This week on The Last Mixed Tape, I explore my personal connection to Kanye West’s Through the Wire, a song that helped me survive a near-fatal accident 20 years ago and reckon with what it means to love a piece of art when the artist behind it becomes indefensible.

Kanye West’s most recent release, featuring praise of Hitler, crosses every line and forces a deeper conversation about artistic intent, freedom of expression, and what we do with the work left behind when creators betray their own legacy.

This episode is about survival, memory, and the uneasy space between loving a song and condemning the person who made it. It’s also about choice and why it should be ours, not the state’s, to make.

00:00 Intro

00:25 Through The Wire

02:21 Kanye

04:25 The Road to Ye

07:26 20 Years Later

09:35 The Art & The Artist

23:13 Moving On

24:52 Conclusions

25:37 Outro

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Irish rapper Mo Chara of Kneecap is facing terror charges in the UK for a performance in London. But what does this case really say about freedom of expression, cultural identity, and the criminalisation of art?

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, I explore the history of artists on trial from John Lennon to Pussy Riot and ask what happens when the state decides where art ends and extremism begins. This is about more than a flag it’s about the boundaries of dissent, the weaponisation of performance, and the ongoing legacy of censorship through legal means.

We’ll look at past precedents, why Mo Chara’s anglicised name was used in the charge, and how artists like the Pogues, Siouxsie Sioux, and Ice-T have walked similar lines before.This is where art, politics, and power collide.

00:00 Intro

00:25 Biko

01:17 Mo Chara

04:00 The Slippery Slope

06:51 Art vs the State

09:25 What this means…

16:04 The Future

17:06 Final Thoughts

17:45 Outro

One of modern music’s most haunting voices is Maria Somerville, whose new album Luster captures the tension between dreams and memory, tradition and distortion.In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen White explores how Irish artists like Somerville, Katie Kim, and Virgins are carrying the echo of shoegaze, dream pop, and drone into something uniquely Irish. With nods to My Bloody Valentine, Joyce, Beckett, and even ancient mythology, this is a story of sound shaped by place where ghost notes linger in every reverb trail.

00:00 Intro00:26 Anthony Bourdain 01:16 Maria Somerville 03:08 The Mythology of Dreams 04:55 Ghosts in the Reverb07:26 Luster Review 14:30 Recurring Dreams?15:55 I Am Certain of Nothing16:58 Outro

From rebel ballads to queer anthems, Irish folk and protest music are being reborn for a new generation. In this episode, we explore how artists like Lankum, Lisa O’Neill, Pillow Queens, the Mary Wallopers, Kneecap, Bambi Thug, and more are reclaiming Irish identity from right-wing ideology, rewriting what Irishness sounds and looks like. ANSEO, here, in the present tense.

We trace the roots of modern protest music, look at the immigrant and LGBTQ+ voices redefining tradition, and ask: in an age of rising fascism, who gets to call themselves Irish?

00:00 Intro

00:25 Seamus Heaney

01:16 ANSEO

02:32 Fighting the Far-Right

03:10 New Voices

04:18 Skinty Fia

05:06 All Voices

06:30 Why?

13:01 Defining Modern Ireland

14:16 The Count of Monte Playlisto’s Irish Music Picks

21:37 Outro

Kneecap are facing calls to be dropped from Glastonbury Festival after backlash over controversial past performances. In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, I explore the deeper implications of this moment not just for Kneecap, but for the future of protest in music.

Using comedian Josh Johnson’s quote “Everything you thought was revolutionary was approved by a corporate lawyer” we look at how true rebellion is often punished once it slips past the gatekeepers.

00:00 Intro

00:25 Josh Johnson

01:17 The Story so far…

04:18 Provoking Art

06:41 Glastonbury

07:58 Why this matters?

17:04 What happens next

17:59 Outro

Kneecap’s explosive Coachella performance wasn’t just a set — it was a protest.When the Belfast rap group called out genocide and colonial violence from one of music’s biggest stages, the backlash was immediate: investigations, media smears, and coordinated attempts to silence them.

