Dark Was The Night

Best compilation ever. Sorry Cera and Braff...but it's even better than the Juno and Garden State soundtracks 40-fold. I know, I know, many of you thought the only good things this February are the release of the 3-D Jonas Brothers concert coming to an IMAX in your neighborhood and Miley Cyrus & Taylor Swift performing at the Grammys. But to soothe your soul the folks at the Red Hot Organization, an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture, have released a token indie dream mix for the ages.

Dark Was The Night (4AD/Beggars)is available as a triple vinyl, double disc or download purchase. Loaded with 31 tracks recorded exclusively for the project, Dark Was The Night is a "who's who" of today's staple indie artists. Below I've posted a rundown of the tracks and fear not...when you run across a name you don't recognize it...don't go to your local record store and ask them who it is. Those smug bastards wearing cowboy flannel and black-rimmed glasses will only feel more mighty. Chances are, you DO know them from their full-time projects - take a look-see here.

As always, I won't leave you hanging. Below, are two tracks that are just the tip of the ice berg for the compilation. Plus, you'd feel like a schmuck downloading the entire compilation illegally from the numerous blog sites that have been hailing this project. As I briefly mentioned above, the The Red Hot Organization is the leading international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. So, if you want to do your part and get rewarded with a slew of "must-haves," head here for the complete download or to get your hands on the disc or vinyl set.

DARK WAS THE NIGHT

THIS DISC
1 Knotty Pine – Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
2 Cello Song (Nick Drake) – The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
3 Train Song (Vashti Bunyan recorded, written by Alasdair Clayre) – Feist + Ben Gibbard
4 Brackett, WI – Bon Iver
5 Deep Blue Sea – Grizzly Bear
6 So Far Around the Bend – The National (arrangement by Nico Muhly)
7 Tightrope – Yeasayer
8 Feeling Good (popularized by Nina Simone) – My Brightest Diamond
9 Dark Was the Night (Blind Willie Johnson) – Kronos Quartet
10 I Was Young When I Left Home (Bob Dylan) – Antony + Bryce Dessner
11 Big Red Machine – Justin Vernon + Aaron Dessner
12 Sleepless – The Decemberists
13 Stolen Houses (Die) – Iron and Wine
14 Service Bell – Grizzly Bear + Feist
15 You Are The Blood – Sufjan Stevens

THAT DISC
1 Well-Alright – Spoon
2 Lenin – Arcade Fire
3 Mimizan – Beirut
4 El Caporal – My Morning Jacket
5 Inspiration Information (Shuggie Otis) – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
6 With A Girl Like You (The Troggs) – Dave Sitek
7 Blood Pt 2 (based on original song “You are the Blood” by the Castanets) – Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
8 Hey, Snow White (Destroyer) – The New Pornographers
9 Gentle Hour (Snapper) – Yo La Tengo
10 Another Saturday (traditional song) – Stuart Murdoch
11 Happiness – Riceboy Sleeps
12 Amazing Grace (traditional song) – Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
13 The Giant Of Illinois (Handsome Family) – Andrew Bird
14 Lua – Conor Oberst + Gillian Welch
15 When the Road Runs Out – Blonde Redhead + Devastations
16 Love vs. Porn – Kevin Drew

Is Filmmaker Is Vincent Moon Is Mathieu Saura

Do you know Vincent Moon? I'd bet you know of R.E.M. and maybe some of the 80+ smaller, emerging bands (Grizzly Bear, The Shins, Beirut, Arcade Fire, Jens Lenkman, Vampire Weekend, The National, Bon Iver, Jason Mraz, Jose Gonzales, The Kooks, etc.) that have let Vincent Moon have their way with them. Mathieu Saura, aka Vincent Moon, is a Parisian filmmaker that is making a pretty big name in the music, blog, and film scene and has yet to hit his 30th birthday.

I'm no filmmaker though I consider myself a huge fan of great storytelling, cinematography and acting. So, I asked a close friend in the film industry (who has worked with Vincent Moon) about his style and whether it's really THAT groundbreaking or magnificent. The answer was partially what I expected. Moon is definitely no slouch in film making but he's not blazing new trail either. He found a niche, a handful of thirsty clients and now he's cruising with the bigger boys. He simply films "improvised" performances by emerging bands in one take and applies smoothly sly camera moves, capturing bands in unique locations. The aspect that boggled me was that no matter the location or where the camera traveled, the sound remained impeccable, from the cramped elevator full of 9 band members to an empty parking lot. Maybe Moon is a fantastic or standard filmmaker, but much of the accolades should be headed toward his sound engineer.

There's been a bit of hub-bub (yes, I just used "hub-bub") going on the past week about Moon's latest video featuring Bon Iver. But, I'd rather draw focus on a few of his more admirable pieces of work: The Arcade Fire, The National and Beirut. There are well over 80 videos posted on Moon's La Blogotheque, most of which are worth watching, if only you had the time. That's why I'm here - to show you the BIG highlights among the dozens of shows and hundreds of songs. Nothing more needs to be said other than for you to hit the play buttons on all three videos and watch the unique film setting, camera work, and sterling sound quality that is captured by Vincent Moon and his team. The bands aren't half bad at what they do either.

The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (in an elevator)

The National - Start A War

by lablogotheque

Beirut (featuring Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear) - Cliquot