March 10, 2025 • 50 mins
To get in the mood for St Patrick’s Day, on today’s show we’re focusing on some of Ireland’s top albums (according to the Irish Times). Pour yourself a pint of whatever you please and join us!
- The Pogues – Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985)
- Enya – Watermark (1988)
- U2 – The Joshua Tree (1987)
Other Diggins
- Benjamin Booker – Lower (2025)
- Ghais Guevara – Goyard Ibn Said (2025)
- Smokey Robinson – What the World Needs Now (April 25, 2025)
- The Men – Buyer Beware (2025)
- Eddie Chacon – Lay Low (2025)
- Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death (2020)
What do you think of these records? What’s your favorite Irish album? Let us know on our website, albumnerds.com or email us, podcast@albumnerds.com.
Listen to more episodes and suggest topics for the Wheel of Musical Discovery on albumnerds.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky.
Thanks for listening!!!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts Andy, Don, and Dude.
(00:13):
Top of the podcast to you.
It's Album Nerds podcast time.
I'm Dude.
Got Andy and Don with me.
How are you lads doing today, Andy?
Doing quite well, man.
I'm Scottish, so I guess, I don't know if it's okay for me to be here, but I'll just
pretend to be Irish today.
Well.
(00:34):
As if it's no Scottish, it's CLUB!
That's true.
How you doing over there, Don?
Air and go, brah.
That sucks, but you nailed it at the same time, so congratulations.
Air and go, brah.
Yeah, I like it.
A way to modernize it there.
For today's Irish youth.
(00:55):
Thank you.
All right, so this is the Album Nerds podcast.
We love albums in the album format and we just enjoy talking about them.
We've got a great show for you today.
We are discussing top Irish albums.
Don's going to ask us a deep question.
We'll have some shout outs to some other albums and album related items we're digging, and
then we're going to spin the wheel of musical discovery to find out what we'll talk about
(01:18):
next time.
Today, it's all about the Irish.
That's what I'm talking about!
Ireland's rich musical heritage has produced exceptional albums that have left a mark on
the global music scene.
These albums span diverse genres from traditional Irish music to contemporary indie rock, showcasing
the country's ability to innovate while honoring its cultural roots.
(01:40):
Today, each of us will present an album from the Irish Times list of 50 best Irish albums
of all time.
I love it when we have lists to work from.
It makes things so much easier.
There's still work to be done, right?
You got to listen to a lot of records, but it's not just reaching into the haystack.
Instead, it's like a small hay pile.
That's nice.
(02:01):
So how did you guys do digging through these top 50 albums?
What albums caught your ear, but ended up not being your final pick?
Yeah, I mostly played around at the back end of the list, the 50 to 30 range.
There was a lot of alternative rock in that section of the list.
And one of those albums that I discovered that I had kind of forgotten about was from
(02:22):
a group called Ash.
They put out a record called 1977 in 1996.
It had a few minor hits on it that I recall, then some other tracks that were pretty fun
too.
You guys remember the Girl from Mars?
I don't think so.
Or Kung Fu maybe?
No, it doesn't sound familiar.
Maybe I'd have to hear them.
Yeah, you might recognize it after you heard it.
(02:43):
Very fun kind of bouncy, reminds me a little bit of Weezer's kind of sound, big fuzzy guitars
and kind of anthemic lyrics.
Yeah, it was a fun record.
I would probably would have gone with that unless I had come across something even better.
How about you, Don?
Well, I almost went with number eight on the list, which is My Bloody Valentine's Loveless
from 1991.
I've always heard wonderful things written about My Bloody Valentine, but I've never
(03:05):
really dug into their records.
Yeah, it's sort of, I guess it's shoegaze and kind of noise pop, sort of Sonic youthy,
but also it's Cocktoe Twins.
I don't remember the kind of that dream pop.
I think it's kind of a one there.
But anyway, that was their second album.
It just has those dense guitar layers, kind of smashing pumpkins-ish too.
(03:26):
It's just a great band name.
It is a good name.
Basically, I mean, that really stands out.
That's a nice band name.
You can look at a band name and know what someone's going to sound like.
That's not the case here.
It leaves you guessing.
It could be metal, it could be hip hop, maybe not hip hop.
MC Bloody Valentine.
There you go.
All right, how about you dude?
Yeah, I mean, I listened to the Cranberries and a bunch of other stuff on the list as
(03:50):
well.
And I thought about that just because it's so well known.
I've just never really connected with the Cranes.
So I did stumble upon Therapy, our therapy, because the band name has a question mark
in it.
I kind of like that actually.
Yeah.
The song was Trouble Gum, released February of 1994.
I'd never heard of it.
This was our second major label album.
(04:12):
Alternative Metal?
Question mark?
Yeah, kind of.
It's more of a punk oriented sound.
I guess it drew comparisons to bands like Stiff Little Fingers.
But the lyrics explore themes of personal turmoil, mental health, societal disillusionment
and dark humor mixed in there.
Very 94 in terms of the approach to those emotions.
(04:34):
But it was a fun listen.
It was cool.
Just was looking for something bigger, grander.
All right, enough about what we almost picked.
Let's get to our true choo choo choo choices.
You choo choo choos me?
Yeah, for my top Irish album selection, talking about The Pogues and their 1985 album Rum,
(05:02):
Sodomy and the Lash.
Ouch.
Cutting right to it.
I think the rum would be at the end of that, but no.
You want to start with the rum, trust me.
This is the second studio album for the seven piece Irish folk punk group formed in London,
England.
(05:22):
The album consists of a combination of originals written by singer Shane McGowan, covers as
well as some traditional Irish folk songs.
Let's jump in and play cut from the middle of the record.
This is called Dirty Old Town.
(05:44):
Did anyone else get a Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby the Third by the Clotoo song?
Clotoo?
On the way to Bugglesby.
I mean, I guess a little bit.
Yeah, that's sort of like muppety sound to it at times.
(06:07):
Yeah.
That song was originally written by Ewan McCall in 1949 for a play called Landscapes with
Chimneys about a town of Salford, England.
McGowan came along and covered the song, replaced the town name of Salford with Smokey in the
lyrics and yeah, it's become a pretty popular Irish song.
(06:28):
It's used in some sporting events, I believe, in Ireland.
It's primarily about the working class and kind of getting by in like a very industrialized
town and just doing the best that you can with what you have, which I think is largely
what this album is about.
Maybe that's kind of a good summation of the Irish people to some degree.
Blacklickbait headline for the Pogues, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash is the Pogues pour a perfect
(06:54):
half and half or black and tan if you're from the States, carefully laying punk rock over
a bad aboriginal Irish folk.
Wow, that is really insightful.
A good Irish reference.
I love a good black and tan, don't you guys?
Yeah.
Tasty.
I have those special spoons to make them.
You know, you put on top of the glass.
Yeah, that's important.
Yeah.
I didn't know they called them half and halves over there.
(07:15):
Yeah, apparently black and tan is an offensive term in Ireland.
So really good to know.
All right.
So I thought this was a very impressive record.
I was new to the Pogues, but they do a great job of blending like a modern day punk rock
sound and a lot of the sensibilities get around that in terms of the production style.
The album was produced by Elvis Costello, which is a nice little feather in your cap
(07:39):
when you can have Elvis Costello helping out.
He did a great job of capturing that kind of raw energy of the bands, but they mixed
that perfectly, I think, with just traditional Irish folk elements.
Sometimes that's the lyrical content of the songs, but other times it's the straight up
sound like some of these tracks that sound like old school Irish songs that you might
expect to hear in a pub.
It's very gritty in terms of the content of the songs and also in terms of the production.
(08:02):
I think it has a lot of roughness around the edges, as you might expect, as these songs
are about blue collar workers and people not down on their luck, but just working hard
just to survive and kind of get by.
Yeah.
I'm really impressed at how kind of closely they're able to weave these two seemingly
very different areas of music together.
It shouldn't work.
It does.
(08:22):
Yeah.
It doesn't seem like I would work on paper, but they somehow pull it off here.
One thing I'll just add along those lines, the tracks that McGowan wrote, the originals
here, I think are almost as good, if not better, at depicting Irish life than some of the traditional
folk songs down here.
There's a handful I think are just beautifully written, almost poetic in their compositions
(08:42):
and you can feel what would be life to live through these times.
He's the Irish Springsteen.
In many ways you could say that.
Yeah.
I kind of feel bad for any songwriters who write about the working class and all that
stuff because even at their best, they're still whatever town they're from or country
they're from and then apostrophe S, Springsteen.
(09:09):
Use the bar to live up to you, I suppose.
All right, why don't we jump in here and play a cut from the end of the record.
This is a cover of an anti-war song.
It's called The Band Played Waltzing Matilda.
Yeah, you just picture dimly lit pubs with so many of these songs.
(09:33):
It's really effective in capturing the sound.
How do people always know the words?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I guess if you've heard it all your life maybe, that helps.
Yeah.
I suppose in an American pub, we can all sing along to what?
Piano Man, Living on a Prayer.
Right, yeah, those are our TV theme songs.
(09:54):
Yes.
Sha la la la.
So as Andy said, The Band Played Waltzing Matilda is an anti-war song originally written
by Eric Bogle in 1971.
It's about a young Australian soldier who was maimed during World War I.
So sort of captures the futility and the consequences of war.
(10:17):
Long song, about eight minutes and it ends the album.
Definitely more in the traditional vein.
I think that's kind of typical of the Pogues.
So my clickbait headline for Rum, Sodomy and the Lash is, when Irish punks are smiling,
they steal your liver and run away.
When Irish punks are smiling, you should sing it.
(10:44):
Yeah, I guess what I like about it, it doesn't feel contrived.
If you say, hey, the Pogues, they're sort of a blend of punk and kind of classic Irish
music.
I don't know.
I mean, you could see that sort of being an intentional thing.
This just feels very natural and from the heart.
I do think it leans more into the Irish than the punk.
(11:08):
When you say that, punk and Irish music, I picture the sex pistols with like a tin whistle
or something and that's not this.
