Sinead

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Dear Sinead,

I am super sorry things are hard for you now. I don’t know what to say exactly but I want to say something. I guess I want to say thank you for your wonderful music and just for being who you are. I always loved you from the moment I heard you and saw you and you made me feel like I existed and like I mattered and that it was okay and actually very glamorous and proper and righteous to be angry about things and that’s a nice lesson that you taught a whole generation of girls who are now women who when we are mad about stuff will get all up in peoples face about it and that is really down to you and your legacy and what you said and did. Thanks for that.

It’s a lot more than most people ever do or ever have done. You gave us a voice and a right to an opinion and permission to cause a big fuss and kick everybody right in the ass and not apologize or spin it or give in or give up. I listen to all your records and I will always because you are talented beyond measure but I think that being as good as you are comes with a heavy tariff of trouble and I am not saying that as a judge I am saying that as a fan of great art and I know great artists have always had it rough. It’s not easy to be the bearer of these gifts as the world never appreciates them right away or in the right way and you never fully recoup all that you have invested which I can tell when I hear you sing is all of you.

I think about the video for Nothing Compares 2 u and really nothing does compare to your beauty which is still true today. Who among any star could just stare into the lens and sing and that alone is enough? Nothing compares.

When you ripped up the pope’s picture I thought it was so cool and amazing and daring, and you started this idea of questioning and cross-examining authority and institutions and what was regarded as sacred you wanted to show was actually profane and you revealed the depraved and helped the deprived and I think you were ahead of your time because this is what happens now. We question and cross-examine everything now. nothing is sacred and I think that is better because we can’t just blindly trust. Blind trust leads to taken advantage of. I am pretty sure you started that idea, in case you didn’t know. I am pretty sure.

I am not in the know of particulars or facts, and I don’t know what is happening with you or to you. People talk online about things, and that will always be the case. People talk. I don’t care. I just know that I love you, and that I always will, and that I would shave my head and have shaved my head in solidarity with you and you built a mighty castle with your legacy and your words and your songs and we, the young girls of the world who are now grown but young in our heart, live in it still and the view, well, it’s astonishing.

Best, m

PS. My favorite song today is “daddy I’m fine”. Makes me cry. xo

13 thoughts on “Sinead

  1. Best. Run-on. Sentence. EVER.

    I was never much of a fan of her music, but for her epic fearlessness I have nothing but admiration. Truly, a brave soul.

    Like you.

  2. Yes!! Sinead was such a kick in the pants to me as a girl growing up in a family where I was supposed to be seen and not heard and pretty and never ask questions. Sinead turned that all on its head and I delighted in feeling the flood gates open. But I hope you know Margaret, you do this for many of us as well. Inspire us to raise our voices and our hands just a bit higher. Thank you to you both!

  3. thank you so much for posting this. You’ve taken the words out of my mouth. btw – I’ve admired your bravery in a similar way for years. -k

  4. Thank you, Margaret (one of my favorite people), for this shout out to one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. Sinead is an awesome inspiration and she is an incredible talent, with a voice once compared to being french kissed by an angel. I love, love, love her (and you, Margaret!) and was lucky enough to see her perform live (and hope to see you one day, too!). May you both be blessed for the joy you bring the world!

  5. Thank you Margaret. Sinead is being tracked like a fox by bloodthirsty hounds right now. Everyone has some nasty comment to make. Most criticism starts with “OMG She looks old” or “fat” or “crazy” on and on.

    Being a strong woman, being yourself is most certainly a radical act. I am grateful to Sinead for her beautiful work and for not letting fear and abuse silence her powerful and true voice. I feel the same way about you dear woman. So much love Margaret.

  6. Thank you, Margaret, for this tribute to the amazing Sinead O’Connor. I was glad to see you mention a song from one of her post nineties releases…nothing irritates me more than seeing comments about her as a “one hit wonder” when she’s in the news for her personal life instead of her music. In reality she has been releasing music pretty consistently since her “peak,” and though it may not all be to my taste, it’s all out there because she needs it to exist. That to me is as much a testimony to her fearlessness as any of the more publicly defiant gestures she has made. And as I am sure you know, she is still beautiful, and tattooed! That was another point of irritation for me too—the “fat” photos that surfaced late last summer. She is herself, as the Irish say, and to me there is nothing shocking or surprising about someone brave enough to exist in her own skin.

  7. I love that you are a warrior spirit empowering and strengthening women and that you are like the Fates all combined into one. Sometimes you are the Maiden, a firefly of joyful expression, a laughing goddess and teasing spirit. Sometimes you are the Mother, nurturing, loving to those in need, wrathful and powerful against those who would hurt. Then you are the Crone, wise beyond your years, thoughtful and mysterious, and old soul that is traveling the universe. All these are aspects that we should embrace in all the facets of our lives and you are helping so many to do that with your thoughtful words that sit like a juice peach waiting to be devoured. Don’t ever stop. Keep being Margaret Cho.

  8. There aren’t enough artists like Sinead and yourself. It is so much easier to just be commercial and shallow. I too was inspired by her daring. Perhaps it is my imagination but it seems that it is becoming harder to speak out, without a lot of consequences. I hope things improve for Sinead, and that she avoids becoming yet another casualty.

    • I guess my emojis didn’t show up. I found this post today while reminiscing about beloved Sinéad. I’m broken-hearted. May she Rest in Power.

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