So long, Sinéad O'Connor

[Bob Jersey]

The 56-yr-old singer, known for tearing on-camera a picture of the Pope on "SNL" and giving open-letter career advice to Miley Cyrus, later converted to Islam in 2018, and had just moved back to London after many years, was finishing a new album, and was planning tours... her passing comes a year after her teenage son fatally hung himself, and the Mail  blamed the death on mental-health issues stemming from the suicide...

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/sinead-oconnor-dead-nothing-compares-2-u-1235680724/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12341117/Sinead-OConnor-dead-Irish-music-legend-dies-aged-56-years-mental-health-battles-18-months-17-year-old-son-Shane-passed-away.html (links)

B

[Kevin M.]

When Prince died, I pointed out that my two favorite songs of his were Manic Monday and Nothing Compares To You, and I got flack by Prince-o-philes for disrespecting him, but to me those were his two best songs, and it is neither my fault nor his that other artists did them justice in ways he could not. 

I am a bigger champion of Sinead the person than I am of her music in general, and I have followed her longtime battle with mental health issues and how she just kept trying everything to fight her way through it all. We had a few funny exchanges on social media some years back, and I tried to remain optimistic as she continued to struggle. It’s being written that the passing of her son was more than she could withstand, and I’ve no way of confirming that, but it couldn’t have been easy. 

There were recent posts from her people about new music and new tours and for a brief glimmer it looked like she might rise above it. One of her last online exchanges seems to be of her reaching out to my Grammy nominated stalker. Given what I know of that person, I cannot assume that went well.

In regards to television, Sinead’s two historic contributions will be her single take/single camera music video where she cried on cue, and her performance on Saturday Night Live where she ripped up a picture of the Pope in order to try and draw attention to abuses by Catholic priests. Decades later, pop culture still owes her an apology for raising awareness of an issue years before most other people. There’s no debate that decision destroyed her career, when hindsight revealed she was entirely in the right. 

I saw the Biden administration promised this week to hold insurance companies accountable for including mental health in their standard coverage. I’ve often said — not as an insult but as pure objective fact — that I’ve never met a soul who couldn’t benefit from a few visits with a good therapist. 

I don’t know if my words carry any weight or significance, but if you need help, I encourage you to seek it. I will champion your cause just as I championed Sinead’s. I’ll be your cheerleader… heck, I’ll even wave around pompoms if you think it will help. 

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Kevin M. (RPCV)