History Music / PinkFlag

In ninteen fifty-five?''

''Pink Flag'' is the 1977 debut album by Art Punk band Music/{{Wire}}. It took the basic ethos of PunkRock and stripped it down even further: [[MinisculeRocking tracks ran as short as 1 minute down to 30 seconds]] at blistering speed, songs didn't always "end" so much as "stop", some tracks barely used more than two chords, and the overall composition from the instruments to the vocals was cold and detached.

Often seen as their defining statement, the album was hugely influential to the PostPunk, AlternativeRock, and HardcorePunk of TheEighties, the single "12 X U" in particular [[TropeMakers being one of the forerunners]] of HardcorePunk. It was placed at #412 on ''UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime''.

The band would add electronics and ProgressiveRock influences to their sound for their second album, ''Chairs Missing'', thereby becoming {{Trope Codifier}}s of PostPunk, but they would never sound like ''Pink Flag'' ever again.

''What is this crazy thing I can't explain anyhow?''\\

* YourCheatingHeart: "Three Girl Rhumba".
-->''A chance encounter you want to avoid\\
The inevitable\\
So you do, oh yes you do\\
The impossible\\
Now you ain't got a number\\
You just want to rhumba\\
And there ain't no way you're gonna go under''

!! Troping in the big swim, rising to the surface:

** Also referenced in "Ex Lion Tamer":
--->''Next week will solve your problems\\
But now, fish fingers all in a line\\
The milk bottles stand empty\\
Stay glued to your T.V. sets!''

''What is this crazy thing I can't explain anyhow?''
* WordPureeTitle: "12 X U".

* YourCheatingHeart: "Three Girl Rhumba", about someone who ReallyGetsAround.

[[caption-width-right:306:"All right... Here it is... Again. And it's called... "'''''12 X U!!''''']]

So many times, there's nothing left

* ReferencedBy: The riff from "Three Girl Rhumba" was lifted for the Music/{{Elastica}} song "Connection".

[[caption-width-right:306:How many dead or alive, in 1955?]]

->"All right... Here it is... Again. And it's called... "'''''12 X U!!'''''"
-->--Colin Newman, just before creating HardcorePunk in "12 X U" [[note]] read as 1, 2, X, U [[/note]]

!! This album provides examples of:

* MinimalisticCoverArt: A pink flag risen on a flat background.
* MinisculeRocking: One of the album's trademarks. The band never play a song beyond what seems necessary, thus most songs lasting between 0:30 - 1:30.

* PunkRock: The artiest and coldest Punk Rock album to boot.
* PostPunk: The album is an UrExample with its cold and angular sound. The band would become {{Trope Codifier}}s with their next two albums.
* ShoutOut: The riff from "Three Girl Rhumba" was lifted for the Music/{{Elastica}} song "Connection".

-->"Prices have risen since the government fell\\

And sooner or later the end will arrive"

# "Reuters" - 3:03
# "Field Day for the Sundays" - 0:28
# "Three Girl Rhumba" - 1:23
# "Ex Lion Tamer" - 2:19
# "Lowdown" - 2:26
# "Start to Move" - 1:13
# "Brazil" - 0:41
# "It's So Obvious" - 0:53
# "Surgeon's Girl" - 1:17
# "Pink Flag" - 3:47
# "The Commercial" - 0:49
# "Straight Line" - 0:44
# "106 Beats That" - 1:12
# "Mr. Suit" - 1:25
# "Strange" - 3:58
# "Fragile" - 1:18
# "Mannequin" - 2:37
# "Different to Me" - 0:43
# "Champs" - 1:46
# "Feeling Called Love" - 1:22
# "12 X U" - 1:56

Often seen as their defining statement, the album was hugely influential to the PostPunk, AlternativeRock, and HardcorePunk of TheEighties, and the single "12 X U" is considered the TropeMakers of HardcorePunk. It was placed at #412 on ''UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime''.

-->--Colin Newman, just before creating HardcorePunk in "12 X U"[[note]]read as 1, 2, X, U[[/note]]

Often seen as their defining statement, the album was hugely influential to the PostPunk, AlternativeRock, and HardcorePunk of TheEighties, and the single "12 X U" is considered the TropeMaker of HardcorePunk. It was placed at #412 on ''UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime''.

!! Tracklist

* {{Instrumental}}: "The Commercial".

* WordPureeTitle: "12 X U".

--->"All right... Here it is... Again. And it's called... "'''''12 X U!!'''''"\\
--Colin Newman, just before creating HardcorePunk in "12 X U"[[note]]read as 1, 2, X, U[[/note]]

Often seen as their [[MagnumOpus defining statement]], the album was hugely influential to the PostPunk, AlternativeRock, and HardcorePunk of TheEighties, and the single "12 X U" is considered the TropeMaker of HardcorePunk. It was placed at #412 on ''UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime''.

--->"All right... Here it is... again. And it's called... "'''''12 X U!!'''''"\\

* PostPunk: The album is an UrExample with its cold and angular sound.

Often seen as their [[MagnumOpus defining statement]], the album was hugely influential to the PostPunk, AlternativeRock, and HardcorePunk of TheEighties, and the single "12 X U" is considered the TropeMaker of HardcorePunk. The band would add electronics and ProgressiveRock influences to their sound for their second album, ''Chairs Missing'', thereby becoming {{Trope Codifier}}s of PostPunk, but they would never sound like ''Pink Flag'' ever again.

Often seen as their defining statement, the album was hugely influential to the PostPunk, AlternativeRock, and HardcorePunk of TheEighties, and the single "12 X U" is considered the TropeMaker of HardcorePunk. The band would add electronics and ProgressiveRock influences to their sound for their second album, ''Chairs Missing'', thereby becoming {{Trope Codifier}}s of PostPunk, but they would never sound like ''Pink Flag'' ever again.

* NonAppearingTitle: "Brazil", "106 Beats That", "Mannequin". Most of these titles relate to the content of the lyrics in some way, but a few are more oblique: "Brazil" refers to the samba-like groove of Gotobed's drum part, "106 Beats That" was originally written to be 106 beats long.
* PunBasedTitle: The "X" in "12 X U" is self-censorship for "fuck" (so "12 X U" == "want to fuck you").