The punk comes from the snarl in the vocal delivery.
It's more about the personality of Shane and his voice, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
That's what I felt too.
(11:28):
It's kind of like that punk rock aesthetic I think is kind of overlaid on the Irish.
Yeah.
Traditional Irish sound.
I think a group more like the dropkick Murphy's kind of sounds more like what I would picture.
Right.
There's something about it.
It just feels Irish to me.
I feel like I'm in Ireland and I want to be Irish.
It just makes it all seem so appealing to me even though it is dark and even though
(11:53):
it's poverty and all that stuff.
It just still sounds like just a fun group of people to be hanging out with.
This is like the urban dirty side of Ireland.
All right.
Why don't we jump in here and play the opening cut?
This is called Sickbed of Cookely.
(12:21):
This song intertwines Irish mythology with storytelling, reflecting the band's signature
fusion there of the Celtic music and punk rock energy.
So the story is the tale of Cookelyn, a legendary hero in Irish mythology renowned for superhuman
abilities and has a tragic fate.
Shane McGowan used that reference as a framework to portray modern day narrative of man's decline
(12:46):
due to excessive drinking and debauchery.
There's STDs mentioned in the song.
I mean, it's not a pretty picture.
But I think that's what you're talking about with the songwriting.
Yeah.
That track in particular really stood out as being exceptionally well written to me.
It's rich with cultural references and blends historical figures.
So it still kind of fits a traditional folk weaving tales of the past into the present.
(13:12):
So it exemplifies what this album does, the blend of the punk rock ethos and the Irish
folk traditions.
All right.
So my clickbait headline to describe the album, When Irish Folk Met Punk, the Pogues rum
saw to me in the lash because traditional ballads needed a kick in the arse.
(13:33):
It sounds so traditional Irish on the surface, but somehow that punkiness starts to filter
through like you get about halfway through the opening track there and you start to get
an idea something different is happening.
One song that really jumped out at me because I got something stupid stuck in my head.
(13:53):
It's the instrumental Wildcats of Kilkenny.
I so badly wanted to pick that song and find a way to work that into my clickbait headline.
Thank you for resisting.
You wouldn't even know the title of it if you weren't looking at the album.
(14:14):
But yeah, I mean, this album had surprises.
Some moments you expected, other times you're like, wow, I wasn't expecting that twist.
I'm a man you don't meet every day where bassist Kate O'Riordan sings.
I was new to this album as well.
So it was a surprise to me to hear a female voice and kind of resetting for the back half
(14:41):
of the album.
Yeah.
It's a stripped down track.
I think it works well though.
There's a few of those moments where things do kind of settle down a little bit, which
I think as an album, I think it plays pretty well in terms of pacing and song length and
whatnot.
So yeah, if you're looking for a very interesting record that kind of does dig into some of
the history of Ireland, but non-sustritional sounds, but with a modern flair, yeah, I think
(15:05):
the pokes can't go wrong with a little rum sodomy in the lash.
That's a weird sentence to say, but it's true.
You can put me on that.
Before we continue our travels through Ireland, let's hear a word about our friends over at
the Can I Pod with Madness podcast.
(15:27):
Yeah, on their latest episode, they're talking about that metal magazine again.
Is it Kerrang?
Or Kerrang?
They've been going through old issues in recent episodes.
So issue 482 comes from February 19th, 1994.
You'll never guess who was on the cover.
The Pogues?
No, it wasn't.
(15:47):
That would have been better.
No, it was actually Motley Crue, but it was that weird period where Vince Neil had left.
Some guy named John Karabi replaced them.
Yeah, so Can I Pod with Madness is, they do a really good job of sort of reflecting on
the good old days of metal and hard rock.
(16:07):
So definitely check it out.
I will.
So my pick was number 30 on the Irish Times list of the greatest Irish albums.
Comes from Enya.
The album is called Watermark, released in September 1988.
It's her second studio album.
(16:28):
She was born Enya Patricia Brennan, although that's the anglicized version.
She comes from Irish or Gaelic speaking part of Ireland and it doesn't look anything like
that.
But yeah, actually she was born in the region of Gwydor, Ireland, which is sort of in the
Northwestern part of the island, I guess.
(16:49):
That sounds like something from Middle Earth or something.
So Enya's siblings and uncles actually formed that band.
Is it Clamad?
I think so.
Yeah.
When she was quite young, she actually contributed to a couple of albums, but she went out and
did things on her own.
(17:10):
But this album is actually a collaboration with her manager and producer, Nicky Ryan
and his wife lyricist, Roma Ryan.
Enya is actually the second greatest selling Irish artist of all time.
Who's the first?
Really?
You'll find out soon.
Wow.
All right.
Well, let's hear probably the biggest cut from the album, Orinoco Flow.
(17:42):
So Orinoco Flow is actually recorded at Orinoco Studios in London, which is also a reference
to the Orinoco River, which is in South America between Venezuela and Colombia.
Kind of establishes that Enya sound, the layered vocals, lots and lots of layers, sometimes
(18:04):
kind of whispery vocals that are blended together and just kind of creates this eerie effect.
It's ghostly, for sure.
And the album cover is kind of fuzzed out too, so it feels like perhaps a ghost living
in your walls singing to you.
Yes.
We'll return to ghosts in a moment.
And yeah, most of the music is synthesizers.
(18:27):
There are a few traditional instruments thrown in, but yeah, kind of making use of modern
instrumentation for kind of a sort of a classical approach, I guess I would say.
And the lyrics just mention a bunch of places around the globe.
Kind of like I've been everywhere, man.
It's like the new age version of that.
The snobby version.
Right.
I heard there's a mention of the producers of the record or shout out kind of.
(18:52):
Yeah, so she actually, I think she uses the words Ross dependency, which is I guess a
part of Antarctica, but Ross Colum is actually another producer on the album, so it was like
a shout out to him.
That's fun.
Sweet.
In the spirit of hip hop, you know, you mentioned.
Yeah, pretty much.
This does have some hip hop tradition feelings underneath the snobby surface.
(19:15):
Yeah.
There's a diss track.
Ornoko Flow was talking about her rhymes.
Yeah, just her rhyme schemes.
Yeah.
All right, so my clickbait headline for Watermark is The Monet of Music Blurs Genre Lines with
(19:36):
Sonic Brushstrokes.
Yeah, I guess I was trying to come up with metaphors and stuff to describe the sound
and it does kind of feel like an impressionistic painting, almost like a Monet, like a landscape
or something and it's sort of surrealistic and blurry, but it's beautiful too.
(19:57):
It has bright colors and also sort of mysterious and haunting.
Yeah, it is the soundtrack to an art museum.
My parents were into this when new age music was a new thing and Mannheim Steamroller
was doing it with Christmas songs in a more simplistic way than this, but still it was
(20:21):
the hotness for a while and this cassette played quite a bit and I thought it was a
real snoozefest, but I was a youth.
All right, well, let's hear another cut.
Curseum Perficio.
(20:44):
It sounds like in the Omen when Damien was starting to get naughty, you know?
Victus Dominus.
Yeah, so Curseum Perficio is the second track on the album, more of that layered synthesizer
(21:04):
texture, layered Enya multi-tracked vocals and a very repetitive chant-like melody, sort
of like Catholic Mass or Gregorian chants.
The Latin lyrics translate to I finish the course or my journey ends here.
Unfortunately, the album continues.
Wow.
(21:25):
The title apparently was inspired by an inscription at the entrance of Marilyn Monroe's last residence,
but this song is a little darker, more intense than some of the others on the album.
It's very relaxing to listen to.
It's just that it would be very difficult for someone to really identify one song from
the other.
It's more of a feels album for me.
(21:46):
It's more of just like a relaxation thing, you know, or getting a massage, an oral massage
with a U-R-A.
An oral massage.
My clickbait headline to describe the album, Set Sail With Enya, watermarkets soundtrack
to your next existential voyage.
(22:06):
It does sort of make me ponder life and the universe.
Yeah, I mean, it's very world music, so all those references and different languages used
but it's little name drops and sonic references to different parts of the world.
Notions of ideas mixed together.
But that's, I think, what makes it kind of a new agey where it sets your mind in whatever
(22:30):
direction that that little suggestion sends it.
And that's what's relaxing about it.
So I mean, it definitely has its value.
It's just, I wasn't finding in-depth lyrics, but I'm not supposed to.
That's not what this music is supposed to do.
It's supposed to use those broad brushstrokes like Don was talking about and it does that
really well.
(22:51):
Yeah.
One track that actually does have some interesting lyrics or that are at least sort of inspired
by something interesting.
The song Evening Falls is actually, it's about a ghost story.
It sounds pretty cool.
It would be a good movie.
Some lady was having recurring dreams of some house in America, but she actually found the
house in England and when she went into the house, the people there were frightened because
(23:14):
she had haunted them while she was dreaming.
So does that make any sense what I just said?
Sounds kind of like the movie The Others.
Yeah, it is kind of like The Others.
So they knew who she was before she got there.
Yeah, so it freaked them out because it was like this ghost lady, but astral projecting,
right?
Yeah.
That's pretty something interesting you could kind of sink your teeth into there, I would
(23:34):
say.
Yeah.
Well, let's hear another cut.
It says storms in Africa.
Pretty.
I had read that Enya said that song was written to capture a sense of unrest.
(23:57):
It uses rototoms and African hand drums in addition to the traditional synthesizers and
vocals.
That version uses traditional Irish lyrics, but there also was a version released in English
later on called storms in Africa 2.
Electric Boogaloo.
Yeah, in that song it gets more into how they dance on some bulldozers to stop the community
(24:22):
center from being torn down.
Thank you for that historical context.
That's the plot of folk breaking to Electric Boogaloo.
All right.
Well, I enjoyed that song a fair amount.
I thought it works well in the context of the album.
I appreciated the use of vocals on the record.
The songs that didn't have some sort of vocal elements to it I think were a little bit harder
(24:45):
for me to get behind.
