{"id":1834,"date":"2018-12-06T17:17:04","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T17:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/?p=1834"},"modified":"2018-12-06T17:17:04","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T17:17:04","slug":"arachnophonia-mus-235-edition-the-hidden-story-behind-sinead-oconnors-nothing-compares-2-u","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/2018\/12\/arachnophonia-mus-235-edition-the-hidden-story-behind-sinead-oconnors-nothing-compares-2-u\/","title":{"rendered":"Arachnophonia – MUS 235 Edition: The Hidden Story Behind Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note:<\/strong> Arachnophonia<\/a> is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library<\/a>\u2018s collection.<\/p>\n

This special edition of Arachnophonia<\/a> features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love<\/a>\u2018s MUS 235 class: \u201cI Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record(s)<\/a> for the item(s) in question<\/a> or to additional relevant<\/a> information from<\/a> around the web<\/a>.
\nToday\u2019s installment of Arachnophonia<\/a> is by MUS 235 student Cory and features a look at the story behind Sin\u00e9ad O’Connor’s 1990 version of the song “Nothing Compares 2 U”<\/a>, which was written by Prince in 1985<\/a>. Thanks, Cory!<\/em><\/p>\n

The Hidden Story Benhind Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sinead

Sinead O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U , cover of CD single (1990)<\/p><\/div>\n

Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor<\/a> opens her 1990 hymn to loneliness by counting the time since her lover left, \u201cIt\u2019s been seven hours and fifteen days.\u201d Almost 29 years later, O\u2019Connor has finally stopped counting. In 2015, O\u2019Connor decided to stop performing her classic song \u201cNothing Compares 2 U\u201d in concert, writing on her Facebook page that the song no longer represented her. \u201cAfter twenty-five years of singing it, nine months or so ago I finally ran out of anything I could use in order to bring some motion to it.\u201d<\/a> This lack of identification might be understandable, as the song was never O\u2019Connor\u2019s to begin with. <\/p>\n

\u201cNothing Compares 2 U\u201d was intended for The Family<\/a>, a band formed by Prince<\/a> in 1984, and was released on their self-titled 1985 album<\/a>. The song was not released as a single, and the album bobbed around on the Billboard R&B Chart. While The Family<\/a> was a favorite of Prince fans, \u201cNothing Compares 2 U\u201d<\/a> received little recognition. The song was offered to a young Irish singer, Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor<\/a>, fresh off releasing her first album. O\u2019Connor embraced \u201cNothing Compares 2 U\u201d in her own style, and it would end up introducing the artist to a massive global audience.<\/p>\n

The song would take O\u2019Connor from her home in Ireland to an iconic music video in the neighborhoods of Paris to throwing fists in Prince\u2019s driveway at 5am. For many, \u201cNothing Compares 2 U\u201d represents a relic of 1990s love and longing, but in 2014, O\u2019Connor would claim that Prince physically attacked her over a disagreement during a visit to his Hollywood home<\/a>. The story behind the song was vastly different than the one viewers came to associate with O\u2019Connor\u2019s bold yet peaceful imagery. <\/p>\n