To add to what I said earlier, I hate the way people are already describing her as 'a troubled soul' instead of a wronged person. She was violently abused by her mother as a kid and then marginalised, patronised and ridiculed by a misogynist record industry and media for speaking out against the establishment.
And she was generally right. Everyone knows the child abuse scandal in the Catholic church was uncovered later on, but it's easy to forget that the DJ who said she 'needed a spanking' was paedophile Jonathan King. And then to lose her son in such tragic circumstances last year, that was heartbreaking. It often feels like the more honest and raw people are, the harder it is for them (and sometimes for the people around them - I wonder what the rest of her kids must be feeling about the tweet last week that said her late son was the "only person who ever loved me unconditionally").
I think as I get older, the deaths of public figures don't have the same emotional impact they did as when I was younger, but there are certain deaths that make the world as a whole feel a little colder and emptier. This is one of those. I don't know if she's found peace or if such a thing is possible, but she'll live on in the influence she had in other people's lives and in her music. Anyway, here are some favourites:
Black Boys on Mopeds
<![CDATA[<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/n14lwdpYkAA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/n14lwdpYkAA</a>]]>John, I Love You
<![CDATA[<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/0V55CMY54wA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/0V55CMY54wA</a>]]>Blood of Eden (holy shit, she was beautiful!)
<![CDATA[<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/3XhDGkg8SpQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/3XhDGkg8SpQ</a>]]>
