History YMMV / Wire

* MagnumOpusDissonance: Of their first three albums, the band and production crew cite sophomore ''Chairs Missing'' as their favorite, rather than debut ''Pink Flag'' (their most influential and popular amongst the general public) or ''154'' (the most loved amongst Wire's fandom).

** ''154'': "Two People in a Room".

* BlackSheepHit: While most known for their punk output, their highest-charting song is "Outdoor Miner," a [[Music/PaulMcCartney McCartneyesque]] pop tune. They never played the song live because it was "too easy."

* BlackSheepHit: While most known for their punk output, their highest-charting song is "Outdoor Miner," a [=McCartneyesque=] pop tune. They never played the song live because it was "too easy."

** ''Chairs Missing'': "Practice Makes Perfect" (for the bass) and the closing track "Too Late".

** Though ''Chairs Missing'' and ''154'' are both critically acclaimed in their own right, ''Music/PinkFlag'' is widely considered the band's masterpiece, and it was certainly the most influential record they ever did. [[note]]At least [[https://pinkflag.greedbag.com/buy/pink-flag-8/ "amongst those who aren't Wire fans."]] As the album descriptions on Wire's own online store note, the dedicated Wire fandom tends to prefer ''154'' out of the three 70s albums. [[https://pinkflag.greedbag.com/buy/ihqrye/ "Perhaps perversely Wire fans tend to be the least enamoured with Pink Flag."]] [[/note]]

* MagnumOpusDissonance: Of the three albums from their 70s period, the band and production crew cite ''Chairs Missing'' as their favorite, rather than ''Pink Flag'' (their most influential and popular amongst the general public) or ''154'' (the most loved amongst Wire's fandom).

* SampledUp: The main riff to Music/{{Elastica}}'s "Connection," is "Three Girl Rhumba" half a step down with a variation every fourth bar. Another Elastica single from the same album, "Line Up," used the melody to the chorus of "I Am the Fly" for its own chorus. Wire threatened lawsuit over these similarities, but ultimately settled out of court for songwriting credit.

** Though ''Chairs Missing'' and ''154'' are both critically acclaimed in their own right, ''Music/PinkFlag'' is widely considered the band's masterpiece, and it was certainly the most influential record they ever did. [[note]]At least [[https://pinkflag.greedbag.com/buy/pink-flag-8/ "amongst those who aren't Wire fans."]] As the album descriptions on Wire's own online store note, the dedicated ''Wire'' fandom tends to prefer ''154'' of the 70s album triptych. [[https://pinkflag.greedbag.com/buy/ihqrye/ "Perhaps perversely Wire fans tend to be the least enamoured with Pink Flag."]] [[/note]]

** Though ''Chairs Missing'' and ''154'' are both critically acclaimed in their own right, ''Music/PinkFlag'' is widely considered the band's masterpiece, and it was certainly the most influential record they ever did.

** "12 X U".

* BrokenBase: Their 80s SynthPop output is a point of contention among many fans. [[CriticalDissonance Critics are sometimes more forgiving of it]].
* CoveredUp:
** [[{{Music/REM}} R.E.M.'s]] cover of "Strange."
** There's also [[Music/MinorThreat Minor Threat's]] version of "12 X U."

** ''Music/PinkFlag'': "12 X U", "Ex Lion Tamer", "Strange"
** ''Chairs Missing'': "Practice Makes Perfect" (for the bass) and the closing track "Too Late"
** ''154'': "Two People in a Room"
** ''The Ideal Copy'': "Ahead"
** ''Change Becomes Us'': "Doubles & Trebles", "Adore Your Island", "Stealth of a Stork"

** The band's first incarnation, which birthed the three above records. After they broke up and eventually reformed in the mid-80s, it was generally agreed that they were never as good again.

** After their first return in 1985, they drew much ire from much of their fanbase by releasing a string of poppy, overproduced records, culminating in the critical disaster that was 1991's ''Manscape''. Live, however, the songs often took on a very different character, though Wire, being the contrarians that they were, never released a proper live album from this period... Until 2010, with the inception of their "Legal Download Bootleg Series", one of the first of which was [[http://pinkflag.greedbag.com/buy/21-july-1988-astoria-london-0/ a 1988 performance from the Astoria in London]]. To summarize the average fan reaction: ''[[AwesomeMusic Hot]]'' '''''[[AwesomeMusic damn]]'''''.

* SampledUp: The main riff to Elastica's "Connection," is "Three Girl Rhumba" half a step down with a variation every fourth bar. Another Elastica single from the same album, "Line Up," used the melody to the chorus of "I Am the Fly" for its own chorus. Wire threatened lawsuit over these similarities, but ultimately settled out of court for songwriting credit.

** "12 X U"
** "Outdoor Miner" is their highest-charting song as well as a popular choice for other artists to cover. So much so that there exists a CoverAlbum (''A Houseguest's Wish: Translations of Wire's 'Outdoor Miner''') of 19 different artists' versions of the song.

* {{Broken Base}}/{{Dork Age}}: Their 80s SynthPop output is a point of contention among many fans. [[CriticalDissonance Critics are sometimes more forgiving of it]].
* CoveredUp: [[{{Music/REM}} R.E.M.'s]] cover of "Strange."

** Much of the material that eventually became ''Change Becomes Us'' was notoriously difficult or poorly recorded live versions. Enter the 2013 album, and it's some of the band's best recordings in years.

* SignatureSong: "12 X U"

** ''Chairs Missing'': "Practice Makes Perfect" (for the bass)

* MagnumOpus: ''Pink Flag''

** ''Pink Flag'': "12 X U", "Ex Lion Tamer", "Strange"

** Though ''Chairs Missing'' and ''154'' are both critically acclaimed in their own right, ''Pink Flag'' is widely considered the band's masterpiece, and it was certainly the most influential record they ever did.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: After their first return in 1985, they drew much ire from much of their fanbase by releasing a string of poppy, overproduced records, culminating in the critical disaster that was 1991's ''Manscape''. Live, however, the songs often took on a very different character, though Wire, being the contrarians that they were, never released a proper live album from this period... Until 2010, with the inception of their "Legal Download Bootleg Series", one of the first of which was [[http://pinkflag.greedbag.com/buy/21-july-1988-astoria-london-0/ a 1988 performance from the Astoria in London]]. To summarize the average fan reaction: ''[[AwesomeMusic Hot]]'' '''''[[AwesomeMusic damn]]'''''.
** Or, somewhat earlier, their revival of various '80s numbers on their 2000 comeback tour.

* "Outdoor Miner" is their highest-charting song as well as a popular choice for other artists to cover. So much so that there exists a CoverAlbum (''A Houseguest's Wish: Translations of Wire's 'Outdoor Miner''') of 19 different artists' versions of the song.

* SignatureSong: "12 X U"

** ''Pink Flag: "12 X U", "Ex Lion Tamer", "Strange"

** Much of the material that eventually became ''Change Becomes Us'' was notoriously difficult or poorly recorded live versions. Enter the 2013 album, and it's some of the band's best recordings in years.

** Or, somewhat earlier, their revival of various '80s numbers on their 2000 comeback tour.

* {{Broken Base}}/{{Dork Age}}: Their 80s SynthPop output is a point of contention among many fans.