With the passing of whiskey-and-cigarette voiced Shane MacGowan Nov. 30 at age 65, and the annual Christmas season drunken favorite, “Fairytale of New York,” people are remembering The Pogues once again.

Yet the Pogues had been around since the early 80s, first blasting their groundbreaking brand of Irish punk under the name Pogue Mahone (a variation of an old Gaelic phrase meaning “kiss my ass”). Eventually, they became The Pogues, and have influenced countless bands and musicians. I first heard these guys in collage and pretty much mainlined their music through my undergraduate years.

It was the title hit from If I Should Fall From Grace with God that got me hooked:

Eventually, I purchased all the Pogues albums I could, and these discs are filled with some wild gems, from party songs to old standards. Here, for your Sunday Jams, are some favorites:

…and even when MacGowan was absent for a time, they still had some nice tunes with Spider Stacy in the vocals:

Don’t forget to lift a glass to Shane and the boys this fine Sunday.