|
|
|
|
|
|
Charity
Lighting the Way
By Ian Gormely
Charity compilations are predominantly one-note affairs propelled by the weight of their cause rather than the quality of the music. So it's a minor miracle that the Red Hot Organization, which raises money to fund AIDS relief programs around the world, has managed to produce a string of quality, often essential collections over its 20-year existence.
The charity's latest release, Dark Was the Night, is a sprawling two-disc affair filled with some of the brightest indie rock luminaries. The record's 31 tracks were produced by the National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner; prior to the National's success, Aaron worked for the design firm owned by Red Hot founder John Carlin, so the brothers were a natural choice.
As producers, the pair were responsible for "everything," says Bryce. "The whole vision. We were driving the whole thing." And while there is no specific theme to the compilation, traditional American songs and arrangements heavily influenced by Harry Smith's field recordings are pervasive — the album even shares its name with a Blind Willie Johnson tune. "The concept of the record was shaped by who was on it," explains Bryce. Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire and Antony Hegarty, with whom Bryce recorded a version of Bob Dylan's "I Was Young When I Left Home," were early participants who helped to set the album's tone.
Artists were encouraged to write original tracks or choose cover songs relevant to the record. "We were hoping to document our own generation," says Bryce, citing the 1993 Red Hot comp No Alternative as a touchstone for Dark Was the Night. But Bryce also hopes that the high profile compilation will remind people that though they might not experience it day to day, AIDS is still a global epidemic. "We're still in this," he says. "This isn't over."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Exercise Limb Lifts For Hipsters
Anyone who's been to a yoga class knows the music is pretty damn boring. A rocker chick can only listen to rain storms, tranquil beats and tides coming in for so long before she wants to punch her fist through the sound system. Enter Yoga For Indie Rockers, Pilates for Indie Rockers ...Read More
|
|
|
Music Visualizer Get Your Colours Done
Is your music more pink than green? The synesthesia of music and visuals is vividly represented via the intriguing Master's thesis of MIT's Anita Lillie. Her Musicbox software lets you see what your taste looks like by grouping music in your library by its meta-information and acoustic properties....Read More
|
|
|
Comedy Whatevs and Evs Amen
Absurdist Eugene Mirman possesses no "life coach" qualifications but in his hilarious new book, The Will to Whatevs — A Guide to Modern Life, he pretends. The New York-based comedian is a gutsy humourist; his stand-up records for indie rock labels Suicide Squeeze and Sub Pop, short films, a...Read More
|
|
|
Videogames Hot Damn
Just when you thought you were out of GTA IV, they keep pulling you back in. But Rockstar's new Xbox-only "episode" The Lost and Damned ain't no drive-by add-on. Unlike recent expansions for Fable 2 and Fallout 3, which were glorified side-quests, this 8-plus-hour download p...Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
|
|