dark was the night

according to pitchfork, there is a new aids-awareness benefit double album on its way. it's got all the typical trappings of such a project, except pretty much any indie band that's worth a damn is on there. and they all recorded new tracks...

wait, what? 

yes.

Dark Was the Night:

This Disc:

01 Dirty Projectors and David Byrne: "Knotty Pine" 
02 The Books [ft. Jose Gonzalez]: "Cello Song" (Nick Drake cover) 
03 Feist and Ben Gibbard: "Train Song" (Vashti Bunyan cover)
04 Bon Iver: "Brackett, WI"
05 Grizzly Bear: "Deep Blue Sea"
06 The National: "So Far Around the Bend" (arrangement by Nico Muhly)
07 Yeasayer: "Tightrope" 
08 My Brightest Diamond: "Feeling Good" (Nina Simone cover)
09 Kronos Quartet: "Dark Was the Night" (Blind Willie Johnson cover) 
10 Antony and Bryce Dessner: "I Was Young When I Left Home" (Bob Dylan cover)
11 Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner: "Big Red Machine"
12 The Decemberists: "Sleepless"
13 Iron and Wine: "Stolen Houses (Die)"
14 Grizzly Bear and Feist: "Service Bell"
15 Sufjan Stevens: "You Are the Blood"

That Disc:

01 Spoon: "Well-Alright"

02 Arcade Fire: "Lenin"

03 Beirut: "Mimizan"

04 My Morning Jacket: "El Caporal"

05 Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: "Inspiration Information" (Shuggie Otis cover)

06 Dave Sitek: "With a Girl Like You" (The Troggs cover)

07 Buck 65 [ft. Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti]: "Blood Pt 2"  (based on "You are the Blood" by Castanets)

08 The New Pornographers: "Hey, Snow White" (Destroyer cover)

09 Yo La Tengo: "Gentle Hour" (Snapper cover)

10 Stuart Murdoch: "Another Saturday" (traditional)

11 Riceboy Sleeps: "Happiness"

12 Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues: "Amazing Grace" (traditional)

13 Andrew Bird: "The Giant of Illinois" (Handsome Family cover)

14 Conor Oberst and Gillian Welch: "Lua"

15 Blonde Redhead and Devestations: "When the Road Runs Out"

16 Kevin Drew: "Love vs. Porn"

http://www.darkwasthenight.com/

the album will be released on February 17th, 2009. and it gets better, aaron and bryce dessner of the national produced the album. you can stream one song a day on the album's myspace page. 

but one minor clarification: what do they mean by aids awarness? please tell me the sole purpose is not "raise awareness about the dangers of aids." didn't a bunch of televised melodrama do this for us in the 80's and 90's (i remember a character getting aids on life goes on)? and what was "live 8" about? i still don't undertand.

if it means aids prevention education, i guess that's something else. so please dismiss my caustic comments and get excited about the album and supporting aids awareness.