Indie Charity Compilations: Excellence
I’ve been listening to two epic charity compilations to near ear excess: Dark Was the Night and War Child: Heroes. You do not want to be without these tracks, trust me.
Good music + good causes = a damn good reason to buy and listen to some music.
This is a two-disc compilation by the Red Hot Organization to benefit AIDS awareness, which was released in February. The tracklisting of Dark Was the Night reads like a who’s who of current indie all-stars and hell, it sounds it. Witness Yeasayer above! For the full tracklisting, charity description, some song previews, and purchasing info check the official website. Contributors Bon Iver and the Decemberists will both be playing at Sasquatch! on Saturday, May 23rd and Grizzly Bear and Beach House will be playing on Monday. Kismet!
War Child: Heroes is marketed as the ultimate cover album. No arguments here! War Child asked legendary artists like Bob Dylan, The Ramones, Blondie, and Bowie to pick a favorite song to have a “new act” cover. Proceeds go to benefit “children affected by war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.” How cool is that? And the results are magical. A cover of Iggy Pop’s Search and Destroy by Peaches? Yes, please. TV on the Radio covering Heroes by Bowie… somebody pinch me! Lilly Allen singing Straight to Hell – WTF, but AWESOME. For more info on this project and ways to purchase this compilation go to the War Child website.
