Outdoor Miner / Practice Makes Perfect

by Wire

Outdoor Miner / Practice Makes Perfect cover art
  • Type: Single
  • Released: 20 January 1979
  • Label: Harvest
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Length: 7:01
  • Community rating: 4.56/5 from 6 ratings

Artists on this release: Mike Thorne

Album Notes & Community Reviews

A remarkably brief, shimmering pop anomaly buried within the dense post-punk architecture of Wire's 'Chairs Missing'. Clocking in at just 1:44 on the album (though slightly extended for this single release), the track juxtaposes an incredibly catchy piano and guitar melody against Colin Newman's oblique lyrics concerning a serpentine insect leaf-miner. EMI pushed the song heavily for radio play, exposing the band's surprisingly adept pop sensibilities.

Genres

Descriptors: melodic, nature, jangly, minimalist, british

Tracklist

  1. Outdoor Miner (2:55)
  2. Practice Makes Perfect (4:06)

Credits

  • Wire - primary artist
  • Bruce Gilbert - arranged by, written-by
  • Colin Newman - arranged by, written-by
  • Graham Lewis - arranged by, written-by
  • Robert Gotobed - arranged by

More from Wire: full discography