E344 - Mekons' Jon Langford - Top 5 Songs of the Sea
Only Three Lads - Classic Alternative Music PodcastShow Notes
Ahoy, mateys! This week, we hoist the sails for a swashbuckling, deadline-fueled speed date with a genuine punk legend: Jon Langford of The Mekons (as well as The Three Johns, Waco Brothers, and Men of Gwent). We catch up with Jon somewhere in upstate New York next to a farm stand selling tomatoes and honey (which Jon assures us is "quite civilized").
The Mekons are going on 50 years as a band, from their chaotic early days on the Leeds art-punk scene to classic records like 1985's Fear and Whiskey and 1989's The Mekons Rock n' Roll. And they're still making great and very relevant music. Jon dives into their new dub companion album Horror-able — a wild reimagining of 2025's Horror - by Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu), done with zero input from the band on what the songs were "supposed" to sound like.
We go full nautical with our list of Songs of the Sea this week — including a shockingly filthy history lesson and the mythology of sirens and selkies.
Special thanks to Josh Mills from It's Alive Media for the introduction and coordination.
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