Synopsis

Wire perform "Eardrum Buzz" on a cramped stage in a deliberately awkward, surreal clip. Colin Newman takes center stage, dancing and mugging in button-down shirts decorated with ear graphics, while the band mimics the song around him. The performance is interrupted by close-up images of people picking at their ears, turning the title into a strange visual joke. The result is playful, deadpan and distinctly unconventional, matching the song's clipped new wave pulse rather than presenting a conventional narrative.

Factoids & Trivia

• Released in 1989, "Eardrum Buzz" was the lead single from Wire's *It's Beginning to and Back Again*, also known as *IBTABA*.

• The video uses the 12-inch single version of the song rather than the substantially different album mix.

• "Eardrum Buzz" became Wire's highest-charting single in the United States, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also peaked at No. 68 in the United Kingdom.

• The clip was featured on MTV's alternative program *120 Minutes*, helping expose Wire's more electronic, pop-oriented late-1980s work to American viewers.

• Actor Sean Penn is listed by IMDb as appearing in the music video.

• The deliberately goofy presentation was notable because it contrasted with Wire's earlier reputation for severe, art-school post-punk minimalism. Contemporary retrospectives have singled out the video as an unusually whimsical example of the band embracing the music-video format.