Learn How To Always Love Mission Of Burma

 

I mentioned yesterday about the venue Birthdays in Dalston, London, the Vice-sponsored basement that is merely an alleyway that doesn’t promote good musical experiences but does promote bullshit hipsterisms. Word on the street is that Vice is about to pull the pin on their support of the place, and it couldn’t happen fast enough in my opinion. I went to the Mission of Burma show there in December, and whilst the performance was good, it was more memorable for all the wrong reasons – and great comedian Stewart Lee incessantly yelling out “Just play the hits!” (and he kinda had a point…) Of course the trio were promoting new record Unsound, which is fair – but Fire Records had the right idea, bringing together some of their “hits” in a two-disc compilation Learn How: The Essential Mission of Burma. And goddamn, if this isn’t one of the best comps I’ve heard in a while. A precursor to the band reissuing all of their output – ALL OF IT – it does everything a “Best Of” should do, and reminds you just how underappreciated these fuckers are. Their reformation in 2002 has lasted, brought about some incredible albums, and cemented their status as an incendiary punk rock band that should have been shoulder to shoulder with Wire in this lil dude’s opinion.

Anyway, the gig was still memorable – they played a few of my faves, I saw a sweaty Lee in the flesh, and caught up, drank and smoked too many cigarettes with some dear friends. And listening to Learn How, I mingle those memories with my childhood ones, and that’s all you can really wish for.

 

You can get Learn How here.

Mission of Burma – Dirt
Mission of Burma – That’s When I Reach For My Revolver
Mission of Burma – That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate