Blog
The Smiths - Rarities
A few words on Smiths’ rarities taking in: Leeside Music on Cork’s MacCurtain Street, green and white price stickers, kitchen sink dramas, Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey, Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw, Rita Tushingham, Yootha Joyce, Colin Campbell, Murray Head, Terence Stamp, Viv Nicholson, Pier Paolo Pasolini and James Dean.
The Smiths - Singles
A few words on The Smiths’ singles taking in: Woolworths in Enniskillen, Prince’s ‘Girls & Boys’, Owen Paul’s ‘My Favourite Waste of Time’, Nina Simone, New Order, misheard lyrics, cover stars, B-Sides, Vinyl Matrix Etchings, 7” singles from 1986 and more. By 1986 I was spending all my pocket money on singles and in the first six months of that year I had bought four. Falco’s ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ had been a huge hit all over Europe in late-85 and hit the top spot In both Ireland and the UK in March.
Top 10 Irish Albums of 2023
It’s been another incredible year for Irish music. Lankum have rightly topped a load of year-end lists with False Lankum. They get my top spot for Irish album of the year. Lisa O’Neill and John Francis Flynn, two other artists currently receiving a lot of justified attention, also make my Top 10. The other seven albums on this list are all worthy of your attention. Songs from all ten of these albums were featured on Songs To Learn And Sing on 103.2 Dublin City FM throughout 2023 and Episode 940 (06 December 2023) features 12 of my favourite songs from these 10 albums.
Sufjan Stevens – Interview
From the Archives: I interviewed Sufjan on 27 October, 2004 prior to his gig at the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity College, Dublin. Seven Swans was just out and in this old interview for Songs To Learn And Sing on 103.2 Dublin City FM. Sufjan chats about recording the album with Daniel Smith of The Danielson Famile. Sufjan had moved to New York to complete a creative writing class but met Daniel and started focusing more on his music.