Attn Boston: A ‘Dark Was The Night’ Listening Party
Posted on February 10, 2009 at 11:04 am | No Comments
This coming Monday night, on February 16th, I’m extremely proud to be hosting the Boston-area listening party for the upcoming 4AD-released “Dark Was The Night” benefit cd compilation at my beloved River Gods in Cambridge. The disc, which arrives in stores the next day and was put together by Bryan and Aaron Dessner from the National, features some amazing artists (see full list below) donating 31 exclusive songs to the Red Hot Organization, whose efforts go towards raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment.
The night will include giveaways (several copies of the two-disc compilation, along with some surprise musical goodies, and even some complimentary beverages), and guest DJ Ryan Walsh from Boston-based band Hallelujah the Hills, who will join me in selecting songs to play before and after the album itself. And in the spirit of the occasion, we’ll also be collecting donations for the Boston Living Center, an area HIV/AIDS assistance program, so bring a few extra dollars for the jar if you can spare them.
The evening kicks off at 8pm, and is brought to you by Red Hot, 4AD, Insound, River Gods, Dewar’s, and of course, Bradley’s Almanac. River Gods is located at 125 Cambridge St., in Cambridge, MA, near Central Square. The Facebook event page for the listening party is here, and to preview some songs from the compilation, head here.
The full track listing for “Dark Was The Night”…
THIS DISC
01. “Knotty Pine” – Dirty Projectors & David Byrne
02. “Cello Song” (Nick Drake) – The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
03. “Train Song” (Vashti Bunyan recorded, written by Alasdair Clayre) – Feist & Ben Gibbard
04. “Brackett, WI” – Bon Iver
05. “Deep Blue Sea” – Grizzly Bear
06. “So Far Around the Bend” – The National (arrangement by Nico Muhly)
07. “Tightrope” – Yeasayer
08. “Feeling Good” (popularized by Nina Simone) – My Brightest Diamond
09. “Dark Was the Night” (Blind Willie Johnson) – Kronos Quartet
10. “I Was Young When I Left Home” (Bob Dylan) – Antony & Bryce Dessner
11. “Big Red Machine” – Justin Vernon & Aaron Dessner
12. “Sleepless” – The Decemberists
13. “Stolen Houses” (Die) – Iron and Wine
14. “Service Bell” – Grizzly Bear & Feist
15. “You Are The Blood” – Sufjan Stevens
THAT DISC
01. “Well-Alright” – Spoon
02. “Lenin” – Arcade Fire
03. Mimizan – Beirut
04. “El Caporal” – My Morning Jacket
05. “Inspiration Information” (Shuggie Otis) – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
06. “With A Girl Like You” (The Troggs) – Dave Sitek
07. “Blood Pt 2” (based on original song “You are the Blood” by the Castanets) – Buck 5 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
08. “Hey, Snow White” (Destroyer) – The New Pornographers
09. “Gentle Hour” (Snapper) – Yo La Tengo
10. “Another Saturday” (traditional song) – Stuart Murdoch
11. “Happiness” – Riceboy Sleeps
12. “Amazing Grace” (traditional song) – Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
13. “The Giant Of Illinois” (Handsome Family) – Andrew Bird
14. “Lua” – Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch
15. “When the Road Runs Out” – Blonde Redhead & Devastations
16. “Love vs. Porn” – Kevin Drew
IFFBoston: On Funding The Film Fest
Posted on February 3, 2009 at 2:32 pm | No Comments
While we’re all waiting for this particularly brutal winter to end, the crew behind the annual Independent Film Festival of Boston is working hard to make our approaching spring that much better. At this very moment, there’s a team of people spending their precious free time organizing the best damn film fest New England has to offer — traveling to Sundance and elsewhere, watching piles of screeners, inviting filmmakers, concocting schedules, and devising promotional schemes — all to bring us hours and hours of visual entertainment in late April.
What can get lost each year, in the exchanging of cash for badges, tickets, and fresh popcorn, is the simple fact that the IFFBoston is entirely non-profit. Not a single person involved gets paid, all funds made go towards mounting costs (which often involve the flying in and putting up some truly special fest guests) or back into the planning the next one. So as you’re thinking ahead to April 22nd, when the 7th (has it really been seven years?) edition of the fest kicks off, think about the preparation that’s going on behind the scenes. And in these fairly dire economic times, consider making a donation towards this year’s fest.
With the recession hitting businesses hard, apparently some IFFBoston sponsors are cutting back on funding this year, and the fest is in danger of losing the momentum they’ve been building for so long. I can tell you from experience that the IFFB has gotten bigger and better each and every year, and I can’t be alone in wanting to see that continue.
Any amount, from $10 to 100 times that, would naturally be appreciated. However, anyone who donates $1000 or more can get a visit from IFFBoston staff, who will show up at your house and serenade you with song (either requests or surprises, and be warned — word is they specialize in ’80s music, and have had mucho practice thanks to karaoke and Rock Band). While donations can be made anytime via PayPal, this particular offer is only good through the end of this month, as things could (hopefully!) get a little too busy for the crew in March and April to be out singing for our cinematic supper.
For more information on IFFBoston fundraising, including where you could send a check, head here. Keep in mind that the fest is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so all contributions are totally tax-deductible, and you’ll get a note for tax time. You can also designate your donation as a gift, and the festival folks will send along a gift card notification to your recipient.
For those who look forward to the fest as much as I do, make sure you sign up for their mailing list (where they often announce special year-round screenings they help put on), keep tabs on what they’re up to with Twitter, and befriend them on Facebook (here’s the specific event page). Stalk them, thank them, worship them.