Bright was the day

This post comes via the In Case You've Been Living In A Cave News Service, or as we like to call it around these parts, the ICYBLIACNS.  Not just Bliacns, but Icy ones.  

It's rare to come across a compilation that is worth the time put into it - usually they're disjointed, consist of a couple good tracks surrounded by filler, and don't represent any actual artistic vision.  Bands put in their one track to show their political affiliation, labels throw together a compilation to promote their less well known artists, old labels try to make some spare cash off of bands that have moved on to bigger and better things.

There is a compilation coming out, however, that is straight up amazing.  It's called Dark Was The Night, and is a compilation album organized by The National to benefit the Red Hot Organization, an "international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture".  A worthy cause if I've ever heard one.  The tracklist reads like my dream album collection, with cool artist pairings, awesome covers, a bunch of new songs, and all original recordings.  No recycled tracks here, please.

The track-list is jaw dropping.  The highlights?  All of it, really, but that "all of it" includes the Dirty Projectors teaming up with David Byrne, The Books teaming up with Jose Gonzalez, and Feist teaming up with Ben Gibbard.  And those are the first three tracks.  What?  Check the whole tracklist - and a new streaming track every day - at the Dark Was The Night myspace.

If any compilation deserves to be purchased at full price, it's this one, so go spend your indie dollars to get this album on Feb. 17th.  In the meantime, enjoy the approved-for-posting collaboration that kicks off the album, Dirty Projectors + David Byrne's "Knotty Pine".  Ah, so good.  Plus a couple of my favorite DP tracks for kicks.

Dirty Projectors and David Byrne - Knotty Pine (YSI) (filesavr)

Dirty Projectors - Like Fake Blood in Crisp October (YSI) (filesavr)

Dirty Projectors - I Will Truck (YSI) (filesavr)