Idolator

Your Guest Idolator tries his hand at another installment of the Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda Files, raiding his hard drive in search of a lost gem.

Artist: Fischerspooner
Song: "The 15th"

What happened: Few albums landed with so resounding a thud as the debut by this art-damaged dance-punk duo. Actually, a couple of blips and then a thud: their ill-fated, widely loathed #1 was released on two different indie labels in 2001 and 2002 before finally crossing to the majors on Capitol in 2003 - just in time for the electroclash mini-movement they helped embody to breathe its last yawn. So why are we posting a track from this old thing? Because we think the never-hotter James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem just might owe Casey Spooner a small debt, or at least his current look.
Why it should have been a hit: Reviewing #1, the folks at Trouser Press said it best: "It's probably a little unfair to complain that a cover song is the best track on an album when that song is Wire's 'The 15th'—just about the only albums that song wouldn't be the best cut on are Revolver and The Velvet Underground and Nico." Still, Fischerspooner's cover of Wire's 1979 chestnut is actually (gasp!) thoughtful and (double gasp!) musical: reimagining Colin Newman's already ethereal lyric in an even dreamier context, and unwittingly anticipating portions of both the DFA's career and maybe even the Postal Service's. And hey, check out that video—none of the garish makeup or downtown scenesters made semi-famous in FS's "Emerge" clip or its happening-like concerts; just a straight-up performance with a frisson of backward-camera trickery. You know Murphy was taking notes.

Fischerspooner - The 15th [MP3, link expired]
Wire - The 15th [MP3, link expired]
Fischerspooner, "The 15th" [YouTube]