I think what intrigues many people (me included) joko, is not so much a comparison between Amy Winehouse (whom I have only just heard of as a result of her death) and the Norwegian deaths, but that people should shed so much grief over the death of somebody who they don’t know, have never met, are never likely to have met and who had no effect on their lives whatsoever (apart from, perhaps, influencing their choice of music).
Any death is tragic and I would not lessen that tragedy because of the lifestyle of the deceased. But the tragedy hits the friends and family of the departed. It is not tragic for those that don’t know her and it is certainly not “devastating” for them as I heard it described over the weekend.
I cannot get to grips with this public wailing and gnashing of teeth over the death of strangers. It seemed to start when the nation collectively lost its marbles over the death of the Princess of Wales. From what I understand Ms Winehouse’s fans should have prepared themselves for something like this to occur as it seemed that there was a good chance that she would suffer a premature death. But the only effect that death will have on those not close to her is that they will no longer have any fresh recordings to buy (once the “posthumous” releases have all finished). That is scarcely tragic by any stretch of the imagination.