4. The CranberriesNo Need To Argue

That’s my number one when you talk about favourite vocalists. In my time growing up, it was Dolores. Just unique. No one sounded like her. The wailing! Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? is popular, but No Need To Argue is one of my favourites. The interlude right before ‘Daffodil Lament’, she goes so high up. With the organs? Oh, my God! Come on. A kid from the hood listens to this woman singing, and I felt like I could fly or escape. She gave me this understanding of her world, of Ireland, and it was phenomenal. 

The way she approached stories of her land, I speak similarly about New Orleans. She had people in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans caring about Ireland and the wars happening, because of the way she sang it. It was mainstream – an Irish band speaking about tanks and bombs. ‘Zombie’ is a really political record, and people are singing it in karaoke bars. It transcended. And I don’t know a lot of people beyond Pussy Riot and a few others that can understand that and make that make sense.