On the second day of Gheorghemas, Big Gheorghe gave to me...
The Finest Holiday Duet in History
And One Hell of a bloggy Par-ty
You're a bum, you're a punk
You're an old slut on junk, lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse I pray God it's our last.
So goes the greatest holiday song of the modern era*, recorded by the Pogues in 1988 and sung by Shane MacGowan and the late Kirsty MacColl.
'Fairytale of New York' is the ballad of a pair of Irish immigrants
down on their luck in a city celebrating the Christmas season. It's by
turns tender, vulgar, and comical. It is by no means your parents'
seasonal fare - you won't hear 'Fairytale' anywhere near 'It's Christmas Eve in Washington'.
* This is both a personal opinion, and an entirely objective fact, deemed so by a VH1 UK poll in 2004.
I've long loved this tune, largely because I've long
loved The Pogues. I owned If I Should Fall From Grace with God on cassette
(Google it, kids) even before I met Clarence, who loves The Pogues more
than anyone I know, save the benighted Cap Noonan, who may well be part
of the band at this point. It's hard to keep track of him, what with all
his republican (and I don't mean GOP) rabble rousing and Jameson-fueled
sentimental journeys. (These journeys - and inside jokes - being referenced out of much
awestruck affection.)
Pardon the digression.
With that as backdrop, you'll understand the great joy I felt experienced when a Ron
Zacapa-aided Internet walkabout last weekend led me to a brilliant
documentary on the making of 'Fairytale of New York'. The doc, released in 2005, features many of the original members of The Pogues, including
the inimitable - and miraculously still living - MacGowan, the only man
alive who looks at Clarence and sees a rank amateur teetotaler. The film is worth watching for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is MacGowan's toothless, hissing laughter.
Offered
in six YouTube installments, the documentary doubles as a history of
the careers of both MacColl and The Pogues. Among the more poignant
moments, the reflections of producer Steve Lillywhite (who was married
to MacColl at the time of her death in 2000) on his late wife's
contribution to the song. You'll likely find your immediate surroundings
a mite dusty at that point in the film. Especially if you've had a
cocktail or three.
I also particularly enjoyed the story of the
NYPD Choir (as in, 'The boys in the NYPD Choir were singing Galway
Bay/And the bells were ringing out on Christmas Day'), which doesn't
actually exist. The producers of the video for 'Fairytale' papered over
that inconvenient fact by hijacking the NYPD Pipe and Drum Band,
bribing them with copious amounts of alcohol. The many-sided memories
(bemused police and addled band members, with a side of Matt Dillon
thrown in for absurd good measure) of the ensuing video shoot are likely
to bring a whole different sort of tears.
Enjoy the film as our
gift to you in this season of silliness and revelry - it's a not your typical 90-second G:TB experience (entendre entirely intentional - our ladies are so very lucky) so be sure to block out some time. It's also advised that you have a whiskey on hand, so maybe watch at home instead of the office. We feel certain
that Shane and Gheorghe would get on famously, even if there's not a
chance in hell that either would understand a word said by the other.
Happy Gheorghemas.
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
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41 comments:
This is bizarre - less than 18 hours ago Padraic at the Dub was talking nonstop about this very song. A song I was quite unfamiliar with until that moment...and now this post.
Weird.
padraic sounds like a swell chap. and how did you make it through 35ish years of life without knowing this song?
Too bad these guys don't speak English. Like Teedge I too haven't heard this song but I generally take affirmative steps to assure that I don't listen to the Pogues.
you'd best recant that before clarence reads it. you're risking excommunication, z.
livingsocial is selling a healthy cooking class with biz markie in dc on january 4. cost is $79. anyone want in?
Wife sent me that yesterday - we are pondering doing it.
I'm not saying that the Pogues suck or that people who listen to the Pogues suck, I just don't get down like that. I am, however, down with a $79 evening with the Biz.
if you do it, teej, count us in.
here is a kinder, gentler, more decipherable version of that song in an unplugged, live, and acoustic form by one Christy Moore, one of the better musicians you've probably never heard of. my first trip to ireland was in 1996. i brought this album home with me. 'tis grande.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_EDXccRaiw
nice, danimal. christy moore's version has a brief mention in the documentary. macgowan likes it.
Speaking of music ... Squeaky!
http://turntablelab.com/collections/daily-arrivals/products/the-velvet-underground-scepter-studio-acetate-lp
Well done, Robbie.
