Damien Rice

But aside from that, in terms of music, let me grab my phone to see what I've been listening to lately.

Okay, so lately I've been listening to Beirut, Damien Rice, Dan Deacon, Dr.

Dog, Fiona Apple, Marnie Stern, Sunlux, St. Vincent, T-Rex, and there's U2 on my phone, unfortunately.

Well, not unfortunately.

One last thing.

I went to see Damien Rice in Auckland early this year with a bunch of Irish women, all of an age, to reminisce over his music.

A beautiful evening and beautiful performance.

Thanks for the awesome podcast, the lovely connection to home and the past memories that your voice brings.

that's the farthest I've ever been.

I just went to Chicago, what, a year and a half, two years ago for Damien Rice, but I went to a music festival in Austin.

I went to Chicago for Black Crows with Jimmy Page.

That one year that they toured together, it was well worth it.

I know it's incredibly uncool to like Coldplay now, but at the time, you know, they were huge and I loved that album.

And then the first Damien Rice album.

And I sat at the age of 38, I sat in my house listening to this album thinking, no wonder you were a depressed teenager.

Yeah.

And it really, really does speak to me in that way.

Where, like, it's been... uh it's like nothing else i've kind of really heard this year yeah that's how i feel about it like no i say that but there are also elements to it where like i'm hearing like i say the aforementioned paranormal uh i'm even hearing of all people like i'm like in a week in which damien rice announced you know 25 years ago i can hear some about on this album i don't know if that offends you or astonishes you anything i

actually i saw like i'd never really listened to damien rice before and saw that those gigs were announced and literally last night listened to all for the first time

what do you

think i was kind of amazed i really loved it the first track delicate yes i just that's a

and I'm not like the biggest Damien Rice guy but like when the album came out it was like a big fucking deal like it was everywhere it was huge and then I kind of like didn't bother with the second album I really do like the third album I actually reviewed it when it came out and then he's made nothing since and it's that thing of when I saw that announcement go up I was like yeah no I get it I understand that that album is pretty incredible and there's parts of this record where I was like this really sounds very similar even just the way the kind of guitar chords the kind of warmth of it but what this gave me the most was especially this morning listening to it again And I think we'll have a listen to Flower Song momentarily, but like that one in particular.

But I think it is across the record is if I had to, you know, and it's funny because earlier in this episode, I have given out about critics being, you know, with purple prose.

But the sentence that popped into my brain this morning was, all I can think about is... um a couple a pair of lovers breaking up but exchanging a tender hug as they do so that's what i'm getting from this album

And so once I dive into his lyrics more and, you know, it was a big inspiration early on in my writing for sure.

Um, but also I was into so many other artists is what Damien Rice, uh, John Butler, I mean, Neil Young, the Beatles.

So all that would tie in.

It wasn't just Dave, you know, at that point.