The Pogues - Dirty Old Town

We lost one of the greats today. Shane MacGowan, one of the great Irish poets alongside the likes of Joyce and Yeats, best known as the frontman for the Pogues which defined the Celtic-rock and folk-punk genres, is gone at 65. I chose this song because it's just a nice tune that highlights his oft-overlooked vocal range. Two others I'll link to are "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" which shows off the more Celtic punk side, and "Fairy Tale of New York" which is on the short list of greatest Christmas songs of the rock n roll era (it's between that and "Father Christmas" by the Kinks). In '95-96, with my brother Ed and cousin Paul, I went to see Shane with his band The Popes at Metro Chicago, a great club in our neighborhood (like the Showbox, Paradise, 9:30 Club, et al). Cool show, though Shane was really wasted, drinking (presumably) whisky from a tin or pewter cup all night. No judgment, as the three of us were drinking whisky from shot glasses. At one point, with the Irishmen in the crowd chanting "DIIIIIRty IIIIIIrish BAAAAStard!" between songs, Shane mustered up a slurry "Ah, go fuck yourselves." In high school one year at the family Christmas… Uncle Eddy was in charge of the music. My grandfather LOVED traditional Irish music. I once took him to see the Clancy Brothers play my high school gym and it was a life highlight for both of us, albeit for different reasons. At Uncle Eddy's house, when “Fairytale of NY” came on, just the sound of the instruments made grampa declare “now THIS is Christmas music!” - just in time for Christy MacColl from the Pogues to sing, “you scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot; Happy Christmas your arse, I hope it’s our last.” We all laughed our asses off. Good times. If we go somewhere when we die, surely Shane MacGowan and James Joyce are there together, crushing a bottle of Jameson and having some laughs.