C'est la vie, as the French say, so moving on... this past week was very exiting because Dark Was the Night was released, on Feb. 17th. And if you haven't checked it out yet--you must!
It is not only a stunning album with a stellar group of contributers, but its for a good cause as well. All the proceeds will benefit the Red Hot Organization which is an international charity dedicated to raising money and awereness for AIDS/ HIV.
Dark Was the Night was produced by The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner, and they have been putting this album together for the past three years! They recently had a special on Sirius XMU, where they gave some insight about the tracks and the artists. If you have a chance to listen to that, I highly recommend it.
One of the stories that stood out for me, was the one about their own song. Aaron said that the night before they were going on the studio to record this song, they sent a copy of their song Around the Bend to musical genious Nico Muhly, asking him to come up with the arrangements for it. And by the next morning, Nico sent them the beautiful musical arrangement that you hear on the track!
Ah, to have that talent!
You can check out the track listing on the Dark Was the Night website, if you haven't seen it already. But here are my favorite tracks from this album:
The Books Feat. Jose Gonzales - Cello Song
-This Nick Drake cover is beautiful and upbeat. I really like it. And that is something, cuz all who know me know that I have a chip on my shoulder when it comes to Jose Gonzales, there is no real reason why I don't like him. Jose Gonzales or not, I totally enjoy this song - I think it sounds exotic, mysterious, and very inviting.
The National - So Far Around The Bend (streaming at DWtN website, or on this blog too!)
-The National have been playing this song live for a while now, sadly I can't recall whether they played it when I saw them. This is the song that I very inarticularly telling you about, where Nico Muhly does the arrangement for them.
Yeasayer - Tightrope
-Yeasayer is one of those bands where whenever I listen to their song, I tell myself: oh I really like this! but then I forget to get their album! c'est tragic. I really like this song! I think its great for early spring, sunny days when the air is crisp.
Antony + Bryce Dessner - I Was Young When I Left Home
-Dylan cover. very good. I don't usually like Antony's voice, but he does this song justice. Just listen to it.
Sufjan Stevens - You Are The Blood
-Again, I can't say that I was a big Sufjan Stevens fan. But this song made me a believer. Its 10 minutes long, he gets weird, he plays the piano. I love it. Its a Castanets cover.
These are the top 5 from that album, and its safe to say, that Dark Was the Night is a beautiful album, and it might show you a different side from artists that you had an already formed and perhaps unjustified opinion.
*Thanks to the Mountain Tempo, poptartssucktoasted.blogspot.com, and hypeful for the links.
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