St. Pat’s

I’ve never been much for St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t get me wrong, I have my share of wild nights, and I don’t mind having a drink or two. But there’s something about dyed, green beer that has always kind of turned my stomach.

I will say that during this day of pretending that you’re Irish, you should at least have a good soundtrack. I like the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, but you can’t have an, ahem, authentic St. Patty’s Day without The Pogues.

The Pogues are a traditional Irish folk band blended with politics and punk rock energy. They’re probably the only band that can make the tin whistle sound cool. They’ve been around since the 80′s, and have been instrumental in popularizing the genre known as “Celtic punk.” Shane MacGowan is the group’s leader, and he’s legendary in his own right. Plus, his personal life is like a train wreck that you pretty much can’t turn away from. That might be why his songs are so good.

One of their best songs, and probably most famous, is “If I Should Fall from Grace with God.” It’s definitely worth a listen, and may provide good background music for taking a shot of Irish whiskey. You can see the video here.