Let's Drink Until Our Hearts Stop: The Pogues and "Streams of Whiskey"

The Pogues bring us our random tune for today! A Celtic punk band from London, The Pogues were formed in 1982 and became internationally prominent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band was originally fronted by Shane MacGowan, who left in 1991 due to drinking problems. The band has since been fronted first by Joe Strummer and then by Spider Stacy. The band broke up in 1996 after releasing their final album Pogue Mahone, but reformed in 2001 and has been playing regular gigs but has no plans to record a new album. The Pogues music is influenced by punk, but uses traditional Irish instruments such as tin whistle, cittern, mandolin and accordion. The band's name comes from "Pogue Mahone," an anglicized version of an Irish phrase meaning "kiss me arse." This song, Streams of Whiskey, can be found on their 1984 album Red Roses for Me, on the 1991 compilation The Best of The Pogues and on the 2001 compilation, The Very Best of The Pogues. The song sings the hope of going to a better place through alcohol.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.