I worked with, and got to know quite well, Colin Newman for a number of years. He is an incredibly humble man in regards to the significance of Wire and claims the only reason he got involved with music, and the inspiration behind forming Wire, was to take drugs and meet women, that he had no higher motive than that. He also says he's blessed with the ability to make any mundane text sound more cryptic and intellectualized than it actually is and most of the subtext in their lyrics is imagined by the listener. He may be playing that down a bit though, I think he feels a little uncomfortable being complimented for his contributions, even though he's proud of Wire's fanbase and the accolades they've received.

Through Colin I also met Bruce Gilbert, again a very ordinary bloke. Bruce and Colin both share a love of art, in general, and I hung out with them both at several art galleries and events. Bruce, I think, was more interested in the band being perceived as an artistic expression than Colin was, but Colin was certainly no silent partner in those matters. They were, after all, art students.

So if Colin is to be believed, the methodology of Wire in those early recordings was more happenstance than plan, but I think there's some bashfulness at play there. They were obviously trying to be different from the many other bands in the punk scene, they had an aesthetic which relied on constraint when everyone else threw caution to the wind and let it all hang out.

or even a indie-track-of-the-summer from the 2000's

Well, Wire were a huge influence on the 90s Brit-Pop revival, even having a lawsuit with Elastica over "Line Up" and the obvious lifting of the main riff from "I Am The Fly". Elastica themselves were formative of the whole sound and direction that scene took.

It's interesting that you make a comparison to Sonic Youth and Television: When I worked with Colin, Paul Smith, founder of Blast First, who introduced Sonic Youth to the UK, was Wire's manager... I also met Paul through Colin. Paul is less reserved about the importance/impact of Wire, and his own (infamous) reputation and involvement in the music industry. Paul definitely saw/sees the band as an artistic statement and likens their importance to that of Throbbing Gristle, Sonic Youth, and Television. It may have been the beer talking though. We liked to meet up in pubs... So many lost memories...