So I'm Counting on Your Fingers

Various Artistes-Dark Was the Night:I was wracking my brain for weeks trying to place the song that plays during the opening scenes of THE BLIND SIDE. Then I finally got serious about it and consulted the web. Of course it was familiar, it was The Cello Song (a cover of a nick drake song) by The Books and José González. I'm ashamed. Made me dig out Dark was the Night, another charity collection benefiting the red hot organization.

It's for a good cause. It's got names. And some pretty big indie names. And I appreciate that a lot of people got involved, but maybe too much of a good thing. There's really only one disc of worthwhile songs scattered across the two discs. The rest of the two discs is filled with generic/archetypical offerings and then a handful of bottom of the barrel, probably put together on a bender all nighter just for the cause. I love the National tune (of course) am disappointed by the Grizzly Bear and MMJ songs, expected more from Stuart Murdoch and really wish Cat Power would go away (i'll never get it, i suppose)

I'm most partial to Bon Iver's Brackett, Wi. When we were kids, we'd sell calves at an auction house down by Brackett. It was so exciting to get up early and load the calves and then drive down through the big city (Eau Claire) to the stockyard south of there. My brother and I would watch excitedly as they'd unload the calves and then grandpa would pull the pickup around front. We'd enter the building as big shots, Joe and I, all proud that we had calves to sell. Sometimes we'd get bored with the action on the auction floor and we'd dare the catwalks over the cattle pens. 30 feet above with no net, and when the catwalk was wooden, it was really exciting. And of course, there was always cherry pie in the cafeteria for lunch. Funny how a song title can strike such a chord.