Dark Was The Night

"Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground"...words that are fairly apt for the way things seem to be going in my small-town/suburbia. I'd like to take the credit for them, but unfortunately, Blind Wille Johnson, the blues great, got there before me. They're words with an incredible amount of pathos instilled in them, words which etch a scene of desolation, hardship and longing. Words that share a sense of the darkness, the despair of someone suffering from the devastation caused by HIV/AIDS. Fitting then, that "Dark Was The Night" is the title of a two cd, 2009 compilation album from the Red Hot Organization, an international charity dedicated to raising money for HIV/AIDS treatment. The album's made up of a pretty extraordinary cast of American musicans, most of them critical darlings in the vein of Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, Feist etc. If those kind of names get you excited, then this album is an injection of pure bliss, a glorious roll-call of the kind of bands and artists that dominate the fantastic NPR "All Songs Considered" playlists.

There's a little bit of a danger that this album could be regarded as a fanboy collection, a series of artists with pretty rabid, avid fanbases who just rolled out a couple of tunes, knowing that no matter what the quality, a certain level of sales (for charity, remember) would be guaranteed. But there is something lurking in the depths of Disc 1 that changes the whole game, that turns this from a worthy exercise in fundraising into a glittering, glowing, mesmerising foray into what electronica can achieve.

Remember Sufjan Stevens? Stevens came galloping into our consciousness with Illinoise and Michigan, a veritable icon of the arrogance of youth, proudly espousing his plans to make an album for every American state...claims that he has since admitted were cheques his mouth was writing, but his mind will never be able to cash. Illinoise was one of the greatest albums of the last ten years, and Sufjan appeared to be one of the most exciting prospects for the next generation of music...and then he disappeared. Following up on Illinoise with Christmas albums, an Oddities and Rarities album, and finally his operatic opus "The Brooklyn Queens Expressway", Stevens has managed to disappoint many, including myself.

But then there comes "You are the Blood".




The video above is the original version of "You Are The Blood", by Castanets, which is the the moniker that Raymond Raposa of "freak-folk" fame plays under. Not too impressed? Mind not blown? Me either.



When I first heard "Someone Great", the LCD Soundsystem track, hidden in the post-disco mix that James Murphy made for Nike, "45:33", it was one of those moments when a beat, a melody, a thick bassline made a mark on me that I'll never be able to erase. The first time I heard Steven's "You Are The Blood", it made that same indelible impression on my mind. The Youtube version doesn't even quite do it justice...this is one of those rare (ever rarer in these days of mp3 and Youtube) tracks that doesn't just need a quality sound system...it demands one. To listen to this on a pair of computer speakers or a pair of cheap headphones is like looking at a blood-red sunset over the Grand Canyon through a pair of glasses smeared with vaseline. The sharpness of the glitches, the thick, fuzzy bass, the sweetness of the vocals...this is a precise piece of noise, and to cheapen the experience and blur the edges of its perfection with poor quality sound would be a crime.

So if you have the time, the ability and the inclination...please...close the door, ramp the level up, download the official version (it's for charity!), close your eyes and let a mark be made upon your mind.