Sinéad O'Connor says

November 28, 2006 1:34 PM

Sinéad O'Connor says "fight the real enemy". Sinéad O'Connor's controversial anti-Church performance of "War" on Saturday Night Live, October 1992. (one link youtubery).
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese (40 comments total)

Is this some kind of joke post? If so, I don't get it.

Oh and WTF? that "child abuse" tag is just flame bait.
posted by oddman at 1:44 PM on November 28, 2006

You could at least post the Bob Marley version from YouTube too! (I can't from work).

Watching this made me gulp.

I love how it ends, with no one understanding what they've seen or knowing how to react. Awesome.
posted by hermitosis at 1:46 PM on November 28, 2006

Oh, thanks a lot. Now I'm going to be humming that all day.
posted by found missing at 1:46 PM on November 28, 2006 [1 favorite]

A post like this gains so much by being posted by someone named "Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese".
posted by muppetboy at 1:52 PM on November 28, 2006

Oh and WTF? that "child abuse" tag is just flame bait.

She changed the lyrics of the song to refer to child abuse, and ripped up a photo of the then Pope, in protest at the Catholic church's covering up of child abuse. So it seems like a pretty relevant tag to me.

Still, strange post.
posted by jack_mo at 1:53 PM on November 28, 2006

From the second link:

The Comedy Channel shows back episodes of Saturday Night Live several times a day. In early August 2001, I happened to see the episode in which Sinead O'Connor is the musical guest. Everything goes as it should -- dressed all in white, Sinead performs "War" a capella as her second number -- until the end of the song. There is no war cry, no identification of "the real enemy." Sinead doesn't hold up a picture of the Pope, but a picture of a cute little black boy, instead. And then the song is over, and Sinead stands, smiling, holding the picture behind her back, as the crowd applauds and cheers.

Creepy and pointless, if this is true-- has anyone else seen this?
posted by hermitosis at 1:53 PM on November 28, 2006

As talented as Sinead is, the post kinda leaves me hanging. I mean, you would have had to have been living under a rock in 1992 not have heard/seen/been informed of this show.
posted by BrodieShadeTree at 2:02 PM on November 28, 2006

An interesting piece of history: The Marley lyrics were derived from a 1963 speech by Emperor Haile Selassie I. He had a good speechwriter. I've always liked the song, and have a grudging respect for Sinead, O'Connor, and I think I even saw that SNL as it happened, but I've always wished she could carry a tune.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:03 PM on November 28, 2006

At the time I was 15 and living near her parents, at home in Dublin. I remember a lot of people round our neighbourhood being scared that "the Americans" were going to murder her. That was quite the concern.
posted by jamesonandwater at 2:04 PM on November 28, 2006

SNL does two performances every Saturday - one happens before the "live" taping. They probably just used that performance in the rerun.

Rewriting history is fucking retarded, but that's how it probably happened.

Also, she was "banned" from SNL after this. Which is sort of like being forbidden to shoot yourself in the face.
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 2:04 PM on November 28, 2006

hermitosis -- I can't document this, but I swear that Comedy Central's SNL broadcasts aren't the same as the original ones. It's like they also tape the rehearsals or something and sub those in when something controversial happens.

I say this because I have about 25 VHS tapes of original SNL broadcasts, ads and all, and they don't match the ones I'm seeing today. I noticed this about two years ago, and though I haven't taped the new ones, I have gone abck and re-watched old ones after new ones, and I'm not crazy.

Anybody got any insight on this?
posted by mistermoore at 2:04 PM on November 28, 2006

And I've just gotta ask -- doesn't Sinead know that Jah would never give the power to a bald head?
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:05 PM on November 28, 2006

fuckin' preview
posted by mistermoore at 2:05 PM on November 28, 2006

The reason this post is interesting is because it contains a link to the actual video. NBC has done its level best to completely bury this video over the past 15 years. The fact that we can watch it now is really quite extraordinary. A testimony to the copyright-violating power of YouTube, I guess. Watch it now, before they have to take it down. Hell, I might even download a copy.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:06 PM on November 28, 2006

Wow, I was not aware of this. So there's really a program broadcast live on Saturday nights?

