Stream "Why Don't You Love Me?" At DavidByrne.com

“Why Don’t You Love Me?”, the duet by Cyndi Lauper and Tori that closes out Here Lies Love, is this week’s featured track from the forthcoming collaboration by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim. In addition to a complete stream of the song, you’ll also find an except from the hardcover book that accompanies the deluxe edition of the release about the song as well as its complete lyrics.

Thanks to Lico and waitressboy for the tip!

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Here Lies Love's Samples

Thanks to Jamee for noticing that thirty-second clips of every song from Here Lies Love, including the two that Tori sings on, have been posted on DavidByrne.com. Check ‘em out below:

Here Lies Love Delayed

Last week, Greg informed us that Amazon had changed the release date for Here Lies Love, which features vocals by Tori on two songs, to December 2010. However, as there was no change on the album’s website at the time, we figured it was a glitch of some sort. Alas, that turns out not to be the case as DavidByrne.com is now saying the release date has been pushed back to April 6th — and Amazon agrees. Thanks to @KhaledT for the tip.

Pre-ordering one of the album packages at DavidByrne.com will get you an immediate download of “Please Don’t” (featuring vocals by Santigold) with the rest of the album. Of course, you can still get a mp3 of that song in exchange for your e-mail address from David’s website.

Additionally, a new track from the album, “Never So Big,” featuring vocals by Sia has been posted. Enjoy!

Upcoming Benefit Auctions Include Tori Items

Update: The Willie Mae Rock Camp on-line auction is live!

Attention collectors and those with a nice-sized tax refund headed your way: Tori has donated a couple items to two upcoming benefit auctions so if you’re looking to pick up some unique pieces of Tori memorabilia, this may be your chance.

First, an autographed microphone is one of the items in the online portion of the 4th Annual Rock’n‘Roll Auction benefiting Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, a New York-based music and mentoring program for girls and women. The online portion runs from February 4th through February 11th and also includes items from Sheryl Crow, Rosanne Cash and Wilco. On February 9th, the silent and live portions of the auction will take place at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY, along with performances by Erin McKeown, Kaki King and Saffire.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, Cancer Research UK’s annual Sound & Vision benefit event will be taking place at Abbey Road Studios on February 25th. It too will be preceded by an online auction which includes framed, handwritten lyrics for “A Silent Night With You,” signed by Tori, with an album inlay card. That particular auction starts on February 12th but there is an assortment of other items already on the block to bid on, if you are so inclined.

Here Lies Love Refreshment

Not exactly huge news, but times are slow…

Amanda tells us that David Byrne sent out an email today with details on Here Lies Love. Although David’s project page contains the same info we reported from Nonesuch Records in December (complete tracklisting; Tori on two tracks, one a duet with Cyndi Lauper; release date of February 23), we figure it doesn’t hurt to mention again for those who may have missed seeing it in the midst of the holiday (and Midwinter Graces) crush.

Note: one track from the album, “Please Don’t,” featuring Santigold on vocals, is now available to download for free (well, in exchange for your e-mail address) and the title track (vocals by Florence Welch) is streaming on the site too so you can get a taste of what this record will be like. There is also an excerpt of the book that comes with the deluxe edition of the album that provides more backstory for the collaboration and this little Flash movie from David where he talks about the project:

Powder The World In Pink & Glitter

Stephanie was the first of many to let us know about Smashbox’s Pink & Glitter Kit — a limited-edition make-up set inspired by Midwinter Graces. Packaged in a special bag, it includes eye shadow, blush and, of course, lip gloss. Purchasing the kit will also get you a code for a free download of the song “Pink & Glitter.”

While this may not be a cross-promotion with the widest of appeals, it certainly is an interesting way to spread the word about the record to some who may not have heard of Tori and her work. And hey, lip gloss!

Here Lies Love Release Announced

After much waiting and anticipation, Todomundo / Nonesuch Records have announced that the David Byrne / Fat Boy Slim collaboration Here Lies Love, on which Tori provides guest vocals, will be released on February 23rd!

For those who may have forgotten or did not know of this project, it is a song cycle that deals with the life of the Philippines’ former first lady Imelda Marcos, with an eye to her relationship to Estrella Cumpas, the woman who raised her.

The release will include the 22-track double-album, a DVD and a 100-page book detailing the project — from its original Carnegie Hall stage production in 2007 to the recorded form arriving next year.

The original stage release featured the vocals of Dana Diaz-Tutaan and Ganda Suthivarakom but on the album release, Byrne opted to enlist the aid of several guest vocalists. Tori sings on two songs: “You’ll Be Taken Care Of” and, along with Cyndi Lauper, “Why Don’t You Love Me?” The full track list, with each song’s vocalist, can be found at Nonesuch.com.

Look for more details from Nonesuch in January.

Thanks to Imagoro for being the first to let us know that these details had been announced.

Strings of Wonder

Tori’s string arranger, John Philip Shenale, has posted some notes and thoughts on his blog about the work done for “Star of Wonder” from Midwinter Graces. It’s interesting insight into one of the stand-out tracks from the record — thanks to Devin for pointing out the post!

The Latest and Greatest on Here Lies Love

Back in the Spring of 2008, the first whiffs of Tori’s involvement in the studio recording of David Byrne’s Here Lies Love, a song cycle about the Philippines’ former first lady Imelda Marcos, emerged. Since then, there has been the occasional update from David on his journal as well as some reports about the album from the British music press.

In April, the BBC spoke with David about the project, when he revealed that the album was a collaboration with Fatboy Slim (who contributed to the original and confirmed the involvement of Tori and several other vocalists.

More recently, the BBC and NME both reported on the record, quoting collaborator Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) about the record and the other guest vocalists. According to Cook, while its sound would not be “hugely experimental,” it wouldn’t be straight-ahead either and was, in part, inspired by dance music. He also discussed some of the reasons why progress on the recording was slow but indicated that it would be released sometime in the next six months.

The album is yet to appear on Nonesuch Records’ website but we’ll keep an eye out and post when we hear a release date has been announced.

Thanks to Evan Careclakis, Mark Manchen, Socrates Dinos and ChadwickY for keeping on top of this!

And The Eisner Award Goes To...

We want to congratulate both Rantz Hoseley and Neil Gaiman on their Eisner Award wins at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Friday night.

Rantz (and team, let’s not forget the team!) won Best Anthology for Comic Book Tattoo. It was fun to watch him bouncing off the walls on Twitter. (@rantzhoseley, FYI.)

Neil accepted the Best Publication for Teens/Tweens award for the P. Craig Russell-illustrated graphic novel version of Coraline. Best as we understand, Russell actually won the award and Neil picked it up on his behalf, but we count it as a victory for Neil either way.