Sinead O'Connor Releasing New Album

'How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?'

Neil Gavin

It’s a banner week for Sinead O’Connor. Four days after marrying boyfriend Barry Herridge in her "absolute dream wedding ceremony" on her 45th birthday, the singer-songwriter has released two songs from her forthcoming album, How About I Be Me (And You Be You)? (Stream "4th And Vine" and "Take Off Your Shoes" here.)

The record is set for release on February 21, 2012 on the One Little Indian imprint. How About… will feature a cover of "Queen of Denmark" by John Grant (former frontman of the Czars) as well as original material. If the newly proffered tracks are any indication, it will find O’Connor in an autobiographical mood: "4th and Vine"" buoyantly celebrates marriage.

Next year marks the 25th anniversary of O’Connor’s debut album, 1987’s The Lion and the Cobra. The controversial Irish musician is also planning an international tour in support of How About I Be Me…, with dates to be announced shortly.

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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