The Cranberries

I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Dolores O'Riordan, only 46, best known as the lead singer of The Cranberries. Her cause of death is still unknown, but she was open about being bipolar and suffering from depression, so we can jump to some conclusions.

I hadn't thought much of The Cranberries these past years, and as I did some research I saw that they existed long past their peak, putting out seven albums, one as recently as last year, and that O'Riordan released two solo albums. But it is mostly their first three albums, released within a four-year span in the '90s, that they are best remembered for.

O'Riordan, who would write most of their material, was not part of the original band. It was founded by the Hogan brothers, Mike and Noel. When the lead singer quit, they put an ad in the paper for a lead singer, and O'Riordan answered it. She wrote the song "Linger," and they hired her. However, as much as that song is now an icon of the period, it didn't do much until MTV discovered it. That song, as well as "Dreams," established the group as a kind of mixture of jangle-pop, Celtic rock, and what was called "alternative rock."

I've read a lot of tributes to O'Riordan the past few days, many from girls who were teenagers and were caught up in O'Riordan's mixture of fragility and toughness. I was a guy in my early 30s who was buying a lot of CDs, trying to remain current (I have hopelessly given that up). I'm pretty sure I have the first couple of Cranberries CDs somewhere, and a handful of songs have been going through my head the last couple of days.

"Linger" and "Dreams" are lilting, soothing songs, but "Linger" has an edge to it, about a girl who has been spurned.

"So why were you holding her hand?
Is that the way we stand?
Were you lying all the time?
Was it just a game to you?
But I'm in so deep
You know I'm such a fool for you
You've got me wrapped around your finger
Do you have to let it linger?"

O'Riordan's voice has long been compared to her fellow Irish singer, Sinead O'Connor (who is only four years older), full of banshee-like yodeling. In the middle eight of "Dreams" she lets loose with some lovely vocalizing. Her voice is like her looks--both fragile and tough. The song I first thought of when I heard of her death was "Zombie," written in response to an IRA bomb that killed two English children.

"Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence, caused such silence
Who are we mistaken?"

When the band hits the chorus, O'Riordan draws out the long E sound of the word zombie like a woman possessed, giving the song a power that still resonates. As she ways in the song, "It's the same old theme, since 1916."

The Cranberries were very much part of the MTV of the '90s. I used to tape (it started at midnight on Sundays, and I worked) 120 Minutes, which showed "alternative" videos. As I peruse their stuff on YouTube, they made a lot of videos to songs I don't remember. One that I had forgotten but quickly remembered was "Salvation," which is a straight-ahead rocker that is anti-drug.

"To all the kids with heroin eyes
 Don't do it, don't do it
 'Cause it's not, not what it seems"

The video includes a clown with spikes coming out of his head.

I went to my share of concerts back then, but never got around to seeing The Cranberries live, which I regret. I've watched a few live versions of them doing "Zombie," and O'Riordan knows how to hold an audience in the palm of her hand. I think the best version is from Saturday Night Live.

I've been expecting, for the last few years, the news of Sinead O'Connor dying, given her outbursts on social media, but O'Riordan leaves first, found in hotel bathroom. The only solace we have is the recordings still exist. Rest in peace.