Dan Hegarty: On My Culture Radar

Current favourite book

With Wimbledon just finished, I started reading John McEnroe’s autobiography. It’s interesting because it talks about how the modern game began, and it’s quite self-critical and self-deprecating. He always struck me as an interesting character. Also, I’ve just started reading Babylon’s Burning: From Punk to Grunge by Clinton Heylin. I’m only on page four, but I’m curious to see what the link is in their mind. I’m also hoping to come across some references to music I haven’t heard of, that’s always refreshing.

Restaurant

In Dunmore East, you need to be eating seafood, and Spinnaker is one of the best places to go. The atmosphere is great, it’s like you’re sitting on the lower deck of a ship. You’ve got to try the battered cod and chips – you’re eating fish hauled from a boat that morning, so it tastes nicer than shop-bought fish. If you’re coeliac, which I am, they do a gluten-free version.

Comedian

Joe Rogan. His stand-up is so brilliant, he’s so sharp. I used to watch a lot of his MMA commentary, and I loved his quips. It takes a special kind of mind to come up with the things he does. Like there’s a Croatian fighter called Mirko Cro Cop who’d walk out to Wild Boys by Duran Duran, and one time Joe called him “the toughest Duran Duran fan in the world”. He’s got a quick wit about him.

Play/musical

I saw Stomp three years ago at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, and that stood out. It’s a cast of performers essentially making sounds from everyday objects. I’d always wanted to see it, so I was delighted it came to Ireland. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. It blew my mind how they made the noises.

Violent Femmes: Hotel Last Resort review – a meandering effort

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Of Monsters and Men: Fever Dream review – Living in a land of confusion

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Ada Lea: What We Say in Private review – facing sadness with a knowing smile

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Artist/designer

The Irish photographer Ruth Medjber just keeps getting better. I thought she was brilliant to start with and I've loved to see her progress with exhibitions, and working with huge bands like Arcade Fire. Talking to her, you realise that she's constantly researching the technology and the skill. She's really hungry, and if she keeps going the way she is, she's going to be one of those internationally renowned photographers.

Album

From last year, there was Dear Annie from Rejjie Snow. That was remarkable in its production, vocal, songwriting – he just nailed it. From this year, Fontaines DC’s Dogrel. They’ve done really well and you can almost hear the knives sharpening, but they’re such a tight unit that they’ll rise above it. I also keep going back to Led Zeppelin’s III, Maxinquaye by Tricky, Zooropa by U2, and The B52s self-titled first album. It’s like aliens landed on the earth, made and album and said “here, have a listen”.

City

Groningen, the home of the Eurosonic music festival, has a beautiful charm. Like a lot of places in Holland, there are bikes everywhere. You can hop on a bike and explore around the city, and there’s something liberating about that. I’d recommend going to Vera, the iconic venue that hosted gigs from U2 and Nirvana among others. They write their gigs of the year on the wall, and I think Virgin Prunes got 1981, and Villagers got 2011.

Actor

I think Saoirse Ronan is just so versatile. I remember watching Hanna when it happened to be on TV, and I thought she was brilliant in it. My other favourite is Morgan Freeman. You could listen to him read the phone book. Again, it’s because of his versatility, and you never, for a second, feel he’s acting in a role. The obvious film to watch of his is Shawshank Redemption. His narrative makes the film a thousand times better.

Podcast

I love the Irish Music Industry Podcast by Mark Graham, from King Kong Company, an incredible live band. The podcast is relatively new. He interviews people across music: musicians, people in radio, production – every aspect. Although I work in it, I still find out new things.

Gadget

I dug out my iPod recently and it still works. Because it limits the choice, it makes me choose my old favourite albums that I might not listen to otherwise, like My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless and a few of Saul Williams’ albums.

Social media profile

Fact magazine on Twitter (@FACTmag) is always good for unusual music stuff.

TV show

I love documentaries, like Forbidden Histories with Jamie Theakston. The most recent one was about secret societies, but they’ve also covered secret service organisations and the stolen art in the second World War. Certain ones are better than others and they tend to speak to the same people, but they all know what they’re talking about. I also have to give a nod to Other Voices, which is always showcasing new acts and new Irish acts – that’s so important.

Dan Hegarty’s Selective Retrospective – Irish Albums Then & Now is available to stream on Soundcloud.