But that track in particular, the English and Irish version I thought worked really
well for my Enya money.
My clickbait headline for Enya's watermark is, it may not be a clickbaity headline or
provocative photograph, but Enya's watermark does leave an impression.
It does.
Yeah, kind of like a coffee ring when you pick up your...
(25:07):
Wow.
It's very anti-coaster.
I thought it was pretty intriguing.
I'm partial to ambient music.
I enjoy that and world music as well.
So two genres I listen to willingly.
But to me, this really is more of like a world music record.
It's kind of classical too, but there's no actual instrument.
(25:29):
So you can't call it classical because there's no real strings or orchestration.
But it has that same cultural vibe, I guess.
For synth heads out there, apparently the star of this album is the Roland Juno 60,
which was Enya's favorite synthesizer at the time.
Sure, name dropped Roland on one of those songs.
(25:50):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think it has that cultural aspect of the world aspect.
And I just feel like it's hinting at something larger than just what the lyrics are about
or it's trying to be more grandiose than just simply what it is.
I appreciate that.
All right.
So for an enigmatic and beautiful musical journey, check out Enya's Watermark from 1988.
(26:14):
Excuse me.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
It's time again for Deep Questions by Don.
So we're going deep into the culture of Ireland here, like the world of Lucky Charms, of course.
(26:35):
So in addition to the breakfast cereal, what other Irish consumables do you find magically
delicious?
Well, I was briefly into Lucky Charms my freshman year of college.
Mike Dormer was covered in boxes for that for some reason.
You are after me, Lucky Charms.
So whereas other kids are collecting all their beer cans, you had just boxes of Lucky Charms.
(26:58):
I had Lucky Charms, yeah.
I got over that though.
But what I'm into right now in the last few years has been that Murphy's Irish Stout,
which is just a delicious beer, reasonably priced and...
Silky smooth.
It's super smooth.
It's got a real nice texture to it.
When I had my first glass of that, it was probably just my brain, but I almost feel
(27:19):
stronger and energized to some degree.
So Murphy's to you is spinach to Popeye?
Sort of, yeah.
I kind of feel that way.
This is improving me actually.
By the third glass, I don't feel that way as much, but...
I think it's just trying to rile you up to become a soccer hooligan in a pub fight.
(27:40):
Vegetarians like me, we have to worry about stouts because I think in the process, they
used to use pig intestine or something.
It's stout, not snout.
They're cool.
Well, I think there might be snout in the process or something.
But I do think Murphy's and Guinness maybe changed their methods so they could be sort
of more vegetarian or vegan friendly.
Oh my gosh.
I got double-check on this.
(28:01):
I didn't realize you made meat products in my beer.
Some breweries use animal-derived products like Issen glass and gelatin in the processing
of their beers.
You vegetarians, you're nitpicking.
How about you, dude?
The first thing that came to mind was Guinness.
I do enjoy that.
(28:22):
That's my beer of choice.
So tasty.
He is.
Have you ever had the imported Irish style Guinness?
It's like unfiltered or something.
No, I haven't had that.
I get the cans with the CO2 in it so you get that foamy.
I thought it was NO2.
I thought it was nitrous.
I don't know.
Sure.
Whichever one you can suck on and get high, dar.
(28:48):
That's the one you care about.
So regardless of the technology, it makes it foamy.
Good Lord.
But with that, I'd like to have a sipper of Jameson on the side with that.
As an Irish man, do you feel like that makes you stronger when you have a drink?
No, it does not make me stronger.
(29:08):
It makes me sleepier.
Now if you drop the Jameson in the Guinness, is it an Irish Carbomb or something?
I don't know.
I don't do that.
I would have in my younger years, but now I try to treat the alcohol with respect and
expect it to do the same.
What about you, dar?
(29:29):
I'm not sure.
I don't know that the Irish invented it or anything, but I know whenever I've gone to
Irish pubs that seem somewhat authentic, they've got the potato chips or crisps or whatever
you call them.
Oh, it's chips.
They use the malted vinegar and putting that on potato-related products is delicious.
(29:49):
Do you dip it in that or is it like a sprinkle in such a way?
Usually there's like a shake, almost like a Tabasco bottle or something that comes out
slowly.
Just a drip or two.
We get that sometimes.
It's got like a Union Jack, like British flag or something on it.
I like that on French fries and stuff.
(30:10):
Yeah, so it could be more of a British thing than an Irish thing, so apologies.
A lot of overlap.
What are your favorite Irish consumables?
Let us know on Instagram and Facebook or leave a comment on our website, albumnerds.com.
It is my turn and my pick is U2 and their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree.
(30:31):
Now, Don, am I correct in now assuming that U2 is the bestselling Irish artist or band
over Enya?
I believe that is a fact.
In your face, yeah.
How do you like some apples?
All right.
So they were formed in Dublin in 1976, comprising Bono on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, The
(30:52):
Edge on lead guitar and a bunch of other stuff.
Adam Clayton on bass and Larry Mullen Jr. on drums and other percussion.
Initially rooted in post-punk, they evolved over time, but it's always anthemic.
That's their thing.
The lyrics often focus on sociopolitical themes, especially here on The Joshua Tree.
(31:12):
By the mid-80s, by this time, they were globally renowned live act and this album was the first
one as an album to really be huge for them, even though they were doing pretty well on
the road.
I should mention this is number 15 on the Irish Times list.
Octung Baby from 1991 was number two.
(31:33):
So yeah, this was their fifth studio album.
That's a lot of albums before you really break big.
And this album reflects the band's fascination with American landscapes and politics and
blends rock and blues and gospel influences, atmospheric sounds.
Although it's not musically Irish, it does have that very Irish melancholy and undercurrent
(31:55):
of sadness.
Why don't we jump in and listen to a little bit of Where the Streets Have No Name.
I love that line, our love turns to rust.
Where the Streets Have No Name is renowned for its composition and production with that
(32:17):
distinctive guitar work, but apparently it took a long time to get it right.
That chucka chucka guitar effect.
I guess they had a hard time setting the delay to match the song's tempo and I guess it was
quite the undertaking, but it is a perfect way to kick off this album and set the tone
and the lyrics addressing societal divisions where religion and income can be inferred
(32:39):
from someone's street address.
So Where the Streets Have No Name, everyone's the same, everyone's equal and can love each
other.
My clickbait headline to describe the album, from With or Without You to Bullet the Blue
Sky, U2's The Joshua Tree tackles love, war and everything in between.
That's a lot.
It really is and they do it.
(32:59):
It's cinematic, the music takes you somewhere almost physical, not just emotional.
The place you see in your mind when you're listening to this draws out the emotions and
I think those echo effects kind of help make it dreamy at times and I've loved this album
for a long time.
Why don't we move on and listen to another song?
(33:19):
This one is the aforementioned Bullet the Blue Sky.
Probably the most gritty track on the album.
Definitely fits in well with the kind of America theme there, very political track kind of
about America getting involved in foreign wars and their impact on people's lives around
(33:44):
the globe.
It was kind of rare at the time to hear artists almost directly challenging, like President
Reagan.
I remember being kind of like, whoa, you know, here in the 80s anyway, in the 60s it was
par for the course, but they kind of brought that back a little bit, I think.
Yeah, I think this is a, I mean we don't see the controversial record, but definitely he's
(34:06):
taken issue with quite a few things going on in the political landscape, I would say.
A Mechlipe headline for the Joshua Tree is U2 delivers what very well may be the definitive
waiting in the queue album.
As in this is a great record to have on while you're grocery shopping or doing other things
around the world.
(34:26):
So what Enya is to me, this is to you.
Perhaps, I mean maybe not to that degree.
I think there are some great things that happen on this record.
This definitely establishes that definitive U2 sound and who they are, especially Bono.
I mean Bono sounds great on this album.
I think he, I wouldn't say carries the album, but I really feel like he's the strongest
(34:49):
aspect of the album.
The lyrics are very interesting.
His vocals are just superb, in my opinion.
The album just sounds huge.
It sounds like a panoramic vista, you know, you're looking at, like I think Dude kind
of alluded to earlier.
I love that aspect to it.
I mean, Edge or The Edge, excuse me, his guitar work is always gonna just kind of stick in
(35:11):
my car a little bit.
I don't love his approach to guitar playing.
I wish it was grittier, like it is on Bolts in the Blue Sky throughout the rest of the
album.
It's very shimmery and glittery most of the time.
I don't love that.
I think it really just leads to kind of some boring moments.
They don't have a lot of low ends, you know, in terms of the percussion or bass, which
(35:33):
is always a sticking point for me, and it's definitely an issue here for me.
So it's a mixed bag for me.
But I do appreciate, you know, where this album lives and the history of music is being,
you know, fairly important.
And I can understand that.
I know you love it, Dude.
Yes, I do.
Well, on the highways and byways of America, as this song was being written, this is where
(35:54):
Andy would go.
This track is called Exit.
I don't know, Andy.
That's pretty great.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean, that might be a little exception to the book, by rule there.
Oh, exception, yeah.
Yeah, you just got showed and told.
(36:18):
So Exit is the penultimate track on the album.
It apparently emerged from a lengthy jam session on one of the last days of recording.
It got edited down to its final four-minute runtime.
Bono's lyrics portray the mind of a serial killer, supposedly.
He was inspired by Norman Mailer's The Executioner Song and Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.
(36:42):
That's interesting, you know, because, you know, that doesn't seem to really fit the
theme of the album, you know, to suddenly be, you know, doing a psychological profile
of a serial killer.
But I think these are Bono's words.
He said it deals with people on the fringes of the promised land and people who have been
cut off from the American dream.
And those are the people who are susceptible to, you know, this kind of, you know, violence.
(37:06):
Yeah, definitely a cool track and, you know, maybe, you know, the most different from the
rest.
My clickbait headline for the Joshua Tree is You Too Stands Alone, A Self-Important Tree
in a Pop Desert.
I mean, I got to hand it to him for, you know, really, you know, trying to say something,
you know, about the political landscape and humanity and stuff like that.
