Lost In Music: The Smiths- Paint A Vulgar Picture

Since Sinead O’Connor sadly passed away last week, I’ve been thinking about her a lot, as so many of us have. This strong but fragile, beautiful and tough woman, so troubled with so much shit and abuse from her childhood, casting a long shadow. Gifted people are often the most troubled – a cliche because it’s true.

But I was also ruminating on another fallen from favour singer, Morrissey, and his assertion of how people spout eulogies when the person has passed away. He was right. It’s not often I agree with him these days (What’s going on with you, man? What happened?) He listed talented, beautiful women who’d been wronged: “Who cared enough to save Judy Garland, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Marilyn Monroe, Billie Holliday?”

” …(Sinead) couldn’t be boxed up, she had the courage to speak up when everybody else stayed safely silent. She was harassed simply for being herself. Her eyes finally closed in search of a soul she could call her own”. He then points out that she’s being painted as “an icon” when nastier words were used before.

True words, Morrissey…And if there’s further proof needed of the fact there’s a Smiths song for every occasion, Paint A Vulgar Picture springs to mind immediately. “At the record company meeting, on their hands, a dead star”, because caustically digging at the corporate greed of reissuing music to line their coffers seems so very, very timely when the human behind the music is gone… Time for a reappraisal….”Extra track and a tacky badge… World tour. ..media whore, please the press in Belgium “… Or perhaps most cuttingly:”The sycophantic slags of fame, ‘ I knew him first and I knew him well ‘ “…

I’m glad I don’t actually make money off this blog. Please, Sinead ‘s record company, don’t reissue any more of her music. Respect her wishes. Thanks The Smiths, and Sinead again, for your integrity.