Explore every episode of the podcast Teenage Wasteland

Arborist joins Teenage Wasteland to trace his journey from growing up in Ballymena in the ’80s and ’90s to making his superb new album, Looking for Love.

We explore a musical education shaped by his parents’ country records, his siblings’ dance and pop collections, and his own discovery of Britpop, Snow Patrol and The Divine Comedy.

From his Pixies-loving first band, Pilgrim, comes a teenage dream realised - collaborating with Kim Deal.

Mark also reflects on The Holy Innocents, becoming Arborist, and how producing Looking for Love himself compared with recording alongside Matthew E. White in Virginia and at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios.

Paddy Hanna joins Teenage Wasteland to talk Thin Lizzy, growing up in Castleknock, childhood horror films and finding his way into music through friendship, Radiohead and an Elvis Costello-inspired guitar. From the wild days of Grand Pocket Orchestra to his solo work, we trace a musical life shaped by curiosity and perseverance. At its heart is his beautiful new album, Paddy Hanna’s Bacharach Show Volume One, out November 20 via Strange Brew. Plus - sharing a stage with Burt Bacharach, and why Tom Waits’ 'Flower’s Grave' is his favourite song of all time.

In this episode of Teenage Wasteland, 'Blue Jay Way' becomes a road into the curious mythology of Los Angeles. From The Beatles and Pink Floyd to Death Grips, Frank Black and the Pixies, Mike Davis’s City of Quartz, David Lynch and Naomi Watts, Chinatown and William Mulholland - we follow a single Hollywood Hills address outward into music, movies, water, power and the city itself - and ask how one Beatles song can contain so much of Los Angeles.

Darren Morrissey and Greg Marshall left Dublin for London with two acoustic guitars, a pile of songs and not much of a plan. What followed was busking, chance encounters, beautiful two-part harmonies, two albums, years on the road - and then, after a final show in Mumbai in 2019, silence.

Now Morrissey & Marshall are back.

In this episode of Teenage Wasteland, we trace the story from their early days in Dublin and the move to London, through being discovered by John Reynolds, recording And So It Began and We Rise, and the strange chemistry that happens when two voices lock together.

Bonnie Bloomgarden of Death Valley Girls joins Teenage Wasteland to talk teenage Los Angeles, ska, discovering Black Sabbath, tracing Sabbath back through blues and jazz, moving to New York, recording with Tommy Ramone, returning to LA, losing her home in the fires, and the hopeful new album Welcome to Earth.

Manchester guitarist Aziz Ibrahim traces his journey from playing pub gigs at twelve to Simply Red, Asia, Hot Chocolate and replacing John Squire in The Stone Roses. He talks Buddy Holly, Bollywood, desi guitar, Ian Brown, Lahore to Longsight, and why originality, for him, is the purest form of imperfection.

Comedian, actor and Hardy Buck, Owen Colgan, takes us through an eclectic Teenage Wasteland from Buck Owens to Pussycat Dolls, Alanis Morissette to Audioslave and from growing up in Bohola , County Mayo to moving to Galway City and meeting the rest of the Hardy Buck crew.

In this episode of Teenage Wasteland, musician Shane Kennedy sits at the heart of a journey through the extraordinary history of 'Dink’s Song'.

From its early twentieth-century origins beside the Brazos River to versions by Pete Seeger, Odetta, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley and others, the episode explores how a traditional song changes as it passes from singer to singer.

Also Shane discusses how he approached the song, what he changed, and what it means to inherit something this old - before performing his version in full.

Dink’s Song’ performed by Shane Kennedy. Recordingused with permission; recording rights cleared for this programme.Research Sources and Further Reading

Books, Archives and Research

John A. Lomax, “Self-Pity in Folk-Songs,” The Nation,1917.

John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, American Ballads and FolkSongs, Macmillan, 1934.
John A. Lomax, Adventures of a Ballad Hunter,Macmillan, 1947.
Francis Lee Utley, “The Genesis and Revival of ‘Dink’s Song’,”1966.
Nolan Porterfield, Last Cavalier: The Life and Times ofJohn A. Lomax, 1867–1948, University of Illinois Press, 1996.

Elijah Wald, Josh White: Society Blues, University ofMassachusetts Press, 2000.

Hamilton Darby Perry, Libby Holman: Body and Soul,Little, Brown, 1983.

American Folklife Center, Library of Congress — John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax collections.

Smithsonian Folkways — archival recordings, liner notes anddiscographical material relating to Pete Seeger, Cisco Houston, Dave Van Ronk and the American folk revival.

The Traditional Ballad Index — entries for “Dink’s Song” and“Careless Love.”