(37:28):
I mean, it does get a little sort of, you know, awesome.
Well, I don't know.
I think I prefer the You Too that sort of embraced the irony of being like a pop band
who takes itself too seriously.
I think that's like with Octone Baby and Zuroppa and Pop Mart, I think suddenly they, you know,
(37:51):
were sort of recognizing maybe the-
Tongue firmly in cheek.
Yes, exactly.
So, I kind of like that approach better.
But yeah, I think this is a fantastic album.
What's interesting about it to me is that in that period between the Unforgettable Fire
and the Joshua Tree, you know, they were a band, I think, that didn't really understand
(38:11):
or they were ignorant of sort of the roots of rock and roll and the blues and all that
stuff.
You know, coming from the post-punk realm, that's really all they knew.
And I think during this time, you know, Edge was listening to, you know, Hank Williams
and blues guitarist and stuff like that.
And so, they really sort of fused that, you know, kind of American rock and roll vibe
(38:33):
with sort of their post-punk sounds.
And it really works, I think.
Yeah.
I mean, I obviously agree.
In 1987, U2 became only the fourth rock band to appear on the cover of Time magazine following
The Beatles, The Band, and The Who.
It's pretty good, isn't it?
I mean, when this album came out, it was kind of like the first time I listened to something
(38:55):
of my generation, like something modern that hit me the same way that listening to my dad's
records like Sergeant Pepper or whatever, where I was just like, whoa, and that will
always stick with me.
So regardless of its potential flaws, I don't really hear them because I was blown away
when I first heard it as a kid.
(39:15):
What aspect of it was surprising when you were at that edge?
It was the guitar sound.
It was unique.
Bono's passion in the vocals and mostly just the painting pictures.
It felt like being in the backseat of a car taking a road trip and seeing this landscape
(39:37):
just whoosh past you.
It felt like the desert and the album cover and America and bullet the blue sky.
I was just like, I thought it was Jimi Hendrix second coming.
I mean, I was a kid.
I was just like, wow.
Yeah.
So I still haven't found when I'm looking for gospel arrangements, that's really interesting.
(39:58):
His voice is so amazing on that song.
With or without you, running to stand still, that minimalist arrangement that just sticks
with me and that spaghetti Western guitar sound at the beginning feels so desolate and
in God's country and trip through the wires.
There's just like all these tracks, mothers of the disappeared, that's somber and haunting
(40:21):
about the plight of families affected by political repression in Latin America.
I mean, it was like they cared about everything and it was, at that point I was listening
to Huey Lewis in the news and shit like that for the most part.
This was like deep man for a kid.
So yeah, I will make this quick and there might be one yes and two nos, but I'm going
(40:44):
to nominate this for the Elbner and Tala fame.
So it blew my mind grapes and made delicious juice.
Thank you guys.
Try some of that wine.
Let's see.
Yeah.
Okay.
Hmm.
You know, I wish I had had that experience of hearing it outside of, well, I was introduced
(41:05):
to this album, you know, like in CBS is where I've heard these songs.
That's where I associate this with.
I feel like you and I, we just, we're butt heads in this album every time we talk about
it.
I mean, I definitely-
You're not butt heads.
I mean, I'm right, you're wrong.
It's not butt heads.
I appreciate this album.
I definitely understand its historical significance.
(41:27):
I understand.
I like it.
I don't love it, but I, you know, I think, I think I'll say yes, man.
I'll say yes.
Wow.
What?
I'm shocked.
Yeah.
I'm Bono's performance alone, perhaps for me.
Okay.
I out does what the edge is trying to do.
So the edge is trying to destroy.
(41:47):
How about you Don?
Yeah, I just want to mention the production.
So I mean, you've got legends here.
Yeah, I should have.
You know, Daniel Lanwagh and Brian Eno and also the engineer Flood.
I mean, these are three big names.
And Steve Lilly White.
Yeah.
Of course.
It doesn't feel overproduced, you know, despite having these legends producing it.
(42:10):
So I mean, I think that says a lot for the album.
So yeah, I agree with the Irish times that it's not the best U2 album, but it's, you
know, it's great.
Well, that was not the outcome I expected.
So all right.
Well, welcome to the Alvin Hertz Hall of Fame, U2.
Getting by on the luck of the Irish.
That's right.
So if you want to experience the Irish perspective on America traveling those deserts, check
(42:34):
out the Joshua Tree by U2.
Can you dig it?
Can you dig it?
Can you dig it?
So this week we sort of sailed away to the shores of Ireland, but on your journey, did
you happen to dig anything else?
Oh, you know I did.
(42:54):
I got a couple of things here in my little pot of gold.
Share some treasures with you guys.
I thought it was going to be a prize in your cereal box.
That's a good one too.
Our first one for me is from Benjamin Booker.
He has a new album out called Lower.
The third studio album for the singer-songwriter guitarist from Virginia Beach, Virginia.
(43:16):
This is Show and Tell.
He's talking about butts and stuff, right?
Possibly.
It's a very intimate sounding record.
I think a lot of it has to do with his vocal delivery.
Kind of fuzzy.
His butt.
Butt's fuzzy.
You shouldn't have said intimate after what he said.
(43:39):
I was trying to tie it out, but maybe fuzzy was the line too far.
His previous records were a little more traditional, kind of like blues guitar rock.
This is not that really.
It's a little more electronic aspect to it.
His vocals are pacing is different at times.
It's almost like a rap style at moments.
(44:00):
It's pretty interesting.
I'm trying to get my head around it, but so far I've been enjoying it for a month.
All right.
And last one for me here is from a hip hop artist by the name of Ganesh Guverva.
I believe is how you'd say it.
He has a new album out called Goyard Ibn Sayed.
I apologize.
It's his third studio album.
The rapper, producer from Philly.
He kind of takes on a persona on this album, which is the title of the album.
(44:23):
This guy was briefly featured during the Superlative Show during Kendrick's performance, kind
of the intro and outro of that.
I think that's why I first heard about him.
The album is pretty interesting.
Let's play the old guard is dead.
Definitely fits along with modern hip hop aesthetics.
It was a lot to Kendrick for sure in terms of his style.
(44:43):
I think I was impressed by how fully formed the album sounds.
It's got some interesting production notes and there's pretty elaborate skits and whatnot.
Maybe not amazing, but pretty solid hip hop album I would say.
What you been digging on Dom?
Yeah.
So Smokey Robinson is back.
All right.
So what was his last one?
What was the...
It was very sexual.
Oh my God.
Oh, Eurgasm.
Oh God.
(45:04):
That's right.
Yeah.
The song was...
It was just called Gasm and then there was different kinds of gazms throughout.
Yeah.
Well, kind of changed directions on this.
He actually went in the gospel direction.
Yeah.
So the album is called What The World Needs Now comes out on April 25th, but mostly covers
of a lot of songs you know like Lean On Me and Three Little Birds, but it's also got
(45:27):
a couple of originals on it.
Here's a track called Be Thankful For What You've Got.
Sounds good.
Yeah.
That song is actually a cover of a song by William Devon from the 1970s.
Another record I was kind of intrigued by was a group called The Men.
(45:48):
They're a punk rock band from Brooklyn, New York formed in 2008.
New album is called Buyer Beware and here's a track called Pony.
Sounds cool.
Yeah.
They're men.
There you go.
Let's check it out.
How about you dude?
I've been checking out Eddie Chacon with the album Lay Low released January 31st, 2025,
(46:13):
formerly half of the 1990s duo Charles and Eddie.
Do you remember that song, Would I Lie To You?
I do.
Would I lie to you baby?
Oh yeah.
This album delves into themes of grief and healing, blending minimalist R&B with introspective
lyrics.
It's so introspective here on the show.
Why don't we check out a little bit of Empire featuring John Carroll Kirby.
(46:40):
This guy is like 61 years old.
I've never really listened to his solo work.
I think there's only a third as I mentioned.
So yeah, it's cool.
And then the Charles and Eddie thing was fun to stumble into.
I vaguely remember them.
Sounds pretty fresh.
Yeah.
I mean, it's kind of got a little bit of a Maxwell vibe to it.
(47:01):
So I've been enjoying it.
61 is the new 51.
It's the new 41 with this guy.
For my second selection, Fontaine's DC once again, but I do have this on vinyl.
I recently picked it up.
A Hero's Death, their second album from 2020 Irish post-punk band.
It's kind of a departure from their debut.
It's more dreamlike, more psychedelic.
(47:22):
Just listen to a little bit of a Hero's Death.
It's not an accident that I picked the clip where he mentions look.
So yeah, I mean, it's fun to pick up this stuff on vinyl.
I discovered them personally on their third album, Skinty Fia.
(47:43):
So going back and listening to the evolution of the band is really fun.
So I'm enjoying that one and I got a pretty good deal on it too.
Okay, well, what are you digging?
Let us know.
Join us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram, and threads.
Also on our website, albumnerds.com.
It will be a discovery of extraordinary value.
(48:06):
Well, it's about that time on the show when I'm reminded of the great Irish playwright,
George Bernard Shaw, who said, Ireland, sir, for good or evil is like no other place under
heaven and no man can touch its side or breathe its air without becoming better or worse.
(48:27):
With that in mind, let's bring out my friend and yours, Wadbot, to see what we'll be talking
about on next week's episode.
1968 was a year of massive hits and musical revolutions.
Next time, you will be exploring the top selling albums of the year, records that dominated
(48:49):
the charts, captured the air of spirit, and left a lasting impact on music history.
So yeah, cool.
Another list.
Yeah.
Make easy work of that.
Top albums in 1968.
Awesome.
Good year.
Yeah.
A little different sound, but should be equally fun.
Well, what's your favorite album from 1968?
What's your favorite album from Ireland?
What else are you listening to?
(49:10):
Email us at podcast at albumnerds.com.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, threads, and bluesky at albumnerds.
And visit albumnerds.com to suggest topics for the show, peruse the Hall of Fame, and
listen to all 281 episodes.
The best way to support the show is to share it.
Please subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite podcast app.
