The Return of Damien Rice

It has been a looong while since I’ve heard any new music from Damien Rice.

But now, the Irish troubadour/god is back, fixin’ to drop a new album, My Favourite Faded Fantasy, the first single off which will be the track titled “I Don’t Want to Change You.”

Loves it.

Dude – never stay away this long again.

My Favourite Faded Fantasy is set to arrive in stores in November.

Photo: EskimoFriends.com.

My New Only One

How did I not know that Damien Rice had cut a cover of U2’s “One”?

I mean....

Evidently, Rice paid tribute to the Irish band on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their Achtung Baby album. Go on, have a listen:

What a lovely job, huh.

Just Because, Pt. 26

Last week, People magazine featured Twilight’s Cam Gigandet as its Sexy Man of the Week.

The actor revealed that his favorite make-out music is Damien Rice’s.

I knew I liked him for more than just the obvious.

Photo: CanGigandet.tv.

Nostalgia, Pt. 23

Damien Rice, darling, what have you been up to?

I miss you.

I know in June you and a couple of friends set off on a last-minute road trip from Dublin to Barcelona, squished into your little ol’ MINI with a portable recording studio.

“The idea,” you said before leaving, was “to stop off along the way in random places where I have to write and record a new song every day, either in the MINI or outdoors on a rock or something. 10 days = 10 songs = album nuevo.”

Looking forward to it….

In the meantime let me tell you that you lean “on me / like a rootless tree.”

Photo: PhotoBucket.com.

Praise Damien Rice

One of my absolute favorites, Damien Rice (pictured at right), performed for Leonard Cohen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony last night, and he did an amazing job.

Rice took on Cohen’s “Hallelujah” just after Cohen’s induction. Afterward, he talked to Billboard backstage about what makes the song so special for him.

“There’s an amazing connection between sex and spirituality, and it’s something Leonard Cohen hints at in that song,” he said. “It’s almost like a Buddhist master giving you a hint, but not the whole story. You have to take that hint and go sit with it.”

Click here to watch Rice’s performance.

Photo: ContactMusic.com.

That’s So Iggy, M

Alright, so Madonna will not perform at this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on March 10, after all, but Iggy & The Stooges have been tapped to pay tribute to the Queen of Pop during the show.

My beautiful-stranger spy tells me the band will play two songs – a really, really hot one from Madonna, her first album, and a really popular one from her Grammy Award-winning Ray of Light.

Think about it.... Think about it....

Now, what’s the connection between Madonna and Iggy Pop’s band?

Well, aside from the formative years spent as struggling musicians in Manhattan’s Lower East Side – they both come from the same musical influence: punk – both are Detroit natives, and he opened for her at the Dublin date of her “Re-Invention Tour” in 2004.

Among the other performers scheduled for the induction ceremony are Damien Rice (for Leonard Cohen), Patti LaBelle (for Gamble & Huff), and John Mellencamp and the Ventures, both of whom are being inducted.

Photo: RollingStone.com.

Update 1: So have you figured it out? “Don’t put me off ‘cause I’m on fire.”

Update 2: My, it’s “Burning Up” and “Ray of Light,” of course.

Nostalgia, Pt. 16

I cannot believe it has been more than one year since I saw the incredible Damien Rice in concert in New York City.

Why oh why is he not a bigger star in the United States?

Good looks, a haunting voice, terrific songs.

I guess all of that adds up to not-Justin-Timberlake-therefore-thank-you-but-we’re-not-interested. For shame!

Urgh.

Photo: Bonnaroo.com.

When Damien Met David

Live Earth not only brought out the best Madonna has to offer, it also brought two of my favorites – Damien Rice and David Gray (pictured, at right) – together for a lovely duet of “Que Sera, Sera.”

It just doesn’t get any better than this, does it?

Jamie Lee Curtis seems to agree with me.

Photo: Music.MSN.com.

And I Call Myself a Fan

OMG – I cannot believe I just remembered this.

As you know, I am a big fan of Mr. Damien Rice. But I completely dropped the ball on spreading the word about his new video for the amazingly brooding “Rootless Tree,” which I should’ve done…back in January.

Could I be any more of a hack? (That’s a rhetorical question, so save it.)

To make up for such a flagrant error in judgment, how about I point you in the direction of several Damien Rice videos? You can thank me later.

There – all’s better now.

Photo: EskimoFriends.com.

There’s Still a Little Bit of His Song in My Ear

Do you remember last month I told you that Irish troubadour/god – yes, I said god! – Damien Rice was releasing his latest CD, 9, and that he was going to tour in America this holiday season?

Well, I’ve just returned from New York City, where last night I caught the first of his two-night engagement at the Beacon Theater, and I’ve only got one word to sum up the experience: exquisite. Oh, and totally worth the trip.

Not only does Rice put on a great show – he puts on an experience. He started, surprisingly enough, with a harder sound than I expected, very rock, and quickly moved on to his signature, heart-tugging ballads. The highlight of the night had to be his completely stripped down rendition of “Cannonball” (done completely unplugged...even sans mic). And “The Blower's Daughter.” And “Volcano.”

I know these are tracks off his first CD, O, but I like what I know and I know what I like – which isn’t to take anything away from newer songs like “9 Crimes,” “Elephant,” and “Rootless Tree.”

I was a little disappointed that he didn’t play “Delicate,” which is the song that first introduced me to the Rice, or “Unplayed Piano," one of the many beautiful duets he sings with the gorgeous vocalist Lisa Hannigan. But I don’t want to come off as greedy – it was an awesome evening.

(By the way, The Swell Season opened the show. Check them out sometime, too.)

So do yourself a favor and pick up some Damien Rice this holiday season. Then try to imagine him live. Trust me when I tell you it is quite something.

Let me know if you get jealous. Because I so would be if I’d missed this concert.

P.S.: While in the Big Apple, I finally – finally! – saw Casino Royale, which I found extremely entertaining; it's really one of the best action films I’ve seen this year. Daniel Craig is a total star, and with him wearing the Bond tux for the foreseeable future, I shall continue to sing the praises of this new 007 for years to come.
Photo: Rhapsody.com.

Swoon

Irish troubadour Damien Rice has a new album coming out. It’s called 9 and it’s surely going to be fantastic.

I just thought I’d put that out there. You can have a listen here.

Rice will embark on an American tour in two weeks (I have got to find a way to see him!). He will appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Nov. 9, and on The Late Show with Conan O’Brien on Nov. 17.

Photo: Wikipedia.com.

It Still Holds a Tune

There is a beautiful, beautiful song I love that I don’t get to hear all that often.

It’s terrible how that happens, isn’t it?

The song is called “Unplayed Piano,” and was released as a single in June 2005 in support of the “Free Aung San Suu Kyi 60th Birthday Campaign,” a global initiative to free the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize recipient on her 60th birthday that June 19.

It was written for Suu Kyi by Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan following a visit by Rice to Burma in July 2004 – and marked the first release from Rice (an artist I discovered thanks to a third-season episode of Alias) since his tremendous debut, O, in 2002.

All artists' royalties from the sales of "Unplayed Piano" go to supporting the Burma Campaign U.K. and the U.S. Campaign for Burma.

For more information, click here.

Photo: Amazon.com.