The Medusa Fora

Review here

I enjoyed this review. It's not one of those "but the guitar player couldn't find the frets" type of reviews - it's a retrospective review discussing the album within its context in the mid-eighties,

It does dwell on the Irish nature of The Pogues though. I wonder about this sometimes. Given that Shane spent the bulk of his young life in England, and most of the rest of the band had never even been to Ireland, why are The Pogues so closely associated with Ireland? Yes, the style of music (and many of the traditionals) are Irish, but much of the music is straight Rock and many of the traditionals are English.

Oh well - I'm babbling.

which traditional songs are english? i can't think of any.


and i don't see how you can not associate the pogues closely with irish music, at least in their beggining. 'if i should fall...' is the album where i see their irishness starting to fade.

anyway, yeah the review was good.

DzM wrote:Review here

I enjoyed this review. It's not one of those "but the guitar player couldn't find the frets" type of reviews - it's a retrospective review discussing the album within its context in the mid-eighties,

It does dwell on the Irish nature of The Pogues though. I wonder about this sometimes. Given that Shane spent the bulk of his young life in England, and most of the rest of the band had never even been to Ireland, why are The Pogues so closely associated with Ireland? Yes, the style of music (and many of the traditionals) are Irish, but much of the music is straight Rock and many of the traditionals are English.

Oh well - I'm babbling.

I will always jump in on this one and will always end up in trouble for it but feck it. Apart from the first three months of his existence, while his mother recovered from expelling the great one from her interior, Shane spent almost the first seven years of his YOUNG LIFE at home in Co. Tipperary. These are, arguably, the most important of anyone's life and certainly among the most influential.
Cait O'riordan had either an Irish mum or dad and I think Andrew had Irish roots as well. By the album in question, PC, a rare 'auld Dub, was in the band. The Pogues experience was that of emigrants, particularly that of the London/ Irish but Irish emigrants in general I would say. Phil is certainly right when he says The Pogues could not have come out of Ireland, absolutely. For some reason that just wouldn't have worked. Aaahh, "memories of home and the old country", the good old days and rare 'auld times.That's what their brilliant music said to me anyway. Dublin born and bred, it brought me to an Ireland that I only half knew, half remembered. And I would say most English people are fairly familiar with a lot of Irish tunes anyway, from the pubs and clubs etc.

dsweeney wrote:

DzM wrote:Review here

I enjoyed this review. It's not one of those "but the guitar player couldn't find the frets" type of reviews - it's a retrospective review discussing the album within its context in the mid-eighties,

It does dwell on the Irish nature of The Pogues though. I wonder about this sometimes. Given that Shane spent the bulk of his young life in England, and most of the rest of the band had never even been to Ireland, why are The Pogues so closely associated with Ireland? Yes, the style of music (and many of the traditionals) are Irish, but much of the music is straight Rock and many of the traditionals are English.

Oh well - I'm babbling.

I will always jump in on this one and will always end up in trouble for it but feck it. Apart from the first three months of his existence, while his mother recovered from expelling the great one from her interior, Shane spent almost the first seven years of his YOUNG LIFE at home in Co. Tipperary. These are, arguably, the most important of anyone's life and certainly among the most influential.
Cait O'riordan had either an Irish mum or dad and I think Andrew had Irish roots as well. By the album in question, PC, a rare 'auld Dub, was in the band. The Pogues experience was that of emigrants, particularly that of the London/ Irish but Irish emigrants in general I would say. Phil is certainly right when he says The Pogues could not have come out of Ireland, absolutely. For some reason that just wouldn't have worked. Aaahh, "memories of home and the old country", the good old days and rare 'auld times.That's what their brilliant music said to me anyway. Dublin born and bred, it brought me to an Ireland that I only half knew, half remembered. And I would say most English people are fairly familiar with a lot of Irish tunes anyway, from the pubs and clubs etc.

I think your right. Shane is irish and the fact that he may or may not have been born there is irelevant. However the one thing that really shows through in Shanes lyrics and The Pogues music (to me anyway) in general is the fussion (if thats the right word) of experiences and cultures of England and Ireland. I have never felt when listening to the Pogues that im listening to an Irish band (which is wht a lot of my friends/colleagues etc etc will say to me when I tell them im going to see the Pogues)

I consider the Pogues one of the archetypal London bands. The Irish have an awful lot to do with London.

Especially places like Kilburn and Camden Town I believe ? And the Brixton Academy seems to have adopted them as native sons.
On a slight tangent here with this but while I'm on it. I find it curious that The Pogues sometimes get flack from the uninformed about "non Irish people" playing " Irish " music. To the best of my knowledge Eric Clapton ain't from Mississippi. Mick Jagger didn't grow up on fuckin' Beale Street. Know what I mean ? Anybody can play the blues but there's a problem playing Irish traditional folk if you don't happen to be born on Paddy's green shamrock shore ! Why should that be ? Nobody has a go at Sting for his white reggae. Actually, maybe they do, come to think of it.

dsweeney wrote:... Nobody has a go at Sting for his white reggae. Actually, maybe they do, come to think of it.

Indeed. Richard Thompson has a song about this very thing on his Dream Attic album:
http://www.richardthompson-music.com/so ... asp?id=622

[I had to channel-hop v. quickly away from the UK broadcast of The Daily Show last night when Sting came on. Is there no escape?]

dsweeney wrote:Especially places like Kilburn and Camden Town I believe ? And the Brixton Academy seems to have adopted them as native sons.
On a slight tangent here with this but while I'm on it. I find it curious that The Pogues sometimes get flack from the uninformed about "non Irish people" playing " Irish " music. To the best of my knowledge Eric Clapton ain't from Mississippi. Mick Jagger didn't grow up on fuckin' Beale Street. Know what I mean ? Anybody can play the blues but there's a problem playing Irish traditional folk if you don't happen to be born on Paddy's green shamrock shore ! Why should that be ? Nobody has a go at Sting for his white reggae. Actually, maybe they do, come to think of it.

Ha ha that reminds me of the 'coal to Newcastle' commnet in the 85 'Planxty Noel Hill slagging interview' (apolos I cant remember the name of this interview ha ha) were I think the inerveiewer asks does it get on your nerves people talking about you playing irish music to the irish etc etc and that its the same criticism that the Rolling Stones got about taking blues to America and Shane says "Well yeah but they were right about them" ha ha ha. Thought that was a quality statment and shows how confident Shane was (or is). He could have easily said oh yeah that supports are argument but didnt ha ha