Thank you once again for joining us on the Album Nerds podcast.
(49:32):
We will catch you next time with some sweet, sweet 68.
Not 69.
68.
Almost naughty number.
Thanks for listening, everybody.
We'll see you next week.
We're still building.
We're still building.
We're still building.
We're still building.
We're still building that burning down love.
Burning!
(49:52):
I can't quite hit him.
A mile away.
You still haven't found what you're looking for, brother.
Let him…
you
Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts Andy, Don, and Dude.
(00:13):
Top of the podcast to you.
It's Album Nerds podcast time.
I'm Dude.
Got Andy and Don with me.
How are you lads doing today, Andy?
Doing quite well, man.
I'm Scottish, so I guess, I don't know if it's okay for me to be here, but I'll just
pretend to be Irish today.
Well.
(00:34):
As if it's no Scottish, it's CLUB!
That's true.
How you doing over there, Don?
Air and go, brah.
That sucks, but you nailed it at the same time, so congratulations.
Air and go, brah.
Yeah, I like it.
A way to modernize it there.
For today's Irish youth.
(00:55):
Thank you.
All right, so this is the Album Nerds podcast.
We love albums in the album format and we just enjoy talking about them.
We've got a great show for you today.
We are discussing top Irish albums.
Don's going to ask us a deep question.
We'll have some shout outs to some other albums and album related items we're digging, and
then we're going to spin the wheel of musical discovery to find out what we'll talk about
(01:18):
next time.
Today, it's all about the Irish.
That's what I'm talking about!
Ireland's rich musical heritage has produced exceptional albums that have left a mark on
the global music scene.
These albums span diverse genres from traditional Irish music to contemporary indie rock, showcasing
the country's ability to innovate while honoring its cultural roots.
(01:40):
Today, each of us will present an album from the Irish Times list of 50 best Irish albums
of all time.
I love it when we have lists to work from.
It makes things so much easier.
There's still work to be done, right?
You got to listen to a lot of records, but it's not just reaching into the haystack.
Instead, it's like a small hay pile.
That's nice.
(02:01):
So how did you guys do digging through these top 50 albums?
What albums caught your ear, but ended up not being your final pick?
Yeah, I mostly played around at the back end of the list, the 50 to 30 range.
There was a lot of alternative rock in that section of the list.
And one of those albums that I discovered that I had kind of forgotten about was from
(02:22):
a group called Ash.
They put out a record called 1977 in 1996.
It had a few minor hits on it that I recall, then some other tracks that were pretty fun
too.
You guys remember the Girl from Mars?
I don't think so.
Or Kung Fu maybe?
No, it doesn't sound familiar.
Maybe I'd have to hear them.
Yeah, you might recognize it after you heard it.
(02:43):
Very fun kind of bouncy, reminds me a little bit of Weezer's kind of sound, big fuzzy guitars
and kind of anthemic lyrics.
Yeah, it was a fun record.
I would probably would have gone with that unless I had come across something even better.
How about you, Don?
Well, I almost went with number eight on the list, which is My Bloody Valentine's Loveless
from 1991.
I've always heard wonderful things written about My Bloody Valentine, but I've never
(03:05):
really dug into their records.
Yeah, it's sort of, I guess it's shoegaze and kind of noise pop, sort of Sonic youthy,
but also it's Cocktoe Twins.
I don't remember the kind of that dream pop.
I think it's kind of a one there.
But anyway, that was their second album.
It just has those dense guitar layers, kind of smashing pumpkins-ish too.
(03:26):
It's just a great band name.
It is a good name.
Basically, I mean, that really stands out.
That's a nice band name.
You can look at a band name and know what someone's going to sound like.
That's not the case here.
It leaves you guessing.
It could be metal, it could be hip hop, maybe not hip hop.
MC Bloody Valentine.
There you go.
All right, how about you dude?
Yeah, I mean, I listened to the Cranberries and a bunch of other stuff on the list as
(03:50):
well.
And I thought about that just because it's so well known.
I've just never really connected with the Cranes.
So I did stumble upon Therapy, our therapy, because the band name has a question mark
in it.
I kind of like that actually.
Yeah.
The song was Trouble Gum, released February of 1994.
I'd never heard of it.
This was our second major label album.
(04:12):
Alternative Metal?
Question mark?
Yeah, kind of.
It's more of a punk oriented sound.
I guess it drew comparisons to bands like Stiff Little Fingers.
But the lyrics explore themes of personal turmoil, mental health, societal disillusionment
and dark humor mixed in there.
Very 94 in terms of the approach to those emotions.
(04:34):
But it was a fun listen.
It was cool.
Just was looking for something bigger, grander.
All right, enough about what we almost picked.
Let's get to our true choo choo choo choices.
You choo choo choos me?
Yeah, for my top Irish album selection, talking about The Pogues and their 1985 album Rum,
(05:02):
Sodomy and the Lash.
Ouch.
Cutting right to it.
I think the rum would be at the end of that, but no.
You want to start with the rum, trust me.
This is the second studio album for the seven piece Irish folk punk group formed in London,
England.
(05:22):
The album consists of a combination of originals written by singer Shane McGowan, covers as
well as some traditional Irish folk songs.
Let's jump in and play cut from the middle of the record.
This is called Dirty Old Town.
(05:44):
Did anyone else get a Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby the Third by the Clotoo song?
Clotoo?
On the way to Bugglesby.
I mean, I guess a little bit.
Yeah, that's sort of like muppety sound to it at times.
(06:07):
Yeah.
That song was originally written by Ewan McCall in 1949 for a play called Landscapes with
Chimneys about a town of Salford, England.
McGowan came along and covered the song, replaced the town name of Salford with Smokey in the
lyrics and yeah, it's become a pretty popular Irish song.
(06:28):
It's used in some sporting events, I believe, in Ireland.
It's primarily about the working class and kind of getting by in like a very industrialized
town and just doing the best that you can with what you have, which I think is largely
what this album is about.
Maybe that's kind of a good summation of the Irish people to some degree.
Blacklickbait headline for the Pogues, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash is the Pogues pour a perfect
(06:54):
half and half or black and tan if you're from the States, carefully laying punk rock over
a bad aboriginal Irish folk.
Wow, that is really insightful.
A good Irish reference.
I love a good black and tan, don't you guys?
Yeah.
Tasty.
I have those special spoons to make them.
You know, you put on top of the glass.
Yeah, that's important.
Yeah.
I didn't know they called them half and halves over there.
(07:15):
Yeah, apparently black and tan is an offensive term in Ireland.
So really good to know.
All right.
So I thought this was a very impressive record.
I was new to the Pogues, but they do a great job of blending like a modern day punk rock
sound and a lot of the sensibilities get around that in terms of the production style.
The album was produced by Elvis Costello, which is a nice little feather in your cap
(07:39):
when you can have Elvis Costello helping out.
He did a great job of capturing that kind of raw energy of the bands, but they mixed
that perfectly, I think, with just traditional Irish folk elements.
Sometimes that's the lyrical content of the songs, but other times it's the straight up
sound like some of these tracks that sound like old school Irish songs that you might
expect to hear in a pub.
It's very gritty in terms of the content of the songs and also in terms of the production.
(08:02):
I think it has a lot of roughness around the edges, as you might expect, as these songs
are about blue collar workers and people not down on their luck, but just working hard
just to survive and kind of get by.
Yeah.
I'm really impressed at how kind of closely they're able to weave these two seemingly
very different areas of music together.
It shouldn't work.
It does.
(08:22):
Yeah.
It doesn't seem like I would work on paper, but they somehow pull it off here.
One thing I'll just add along those lines, the tracks that McGowan wrote, the originals
here, I think are almost as good, if not better, at depicting Irish life than some of the traditional
folk songs down here.
There's a handful I think are just beautifully written, almost poetic in their compositions
(08:42):
and you can feel what would be life to live through these times.
He's the Irish Springsteen.
In many ways you could say that.
Yeah.
I kind of feel bad for any songwriters who write about the working class and all that
stuff because even at their best, they're still whatever town they're from or country
they're from and then apostrophe S, Springsteen.
(09:09):
Use the bar to live up to you, I suppose.
All right, why don't we jump in here and play a cut from the end of the record.
This is a cover of an anti-war song.
It's called The Band Played Waltzing Matilda.
Yeah, you just picture dimly lit pubs with so many of these songs.
(09:33):
It's really effective in capturing the sound.
How do people always know the words?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I guess if you've heard it all your life maybe, that helps.
Yeah.
I suppose in an American pub, we can all sing along to what?
Piano Man, Living on a Prayer.
Right, yeah, those are our TV theme songs.
(09:54):
Yes.
Sha la la la.
So as Andy said, The Band Played Waltzing Matilda is an anti-war song originally written
by Eric Bogle in 1971.
It's about a young Australian soldier who was maimed during World War I.
So sort of captures the futility and the consequences of war.
(10:17):
Long song, about eight minutes and it ends the album.
Definitely more in the traditional vein.
I think that's kind of typical of the Pogues.
So my clickbait headline for Rum, Sodomy and the Lash is, when Irish punks are smiling,
they steal your liver and run away.
When Irish punks are smiling, you should sing it.
(10:44):
Yeah, I guess what I like about it, it doesn't feel contrived.
If you say, hey, the Pogues, they're sort of a blend of punk and kind of classic Irish
music.
I don't know.
I mean, you could see that sort of being an intentional thing.
This just feels very natural and from the heart.
I do think it leans more into the Irish than the punk.
(11:08):
When you say that, punk and Irish music, I picture the sex pistols with like a tin whistle
or something and that's not this.
The punk comes from the snarl in the vocal delivery.
It's more about the personality of Shane and his voice, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
That's what I felt too.
(11:28):
It's kind of like that punk rock aesthetic I think is kind of overlaid on the Irish.
Yeah.
Traditional Irish sound.
I think a group more like the dropkick Murphy's kind of sounds more like what I would picture.
Right.
There's something about it.
It just feels Irish to me.
