“There’s no need to argue anymore. I gave all I could, but it left me so sore. And the thing that makes me mad is the one thing that I had…I knew, I knew, I’d lose you. You’ll always be special to me…” ~ Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan

.

It was Monday morning, and I was just settling in at my laptop, preparing to start my workday.

Part of my job is managing social media, so I had a Facebook tab open. I heard a little “ding,” meaning I’d received a message, so I took a quick peek at the notification—it was a brief note from my best friend: “I’m sooo bummed, I always wanted to see the Cranberries.”

My reaction: WTF?!

A quick search returned a few news articles with limited information, confirming: “The Cranberries lead singer, Dolores O’Riordan, has died suddenly at the age of 46.”

Age 46! Damn. The sadness and disbelief set in…this news was not only devastating, as the Cranberries were one of my favorite bands from the ’90s, but she was so young! I could not believe that we’d just lost yet another beloved musician. 

The Cranberries were my first real concert. (Okay, when I was 10 years old, I did get go see a certain popular boy band with a friend’s family who’d won tickets on the radio—but I hadn’t even heard of this boy band previously, so it was a very different scenario.)

No, this was the real deal—a band who I was already into. My sister and I had the CDs, and we knew all the songs. We had a crush on the cute Irish drummer. We loved Dolores’ voice, and we were so excited to go see them play live.

I was 15 years old, and my big sis got us tickets to go see them in concert at the Universal Amphitheater. It was a phenomenal concert. (I even still have the faded ticket stub.)

(For some insight into the life of Dolores O’Riordan and the history of the The Cranberries, check out this obituary published by The Guardian.)

~

In celebration of Dolores O’Riordan’s life, I’d like to share some of my favorite Cranberries songs:

~

1. “Dreams.” This was the song that started it all; the first single off their debut album, “Everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we?” (Bonus: the live version from Woodstock ’94 is pretty memorable as well!)

~

2. “Linger.” This was the second single that also eventually went huge.

~

3. “Sunday.” Another one of my faves off “Everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we?” Although, honestly, this was a tough list to curate, as there are so many great songs that I truly love on this album.

~

4. “Dreaming my Dreams.” This is just a sweet, beautiful song. I’ve often slipped it onto my savasana playlists for yoga. It’s from their second LP, “No Need to Argue.”

~

5. “I Can’t be with You.” One of my all-time faves. There was no question for me that this track would be included. It’s upbeat and fun, but filled with raw emotion. (I love to sing along and really belt this one out.)

~

6. “No Need to Argue.” The title track of their second album. Hauntingly beautiful.

~

7. “I Just Shot John Lennon.” A song lamenting the tragic death of the famous Beatle, from their third release, “To the Faithful Departed.”

~

8. “When You’re Gone.” The poignantly sweet song that came to my mind yesterday, after hearing about O’Riordan’s untimely passing.

We’ll miss you, Dolores. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us.

~

**Author’s note: This marks the ninth installment of this column. It is my pleasure and privilege to curate and offer these songs for your listening enjoyment.

So, as this side of our virtual turntable scratches to an end, I shall lift the needle up…until we meet again.

Catch you on the flip side.

~

Relephant:

13 Songs in Celebration of Tom Petty.

Catch you on the Flip Side: 6 Songs for the ones with Tattoos.

~

Author/Editor: Yoli Ramazzina
Image: screenshot
Copy editor: Caitlin Oriel