Friday, July 21, 2017

Flashback Friday -- The Pogues


I remember the first time I heard the Pogues. Watching MTV on an illegal cable hookup, it was either 120 Minutes or  The Cutting Edge


https://images.vice.com/noisey/content-images/article/wanna-relive-your-late-night-tv-watching-youth-with-mtv-120-minutes/Screen-Shot-2016-02-04-at-12-48-45.jpg?crop=0.8746286393345217xw:1xh;center,center&resize=1050:*http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/The-Cutting-Edge.jpg

Anyway, it was 1984 or 85 and the host of the show said they were some new band from Ireland and played a few of their songs "Dirty Old Town," "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn," I think. Anyway, I was blown away. I'd never heard anything like them before. They were the band that posed the musical question "what would Rock & Roll sound like if it had evolved in Ireland instead of America?" And the answer was "pretty damn good!"

I saw the Pogues live once at Berkeley's Greek Theater, opening for Bob Dylan. I was surprised how much better Shane MacGowan's voice sounded live than on their records. Then I found out that Shane was in rehab and Spider Stacy was handling the lead vocals. Oh, well. Still a great show.

A little off-topic, but I have to say that I'm glad I got to see Bob Dylan live, I'm a big Bob Dylan fan, but I wouldn't do it again. He has some weird compulsion to make the live versions of his songs sound different than the versions you've heard on his records which seems like a good idea, but was actually kind of annoying. If anyone else played his songs the way Dylan played them that day, I would've said "you're butchering Bob Dylan!"

Anyway, enjoy the Pogues:


















Also, they played the trouble-making MacMahone Family in Alex Cox's "Straight to Hell." I don't know if that movie will hold up, but you can watch it here:
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5 comments:

  1. Debra She Who SeeksJuly 22, 2017 at 12:42 AM

    My sister was a HUGE Pogues fan in the 80s. Their music was always just a little TOO gritty, depressing and real life for me. I do love the hit song you DIDN'T include here, though -- Fairytale of New York, of course.

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    1. Professor ChaosJuly 22, 2017 at 8:15 AM

      Really? I find Fairytale of New York the most depressing.

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  2. Debra She Who SeeksJuly 22, 2017 at 9:56 AM

    Yeah, ironic, isn't it?

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  3. AnonymousJuly 22, 2017 at 11:52 AM

    I saw Bob Dylan in the mid-eighties. Sometimes, it's best to just be that kid in the bedroom listening to albums in the dark.

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  4. AnonymousJuly 28, 2017 at 5:52 AM

    Well, if this isn't enough to make you scream, I don't know what is.


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