I feel like I'm in Ireland and I want to be Irish.
It just makes it all seem so appealing to me even though it is dark and even though
(11:53):
it's poverty and all that stuff.
It just still sounds like just a fun group of people to be hanging out with.
This is like the urban dirty side of Ireland.
All right.
Why don't we jump in here and play the opening cut?
This is called Sickbed of Cookely.
(12:21):
This song intertwines Irish mythology with storytelling, reflecting the band's signature
fusion there of the Celtic music and punk rock energy.
So the story is the tale of Cookelyn, a legendary hero in Irish mythology renowned for superhuman
abilities and has a tragic fate.
Shane McGowan used that reference as a framework to portray modern day narrative of man's decline
(12:46):
due to excessive drinking and debauchery.
There's STDs mentioned in the song.
I mean, it's not a pretty picture.
But I think that's what you're talking about with the songwriting.
Yeah.
That track in particular really stood out as being exceptionally well written to me.
It's rich with cultural references and blends historical figures.
So it still kind of fits a traditional folk weaving tales of the past into the present.
(13:12):
So it exemplifies what this album does, the blend of the punk rock ethos and the Irish
folk traditions.
All right.
So my clickbait headline to describe the album, When Irish Folk Met Punk, the Pogues rum
saw to me in the lash because traditional ballads needed a kick in the arse.
(13:33):
It sounds so traditional Irish on the surface, but somehow that punkiness starts to filter
through like you get about halfway through the opening track there and you start to get
an idea something different is happening.
One song that really jumped out at me because I got something stupid stuck in my head.
(13:53):
It's the instrumental Wildcats of Kilkenny.
I so badly wanted to pick that song and find a way to work that into my clickbait headline.
Thank you for resisting.
You wouldn't even know the title of it if you weren't looking at the album.
(14:14):
But yeah, I mean, this album had surprises.
Some moments you expected, other times you're like, wow, I wasn't expecting that twist.
I'm a man you don't meet every day where bassist Kate O'Riordan sings.
I was new to this album as well.
So it was a surprise to me to hear a female voice and kind of resetting for the back half
(14:41):
of the album.
Yeah.
It's a stripped down track.
I think it works well though.
There's a few of those moments where things do kind of settle down a little bit, which
I think as an album, I think it plays pretty well in terms of pacing and song length and
whatnot.
So yeah, if you're looking for a very interesting record that kind of does dig into some of
the history of Ireland, but non-sustritional sounds, but with a modern flair, yeah, I think
(15:05):
the pokes can't go wrong with a little rum sodomy in the lash.
That's a weird sentence to say, but it's true.
You can put me on that.
Before we continue our travels through Ireland, let's hear a word about our friends over at
the Can I Pod with Madness podcast.
(15:27):
Yeah, on their latest episode, they're talking about that metal magazine again.
Is it Kerrang?
Or Kerrang?
They've been going through old issues in recent episodes.
So issue 482 comes from February 19th, 1994.
You'll never guess who was on the cover.
The Pogues?
No, it wasn't.
(15:47):
That would have been better.
No, it was actually Motley Crue, but it was that weird period where Vince Neil had left.
Some guy named John Karabi replaced them.
Yeah, so Can I Pod with Madness is, they do a really good job of sort of reflecting on
the good old days of metal and hard rock.
(16:07):
So definitely check it out.
I will.
So my pick was number 30 on the Irish Times list of the greatest Irish albums.
Comes from Enya.
The album is called Watermark, released in September 1988.
It's her second studio album.
(16:28):
She was born Enya Patricia Brennan, although that's the anglicized version.
She comes from Irish or Gaelic speaking part of Ireland and it doesn't look anything like
that.
But yeah, actually she was born in the region of Gwydor, Ireland, which is sort of in the
Northwestern part of the island, I guess.
(16:49):
That sounds like something from Middle Earth or something.
So Enya's siblings and uncles actually formed that band.
Is it Clamad?
I think so.
Yeah.
When she was quite young, she actually contributed to a couple of albums, but she went out and
did things on her own.
(17:10):
But this album is actually a collaboration with her manager and producer, Nicky Ryan
and his wife lyricist, Roma Ryan.
Enya is actually the second greatest selling Irish artist of all time.
Who's the first?
Really?
You'll find out soon.
Wow.
All right.
Well, let's hear probably the biggest cut from the album, Orinoco Flow.
(17:42):
So Orinoco Flow is actually recorded at Orinoco Studios in London, which is also a reference
to the Orinoco River, which is in South America between Venezuela and Colombia.
Kind of establishes that Enya sound, the layered vocals, lots and lots of layers, sometimes
(18:04):
kind of whispery vocals that are blended together and just kind of creates this eerie effect.
It's ghostly, for sure.
And the album cover is kind of fuzzed out too, so it feels like perhaps a ghost living
in your walls singing to you.
Yes.
We'll return to ghosts in a moment.
And yeah, most of the music is synthesizers.
(18:27):
There are a few traditional instruments thrown in, but yeah, kind of making use of modern
instrumentation for kind of a sort of a classical approach, I guess I would say.
And the lyrics just mention a bunch of places around the globe.
Kind of like I've been everywhere, man.
It's like the new age version of that.
The snobby version.
Right.
I heard there's a mention of the producers of the record or shout out kind of.
(18:52):
Yeah, so she actually, I think she uses the words Ross dependency, which is I guess a
part of Antarctica, but Ross Colum is actually another producer on the album, so it was like
a shout out to him.
That's fun.
Sweet.
In the spirit of hip hop, you know, you mentioned.
Yeah, pretty much.
This does have some hip hop tradition feelings underneath the snobby surface.
(19:15):
Yeah.
There's a diss track.
Ornoko Flow was talking about her rhymes.
Yeah, just her rhyme schemes.
Yeah.
All right, so my clickbait headline for Watermark is The Monet of Music Blurs Genre Lines with
(19:36):
Sonic Brushstrokes.
Yeah, I guess I was trying to come up with metaphors and stuff to describe the sound
and it does kind of feel like an impressionistic painting, almost like a Monet, like a landscape
or something and it's sort of surrealistic and blurry, but it's beautiful too.
(19:57):
It has bright colors and also sort of mysterious and haunting.
Yeah, it is the soundtrack to an art museum.
My parents were into this when new age music was a new thing and Mannheim Steamroller
was doing it with Christmas songs in a more simplistic way than this, but still it was
(20:21):
the hotness for a while and this cassette played quite a bit and I thought it was a
real snoozefest, but I was a youth.
All right, well, let's hear another cut.
Curseum Perficio.
(20:44):
It sounds like in the Omen when Damien was starting to get naughty, you know?
Victus Dominus.
Yeah, so Curseum Perficio is the second track on the album, more of that layered synthesizer
(21:04):
texture, layered Enya multi-tracked vocals and a very repetitive chant-like melody, sort
of like Catholic Mass or Gregorian chants.
The Latin lyrics translate to I finish the course or my journey ends here.
Unfortunately, the album continues.
Wow.
(21:25):
The title apparently was inspired by an inscription at the entrance of Marilyn Monroe's last residence,
but this song is a little darker, more intense than some of the others on the album.
It's very relaxing to listen to.
It's just that it would be very difficult for someone to really identify one song from
the other.
It's more of a feels album for me.
(21:46):
It's more of just like a relaxation thing, you know, or getting a massage, an oral massage
with a U-R-A.
An oral massage.
My clickbait headline to describe the album, Set Sail With Enya, watermarkets soundtrack
to your next existential voyage.
(22:06):
It does sort of make me ponder life and the universe.
Yeah, I mean, it's very world music, so all those references and different languages used
but it's little name drops and sonic references to different parts of the world.
Notions of ideas mixed together.
But that's, I think, what makes it kind of a new agey where it sets your mind in whatever
(22:30):
direction that that little suggestion sends it.
And that's what's relaxing about it.
So I mean, it definitely has its value.
It's just, I wasn't finding in-depth lyrics, but I'm not supposed to.
That's not what this music is supposed to do.
It's supposed to use those broad brushstrokes like Don was talking about and it does that
really well.
(22:51):
Yeah.
One track that actually does have some interesting lyrics or that are at least sort of inspired
by something interesting.
The song Evening Falls is actually, it's about a ghost story.
It sounds pretty cool.
It would be a good movie.
Some lady was having recurring dreams of some house in America, but she actually found the
house in England and when she went into the house, the people there were frightened because
(23:14):
she had haunted them while she was dreaming.
So does that make any sense what I just said?
Sounds kind of like the movie The Others.
Yeah, it is kind of like The Others.
So they knew who she was before she got there.
Yeah, so it freaked them out because it was like this ghost lady, but astral projecting,
right?
Yeah.
That's pretty something interesting you could kind of sink your teeth into there, I would
(23:34):
say.
Yeah.
Well, let's hear another cut.
It says storms in Africa.
Pretty.
I had read that Enya said that song was written to capture a sense of unrest.
(23:57):
It uses rototoms and African hand drums in addition to the traditional synthesizers and
vocals.
That version uses traditional Irish lyrics, but there also was a version released in English
later on called storms in Africa 2.
Electric Boogaloo.
Yeah, in that song it gets more into how they dance on some bulldozers to stop the community
(24:22):
center from being torn down.
Thank you for that historical context.
That's the plot of folk breaking to Electric Boogaloo.
All right.
Well, I enjoyed that song a fair amount.
I thought it works well in the context of the album.
I appreciated the use of vocals on the record.
The songs that didn't have some sort of vocal elements to it I think were a little bit harder
(24:45):
for me to get behind.
But that track in particular, the English and Irish version I thought worked really
well for my Enya money.
My clickbait headline for Enya's watermark is, it may not be a clickbaity headline or
provocative photograph, but Enya's watermark does leave an impression.
It does.
Yeah, kind of like a coffee ring when you pick up your...
(25:07):
Wow.
It's very anti-coaster.
I thought it was pretty intriguing.
I'm partial to ambient music.
I enjoy that and world music as well.
So two genres I listen to willingly.
