We heard Damien Rice perform “What If I’m Wrong?,” the theme tune to When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun, not to mention his first new songs in years, back in February, but now we have a new official release and studio debut from his post-Lisa Hannigan singing partner, Julia Dubsky, as well. One look at the album’s cover art, and it’s no wonder this somewhat obscure soundtrack has remained under the radar since dropping in early March…

Rice, the Swell Season’s Glen Hansard, Shane MacGowan, Sinead O’Connor, the late Liam Clancy, and others have contributed to Welcome Home: Music of Ireland, the soundtrack to a PBS special about contemporary Irish music, which featured interviews with director Jim Sheridan, U2’s Bono and Adam Clayton, Pete Seeger, a few of the aforementioned artists, and Liam Clancy’s final U.S. television appearance.

Though Julia Dubsky has some pretty big shoes to fill in the Rice duet department, I can’t deny that she pulled through brilliantly in this mix. Stream Rice’s new song, “Under The Tongue” (a response to “Teeth”?), below:

The list of musicians, actors, journalists, and celebrities set to appear and/or perform this Friday night on the “Hope For Haiti” telethon keeps growing by the hour, so here’s hoping all this star power will encourage lots of generosity as Haiti struggles to survive and rebuild after last week’s devastating earthquake. Most recently, musicians Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z have been announced as performers for the telecast, which will air on every major network and a number of cable channels at 8PM EST.

Musically, the most interesting update of late is that Jay-Z and U2 have collaborated on a brand new song for Haiti with producer Swizz Beatz. In fact, the writing and recording of the new tune came about rather quickly. “Last night we wrote a song,” the Edge said (via Consequence of Sound). “Bono got a call from a producer, Swizz. He and Jay-Z wanted to do something for Haiti. So, Bono came up with the phrase on the phone, and last night we were here, we wrote a song–finished, recorded, and sent it back to them.”

E! reports that Bono and Jay-Z are set to perform from the Robert Pattinson-hosted London portion of the telethon (George Clooney will host in Los Angeles, Wyclef Jean in New York City, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper in Haiti).

While all donations made during the event will go to seven different charities, including Red Cross, Oxfam America, and Partners in Health, additional money will be raised on iTunes with songs from the featured performers being made available following telecast.

I’ll admit to being a Bono apologist from time to time, but the one-year anniversary of his column in the NY Times’ Op-Ed section is approaching and I can’t help but point out the U2 singer’s somewhat lackluster offering. This time around, he opens by decrying the glut of year-end lists of late.

“Even in these self-restrained pages,” writes Bono Vox, “it has been impossible to avoid the end-of-the-decade accountings of the 10 best such-and-suches and the 10 worst fill-in-the-blanks.”

What follows is his own list of “10 ideas that might make the next 10 years more interesting,” including a forewarning to music pirates, the automobile “bling bling” culture, and some good ole Middle East meddling.

There might be more there, but I honestly didn’t make it all the way through.

Dublin, Ireland’s famous Grafton Street became the impromptu venue of a superstar jam session the other night among three of the country’s biggest music stars. U2’s Bono, Damien Rice, and the Swell Season’s Glen Hansard busked for passersby turned stunned onlookers this Christmas Eve to raise money for Simon Community, a homelessness prevention charity.

Hot Press reports that the trio, who were also joined by singer/songwriter Mundy, belted out “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan, Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” (via RTE), and Mic Christopher’s “Heyday.”

As you might imagine, grainy camera phone footage has already hit the series of YouTubes, which doesn’t provide an account of the music so much, but should give you an idea of the excitement and atmosphere surrounding the event (you may want to skip past all of the Bono screaming). Check out “Stand By Me” here.

Sure, M.I.A. disapproves of President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, Asher Roth chimed in for some reason, and John Fogerty is just tickled pink over it, but there hasn’t been much talk from musicians about the media’s recent favorite go-to topic of the week (sans a smattering of 140-character tweets). Enter Bono.

In this week’s NY Times op-ed, the U2 singer seeks to draw a connection between the “fantasy” Obama and the “real” Obama, who, according to “some quarters of these not-so-United States,” is unworthy of such a preemptive award. The connection, Bono claims, lies in Obama’s statement to the United Nations that “we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.”

