This weekend the 54th Eurovision Song Contest ( Concours Eurovision de la Chanson ) takes place in Moscow, Russia ( la Russie ). Ireland ( l'Irlande ) is one of 42 countries that will compete in this year's competition. It has always been more about style over substance and has become, in recent years, more about politics than entertainment. The rules of the competition state that each act can have no more than six members on stage during their performance. That's one trophy that Manchester United won't win this year. C'est ci bon ! The first nine [...]
And Sunday afternoon. And probably most of Monday too. Hangovers. Phhhhhhh. Not had one for a while. This one's a cracker. I had it all planned that I would put up a couple of rip-roaring posts today, but that's just not happening. Got that constant sicky feeling and my head feels like, eh.....eh.....I dunno. Tch. You know what it feels like. Well. You think you do, but this one's 10 times worse. This hangover is a killer. I'd love to be under the covers with Tom Waits or Nick Drake [...]
It's the day before St. Patty's and the perfect time to highlight the band that gave new life to traditional Irish music: The Pogues.
I've done a couple of posts on the legendary Pogues in the past. Most of those files have been removed, due to their inclusion (in far better quality) on the recent box set. (buy!) Most out there already know that Pogues front man Shane MacGowan parted ways with them back in the nineties, and launched a solo career. While his output post-Pogues didn't match their output in their heyday, it certainly had it's moments. A few [...]
If only for the brief amount of time that their implosive ways would allow them, the Pogues offered a unique alternative to the MTV-fueled video stars of the day. The Irish band found an unlikely common ground between punk and the music of their native land.
Just as clearly as yesterday, I can remember when I dropped the needle on Rum, Sodomy & the Lash , the second album by the Pogues. The album appeared in 1985, and the Pogues were an unknown quantity: a Celtic folk-punk band? "The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn" starts out like just about any Irish weeper you'd punch up on a pub jukebox, but about 36 seconds in the punk frenzy takes over. And I said: "Yeah!" It turns out that Rum, Sodomy and the Lash , produced by Elvis Costello, is the first of the Pogues' two acknowledged masterpieces - [...]
Nick Cave & Shane MacGowan's What A Wonderful World EP was a cover song maven's delight. First you had both the boys crooning the hell all over the old standard, then you had them covering each other. Shane MacGowan seersly owns "Lucy," though. Once that belltower rings, that song no longer belongs to Nick Cave. Shane MacGowan - Lucy from What A Wonderful World (out of print, but amazon has some used ) Bonus [...]
What better way to spend your Christmas season than by watching Shane MacGowan recreate the magic of "Fairytale of New York" in the all out mayhem of a live Pogues show. Well, if you're intrigued by the idea and/or are planning a trip to Europe in December, you'll have the opportunity to take part in this very activity. As has been the case for the last five years, The Pogues will again embark on a U.K. Christmas tour in December. Pre-sale tickets will available begining tomorrow, August 28th via seetickets.com . [...]
i had been searching for the most disturbing shane photo i could find but opted for the one above. mostly due to the fact that i didnt want to put you all through that kind of emotional/optical torture. here are the pogues on the dutch kro "op slag van maandag" which was broadcasted on 3.22.87, but performed on 12.1.86. 1. dj intro 2. the ballinalee 3. metropolis 4. dirty old town 5. greenland whale fisheries [...]
The Airborne Toxic Event (ATE), a soon-to-be-signed band out of Los Feliz, CA, create music that runs counter to the "it's-got-a-good-beat-and-I-ca n-dance-to-it" mentality of pop radio marketing these days. ATE songs will make you dance (in fact, I dare you to stop yourself), but ATE's music also has depth; these aren't your kid sister's emo or top 40 songs about love, lust, and yearning, baby.
Shane MacGowan - Lucy Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Lucy Not content with coming up with instant classics of his own, Nick Cave, as proven by his superlative 1986 album Kicking Against The Pricks , is a master interpreter of songs. Shane MacGowan is similarly an extremely talented singer when it comes to other peoples' songs (witness "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" from the Rum, Sodomy & The Lash album), as well as [...]
Veering into the mindless mainstream is one of my least favorite activities generally... I hate the mainstream Hollywood movies with more violence than plot, the music with more studio chicanery than songs in it... The news programming with no no news in it... It's like mainstream food, all sugar, fat & chemicals with no nutrients... Last night I had a house guest over who wanted to watch hours of crap TV including nancy Grace ranting about Lindsay Lohan's "problems" My onely problem with Lindsay Lohan is having to [...]
A Town Full of Losers
Plain Or Pan?
JamsBio Magazine
deadbilly's steaming pile of vinyl
30 Days Out
Hello Vegetables
Consequence Of Sound
Captain's Dead
Between Love & Like
Kiss Me, I've Quit Smoking
Lil Mike's Last Known Thoughts & Random Revelations
Sleeve: “1991″ by Azealia Banks
Loreen - Euphoria
Video: Chromatics – “These Streets Will Never Look the Same”
