Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor passed away last week, ending a chaotic, troubled life and robbing us of one of popular music’s most distinctive and beautiful voices.
I’ve given O’Connor a decent amount of coverage on the blog in the past, but now is a sadly appropriate time to give her a proper deep dive, featuring songs from each of her 10 studio albums. Consider the next two weeks my tribute to a unique and special talent we lost way too soon.
Of all the songs I’m featuring this week and last, Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Mandinka’ is the one I most hope shows up in the next season of Stranger Things.
Like Kate Bush, O’Connor is a unique talent who broke ground for women in rock and recorded music unlike anything else being released at the time. She has had a troubled life and career since her success in the late 80s/early 90s and deserves another moment in the spotlight.
It’s time for another installment of my Decades series, wherein I look at acclaimed and popular albums from a specific year across four decades (70s through 00s). I’ve done the 0s, 1s, 2s, and 3s and I’m partway through the 4s. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be diving into the year 1994.
As usual, I will offer up my own top ten albums from that year, then dive into ten albums I don’t know or don’t know well.
When today’s song popped up as my next random selection, I was shocked to discover I hadn’t written about it already. It’s one of my favorite tracks on a really great album by an artist I’ve featured fairly often.
‘Daddy I’m Fine’ appears on Sinead O’Connor’s 2000 album Faith and Courage, her fifth and quite possibly her best. It’s a quick and clever piece of autobiography with half-spoken choruses building to a thrashing chorus.
Stepping into the ring for the next Montauk Madness battle are a couple of iconic figures from across the pond. Sting (but not The Police) vs. Sinead O’Connor.
Neither of these artists is a slam dunk favorite of mine, but both have put out music I absolutely adore. And both have trailed off later in their careers, making this more of a nostalgia pick.
Meet Me In Montauk 