Can't Stop Spinning: Dark Was The Night

Rarely ever in life to find a compilation to be so perfect in every way, especially a comp like this one. It's kind of like a mix, based on the theme of a mood, arranged in a near perfect order, intricately tied together. The curators of said mix/comp, the Brothers Dessner of The National, teamed up with the Red Hot Foundation to put together Dark Was The Night, and the entire indie/hipster scene is swooning over the comp. The duets (Feist with Ben Gibbard! AND Grizzly Bear!), new songs from our favorites (Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, Bon Iver) and even that recluse Sufjan came out to play.

Every song is like a hit single in its own way or can easily be placed in the soundtrack of one's life. For me, Yo La Tengo's cover of Snapper's "Gentle Hour" and Bon Iver's "Brackett, WI" are the perfect wander in the snow late at night in the city songs. You can people watch to Feist and Ben together on "Train Song" sounds like a cold fall afternoon, crisp be the air and the leaves. Yeasayer's "Tightrope" being dusk on a summer's night, on your best friend's patio, on your ex lover's balcony.

You know how people listen to an album, and every time they listen they find something new they love about it, whether it's a song in general or a select track's middle section or chorus? Comps can be different in that with each time you listen, you don't just find a new song to enjoy, but a new artist to explore and then even more music to add to your collection. For me, "Tightrope" was so catchy that I've finally taken the time to sit with Yeasayer's All Hour Cymbals and I find it quite good. Maybe with a few more spins I'll finally be in to Antony or Sufjan?

Buy: Dark Was The Night [here]