Selected Recordings

Libby Holman with Josh White, 'Fare Thee Well', 1942.

Cisco Houston, 'Dink’s Song', 1954.

Harry Belafonte, 'Fare Thee Well', 1958.

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, 'Dink’s Song', 1958.

Pete Seeger, 'Dink’s Song', 1959.

Dave Van Ronk, 'Dink’s Song', 1961.

Bob Dylan, 'Dink’s Song', recorded 1961; released on TheBootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home, 2005.

Odetta, 'If I Had Wings', 1962.

The Big 3, featuring Cass Elliot, 'Nora’s Dove (Dink’sSong)', 1963.

Joni Mitchell, 'Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)', c. 1963;released on Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 1, 2020.

The Simon Sisters, 'Dink’s Blues', 1960s.

Fred Neil, 'Faretheewell (Fred’s Tune)', 1960s.

Jeff Buckley, 'Dink’s Song', recorded live at Sin-é,1993.

Roger McGuinn with Pete Seeger and Josh White Jr., 'Dink’sSong', 2001.

Frank Black, 'Fare Thee Well', 2006.

Oscar Isaac and Marcus Mumford, 'Fare Thee Well (Dink’sSong)', Inside Llewyn Davis, 2013.

Waylon Jennings, 'Dink’s Blues', posthumously released2025.

Shane Kennedy, 'Dink’s Song', Ireland, 2026.

Film and Television

Cloak and Dagger, dir. Fritz Lang, 1946 —Lilli Palmer performs part of “Dink’s Song.”

Cheyenne, “Fury at Rio Hondo,” 1956 —Peggy Castle performs the song.

Inside Llewyn Davis, dirs.Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013 — features multiple interpretations of “Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song).”

In May 1990, a young David Holmes brought Orbital to Belfast Art College. After the show, Paul Hartnoll handed him a cassette of unfinished demos. Holmes and his friends played one track obsessively while driving around Belfast. It had no title.

That track became 'Belfast'

This episode traces Sugar Sweet, Space Base 4, the arrival of rave culture in Belfast, the Hartnoll brothers before Orbital, 'Chime', the lost cassette and the road to the Green Album.

Research Sources & Further Reading

Conversation with Gareth McConnell

Stuart Bailie, Trouble Songs: Music and Conflict in Northern Ireland, Bloomfield Press, 2018.

Stuart Bailie, 'The Ideal Holmes Exhibition'. Hot Press.

Richard Fitzpatrick, 'Culture That Made Me: David Holmes on Orbital, Sinéad O’Connor and La Dolce Vita', Irish Examiner, 17 June 2024.

Paul Hartnoll, 'Belfast and the Other One', Starting Again, 6 September 2015.

Dray Morgan, 'The Tale Behind Orbital and Their Track ‘Belfast’, District Magazine, 7 June 2024.

'Aural Alchemy: A Brief History of Clubbing in Belfast', Technology Stole My Vinyl, 13 June 2014.

Orbital, Green Album, official Orbital discography.

'How Orbital Created the Blissful Masterpiece ‘Belfast’', 909originals, 7 January 2021.

Stuart Aitken, 'Mistletoe and Chime: The Story of Orbital’s Acid House', The Guardian, 16 December 2013.

'Orbital’s Paul and Phil Hartnoll Look Back', The Guardian, 10 February 2024.

Teenage Wasteland — a podcast about the best music in the world.

Teenage Wasteland enters a new chapter with From the Blaskets to the Bronx - a researched audio documentary centred on the extraordinary Mícheál Ó Gaoithín and the strange routes by which stories, sounds and memories survive.

From the oral tradition of the Blaskets to Kool Herc’s breakbeats, Endtroducing…..and the making of Ryan’s Daughter, this is a story about fragments being carried forward and made new.

Research Sources and Further Reading

The Blaskets, Oral Tradition and Folklore

Paul Hockings and Mark McCarty, The Village — filmed in Dún Chaoin in 1967 and released in 1968.

National Folklore Collection, UCD, and Dúchas.ie.

Mícheál Ó Gaoithín, A Pity Youth Does Not Last: Reminiscences of the Last of the Great Blasket Island’s Poets and Storytellers, translated by Tim Enright.

Robin Flower, The Western Island, or the Great Blasket.

Muiris Ó Súilleabháin, Twenty Years A-Growing, translated by Moya Llewelyn Davies and George Thomson.

James Stewart, comp., Boccaccio in the Blaskets.

Bo Almqvist, “The Mysterious Mícheál Ó Gaoithín, Boccaccio and the Blasket Tradition: Reflections Occasioned by James Stewart’s Boccaccio in the Blaskets,” Béaloideas 58, 1990, pp. 75–140.

