The Last Mixed Tape

Written in response to the deaths of two children during the Troubles, The Cranberries’ Zombie became one of the defining rock songs of the 1990s. More than thirty years later, it has taken on a life of its own from protest anthem to international hit to rugby stadium singalong.
But can a song mean something different to everyone who hears it without losing sight of the tragedy that inspired it?
We explore the story behind Zombie, Dolores O’Riordan’s anger, and the complicated legacy of a song that belongs to all of us.

Art After the Apocalypse
From Fontaines D.C. and Rosalía to Phoebe Bridgers, Digger and Metallica, this episode explores how music, film and art respond to a world shaped by political extremism, environmental destruction, economic inequality and the machinery of modern distraction.
As the apocalypse becomes an increasingly familiar part of everyday life, we ask what art is for: a refuge from the world outside, a warning about where we’re heading, or a way to imagine something beyond it?

James Hetfield says Metallica are here to entertain, not influence people with politics. But can you separate the music from the world that gave it meaning?
From Master of Puppets and …And Justice for All to “One” and “Don’t Tread on Me”, we explore Metallica’s complicated relationship with power, war and political expression. As the band bring their music to the Las Vegas Sphere, we ask whether an artist can spend decades singing about control and corruption, then leave those ideas at the door.
A video essay from The Last Mixed Tape about music, art, politics and the strings that pull us along.

On Dopamine Chamber, Fontaines D.C. construct a seductive, apocalyptic world of electronic textures, cinematic grandeur and unsettling beauty. It’s a bold evolution for a band whose journey from the restless streets of Dogrel to the theatrical universe of Romance has continually challenged expectations.
In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, we explore the haunting beauty of “Where Is Gone?”, the significance of Rosalía’s first collaboration with the band, and the Irish identity that continues to shape their music. Through the lens of David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, we consider the relationship between music, memory, technology and the worlds we construct around ourselves.

Shane MacGowan changed Irish music by changing what Irishness was allowed to sound like.
From the traditional songs of his childhood in Tipperary to the collision of Irish folk and punk that created The Pogues, Shane MacGowan spent his life challenging the boundaries of Irish culture.
He was accused of corrupting Irish music. Instead, he helped redefine it.
The Pogues gave voice and dignity to an Irish diaspora living between countries, while Shane’s own understanding of Irish identity was never confined by borders. Decades later, a new generation of Irish artists from Lankum and The Mary Wallopers to Madra Salach and Fontaines D.C. are taking that same restless relationship with tradition in entirely different directions.

The Sickbed of MacGowan is an exploration of Shane MacGowan, The Pogues, Irish music, Irish identity and the musicians continuing to tear open the boundaries of what Irish culture can be.