well no actually. He'll be dead. A fan of his got up one day with his new camera and did a bit. A calusion occurred and hey presto.

[spurtfather]

well for a first film it aint half bad. look forward to more stuff from you.

[spencermax]

Oh...it was afternoon.

[fastabulus]

ha, yea, perfect. Tarkovsky would be tapping his feet. Wire's lyrical allusiveness is unmatched. Twenty years after I got it, Chairs Missing still makes me think.

[FugginNorb]

It's amazing to me how good Wire fans are at making music videos.

I found out about this band about ten minutes ago.

[dilzappa]

tHIS CHARTED BRIEFLY,BUT WAS ACCUSED OF "HYPE" SO ITS CHART LIFE CREDIBILITY SUFFERED...BUT HEY,WHO CARES?

[sikmagpie]

Great work spencermax!and one of my alltime favourites thanx!!

[PHAEDRIDER]

good word, that.. crucial.. amen

[thequeenizdead]

Thank you for putting that together. Everyone who oves music sound appreciate Wire. I will dream on.

[FOGOAPACHE]

good job

[RCharan821]

I love it! Thanks, man.

[luistownmassacre]

Is this an official video?

[spencermax]

No, it's a few images I put together so this brilliant song can be enjoyed.

[luistownmassacre]

In that case, great stuff.

[asnihilismbores]

what an amazing and important song :)

[stupidxx]

this track jangles like a motherfucker! I was 15 and living in London in 1977 - it was all a glorious scene. Keep the faith xx

[mpkpkm]

This is a longer version from On returning album.

[ajlarue]

I love Lunas version, Wire were amazing.

[roestigbarrel1]

Easy listening punktrack! Right!