Hump Day Hangover- The Five Greatest Irish Rock Bands

Okay, so I'm a day late. I'm well aware that St.Pat's was yesterday, but I figured that my many readers would be out closing down a bar or three and not reading my little blog. Whatever. Ireland has produced some amazing music, and I'm not sure if it's because of the country's stunning beauty or the hard-luck brilliance of its people. Probably a bit of both. The Irish have a fondness for words and love of storytelling, which is also why the country has produced some of the greatest writers in the English Language(Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Brendan Behan, Samuel Beckett, Dylan Thomas). So carrying on that tradition, here's my choices for the five greatest Irish bands ever. You'll notice that I left off the brilliant Van Morrison because he's a solo artist, and Snow Patrol because they suck now. So here we go:

1.U2- A band that needs no introduction and no explanations. For three decades, this band has turned art rock in to stadium rock and roots rock in to modern-day hymns. This band is and always will be the greatest. If you disagree with me, I will probably fight you.

2.Thin Lizzy- Seriously, this band is the single most underrated band in music history. Because they never really got big here in the States, most people only know "The Boys Are Back In Town" or "Whiskey In The Jar". But Dublin actually has a statue of late singer Phil Lynott, because the man was adored in Ireland for his poetic lyrics. Lizzy was known for its driving hard rock, but if you read the lyric sheet, you'll find character sketches and storytelling that only Bruce Springsteen did better. "Jailbreak" is probably the best album to listen to before going out for drinks with good friends.

3.The Pogues- Shane MacGowan's known for a lot of things, namely for being perpetually drunk and for his appalling dental hygiene (he used to have teeth, now he has bloody stumps). But the Pogues' frontman deserves credit for grafting Celtic folk onto pub-crawl punk, inspiring the likes of The Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. "Fairytale of New York" remains my favorite Christmas song, a heartwarming tale of being tossed in the drunk tank on Christmas Eve.

4.The Frames- If you saw the movie "Once", you know the power and beauty of Glen Hansard's voice. This band's music is like reading a Rick Moody novel, full of dark beauty and unforgettable words. Gossamer folk-rock meeds haunting postpunk, this band will make every other instantly irrelevant.

5.The Undertones- If you must download one song and one song only, please make it "Teenage Kicks". That song is easily one of the most perfect ever, a stunning rush of adolescent longing. Catchy like the Buzzcocks, cocky like The Jam, this band should have been huge.

And speaking of U2, I'm a little miffed that they aren't coming to South Florida yet. Maybe next leg of the tour?

Adventures In Crate Digging

Sorry for not posting last month, I promise that I'll do better to please my many readers (i.e. Alejo. ) So I'll be writing little blurbs whenever the mood strikes me. Today's blog is about my favorite pasttime, crate-diigging, or vinyl hunting or whatever you want to call it.

I absolutely love thrift stores. The prices are right and the selections can be decent. I am still going nuts over my 50 cent copy of Brian Eno and Robert Fripp's "Evening Star" LP, and I recently found some dope singles at Goodwill last week.

Miami in the 80's was well known for its freestyle music, a mix of hip-hop, R&B and electro that soundtracked clubs and roller rinks. Spearheaded by producers like Pretty Tony and featuring singers like Trinere and Debbie Deb, any decent South Florida DJ should have some in his/her crate. I picked up a copy of Debbie Deb's classic joint "Lookout Weekend" for 25 cents at Goodwill, along with some other singles, and this stuff still kills. I'm looking forward to spinning it soon.