The Irish Folklore Commission and the work of Seán Ó Súilleabháin.

An Claidheamh Soluis, the Gaelic League newspaper.

Hip-Hop, Technology and Cultural Memory

Jeff Chang, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation.

Tricia Rose, Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America.

Mark Katz, Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music.

Nelson George, Hip Hop America.

Archival interviews and material concerning Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation.

DJ Shadow and Sampling

Conversation with The Expert.

DJ Shadow, Endtroducing….. (1996).

Doug Pray, dir., Scratch (2001).

Eliot Wilder, DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing….., 33⅓ series.

Mark Richardson, “DJ Shadow on the Music That Made Him,” Pitchfork, 2020.

David Lean, Film and Adaptation

Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary.

T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago.

Kevin Brownlow, David Lean: A Biography.

Paul Benedict Rowan, Making Ryan’s Daughter: The Myths, Madness and Mastery.

Specific Steven Spielberg interviews discussing David Lean and Lawrence of Arabia.

Filmmaker Paul Duane looks back on growing up in Cashel, the books, music and cinema that shaped him, and the barely existent Irish film industry he entered in the 1980s. He talks about finding his way as a director and also discusses The Pogues, the flamboyant English artist Sebastian Horsley and the genius of Martin Scorsese.

Jack from The Bracknall delivers a headlong Teenage Wasteland across growing up in Romford, Essex; the influence of Oasis, The Verve, & The Who; as well as first gig, first album and the punk spark that started the band.

He also talks about the band's new EP coming in October and their massive KOKO Camden show this December.

David Keenan delivers a fantastic Teenage Wasteland, through his Dundalk adolescence of family artistic education, war poets, The La’s, early songs and first stages, tracing the long route from teenage intensity to A Beginner’s Guide to Bravery and a remarkable current creative streak.

Liverpool songwriter and front man of Pele and Amsterdam, Ian Prowse delivers an illuminating Teenage Wasteland across growing up in Ellesmere Port, his first band Joseph Groome Towers and his brilliant new album No Names.

Cliffords deliver a fantastic Teenage Wasteland across genesis and evolution in Cork; a myriad of influences and insights into their creative process.

HamsandwicH deliver a rather brilliant Teenage Wasteland across the formation of the band, the release of their debut album and then the sophomore that propelled them to becoming one of Ireland's most cherished bands.

Twice Mercury Prize nominated Nick Mulvey delivers a blasting Teenage Wasteland across growing up in Cambridge, attending music school in Havana, studying ethnomusicology in London, forming Portico Quartet and releasing his debut solo album.

Engine Alley's Canice Kenealy delivers an encyclopaedicTeenage Wasteland combining a multitude of sounds and influences across the band's history, debut album A Sonic Holiday and its follow-up Shot in The Light.

Dodgy deliver a blasting Teenage Wasteland across growing up in Worcestershire, bonding over The The, moving down to London, forming the band, releasing seminal records and their most recent album, the brilliant Hello Beautiful.

In an early summer afternoon in Dublin, we sat down in the home of Camille O'Sullivan for a wide-ranging conversation about music, performance and artistic identity. What began as a discussion about the records and artists that shaped her teenage years quickly moved into a close look at her working method and the emotional intensity she brings to performance.

Hotly tipped for 2026, The Cases deliver a blasting Teenage Wasteland across their myriad influences, forming the band, first gigs, first songs and recording their debut EP.

West Virginia wordsmith John R. Miller delivers an illuminating Teenage Wasteland across The Replacements, My Bloody Valentine, Dylan the roots of Appalachian folk.

Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and absolute gent Odhran Murphy delivers an illuminating Teenage Wasteland about growing up in the County Armagh, his songs achieving multi-million streams and recording his new EP, Roots & Reverie in Nashville.

Seán Millar, known to many as Doctor Millar, delivers an illuminating Teenage Wasteland across Dylan, Scullion, Leonard Cohen, Planxty, The Velvet Underground and much more.

Mike Hanrahan of the legendary Stockton's Wing delivers an incredible Teenage Wasteland about growing up in Ennis, Co. Clare; being influenced by a myriad of music genres, his rock band Effigy, early Tumbleweed Days, the sonic mechanics of Stockton's and later touring with the incredibly great Ronnie Drew.

Former Turn frontman and now solo artist, Ollie Cole delivers a brilliant Teenage Wasteland across his former three bands - Black Hawks, Swampshack & Turn.

