Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters
eBook - ePub

Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters

  1. 232 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters

About this book

A stirring defense of Sinéad O'Connor's music and activism, and an indictment of the culture that cancelled her.

In 1990, Sinéad O'Connor's video for "Nothing Compares 2 U" turned her into a superstar. Two years later, an appearance on Saturday Night Live turned her into a scandal. For many people—including, for years, the author—what they knew of O'Connor stopped there. Allyson McCabe believes it's time to reassess our old judgments about Sinéad O'Connor and to expose the machinery that built her up and knocked her down.

Addressing triumph and struggle, sound and story, Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters argues that its subject has been repeatedly manipulated and misunderstood by a culture that is often hostile to women who speak their minds (in O'Connor's case, by shaving her head, championing rappers, and tearing up a picture of the pope on live television). McCabe details O'Connor's childhood abuse, her initial success, and the backlash against her radical politics without shying away from the difficult issues her career raises. She compares O'Connor to Madonna, another superstar who challenged the Catholic Church, and Prince, who wrote her biggest hit and allegedly assaulted her. A journalist herself, McCabe exposes how the media distorts not only how we see O'Connor but how we see ourselves, and she weighs the risks of telling a story that hits close to home.

In an era when popular understanding of mental health has improved and the public eagerly celebrates feminist struggles of the past, it can be easy to forget how O'Connor suffered for being herself. This is the book her admirers and defenders have been waiting for.

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Yes, you can access Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters by Allyson McCabe in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Music. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters
  3. Series Page
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Contents
  8. Prologue
  9. Framing
  10. Take 1
  11. The Lion and the Cobra
  12. As Seen on MTV
  13. Rock-’n’-Roll Cassandra
  14. SPINning Sinéad
  15. She’ll Talk but You Won’t Listen
  16. The Takedown
  17. Is She Not Your Girl?
  18. This Means War
  19. We Do Not Want What She Has Got
  20. Wrecking Ball
  21. Things Need to Change
  22. We Need to Talk about Prince
  23. Hurt People Hurt
  24. Truthful Witness
  25. Epilogue
  26. Acknowledgments
  27. Notes