Episode #212 | 12.10.24 | SOURCES

Shane MacGowan: Outsiders, Underdogs, and Christmas Eve in the Drunk Tank

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In this episode

Shane MacGowan lived his life as an outsider. He was an Irishman living in England, a troublemaking jug-eared punk with rotten teeth and a voracious appetite for drugs and alcohol. And with his band, The Pogues, he created a powerful synthesis of the traditional music of his homeland and a modern punk attitude. It was this gift for melding the sacred with the profane that led to the creation of one of the finest and most unique Christmas songs ever: "Fairytale of New York."

*illustration by Avi Spivak @avispivak

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