Great post, flagged as fantastic!
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 2:08 PM on November 28, 2006

This is good. Thanks.
posted by koeselitz at 2:08 PM on November 28, 2006

In reruns and syndication, the dress rehersal performance is aired, where O'Connor simply holds up a picture of a third-world child.
posted by ND¢ at 2:09 PM on November 28, 2006

I had heard about this event but never had a chance to see the whole performance because NBC never aired it again. I think it's a beautiful song and a powerful moment, and I'm sure I can't have been the only person to have missed seeing it, so I thought I'd share the clip with Metafilter.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 2:10 PM on November 28, 2006

There is a whole album of versions of "War" put out a few years ago, including some with original recordings of Haile Selassie I's speech.
posted by modofo at 2:17 PM on November 28, 2006

I thought it was a goofy post too, until I read in the comments about the way it's been buried. I think if that'd been in the Post there'd be less grumbling. But as mentioned above, it is a pretty cool illustration of how our access to cultural history is changing.
posted by freebird at 2:19 PM on November 28, 2006

I also remember a week (or a few weeks) later they had O'Connor back on to do an "apology" for the whole thing. It involved Adam Sandler and degenerated into "Sinead O'Connor's Happy Time" or something.

Was it really O'Connor? Or was I like 8 and unable to distinguish between her and a bald Jane Curtin?
posted by mistermoore at 2:20 PM on November 28, 2006

Sorry, wrong thread.
posted by four panels at 2:22 PM on November 28, 2006

There's a right thread for that??
posted by found missing at 2:22 PM on November 28, 2006 [1 favorite]

You did right by me, Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese. I've never seen the performance, only read about it and wondered, and now, I don't have to wonder anymore.

Devils Rancher: "carry a tune"? Are you serious? I suppose you are, and not just snarking, because if you're trying to make a joke about O'Connor's weaknesses as a musician, it didn't work. So I guess you're actually criticizing her musicianship, and I'm curious what you mean.

I wish I'd never learned about the [small] tags.
posted by cgc373 at 2:23 PM on November 28, 2006

four panels : "Britney Spears' vagina."

Reading through the comments in there: Britney Spears has a kid/kids? When the hell did that happen?
posted by Bugbread at 2:23 PM on November 28, 2006

Wrong thread. Four panels, you and me must have warped out of the "vaginas of the recently divorced" thread on the Metafilter Premium board.
posted by Bugbread at 2:26 PM on November 28, 2006

ND¢: thanks, our hivemind shall reveal all. I saw the SNL show, it was very dramatic. Her return was not so much, but an amazing voice as always.
posted by uni verse at 2:26 PM on November 28, 2006

bugbread: you lucky, lucky soul. If you don't know about that, there's probably a lot of stuff you've been spared over the last few years.
posted by koeselitz at 2:26 PM on November 28, 2006

I've been curious to see this ever since it happened--thanks for the post. I find I'm not blown away by her performance (I like the song, and I like Sinead O'Connor, but somehow it doesn't really work), but that moment at the end is still intense, even years later.

On the other hand, I wasn't at all curious to see Britney Spears's vagina, but nevertheless, there it is.
posted by moss at 2:30 PM on November 28, 2006

IIRC that was a career-ending turn. Has she done anything since?
posted by vhsiv at 2:31 PM on November 28, 2006

I thought it was a goofy post too, until I read in the comments about the way it's been buried. I think if that'd been in the Post there'd be less grumbling.

Aha, I didn't think of that. You're right, that information probably would have made the post better.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 2:32 PM on November 28, 2006

God it's hard to believe this happened 14 years ago! Even so-called live TV was so unspontaneous by this time that this was an amazing piece of theater, and was a major news item at the time.
posted by birdhaus at 2:32 PM on November 28, 2006

And clearly I should have figured out a way to work Britney's vagina into the post, too.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 2:34 PM on November 28, 2006

And clearly I should have figured out a way to work Britney's vagina into the post, too.

