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Pop Rock Nation

Category: People

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  • FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #8: Love Me Tongue

    SHANE MACGOWAN & THE POPES  “Nancy Whiskey” b/w “That Woman’s Got Me Drinking” (ZTT/Warner Bros. 7-17782 white label promo, 1995)

    I recall chuckling out loud when I’d heard that The Pogues had “fired” their captivating frontman, Shane MacGowan, for…well you can guess what for.  It wasn’t so much the circumstances that cracked me up as it was the fact that the remaining Pogues had stated they would continue without him.   That just made no sense to me;  The Pogues were, in my opinion, THEE ultimate Irish folk group, and MacGowan THEE classic drunken poet and centerpiece, bar none.  Joe Strummer filled in for some live shows, which I imagine was fun, but ultimately the band tried to go on with a giant gaping hole where Shane was.  It wasn’t bound to last.

    MacGowan, on the other hand, trundled onward like a cockroach, carrying drink and dope addictions and a skull rotting his head to pieces from the mouth out.  Before long he had a new backup band, The Popes, and an album, titled The Snake, to promote.  Warner Bros. obviously handed out hundreds of these white-label promo singles in an attempt to drum up some interest in the album, and possibly to get some airplay and snag a slot or 2 on a jukebox here or there.  The disc came with no artwork, of course, just a white paper sleeve.  But it did feature this little jukebox slot-card, which drums up a mental image of a couple at a malt shop, holding hands and saying, “Oh honey, it’s ‘Nancy Whiskey,’ our song!”

    Of course, I imagine some of the old Irish codgers down at the local pub or diner might recognize the A-side, a traditional drinking song, arranged by MacGowan.  Not far from standard Pogues fare, the track offers up nothing new, but methinks this was a purposeful attempt at reactivating the old Pogues audience.  It doesn’t fail, but it’s the B-side that’s the real scorcher here.

    “That Woman’s Got Me Drinking” (notice the running theme here?) covers the flip with 3:24 of pure liquor-soaked thrash.  While The Popes bash away at the standard three-chord E-D-A progression that is the bastion of so much classic garage rock (think “G-L-O-R-I-A!”), Shane gives us his take on the economical aftermath of The Teapot Dome Scandal.  It’s punk as fuck.  Thrill to the video, directed by and starring your friend and mine, Mr. Johnny Depp.

    SHANE MACGOWAN & THE POPES \”That Woman\’s Got Me Drinking\” on YouTube

    MacGowan and The Pogues eventually reconciled, and are touring and performing together again.  Sometimes.

    NEXT WEEK: It’s round on the ends and high in the middle, and it rolls like a snowplow through the Motor City.

  • Mikey’s Ultimate Album Review- “Black Ice” by AC/DC

    Black Ice cover

    As I get older, a lot of things I used to enjoy simply don’t mean much to me anymore.  Things like baseball cards, professional wrestling, and going to the movies are just three examples that just don’t measure up like they used to.  But there is still one event that always brings me a smile to my face when it occasionally happens. That special occasion is when the new album of the band you love hits the the market.  And it’s so much more special when you hold the album in your hands because the band has made you wait eight long years for it.  Finally, on October 20th of 2008, AC/DC released their long awaited new album, Black Ice.  I’m still shaking with excitement as I write this article while listening to some new rocking tunes from the greatest hard rock band of all time.  With AC/DC, you know what you are getting.  They aren’t going to surprise you with a concept album, a political album about their thoughts on George Bush and the war, or a surprise collaboration with Bono.  The only thing you have to be concerned with is how many of the songs will include legendary melodies that will compares to classics like Highway To Hell, Whole Lotta Rosie, and Back In Black.  Even though there will be a lot of filler material, you are still going to get your dozen or so rock and roll themes.  The album was released exclusively at Wal-Mart, which means you ain’t getting it on Amazon, itunes, Best Buy, or your local indie record shop (well, unless they are willing to buy and sell at a loss!).  Although I hate giving Wal-Mart my hard-earned money, in a case like this, do I really have a choice?  I was at Wal-Mart at 8:00 this morning right before work ready to get my hands on the new album and experience that feeling which other passionate music fans know all about.    So you probably want to know what I think about the record, huh?

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  • The New Music Files 10/21/08: Featuring AC/DC, Kenny Chesney, HSM3 and More!!

    I figured it was time to change the title of the column into something a little less…you know, boring. Anyhow, here’s what you should be expecting to see on store shelves and in your trusty little iTunes browser this week:

    AC/DC: Black Ice:

    Those rascally Aussies have pretty much made the exact same album for thirty + years now, but damn if people don’t go out and buy tons of it each time. Black Ice is their first album of new material in almost a decade, and it’s receiving a little extra notice not only because they’re crisscrossing the globe in support of it, but because, much like The Eagles album from last year, this album is being released exclusively at Wal-Mart and walmart.com (actually, the album went on sale yesterday, but who’s counting). If you’re anywhere near rock radio or VH-1, I’m sure you’ve already heard the first single “Rock & Roll Train”.

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