Twerking, Simon Cowell’s poloneck, songs about nothing

Sinead O’Connor listed out a whole set of problems with the music industry in a wide-ranging interview on Irish show RTE last night. She followed it up with a blog this morning. The interview started with her week long spat with Miley Cyrus over the young singer’s sexualised dancing. Ms O’Connor had this to say:

“is it appropriate for a 20 year-old women to be licking sledgehammers in songs where it has no lyrical reference to any such thing? I see it as an exploitation of someone who is possibly too young to understand the dangers of allowing oneself to be exploited in that way.”

The problem was bigger than twerking, Ms O’Connor said:

“Music is being murdered. Rock and roll is being murdered,” she told RTE. “The power of rock and roll to change things is being murdered by this worship of fame. Pop Idol, people like Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh…. deciding what records should sound like.”

Is it appropriate for a 20 year-old women to be licking sledgehammers? Sinead O’Connor

Simon Cowell’s jumper

In her blog today, Ms O’Connor added a few more things to the list: the money flow in the industry, Pop Idol, Simon Cowell, Simon Cowell’s jumper, songs that are about nothing, the worship of bling, rappers who let rap get diluted, Snoop Dogg’s iPhone app, Jay-Z’s barbeque with President Obama.

Sinead O’Connor laid it out:

“I said this whole Miley issue is in the broader sense not about her or me.. It is about the fact that the industry of music.. the money making end of music.. Is murdering music, by many methods, including encouraging the worship of ‘bling’ be it clothes or Jewels or stupid and stupidly expensive apps that let you look like you’re smoking a gold splif ( Snoop Dogg..75 dollars I believe)

“And the inappropriate public sexual exploitation of extremely young men and women. most of whom are earning only a minute proportion of what their sexual exploitation is earning the mostly men who are making the lion’s share.

“The industry and its associates dictate the artistry. The songs are about nothing.. The looks are all distractions. The big visual displays at shows.. The fakeness.”

The songs are about nothing Sinead O’Connor

Ms O’Connor’s row with Miley Cyrus kicked off earlier this week when Sinead O’Connor wrote an open letter to the American 20-year-old about her sexualised dancing.

Written in “the spirit of motherliness” Ms O’Connor’s letter, said that Ms Cyrus shouldn’t let the industry pimp her out and that she should rely on her talent, not her looks. Ms Cyrus responded with a series of tweets telling Ms O’Connor that she shouldn’t interfere and implying that the Irish singer had mental health problems.

Sinead. I don’t have time to write you an open letter cause Im hosting & performing on SNL this week.

— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) October 3, 2013