Amy Winehouse: 1983-2011

Attractive.

It’s always interesting when a famous person dies. The general current, the vibe is always of mourning, but there’s often a unique tinge to the feeling. For Amy Winehouse’s death, the tinge is half of bitterness due to it arguably being her own fault, and half of “what if?” – because the woman had undeniable talent and potential to further the talent into world music domination. I’m not going to sit here and preach about how amazing Amy Winehouse was in so many different ways, because in all honesty, I wasn’t much of a fan of her music or her personality and thus I’m not best suited to do her justice. All I know and will happily spread is that she had a wonderful voice and an amazing future ahead of her. She was 27 for God’s sake. Now, there’s been a lot said about how the media’s favoured coverage of this story over the horrendous happenings in Oslo only a couple of days prior. I for one, won’t be getting involved in that particular debate. Some could argue that with the death of a celebrity figure, more people will find themselves instinctively caring and feeling upset – even the younger ages. In fairness, this is probably true. I don’t know of many UK citizens who have cried about the Norway attack but I do know of people who have wept over the loss of Amy Winehouse. This is down to the fact that in reality, we (an assumed collective ignoring the friends and families of the Norwegian casualties) know a lot more about the pop-singing sensation than we do about the group of teens overseas. I don’t agree with this difference, but I can understand it. On the flipside, many will argue that what’s happened in Oslo is not only a far greater talking point but also a current event which deserves more of our time, thoughts and prayers than any other story being reported right now. This I agree with. I overlooked writing about the horrific, senseless killings because I find the whole thing overwhelmingly depressing. My already swiftly-dwindling faith in humanity on the whole has taken yet another severe knock. I’m disgusted and appalled that I’m part of the same race in which Behring Breivik has been living for all 32 years of his life. The man claims his actions were ‘gruesome but necessary’. Try explaining that point and backing it up, you fuckface. Back to the sudden death of Amy Winehouse though… What’s being said by many reporters, writers and bloggers is something that I can only echo. While her passing was shocking, I can’t say I was terribly surprised. We all knew she was in an ever-decreasing state of general health thanks to heavy alcohol and drug abuse, and so if any 27 year old celebrity was going to go, it would be her. That may sound pretty damn callous, but in my eyes it’s true. I was instinctively sad to hear the news, I genuinely was; the loss of human life is almost always a massive shame. Ultimately though, the notion that she was mostly responsible for bringing her untimely demise upon herself cannot be hidden. It’s tragic, sure – I’ve already pointed towards that, but it’s her fault. Some say that people around her didn’t help her as much as they should have done for the difficult periods of her life, but this puzzles me a bit. She went into rehab on more than one occasion (no, the time isn’t right for that joke) and her family certainly supported her with all they could. Her legacy may not be as strong as she may have wanted it to be, with only 2 albums released, but she’s popular as hell (hell being popular in this case) and wowed fans and critics alike with her fresh-sounding, jazzy pop. One thing’s for sure – Amy Winehouse, you will not be forgotten.

RIP