Videos : Learn how to be a real guitar hero with Vampire Weekend and The National

Q TV brings you an assortment of Indie Rock luminaries to teach you how to play your favourite tracks on guitar.

Our first one on one lesson is with Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig showing us how to recreate "A-Punk".



The National's Aaron Dessner gives us a "Fake Empire" lesson.

New sounds from The National

In case you haven't heard, The National have been road testing new material.

Here are two new tracks that were captured in Montreal and Boston last month, in all their audio and visual glory:

Blood Buzz Ohio (Live In Montreal) [mp3]

The Runaway (Live In Boston) [mp3]

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Dark Was The Night - Youtube Footage from the concert

Well the reviews for Dark Was The Night, the concert are in from Pitchfork and Stereogum overnight and it sounded incredible!

The setlist (courtesy of Pitchfork)

Dirty Projectors:
"Useful Chamber"
"Stillness Is the Move"
"Ambulance Man" [ft. David Byrne]
"Knotty Pine" [ft. David Byrne]

My Brightest Diamond:
"Feeling Good" (Nina Simone cover) [ft. the National]

The National:
"Slow Show"
"England"
"So Far Around the Bend" [ft. Bon Iver]
New Song [ft. My Brightest Diamond and Bon Iver]

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

David Byrne:
"Don't Fence Me In" (Cole Porter cover)
"Dreamworld: Marco de Canavezes" [ft. Bon Iver]
"Waters of March" [ft. Feist]

Bon Iver:
"Brackett, WI"
"Blood Bank"
"Big Red Machine" [ft. the National]
"Flume" [ft. My Brightest Diamond]

Feist:
"Wagoner's Lad" (Tim O'Brien cover)
"Look at What Light Did Now" (Little Wings cover)
"Train Song" (Vashti Bunyan cover) [ft. Bon Iver]
"Someday Baby" (Bob Dylan cover)

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings:
"Not Gonna Cry"
"When I Come Home"
"Inspiration Information"
"100 Days, 100 Nights"

Dark Was the Night All-Stars/Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings:
"This Land Is Your Land"

And for those of us who were stuck on the other side of the globe while this all went down, we can attempt to piece together what we can of it thanks to the wonders of Youtube:

Looking for mp3s?
Check out our free mp3 download page here!

The National's Aaron Dessner interview on Dark Was The Night and new National album up on Pitchfork

Pitchfork have posted a lengthy interview with Aaron Dessner of The National about the Dark Was The Night compilation and work on the new album from The National. Read it here.

The National - So Far Round The Bend from Dark Was The Night

For your downloading pleasure, from the brilliant Dark Was The Night compilation. If you haven't picked yourself up a copy yet, why the hell not? Get it already! Not only is an incredible collection of exclusive material from the likes of The National, David Byrne, Spoon, Sharon Jones etc, all proceeds go towards AIDs projects via the Red Hot Organisation.

So Far Round The Bend [mp3]

Dark Was The Night compilation out now

Dark Was The Night, the 20th release by the Red Hot Organization to raise funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS, is out now.

Produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, DWTN is available on double CD and triple vinyl and features 31 new and exclusive tracks from a vast array of indie's biggest names including Feist, Arcade Fire and Sharon Jones.

Here are just a few tracks from the release:

Dark Was The Night Widget

February 14th will see the release of the 20th Red Hot Charity compilation, Dark Was The Night, curated by The National's Dessner brothers.

Over the past week or so, a different track from the album has been uploaded on the DWTN MySpace page. Already uploaded have been a collaboration between Dirty Projectors + David Byrne (on first single Knotty Pine, downloadable here), as well as songs from Bon Iver, The National, Feist and My Brightest Diamond.

If you missed them the first time around, you can now head over to the DWTN website and make your widget player.



For those unaware, the Red Hot Organisation is an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS, using music as a great way of achieving both. Their track record is second-to-none, having worked with many greats in their time (including U2, George Michael, Madonna, Nirvana, Johnny Cash, David Bowie, Dolly Parton, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Wu Tang Clan among many, many more) and Dark Was The Night is the next instalment in an already esteemed compilation series.