I'm a sucker for Pogues posts and especially this song. The March 2006 show I have mentioned more than once here was their first with Shane back in the fold, and man, we thought he was touch and go. More than once he left the stage with his bottle and we said, "Yep, he's done," only to see him return a song later and belt out another great tune. As the set got towards the end, I said, "They haven't played 'Fairytale' yet, right?" And just as the two nutty Irishmen* who flanked me (Flynn and Cap) agreed, fake snow began falling onto the stage. The female singer (not Kirsty, since it was after 2000) came out, and they gave a terrific rendition, replete with a dance in the snow. I think it's on YouTube somewhere... get the intern on it. It was a highlight of any show I've seen.
*Nutty Irishman: Bailey's & Frangelico
Zman your "don't get down like that" comment demonstrates much improved musical diplomacy on your part. Either that, or it's easier to come across that way when we can't see your face. I know my listening habits strained your patience at times.
You expanded my horizons and my parameters. I now enjoy, for example, Ry Cooder. I will never be able to wrap my head around your enthusiasm for most of Phish's catalog. But like Toby Keith and Ke$ha, a lot of people enjoy that stuff and who am I to say they're wrong?
Hey now, watch what you say about Toby Keith, or Big Dog Daddy (he actually named an album that) will put a boot in your ass!
I don't even remember what I liked about Phish, or that I was listening to Ry Cooder back then. My horizons were expanded as well. Just yesterday I was driving around in my crappy minivan blasting The Beastie Boys.
But not Slick Rick's "Behind Bars"?
If Toby Keith and Ke$ha ever do a song together I'm definitely getting it.
Never was a big fan of Velvet Underground. But that is a piece of musical history. This would have been a lot cheaper than The Smiths vinyl reissues box set I just procured.
I do like Slick Rick. And didn't Ke$ha do a song with Willie Nelson recently? Toby Keith's still got a ways to go to get to that level.
You're the only person I know who still listens to vinyl on a regular basis.
C'mon Zman - vinyl is still it! I just got a nice James Brown Christmas LP from my adopted hippie uncle.
Also, here's a little comedy rap thing from a couple of Roanoke homies that you may like: Strictly Bout the Pickles
Ricky Martin and Miranda Lambert. All in.
No way Miss VA goes to W&M in the burg. Must be enrolled at the Arlington or moon campus. Or times have changed and I need to go back for homecoming once in a while.
http://www.missamerica.org/videocontest/
Miss VA '96 went to W&M. She was proudly chaste. Unsurprisingly.
that's what she told you, z. worked like a charm, apparently.
I dusted off some vinyl several nights ago. Some warpy, scratchy vinyl. Not the 180gram stuff people talk about.
Cougar Scarecrow, Genesis Abacab, Camper's Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart, and Buffett A1A. Need some new vinyl. Wish I could afford that Paul's Boutique package.
I wish I had OBRS on vinyl. I think it's the best of the Camper albums.
I have five crates of (mostly) hip hop on vinyl. Sadly, my turntables are no longer functional. Looking to purchase a new pair in the new year.
Update on my iPhone catastrophe. AT&T still sucks but Apple heeded my (possibly empty) threats about no longer purchasing there products and waved my shipping fee as well as gave me $150 credit to their online store. I'll without my personal phone for a few days but at least I get some free shit.
Miss VA '96 was on my freshman hall. Very pretty and as straight-laced as it gets. She loved to give hugs. The kinds annoying middle-school girls like to give each other. They were immature, innocent and comically annoying. She would do it every day. It would make me angry, like most everything those days (and these days). Finally, I found an exit strategy. The next time she went in for one, I reciprocated and let my hand roam a bit more to the south on her backside than she was anticipating. Problem solved. In retrospect, you could (and should) question my logic of avoiding hugs from a future Miss VA. Maybe I don't want no skinny woman. Meat don't shake.
tj and zman BOTH never heard this song? this is the craziest shit i've ever heard.
I never heard that song. MacGowan' teeth have always terrified me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRWed_9U3w4
I love this users edition of Florida basketball. Deep, talented and dominant defensively. Currently taking FSU deep behind the woodshed.
13 minutes left in the 2nd half and FSU has 19 points. And 15 turnovers.
Because I know you care. 62-28 after a Michaell Snaer three with 8 minutes left.
Earlier Rob (kind of) threatened Z with ex-communication. Isn't that something we'd all have to vote on?
Also, I like to pretend that G:TB is like a motorcycle club.
We would vote. And announce our decision via the white smoke.
Speaking of white smoke...
The #15 scorer in the history of the ABA is a dude named Cincinnatus Powell. That name is beyond awesome.
Benny Blanco from the Bronx.
Oh, wrong vice.
Mark is right. We'd have to vote Z out of the motorcycle gang. I went to this site
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/the-devils-ride/name-generator
And my biker name is "Weak Sauce". Alrighty then.
The most amazing concert I've ever seen. Pogue Mahone. amanda vanderpool fashion
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