Few bands rival The Pogues when it comes to contemporary Irish folk music played with traditional celtic flare. They showed it was “possible to inject raw aggression and a healthy dose of barroom nihilism into traditional Irish music, and in the process cause clubs and ballrooms full of screaming drunks to jump up and down until the floorboards buckled.” Indeed the seven musicians who make up the band are just as comfortable playing banjo, bodhrán, tin whistle, accordion, mandolin, concertina and cittern, as they are playing guitars, drums, and bass. Meanwhile, Shane MacGowan, the leader, and eighth member of the band, should be recognized as one of Ireland’s finest modern poets. If only he could stay sober long enough to accept the title…
Today’s Happy Medium Song of the Day is one of my favorite Pogues songs — despite the fact there’s nothing Irish-sounding about it. Ironically, it was The Pogues first song to crack the US Top 40 charts in 1989, even though few people who regard themselves fans seem to know it because it was originally only released as a 12” single with crap cover art. It’s a raw and raucous Motown-styled rave-up that reveals a side of the band that harkens back to their punk roots more than their celtic ones. Horns blast, drums thunder and nary a single tin whistle can be heard. And it’s the rare occasion where Shane seems to have been content to scribble silly lyrics instead of poetry — although I would argue he’s honestly incapable of doing one without the other.
The Happy Medium Song of the Day is “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah” by The Pogues.
(Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)
Today’s Happy Medium Song of the Day is one of my favorite Pogues songs — despite the fact there’s nothing Irish-sounding about it. Ironically, it was The Pogues first song to crack the US Top 40 charts in 1989, even though few people who regard themselves fans seem to know it because it was originally only released as a 12” single with crap cover art. It’s a raw and raucous Motown-styled rave-up that reveals a side of the band that harkens back to their punk roots more than their celtic ones. Horns blast, drums thunder and nary a single tin whistle can be heard. And it’s the rare occasion where Shane seems to have been content to scribble silly lyrics instead of poetry — although I would argue he’s honestly incapable of doing one without the other.
The Happy Medium Song of the Day is “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah” by The Pogues.
(Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)