Dolores O’Riordan: The Simple Things That Make Life Extraordinary

I think most notably the point at which it had become clear that Dolores’s life had changed from rock star to mother over the course of those four years spent at home with her children came when I asked what her musical guilty pleasures were.

“Uh, Sesame Street, maybe?”  She said which made me laugh.  This wasn’t exactly what I had expected this icon of mine to answer.  “But I’m not embarrassed, though; I’m kind of proud of it.  I think Sesame Street is brilliant music.  What’s that guy’s name?  is it [Jim] Hanson?  His stuff is great and he has the bear in the big blue house and stuff.  And I just think that he’s so melodic and my kids listen to it and at home you just find yourself singing along.  But I’m not really embarrassed about it.  I don’t really get embarrassed because I think it’s important to be yourself and be proud of your choices and who you are.”

I assume that as an artist and a working parent, the decision to take time off from your life, your passion and your dreams could seem daunting.  But it is obvious that with her children comes a new life Dolores cherishes and feels it imperative to make time for.  All too often we hear stories of parents in the entertainment industry who feel that juggling career and family is a daunting task, children regularly being pushed into the arms of necessary third party helpers and surrogate parents so that the celebrity can take advantage of the moment and keep the momentum of their careers going. Yet this talented artist seems to take it all in stride.

The past four years might have taken the spotlight off of Dolores O’Riordan, but the May 2007 release of her first solo effort ‘Are You Listening?’ will certainly help to edge it back in her direction.  I believe Allmusic.com said it best when they printed: “That’s why [the album] is a success as a solo debut: it doesn’t resurrect O’Riordan’s earliest work as much as reconnect with it, and she hasn’t sounded this purposeful, or made a record this satisfying, since the days of “Linger.”