It's not a question of what you can work Britney's vagina into, but rather what you can work into Brit--

... but no. No.
posted by George_Spiggott at 2:40 PM on November 28, 2006 [1 favorite]

Was it really O'Connor? Or was I like 8 and unable to distinguish between her and a bald Jane Curtin?

Most likely Jan Hooks who was the designated O'Connor impersonator at the time.
posted by jrossi4r at 2:44 PM on November 28, 2006

Finally my dialup finishes downloading it...

...she looks incredibly nervous. And I'm not up on my O'Connor -- what's the story behind what appears to be a Star of David around her neck? Isn't she Catholic?

I don't see what's so horrible about what she did. I wouldn't have been that offended if I hadn't been 8 at the time. But I am obviously in the minority.
posted by mistermoore at 2:49 PM on November 28, 2006

Devils Rancher: "carry a tune"? Are you serious? I suppose you are, and not just snarking, because if you're trying to make a joke about O'Connor's weaknesses as a musician, it didn't work. So I guess you're actually criticizing her musicianship, and I'm curious what you mean.
posted by cgc373

I am serious. Something about her pitch has always bugged me. I love the tone of her voice, but really, her pitch is lacking. That's okay in in a lot of ways. There's plenty of famous singers who have terrible pitch -- Jerry Garcia, Rick Okasek, Morrisey, Bono, the guy from the Cure, the list goes on. It's fine to love Gerry Garcia, but don't call him a stellar vocalist. It kind of irks me that people talk about what a fantastic singer she is,and while she might have great emotion, be a fantastically brave individual, have creative genius, etc, she's technically at least, not the greatest vocalist.

I'm sorry if that was taken to mean that to me, it detracted from my understanding that moment of monumental courage on SNL, because it did not. I'm not criticising her overall musicianship, because there are other things that add up to musicianship besides good pitch, but she does lack that thing, a bit.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:49 PM on November 28, 2006

“And I've just gotta ask -- doesn't Sinead know that Jah would never give the power to a bald head?” - posted by Devils Rancher

*wipes orange juice from screen*
(We sick an tired of-a your ism-skism game)

Thanks Cheese. I din’ know about the NBC ret-con.
I somehow expected more from a souless media conglomerate.
posted by Smedleyman at 2:50 PM on November 28, 2006

From Wikipedia:

O'Connor's career received a significant blow — especially in the United States — on October 3, 1992, when she appeared on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest, on a show hosted by Tim Robbins. She was singing an a cappella version of Bob Marley's "War" to protest sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, and added a lyric about "child abuse." She then presented a photo of Pope John Paul II to the camera while singing the word "evil," after which she tore the photo into pieces, said "fight the real enemy," and threw the pieces towards the camera as the entire studio fell silent. A video of the event is available on the internet at a YouTube posting, as well as a website with photos. Almost immediately, NBC's switchboard was jammed with thousands of complaints. To this day, NBC refuses to allow the footage to be rebroadcast. Instead, they show footage from the dress rehersal where she smiles and bows after finishing the song.

The reaction to Sinéad's act of defiance was swift. In the resultant media furor, O'Connor was booed off stages and verbally abused by audiences. Her records were destroyed, and radio stations refused to play her songs.

According to Wikipedia, she has recorded 8 records since 1992 but the event essentially white-washed her from American popular culture. For unrelated reasons, she was subsequently excommunicated.
posted by vhsiv at 2:50 PM on November 28, 2006

Shortly after that we saw Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary concert at Madison Square Gardens in New York. A really excellent fun time. And then Sinead came out. And the booing started. And went on, and on, and on, and on. People were very pissed at her and unhappy to see her. And they let her know. She stands there for a while, looking smug, then broken, and finally she shouts out a defiant (?) hoarse version of "War." And Kris Kristofferson kind of helps her offstage. And the booing continued.

It was a bummer; the vibe had been so excellent up til then and I didn't want it ruined. And I was sure we were going to get a lecture from some performer and just have it be wrecked. But Neil Young come out and blew my brains (and those of generations to come) with an amazing performance.

[I may be over-dramatizing some of this in the haze of memory]

And (and this is TRUE) Duck Dunn was on bass that night! Really!
posted by stevil at 2:52 PM on November 28, 2006