Brandon's Buzz

If you missed any of last week’s tunes, below is a quick recap. (PS: Did I ever tell you that, once upon a time, I’d have killed for a t-shirt with the above phrase emblazoned on it? Miss Tori is a world-class kook, there’s no doubt about it, but I just love that gal!)

MONDAY: Shania Twain — “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)”
(from Come On Over [International Version]) —

TUESDAY: Katie Melua — “Just Like Heaven”
(from Piece By Piece) —

WEDNESDAY: Tori Amos — “The Waitress” (from Under the Pink) —

THURSDAY: Reba McEntire — “If I Were a Boy”
(from All the Women I Am) —

FRIDAY: Dar Williams — “Closer to Me”
(from The Beauty of the Rain) —

SATURDAY: Barenaked Ladies — “Theme from The Big Bang Theory”
(from Theme from The Big Bang Theory [single]) —

SUNDAY: Damien Rice (with Lisa Hannigan) — “Nine Crimes”
(from 9) —

Damien Rice (with Lisa Hannigan) — “Nine Crimes” (from 9) —

I’ve never been a great fan of Rice and the overblown pomposity of his music (indeed, the more I hear of it, the more I become convinced that its composer would forever relinquish custody of his left nut in exchange for a tenth of his fellow Irishman David Gray’s talent for just half a day). But every now and again, even strident is capable of becoming stunning, and so it does here, with this raw, righteously eerie portrait of a man fighting his own fading will to stay faithful. If the taut, tense vocal interplay between Rice and his right hand Hannigan doesn’t give you gooseflesh by the end of the tune, consider yourself officially impervious to the inherent power of drama in song.