Junk Drawer's Brian Coney delivers a rather brilliant Teenage Wasteland across The Specials, Pixies, Nirvana, The Smiths & Phillip Glass.

Power of Dreams' Craig Walker delivers a blasting Teenage Wasteland about growing up in Dublin with a love for The Jam, The Smiths and A House; forming Power of Dreams, releasing their debut EP on Setanta before signing for Polydor, releasing the band's debut album and touring the world with The Mission - all while still just a teenager.

Acclaimed alt-folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dani Larkin delivers a powerful Teenage Wasteland across growing up in rural Armagh, the Belfast music scene, her work as a Conflict Transformation Facilitator in Palestine and her brilliant new album Next of Kin.

Acclaimed singer songwriter and former lead vocalist of State Lights, Shobsy, delivers an illuminating Teenage Wasteland, chatting about his early love of U2, the effect of the cinematic genius of David Lynch on his work and performing with David Bowie's band at the 3Arena in Dublin.

David Geraghty delivers a fantastic Teenage Wasteland about growing up in Leixlip with two musician parents and a great record collection. He talks about learning guitar and writing songs young; his early bands and joining Juniper, the band that would morph into the magnificent Bell X1.

Songwriter, musician and raconteur, Fiach Moriarty, delivers a fantastic Teenage Wasteland - from learning the fiddle in school, growing up in a house with classical music, Irish folk records and early rock and roll to having the doors blown off by Nirvana.

In addition to detailing the creative process on his album Liberties, a record rooted in Dublin's past and his own family history, Fiach shares what it was like to join Horslips, the band that invented Celtic Rock.

On this episode of Teenage Wasteland, we’re diving into the story of a songwriter whose work helped define some of the most elegant, emotionally direct songs of late-’80s British pop - Mark Nevin of Fairground Attraction.

The band won BRIT Awards, topped the charts, and seemed poised for a long career at the top. And then, just as quickly, they were gone.

But Mark Nevin’s story didn’t end there. He went on to become one of the most respected songwriters in British music, working with artists like Morrissey, David Bowie, Ringo Starr, Sandie Shaw and many others.

However this is Teenage Wasteland — the place where we go back to the beginning.

We’ll be talking about Mark’s teenage years - picking up his first guitar, watching the Moon Landing unfold on television while discovering The Beatles, seeing Bowie perform Starman on TV, cutting his teeth in working men’s clubs, and eventually making the leap to London.

One of the great survivors of Rock & Roll, Eamonn Dowd, delivers a blasting Teenage Wasteland, from his teenage years in the County Mayo through to student days in early-80s Galway and the formation of this early bands - The Vibration Squad, New Testament and The Swinging Swine.

On the eve of their UK & European Tour, Them Flying Monkeys deliver a swift but superb Teenage Wasteland, covering growing up in Sintra right through the release of their most recent album, Best Behaviour.

Joe Rooney - comedian, writer, broadcaster, and former frontman of Irish band Guernica - delivers a brilliant Teenage Wasteland across schooldays in County Meath, the 1980s Dublin music scene; and his early comedy career, including landing his iconic role in Fr. Ted.

Pete Holidai - the guitarist, tone-architect, and street-level romantic behind The Radiators from Space, the band thattook a grey late-70s Dublin and lit it neon with TV Tube Heart and Ghostown - delivers an illuminating Teenage Wasteland across Bolan & Bowie, London & Dublin.

Duglas T. Stewart, head buck cat of BMX Bandits, delivers an enchanting Teenage Wasteland across the teenage years that shaped his sincerity, his songwriting, and the Bellshill scene that changed indie music.

Duglas opens up about creativity, vulnerability, friendship, and the power of staying soft in a hard world; in a warm, nostalgic and emotionally rich conversation from one of Scotland’s most beloved musical outsiders.

On the promotional trail, for her seventh studio album, Pale Bloom and subsequent European & UK Tour, Lucy Kruger, head buck cat of Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys, delivers a fascinating Teenage Wasteland about growing up in Johannesburg.

A multi-instrumentalist and songwriter - back in the mid-80s, Ger Eaton's first band Premonition were signed to EMI. Later, Ger formed psychedelic outfit Las Vegas Basement; was a member of Les Marionettes and The Carnival Brothers and is currently a member of Irish music royalty The Pale. He delivers an intriguing Teenage Wasteland and chats about his debut solo album Season Changes.

Writer, poet, mental health advocate and proud Cork man Daragh Fleming delivers an enriching Teenage Wasteland across poets Derek Mahon, Seamus Heaney, Frank O'Hara; Hip-Hop & AC/DC; the art that is basketball and chats about his recent book - A Brief Inhalation.

