Fontaines D.C. knew the songs — but Grian’s look nearly stole the game
Hottie in the white tank and hair clips, Grian Chatten, and fellow stellar Fontaines D.C. band member Carlos O’Connell hit the streets of New York for Track Star* — and yes, before we even get to the music knowledge, we need to discuss the look.
Because Grian is giving very specific “I feel cute today” energy here. White tank. Hair clips. Completely unbothered. And we cannot prove Carlos styled him for the interview, but standing next to one of the band’s most fashion-forward members? The suspicion is there. Consider it our purely visual INYIM theory.
Then the game starts, and suddenly it becomes clear these two did not show up to bluff their way through a music quiz. The Strokes, Thin Lizzy, The Libertines, Ramones, The Pogues, New Order, The Stooges, Sonic Youth, The Stranglers and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins all come flying at them — and the boys keep answering.
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Fontaines D.C. Know Their Records
Track Star turns a New York street quiz into a crash course in the records that helped shape Grian Chatten and Carlos O’Connell.
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The Strokes hit first — and Grian admits he wanted to be them
The first New York layup is The Strokes’ “The Way It Is.” Grian gets it, then admits he loved the band growing up and “imitated the living hell out of them” for a while — right down to trying to walk like them.
It is exactly the kind of answer that makes this format fun. You are not just getting a correct artist name; you are hearing the little bits of fandom that sat underneath Fontaines D.C. before Fontaines D.C. became the band everyone else started studying.
Thin Lizzy brings the boys straight back to Dublin
Then comes Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak,” and the conversation turns homeward. Carlos and Grian immediately recognize the band, with Grian saying they had actually been watching Phil Lynott’s “Old Town” video on the way over — the one with Lynott wandering around Dublin and getting recognized in the streets.
From there the references pile up fast. They clock The Libertines from the opening scream, talk about recently running into drummer Gary Powell on the Tube, and then dispatch Ramones without much trouble.
The Pogues nearly break the streak — then New Order saves thee nerves
The closest call comes with The Pogues’ “Love You ’Till the End.” There is a brief panic over the mandolin before the answer lands. Grian immediately knows how bad missing that one would have looked: “That would have been really embarrassing.” Correct.
They recover with New Order’s “Ceremony”, correctly connecting the post-Joy Division dots, before The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” opens the door for Carlos to confess that, as a Spanish speaker who learned English at 18, he used to pronounce the band as “the Sto-ies.”
Honestly, that only makes us like him more.
Sonic Youth, The Stranglers and a very Fontaines D.C. ending
Sonic Youth’s “Bull in the Heather” keeps the run alive, followed by The Stranglers’ “Peaches.” That one pulls out another piece of band history: Grian remembers getting into The Stranglers during Fontaines D.C.’s early Garage Bar days in Dublin, when their manager Trev ran the influential spot and the band would sometimes DJ there.
By the time Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” arrives, the prize pot has climbed to $2,560. Instead of plotting a spectacular New York night out, the band chooses to send the winnings toward Doctors Without Borders for Palestine. Track Star still hands them some cash for beers. Everybody wins.
And somehow the whole thing ends with a possible family reunion
As if the music game had not gone sideways enough, the final minutes turn into genealogy. Grian tells the host he reminds him of someone from school, they start comparing Irish family names, and suddenly both sides discover Coyne/Coin connections in the family tree.
Are they actually related? Nobody proves a thing. But after six minutes of Strokes worship, Thin Lizzy, Queens geography, mispronounced Stooges, charity winnings and hair-clip excellence, “maybe we’re cousins” feels like exactly the right ending.
This Episode’s Track List
- “The Way It Is” — The Strokes
- “Jailbreak” — Thin Lizzy
- “Up the Bracket” — The Libertines
- “Beat on the Brat” — Ramones
- “Love You ’Till the End” — The Pogues
- “Ceremony” — New Order
- “I Wanna Be Your Dog” — The Stooges
- “Bull in the Heather” — Sonic Youth
- “Peaches” — The Stranglers
- “I Put a Spell on You” — Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
More From Fontaines D.C.’s Track Star Challenge
The remaining images capture more of Grian Chatten and Carlos O’Connell’s New York music-quiz run.
The whole appearance is a reminder that Fontaines D.C.’s references are not some carefully assembled press-kit mood board. These records are in there. They know them, joke about them, remember where they first heard them — and then casually donate the winnings at the end.
Watch Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten and Carlos O’Connell on Track Star
The New York challenge runs just under seven minutes, with Grian and Carlos identifying 10 tracks while talking Strokes, Thin Lizzy, The Pogues, Sonic Youth and more.
Sources: Track Star / Public Opinion; NME.
