Legends

For the life on me, I cannot think of a single band in the past twenty-five years more culturally influential than the Pogues. That one act revived international interest in traditional Irish music as well as spawned the genre of Celtic punk. Indeed, some argue that the Pogues emergence and popularity helped to temper the anti-Irish sentiment in a generation of English youth. To call them iconic hardly does the band or its music justice.

The Pogues are also one of my all-time favorite bands and I regard “If I Should Fall from Grace of God” as one of the handful of near-perfect albums ever recorded (and yes – it is that good). The title track, “Turkish Song of the Damned”, “Birmingham Six”, “Fiesta”, and “The Broad Majestic Shannon" are all masterpieces in there own right and I defy anyone to listen to “Fairytale of New York” without cracking a smile. That album is simply amazing and sealed in me an undying appreciation for their music. In fact, my love for them is such that in 2003, I was all set to fly to Dublin to see one of the reunion shows. My love for Lo, however, proved to be greater as I ended up spending the money on her wedding ring instead (again yes, I still lord that over her from time to time).

I bring this up because Oct. 4 marked the Pogues’ twenty-fifth anniversary, which when you consider it, is something of a miracle. Seriously, Shane MacGowen should have been dead years ago. The fact that they were able to reunite after a decade and sell out shows in Europe and the USA is a testament to the band’s stature and importance. So to you lucky bastards on the West Coast that get to see the upcoming tour, I say pogue mahone.

Here is “If I Should Fall from Grace of God” in all of its frenetic glory. And if there really is a God and He loves me, one day I will get to see them play this live. Enjoy.