But to me, this really is more of like a world music record.
It's kind of classical too, but there's no actual instrument.
(25:29):
So you can't call it classical because there's no real strings or orchestration.
But it has that same cultural vibe, I guess.
For synth heads out there, apparently the star of this album is the Roland Juno 60,
which was Enya's favorite synthesizer at the time.
Sure, name dropped Roland on one of those songs.
(25:50):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think it has that cultural aspect of the world aspect.
And I just feel like it's hinting at something larger than just what the lyrics are about
or it's trying to be more grandiose than just simply what it is.
I appreciate that.
All right.
So for an enigmatic and beautiful musical journey, check out Enya's Watermark from 1988.
(26:14):
Excuse me.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
It's time again for Deep Questions by Don.
So we're going deep into the culture of Ireland here, like the world of Lucky Charms, of course.
(26:35):
So in addition to the breakfast cereal, what other Irish consumables do you find magically
delicious?
Well, I was briefly into Lucky Charms my freshman year of college.
Mike Dormer was covered in boxes for that for some reason.
You are after me, Lucky Charms.
So whereas other kids are collecting all their beer cans, you had just boxes of Lucky Charms.
(26:58):
I had Lucky Charms, yeah.
I got over that though.
But what I'm into right now in the last few years has been that Murphy's Irish Stout,
which is just a delicious beer, reasonably priced and...
Silky smooth.
It's super smooth.
It's got a real nice texture to it.
When I had my first glass of that, it was probably just my brain, but I almost feel
(27:19):
stronger and energized to some degree.
So Murphy's to you is spinach to Popeye?
Sort of, yeah.
I kind of feel that way.
This is improving me actually.
By the third glass, I don't feel that way as much, but...
I think it's just trying to rile you up to become a soccer hooligan in a pub fight.
(27:40):
Vegetarians like me, we have to worry about stouts because I think in the process, they
used to use pig intestine or something.
It's stout, not snout.
They're cool.
Well, I think there might be snout in the process or something.
But I do think Murphy's and Guinness maybe changed their methods so they could be sort
of more vegetarian or vegan friendly.
Oh my gosh.
I got double-check on this.
(28:01):
I didn't realize you made meat products in my beer.
Some breweries use animal-derived products like Issen glass and gelatin in the processing
of their beers.
You vegetarians, you're nitpicking.
How about you, dude?
The first thing that came to mind was Guinness.
I do enjoy that.
(28:22):
That's my beer of choice.
So tasty.
He is.
Have you ever had the imported Irish style Guinness?
It's like unfiltered or something.
No, I haven't had that.
I get the cans with the CO2 in it so you get that foamy.
I thought it was NO2.
I thought it was nitrous.
I don't know.
Sure.
Whichever one you can suck on and get high, dar.
(28:48):
That's the one you care about.
So regardless of the technology, it makes it foamy.
Good Lord.
But with that, I'd like to have a sipper of Jameson on the side with that.
As an Irish man, do you feel like that makes you stronger when you have a drink?
No, it does not make me stronger.
(29:08):
It makes me sleepier.
Now if you drop the Jameson in the Guinness, is it an Irish Carbomb or something?
I don't know.
I don't do that.
I would have in my younger years, but now I try to treat the alcohol with respect and
expect it to do the same.
What about you, dar?
(29:29):
I'm not sure.
I don't know that the Irish invented it or anything, but I know whenever I've gone to
Irish pubs that seem somewhat authentic, they've got the potato chips or crisps or whatever
you call them.
Oh, it's chips.
They use the malted vinegar and putting that on potato-related products is delicious.
(29:49):
Do you dip it in that or is it like a sprinkle in such a way?
Usually there's like a shake, almost like a Tabasco bottle or something that comes out
slowly.
Just a drip or two.
We get that sometimes.
It's got like a Union Jack, like British flag or something on it.
I like that on French fries and stuff.
(30:10):
Yeah, so it could be more of a British thing than an Irish thing, so apologies.
A lot of overlap.
What are your favorite Irish consumables?
Let us know on Instagram and Facebook or leave a comment on our website, albumnerds.com.
It is my turn and my pick is U2 and their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree.
(30:31):
Now, Don, am I correct in now assuming that U2 is the bestselling Irish artist or band
over Enya?
I believe that is a fact.
In your face, yeah.
How do you like some apples?
All right.
So they were formed in Dublin in 1976, comprising Bono on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, The
(30:52):
Edge on lead guitar and a bunch of other stuff.
Adam Clayton on bass and Larry Mullen Jr. on drums and other percussion.
Initially rooted in post-punk, they evolved over time, but it's always anthemic.
That's their thing.
The lyrics often focus on sociopolitical themes, especially here on The Joshua Tree.
(31:12):
By the mid-80s, by this time, they were globally renowned live act and this album was the first
one as an album to really be huge for them, even though they were doing pretty well on
the road.
I should mention this is number 15 on the Irish Times list.
Octung Baby from 1991 was number two.
(31:33):
So yeah, this was their fifth studio album.
That's a lot of albums before you really break big.
And this album reflects the band's fascination with American landscapes and politics and
blends rock and blues and gospel influences, atmospheric sounds.
Although it's not musically Irish, it does have that very Irish melancholy and undercurrent
(31:55):
of sadness.
Why don't we jump in and listen to a little bit of Where the Streets Have No Name.
I love that line, our love turns to rust.
Where the Streets Have No Name is renowned for its composition and production with that
(32:17):
distinctive guitar work, but apparently it took a long time to get it right.
That chucka chucka guitar effect.
I guess they had a hard time setting the delay to match the song's tempo and I guess it was
quite the undertaking, but it is a perfect way to kick off this album and set the tone
and the lyrics addressing societal divisions where religion and income can be inferred
(32:39):
from someone's street address.
So Where the Streets Have No Name, everyone's the same, everyone's equal and can love each
other.
My clickbait headline to describe the album, from With or Without You to Bullet the Blue
Sky, U2's The Joshua Tree tackles love, war and everything in between.
That's a lot.
It really is and they do it.
(32:59):
It's cinematic, the music takes you somewhere almost physical, not just emotional.
The place you see in your mind when you're listening to this draws out the emotions and
I think those echo effects kind of help make it dreamy at times and I've loved this album
for a long time.
Why don't we move on and listen to another song?
(33:19):
This one is the aforementioned Bullet the Blue Sky.
Probably the most gritty track on the album.
Definitely fits in well with the kind of America theme there, very political track kind of
about America getting involved in foreign wars and their impact on people's lives around
(33:44):
the globe.
It was kind of rare at the time to hear artists almost directly challenging, like President
Reagan.
I remember being kind of like, whoa, you know, here in the 80s anyway, in the 60s it was
par for the course, but they kind of brought that back a little bit, I think.
Yeah, I think this is a, I mean we don't see the controversial record, but definitely he's
(34:06):
taken issue with quite a few things going on in the political landscape, I would say.
A Mechlipe headline for the Joshua Tree is U2 delivers what very well may be the definitive
waiting in the queue album.
As in this is a great record to have on while you're grocery shopping or doing other things
around the world.
(34:26):
So what Enya is to me, this is to you.
Perhaps, I mean maybe not to that degree.
I think there are some great things that happen on this record.
This definitely establishes that definitive U2 sound and who they are, especially Bono.
I mean Bono sounds great on this album.
I think he, I wouldn't say carries the album, but I really feel like he's the strongest
(34:49):
aspect of the album.
The lyrics are very interesting.
His vocals are just superb, in my opinion.
The album just sounds huge.
It sounds like a panoramic vista, you know, you're looking at, like I think Dude kind
of alluded to earlier.
I love that aspect to it.
I mean, Edge or The Edge, excuse me, his guitar work is always gonna just kind of stick in
(35:11):
my car a little bit.
I don't love his approach to guitar playing.
I wish it was grittier, like it is on Bolts in the Blue Sky throughout the rest of the
album.
It's very shimmery and glittery most of the time.
I don't love that.
I think it really just leads to kind of some boring moments.
They don't have a lot of low ends, you know, in terms of the percussion or bass, which
(35:33):
is always a sticking point for me, and it's definitely an issue here for me.
So it's a mixed bag for me.
But I do appreciate, you know, where this album lives and the history of music is being,
you know, fairly important.
And I can understand that.
I know you love it, Dude.
Yes, I do.
Well, on the highways and byways of America, as this song was being written, this is where
(35:54):
Andy would go.
This track is called Exit.
I don't know, Andy.
That's pretty great.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean, that might be a little exception to the book, by rule there.
Oh, exception, yeah.
Yeah, you just got showed and told.
(36:18):
So Exit is the penultimate track on the album.
It apparently emerged from a lengthy jam session on one of the last days of recording.
It got edited down to its final four-minute runtime.
Bono's lyrics portray the mind of a serial killer, supposedly.
He was inspired by Norman Mailer's The Executioner Song and Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.
(36:42):
That's interesting, you know, because, you know, that doesn't seem to really fit the
theme of the album, you know, to suddenly be, you know, doing a psychological profile
of a serial killer.
But I think these are Bono's words.
He said it deals with people on the fringes of the promised land and people who have been
cut off from the American dream.
And those are the people who are susceptible to, you know, this kind of, you know, violence.
(37:06):
Yeah, definitely a cool track and, you know, maybe, you know, the most different from the
rest.
My clickbait headline for the Joshua Tree is You Too Stands Alone, A Self-Important Tree
in a Pop Desert.
I mean, I got to hand it to him for, you know, really, you know, trying to say something,
you know, about the political landscape and humanity and stuff like that.
(37:28):
I mean, it does get a little sort of, you know, awesome.
Well, I don't know.
I think I prefer the You Too that sort of embraced the irony of being like a pop band
who takes itself too seriously.
I think that's like with Octone Baby and Zuroppa and Pop Mart, I think suddenly they, you know,
(37:51):
were sort of recognizing maybe the-
Tongue firmly in cheek.
Yes, exactly.
So, I kind of like that approach better.
But yeah, I think this is a fantastic album.