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen White breaks down why Kneecap’s protest matters, why real resistance still scares people, and how the music industry loves rebellion — but only when it’s safe and sanitised.

Because protest music doesn’t live in nostalgia — it lives in the now.

00:00 Intro

00:25 James Baldwin

00:58 Kneecap’s Message

02:04 The Backlash

03:00 Kneecap’s Response

04:38 The Festival Facade

05:05 Ireland and Palestine

05:50 Protest

14:25 Art, the communicator

15:45 The Count of Monte Playlisto’s New Irish Music

23:39 Outro

Lana Del Rey has just quietly dropped two haunting new singles: Henry, Come On and Bluebird. In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen White explores the dreamlike mood, stripped-back sound, and emotional undercurrents of these tracks and what they reveal about the next chapter in Lana’s evolution.

From the hushed reverb-drenched acoustics to the unraveling of the American myth she’s long been obsessed with, these songs mark a powerful moment of reflection and release. Are Henry and Bluebird her most personal songs yet? Or are they something even deeper, like a gentle goodbye to the past?

00:00 Intro

00:25 Jack Kerouac

01:43 Lana Del Rey

02:38 Who’s Henry?

03:09 Bluebird fly…

04:01 Henry, Come On & Bluebird Reaction

09:47 Lana’s American Dream

10:38 Lana On The Road

11:01 The Count of Monte Playlisto’s Irish Music Reviews

19:54 Outro

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Bon Iver’s new album SABLE, fABLE feels like a closing chapter—part epilogue, part rebirth. In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, I explore how Justin Vernon blends folk, R&B, ambient, and pop into something both deeply personal and genre-defying.From the quiet intimacy of the Sable EP tracks to the lush pop clarity of Everything Is Peaceful Love, this is Bon Iver’s most emotionally resonant and sonically accessible album in years.I also reflect on my personal connection to Bon Iver’s music—from For Emma, Forever Ago soundtracking heartbreak in Dublin, to the hope and peace found in this new release.00:00 Intro 00:25 Claude Debussy01:31 Finding Bon Iver02:10 The Shape of SABLE, fABLE03:38 Hope in Epilogue 04:26 The Hero’s Journey 10:24 The Count of Monte Playlisto’s Irish Music Reviews17:58 Outro

Drake’s new single Nokia is dominating the charts—but has the long shadow of Kendrick Lamar’s silence redefined what Drake’s success even means?

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen White dives into the power dynamics of the Drake vs Kendrick beef, and asks whether Drake’s legacy is now being shaped by a rivalry he can’t escape.Featuring analysis of Nokia, the history of their lyrical clashes, and what it means to win the narrative in modern hip-hop.

00:00 Intro

00:25 Marcus Aurelius

01:25 Nokia Reception

03:20 Drake’s Image Shift

05:30 Kendrick’s Shadow

06:06 Review

11:29 The Count’s Irish Playlist

18:56 Outro

I’ll admit it—I was wrong about CMAT. When I first heard her early singles like Rodney and I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby, I wasn’t convinced. It felt like the humor was overshadowing the music. But everything changed when I heard If My Wife New I’d Be Dead. From Nashville to Peter Bogdanovich, I finally saw the depth behind the persona. Then came Crazymad, For Me—and by the time Stay For Something became my most-played song of the year, I was hooked.

Now, with her latest single Running / Planning and the upcoming album Euro Country, I’m all in. CMAT is a phenomenal songwriter, balancing wit and raw emotion in a way that few artists can.

Have you ever misjudged an artist, only to completely change your mind later? Let me know in the comments!

00:00 Intro

00:25 Anaïs Nin

01:23 Seeing CMAT

02:38 Going to Nashville

04:02 The Zenith of Stay For Something

04:49 Loving Being Wrong

11:29 The Count’s Irish Playlist

19:08 Outro