In anticipation of his fourth solo record, Take Me Back to Nowhere, AS Fanning delivers an illuminating Teenage Wasteland, describing gigging from the tender age of 12 and the formation of his first band, Porn Trauma across a soundtrack that includes Gram Parsons, Air, The Strokes and The White Stripes; the movies of The Coen Brothers and Wes Anderson and latterly the books of JG Ballard and the city of Berlin.

Andy Nolan's musical journey is a testament to the vibrant Irish music scene in London. Starting with the tin whistle at St. Augustine's Parish Hall, Andy's passion for music was ignited early on. By the age of 13, he was already gigging with adult bands, immersing himself in the rich cultural tapestry of Irish music.

Andy grew up up in a household filled with Irish ballads - artists like Johnny McAvoy and the Wolf Tones - while he developed a love of hip hop - Public Enemy, Cypress Hill & House of Pain and a love of bands such as The Charlatans and Oasis.

Andy delivers a boss Teenage Wasteland, chatting about playing with Shane MacGowan & The Popes and BibleCodeSundays and talks about his new book - Green Bloods: The Gripping True Story of How the Irish Rose to Top of London's Underworld.

Songwriter, rapper and spoken word artist, Paro Pablo, delivers a blasting Teenage Wasteland about growing up in Finglas, getting involved in the nascent Dublin hip hop scene, the various bands and outfits he performed with, his hiatus from music before his recent return with a series of boss EP's.

On the promotion trail for his sixth album, All the World Is Running on a Mystic Code, Peter Doran delivers an entertaining Teenage Wasteland, through the Golden Age of the Mullingar music scene; across Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Damien Rice; and even plucks out a guitar and delivers a cracking version of album track 'Mystic Code'.

The always interesting, forever enigmatic, shapeshifting Throwing Snow delivers an expansive, surprising and brilliant Teenage Wasteland - taking in earthtone 9, Pennywise, Aphex Twin, Photek, Xpolding Plastix and Godspeed You! Black Emperor - among a heap of other good stuff.

Matthew Devereux delivers a brilliant Teenage Wasteland and for good reason. Firstly, his band The Pale's debut album - Here's One We Made Earlier - was primarily written when Matthew was a teenager and secondly, his latest solo album, Keep Sketch, is written almost exclusively about his teenage years; and he describes in detail the making of both of those records in this episode.

Actor, singer-songwriter and brilliant raconteur Niall McNamee delivers an honest and illuminating playlist across The Jam, Frank Sinatra, Jamie T, Kaiser Chiefs, Christy Moore, Green Day and The Pogues; while also detailing the massive 2025 that awaits him with the release of his debut album, an extensive UK & Ireland tour and starring in the upcoming movie Saipan, starring Steve Coogan and Éanna Hardwicke.

Playlist

1. The Jam – A Town Called Malice (1982)
2. Frank Sinatra – I’ll Never Smile Again (1940)
3. Jamie T – Sticks + Stones (2009)
4. Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict a Riot (2004)

5. Christy Moore – Ordinary Man (1985)

6. Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia (2005)

7. The Pogues – A Pair of Brown Eyes (1985)

Power siblings Dee & Sean Mulrooney; two artists, performers and activists originally from Donaghmede in North Dublin, deliver a boss Teenage Wasteland across Prince, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, The Verve, Primal Scream & Led Zeppelin.

Dee and Sean wonderfully describe growing up in Donaghmede, a cultural oasis that included seminal music influences which contributed to Sean setting up the mighty Humanzi and later Tau & the Drones of Praise; and Dee manifesting her alter-ego Growler, an 82 year-old, drum-banging, shamanic alchemist who transmutes women's pain through storytelling, song and spoken word.

A gremlin in Sean's audio towards the end of the recording, unfortunately means that he drops out, but not before delivering a fantastic Teenage Wasteland.

Playlist

1. Prince - Sometimes it Snows in April (1986)

2. Kate Bush - This Woman's Work (1988)

3. Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now (1969)

4. The Verve - History (1995)

5. Primal Scream - Shoot Speed/Kill Light (2000)

6. Led Zeppelin - In My Time of Dying (1975)

Writer, presenter, public speaker, soon to be a Channel 4 TV-host, advocate for self-love and absolute legend Jono Lancaster delivers a blasting Teenage Wasteland across Radiohead, John Denver, The Verve, James, Foo Fighters & Roger Sanchez

Playlist

1. Radiohead - Creep (1992)

2. John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads (1971)

3. The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony (1997)

4. James - Sit Down (1991)

5. Foo Fighters - My Hero (1998)

6. Roger Sanchez - Another Chance (2001)