Outdoor Miner / Practice Makes Perfect

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.