What's interesting about it to me is that in that period between the Unforgettable Fire
and the Joshua Tree, you know, they were a band, I think, that didn't really understand
(38:11):
or they were ignorant of sort of the roots of rock and roll and the blues and all that
stuff.
You know, coming from the post-punk realm, that's really all they knew.
And I think during this time, you know, Edge was listening to, you know, Hank Williams
and blues guitarist and stuff like that.
And so, they really sort of fused that, you know, kind of American rock and roll vibe
(38:33):
with sort of their post-punk sounds.
And it really works, I think.
Yeah.
I mean, I obviously agree.
In 1987, U2 became only the fourth rock band to appear on the cover of Time magazine following
The Beatles, The Band, and The Who.
It's pretty good, isn't it?
I mean, when this album came out, it was kind of like the first time I listened to something
(38:55):
of my generation, like something modern that hit me the same way that listening to my dad's
records like Sergeant Pepper or whatever, where I was just like, whoa, and that will
always stick with me.
So regardless of its potential flaws, I don't really hear them because I was blown away
when I first heard it as a kid.
(39:15):
What aspect of it was surprising when you were at that edge?
It was the guitar sound.
It was unique.
Bono's passion in the vocals and mostly just the painting pictures.
It felt like being in the backseat of a car taking a road trip and seeing this landscape
(39:37):
just whoosh past you.
It felt like the desert and the album cover and America and bullet the blue sky.
I was just like, I thought it was Jimi Hendrix second coming.
I mean, I was a kid.
I was just like, wow.
Yeah.
So I still haven't found when I'm looking for gospel arrangements, that's really interesting.
(39:58):
His voice is so amazing on that song.
With or without you, running to stand still, that minimalist arrangement that just sticks
with me and that spaghetti Western guitar sound at the beginning feels so desolate and
in God's country and trip through the wires.
There's just like all these tracks, mothers of the disappeared, that's somber and haunting
(40:21):
about the plight of families affected by political repression in Latin America.
I mean, it was like they cared about everything and it was, at that point I was listening
to Huey Lewis in the news and shit like that for the most part.
This was like deep man for a kid.
So yeah, I will make this quick and there might be one yes and two nos, but I'm going
(40:44):
to nominate this for the Elbner and Tala fame.
So it blew my mind grapes and made delicious juice.
Thank you guys.
Try some of that wine.
Let's see.
Yeah.
Okay.
Hmm.
You know, I wish I had had that experience of hearing it outside of, well, I was introduced
(41:05):
to this album, you know, like in CBS is where I've heard these songs.
That's where I associate this with.
I feel like you and I, we just, we're butt heads in this album every time we talk about
it.
I mean, I definitely-
You're not butt heads.
I mean, I'm right, you're wrong.
It's not butt heads.
I appreciate this album.
I definitely understand its historical significance.
(41:27):
I understand.
I like it.
I don't love it, but I, you know, I think, I think I'll say yes, man.
I'll say yes.
Wow.
What?
I'm shocked.
Yeah.
I'm Bono's performance alone, perhaps for me.
Okay.
I out does what the edge is trying to do.
So the edge is trying to destroy.
(41:47):
How about you Don?
Yeah, I just want to mention the production.
So I mean, you've got legends here.
Yeah, I should have.
You know, Daniel Lanwagh and Brian Eno and also the engineer Flood.
I mean, these are three big names.
And Steve Lilly White.
Yeah.
Of course.
It doesn't feel overproduced, you know, despite having these legends producing it.
(42:10):
So I mean, I think that says a lot for the album.
So yeah, I agree with the Irish times that it's not the best U2 album, but it's, you
know, it's great.
Well, that was not the outcome I expected.
So all right.
Well, welcome to the Alvin Hertz Hall of Fame, U2.
Getting by on the luck of the Irish.
That's right.
So if you want to experience the Irish perspective on America traveling those deserts, check
(42:34):
out the Joshua Tree by U2.
Can you dig it?
Can you dig it?
Can you dig it?
So this week we sort of sailed away to the shores of Ireland, but on your journey, did
you happen to dig anything else?
Oh, you know I did.
(42:54):
I got a couple of things here in my little pot of gold.
Share some treasures with you guys.
I thought it was going to be a prize in your cereal box.
That's a good one too.
Our first one for me is from Benjamin Booker.
He has a new album out called Lower.
The third studio album for the singer-songwriter guitarist from Virginia Beach, Virginia.
(43:16):
This is Show and Tell.
He's talking about butts and stuff, right?
Possibly.
It's a very intimate sounding record.
I think a lot of it has to do with his vocal delivery.
Kind of fuzzy.
His butt.
Butt's fuzzy.
You shouldn't have said intimate after what he said.
(43:39):
I was trying to tie it out, but maybe fuzzy was the line too far.
His previous records were a little more traditional, kind of like blues guitar rock.
This is not that really.
It's a little more electronic aspect to it.
His vocals are pacing is different at times.
It's almost like a rap style at moments.
(44:00):
It's pretty interesting.
I'm trying to get my head around it, but so far I've been enjoying it for a month.
All right.
And last one for me here is from a hip hop artist by the name of Ganesh Guverva.
I believe is how you'd say it.
He has a new album out called Goyard Ibn Sayed.
I apologize.
It's his third studio album.
The rapper, producer from Philly.
He kind of takes on a persona on this album, which is the title of the album.
(44:23):
This guy was briefly featured during the Superlative Show during Kendrick's performance, kind
of the intro and outro of that.
I think that's why I first heard about him.
The album is pretty interesting.
Let's play the old guard is dead.
Definitely fits along with modern hip hop aesthetics.
It was a lot to Kendrick for sure in terms of his style.
(44:43):
I think I was impressed by how fully formed the album sounds.
It's got some interesting production notes and there's pretty elaborate skits and whatnot.
Maybe not amazing, but pretty solid hip hop album I would say.
What you been digging on Dom?
Yeah.
So Smokey Robinson is back.
All right.
So what was his last one?
What was the...
It was very sexual.
Oh my God.
Oh, Eurgasm.
Oh God.
(45:04):
That's right.
Yeah.
The song was...
It was just called Gasm and then there was different kinds of gazms throughout.
Yeah.
Well, kind of changed directions on this.
He actually went in the gospel direction.
Yeah.
So the album is called What The World Needs Now comes out on April 25th, but mostly covers
of a lot of songs you know like Lean On Me and Three Little Birds, but it's also got
(45:27):
a couple of originals on it.
Here's a track called Be Thankful For What You've Got.
Sounds good.
Yeah.
That song is actually a cover of a song by William Devon from the 1970s.
Another record I was kind of intrigued by was a group called The Men.
(45:48):
They're a punk rock band from Brooklyn, New York formed in 2008.
New album is called Buyer Beware and here's a track called Pony.
Sounds cool.
Yeah.
They're men.
There you go.
Let's check it out.
How about you dude?
I've been checking out Eddie Chacon with the album Lay Low released January 31st, 2025,
(46:13):
formerly half of the 1990s duo Charles and Eddie.
Do you remember that song, Would I Lie To You?
I do.
Would I lie to you baby?
Oh yeah.
This album delves into themes of grief and healing, blending minimalist R&B with introspective
lyrics.
It's so introspective here on the show.
Why don't we check out a little bit of Empire featuring John Carroll Kirby.
(46:40):
This guy is like 61 years old.
I've never really listened to his solo work.
I think there's only a third as I mentioned.
So yeah, it's cool.
And then the Charles and Eddie thing was fun to stumble into.
I vaguely remember them.
Sounds pretty fresh.
Yeah.
I mean, it's kind of got a little bit of a Maxwell vibe to it.
(47:01):
So I've been enjoying it.
61 is the new 51.
It's the new 41 with this guy.
For my second selection, Fontaine's DC once again, but I do have this on vinyl.
I recently picked it up.
A Hero's Death, their second album from 2020 Irish post-punk band.
It's kind of a departure from their debut.
It's more dreamlike, more psychedelic.
(47:22):
Just listen to a little bit of a Hero's Death.
It's not an accident that I picked the clip where he mentions look.
So yeah, I mean, it's fun to pick up this stuff on vinyl.
I discovered them personally on their third album, Skinty Fia.
(47:43):
So going back and listening to the evolution of the band is really fun.
So I'm enjoying that one and I got a pretty good deal on it too.
Okay, well, what are you digging?
Let us know.
Join us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram, and threads.
Also on our website, albumnerds.com.
It will be a discovery of extraordinary value.
(48:06):
Well, it's about that time on the show when I'm reminded of the great Irish playwright,
George Bernard Shaw, who said, Ireland, sir, for good or evil is like no other place under
heaven and no man can touch its side or breathe its air without becoming better or worse.
(48:27):
With that in mind, let's bring out my friend and yours, Wadbot, to see what we'll be talking
about on next week's episode.
1968 was a year of massive hits and musical revolutions.
Next time, you will be exploring the top selling albums of the year, records that dominated
(48:49):
the charts, captured the air of spirit, and left a lasting impact on music history.
So yeah, cool.
Another list.
Yeah.
Make easy work of that.
Top albums in 1968.
Awesome.
Good year.
Yeah.
A little different sound, but should be equally fun.
Well, what's your favorite album from 1968?
What's your favorite album from Ireland?
What else are you listening to?
(49:10):
Email us at podcast at albumnerds.com.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, threads, and bluesky at albumnerds.
And visit albumnerds.com to suggest topics for the show, peruse the Hall of Fame, and
listen to all 281 episodes.
The best way to support the show is to share it.
Please subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite podcast app.
Thank you once again for joining us on the Album Nerds podcast.
(49:32):
We will catch you next time with some sweet, sweet 68.
Not 69.
68.
Almost naughty number.
Thanks for listening, everybody.
We'll see you next week.
We're still building.
We're still building.
We're still building.
We're still building.
We're still building that burning down love.
Burning!
(49:52):
I can't quite hit him.
A mile away.
You still haven't found what you're looking for, brother.
Let him…
you
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