"Ridiculous Thoughts" is a song by Irish rock band

the Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock music, rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother), and drummer Fergal Lawler. O'Riord ...

, released in July 1995 by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

as the fourth single (third in North America) from their second studio album, ''

No Need to Argue ''No Need to Argue'' is the second studio album by Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries, released on 3 October 1994, through Island Records. It is the band's best-selling album, and has sold over 17 million copies worldwide as of 2014. I ...

'' (1994). The song peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart and number 23 in their native Ireland. Its music video was directed by

Samuel Bayer Samuel David Bayer (born February 17, 1962) is an American visual artist, cinematographer, and commercial, music video and film director. Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from New York City's School of Visual Arts in 1987 with ...

, featuring

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. Wood made his film debut with a minor part in ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989) at the age of eight and achieved recognition in the early 1990s as a child acto ...

. In 2017, the song was released as an acoustic, stripped-down version on the band's '' Something Else'' album.

Background and writing

"Ridiculous Thoughts" was recorded at The Manor Studios, Oxford and

Townhouse Studios The Town House (also known as Townhouse Studios) was a recording studio located at 140 Goldhawk Road, Shepherd's Bush in London, built in 1978 under the direction of Richard Branson for Virgin Records. The studios changed ownership and eventuall ...

, London, during the 1994 sessions for ''No Need to Argue''. The music for "Ridiculous Thoughts" was written by

Dolores O'Riordan Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan ( ; 6 September 1971 – 15 January 2018) was an Irish musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band The Cranberries. O'Riordan was the principal songwriter of ...

and

Noel Hogan Noel Anthony Hogan (born 25 December 1971) is an Irish musician and record producer best known as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries. The Cranberries Hogan formed the Cranberries with his brother ...

. The lyrics were written by O'Riordan about her problems with British press and journalists. It was produced and engineered by

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album '' Viva Hate'' following the ...

Release and chart performance

"Ridiculous Thoughts" was released as a single on 31 July 1995. It had mild success in Ireland, reaching number 23, and some success in both the UK and the U.S. As most of

' singles in the United States, a physical CD single was not released commercially, so it did not chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It did peak at number 14 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart.

Critical reception

David Quantick David Quantick (born 14 May 1961) is an English novelist, comedy writer and critic, who has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. A former freelance writer for the music magazine ''NME'', his writing credits have included '' On the Hour'', ' ...

from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "That woman sings like her off

The Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 1983, Heggie ...

crossed with a Dalek and all their songs have crap tunes with a bit in the middle where the woman can soar like an eagle o'er the melody."

Music video

The video clip for "Ridiculous Thoughts" was directed in May 1995 by

and later redone by the band, using the pseudonym "Freckles Flynn". The band is shown in front of the freaks of a circus signs (monkey rodeo, rubber skin man, etc.) on a deserted location. It features a young

, who tries to follow a radio signal all around the ruins of a building. O'Riordan stated that the band did not understand or identify with the concept that Bayer had shown in the video, and thus, they decided to redo it, mixing the original tape with live footage from their American Tour. The original version of the video was later included on '' Stars: The Best of Videos 1992–2002'' DVD.

Track listings

* CD single (UK, Australia, Spain) # "Ridiculous Thoughts" (album version) – 4:31 # "

Linger Linger may refer to: Music * Linger (album), ''Linger'' (album), a 1990 album by Prudence Liew, or the title single * Linger (The Cranberries song), "Linger" (The Cranberries song), 1993 * Linger (Guy Sebastian song), "Linger" (Guy Sebastian son ...

" (album version) – 4:34 # "Twenty One" (live at The Point, Dublin) – 3:05 # "Ridiculous Thoughts" (live at The Point, Dublin) – 6:08 * CD single (France, Japan) # "Ridiculous Thoughts" (album version) – 4:31 # "

I Can't Be With You "I Can't Be with You" is a song by Irish rock band the Cranberries. It was released by Island Records as the third single from their second studio album, ''No Need to Argue'' (1994), except in North America, where it was released as the fourth a ...

" (live at The Point, Dublin) – 3:10 # "Twenty One" (live at The Point, Dublin) – 3:05 # "Ridiculous Thoughts" (live at The Point, Dublin) – 6:08 * 7-inch single # "Ridiculous Thoughts" (album version) – 4:31 # "Linger" (album version) – 4:34

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control The Cranberries songs 1994 songs 1995 singles Song recordings produced by Stephen Street Songs written by Dolores O'Riordan Songs written by Noel Hogan Island Records singles 1990s in Irish music