This commitment is why Bono believes Obama “could well be a force for peace and prosperity — if the words signal action,” Bono says, later adding “The Nobel Peace Prize is the rest of the world saying, ‘Don’t blow it.’” Bono goes on to cite America’s recent climb on the “most admired country in the world” list from number seven to number one, as an example of the peaceful sea change afoot. A few interesting points from the Pope’s new buddy, as usual, but then it’s time for the obligatory Bono pull quote:

Americans are like singers — we just a little bit, kind of like to be loved. The British want to be admired; the Russians, feared; the French, envied. (The Irish, we just want to be listened to.)

Yeah yeah, Bono, we’re listening. And they can see your stage “claw” from space. Check out “Rebranding America” thataway.

Whenever I start to grow tired of Jack White’s attitude about the state of rock music, he pulls me back in drops a few new quotes and I’m back on Team Jack. In an excerpt in the LA Times from rock critic Robert Hilburn’s upcoming book Corn Flakes With John Lennon (and Other Tales From a Rock ‘n’ Roll Life), the author talks to Bono and Jack White about rock stardom in the post-Lennon music world.

“I think one thing is they are suspicious of fame because fame is now associated with ‘celebrity,’” Bono says, of bands that fear the backlash of huge success, “and that has become oppressive in our society.”

Jack White knows a thing or two about a hometown backlash, as he claims that the Detroit scene essentially accused him of being a sell-out when the White Stripes blew up. Interestingly, he admits that his reaction was, “you go to your room and you shut it all out,” which could explain why his former engineer Jim Diamond believes that “he alienated a lot of people.” Either way, here’s the Jack quote that jumped out at me:

The artists of the past all had their rebellion. Elvis was rebelling against sexual repression, and Dylan was rebelling against immorality, and I feel like I’m rebelling against technology and the death of romance.

The LA Times article has tons of great bits from Jack and Bono, so be sure to go thataway before it gets devoured by the news beast.

When John Lennon said the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus,” it was, as we all know, quite a controversy. Somehow I doubt Bono’s recent boast about U2 knocking the previous pope off the Giants Stadium attendance charts will be as big of a deal. I mean, he’s already down with the Vatican and Pope John Paul II did amicably try on his “fly shades.”

The NY Times’ ArtsBeat reports that, according to Live Nation, U2 managed to fill 1,524 more seats at Giants Stadium last night than the previous record-holder did in 1995: Pope John Paul II. “We’ve broken every record for attendance in this stadium,” Bono exclaimed for 84,472 U2 fans last night, “including the Pope.”

Bono is a humanitarian, I’ll give him that, but he’s also a big ol’ cocky rock star. He may have let the pope try on his shades, but Bono wears those things every freakin’ day.

Now that a Florida church is celebrating the U2charist, perhaps Bono has an even better excuse to meet with the second pope of his career. I doubt that’s how this news came about, but Bono clearly knows how to work his Vatican connections.

ARTINFO reports Bono is one of several artists to meet with Pope Benedict XVI in November to assist the Vatican in its effort to bring back “the special historical relationship between faith and art”; what better place to do so than in the Sistine Chapel, which of course is home to Michelangelo’s stunning frescoes. A progressive effort on the church’s part, one I’m sure Annie Lennox wouldn’t find “irresponsible.”

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the Sistine Chapel. When Bono met Pope John Paul II in 2005, the pontiff took an interest in the singer’s sunglasses: “I said ‘Holy father, do you want a pair of fly shades?’ and he said ‘yes’ and he put them on.” Now if we can snag a picture with Pope Benedict wearing Bono’s fly shades, our collection will be complete!

When it comes to bringing music-related film or theater productions to fruition, U2 frontman Bono has no problem ponying up his own cash. Not only has he saved the once-doomed Spider-Man musical from financial disaster, but now he’s backing a new feature film about an Irish showband singer.

Written by Barry Devlin of 1970s Irish rock band Horslips, The Virgin of Las Vegas stars Liam Neeson as an alcoholic, washed-up showband singer who travels to Las Vegas for a fresh start, Belfast Telegraph reports.

I’m not sure how big of a check Bono cashed to save his and the Edge’s Spider-Man project, but this Vegas film is said to cost at least $14 million. Good thing he’s been letting Coldplay borrow the private jet ‘cause Bono needs that fuel money for getting other things off the ground these days.