First single from Dark Was The Night compilation

Dark Was The Night is a 31-track compilation produced for noted AIDS charity The Red Hot Organisation and features a stellar cast of musicians including Cat Power, The Decemberists, Sharon Jones and Arcade Fire. Out February 14th, Dark Was The Night was produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner from The National with John Carlin (the charity’s founder).

The first single is Knotty Pine, a fantastic collaboration between Dirty Projectors and David Byrne. The 7" is backed with an excellent new track from The National, So Far Around The Bend.

Knotty Pine by Dirty Projectors + David Byrne [mp3]


To hear more tracks from Dark Was The Night, head to their MySpace where they are currently uploading a new track each day. The full tracklist can be found here.

Dark Was The Night tracklist revealed

The tracklist for Dark Was The Night, a Red Hot charity compilation curated by The National's Dessner brothers, has been revealed. The release will be available on double CD and triple vinyl on February 14th.

DISC ONE:

1. "Knotty Pine" - Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
2. "Cello Song" - The Books featuring Joses Gonzalez
3. "Train Song" - Feist and Ben Gibbard
4. "Brackett, WI" - Bon Iver
5. "Deep Blue Sea" - Grizzly Bear
6. "So Far Around The Bend" - The National
7. "Tightrope" - Yeasayer
8. "Feeling Good" - My Brightest Diamond
9. "Dark Was The Night" - Kronos Quartet
10. "I Was Young When I Left Home" - Antony with Bryce Dessner
11. "Big Red Machine" - Justin Vernon + Aaron Dessner
12. "Sleepless" - The Decemberists
13. "Die" - Iron & Wine
14. "Service Bell" - Grizzly Bear + Feist
15. "You Are The Blood" - Sufjan Stevens


DISC TWO:

1. "Well-Alright" - Spoon
2. "Lenin" - Arcade Fire
3. "Mimizan" - Beirut
4. "El Caporal" - My Morning Jacket
5. "Inspiration Information" - Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
6. "With A Girl Like You" - Dave Sitek
7. "Blood Pt. 2" - Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
8. "Hey, Snow White" - The New Pornographers
9. "Gentle Hour" - Yo La Tengo
10. "Amazing Grace" - Cat Power
11. "Happiness" - Riceboy Sleeps
12. "Another Saturday" - Stuart Murdoch
13. "The Giant Of Illinois" - Andrew Bird
14. "Lua" - Conor Oberst with Gillian Welch
15. "When The Road Runs Out" - Blonde Redhead & Devastations
16. "Love Vs. Porn" - Kevin Drew

The National's Dessner brothers curate new Red Hot compilation

In conjunction with WORLD AIDS DAY on Monday December 1, 4AD have announced the official release date, complete list of participating artists and cover art for the upcoming release Dark Was The Night.

Dark Was The Night will be released in Australia on February 14th, 2009. The album is produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, and John Carlin - founder of the Red Hot Organization - is the album's executive producer. Dark Was the Night comprises 31 exclusive tracks on double CD/triple vinyl and will benefit the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. Red Hot was founded on the premise that even without a cure, AIDS remains a preventable disease, and that music is a great vehicle to raise money for and awareness of it. This is the 20th year of Red Hot and Dark Was the Night is the 20th release.

The complete list of artists (in alphabetical order) on the album is:
Andrew Bird
Antony + Bryce Dessner
Arcade Fire
Beirut
Blonde Redhead + Devastations
Bon Iver
Bon Iver & Aaron Dessner
The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Seregeti)
Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
The Decemberists
Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
Kevin Drew
Feist + Ben Gibbard
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear + Feist
Iron & Wine
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Kronos Quartet
Stuart Murdoch
My Brightest Diamond
My Morning Jacket
The National
The New Pornographers
Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch
Riceboy Sleeps
Dave Sitek
Spoon
Sufjan Stevens
Yeasayer
Yo La Tengo

Dark Was The Night will be out through 4AD/ Remote Control on February 14, 2009.

Obama enlists The National to bring hope and change

Brooklyn's The National have gone from playing sold out shows in Australia earlier this year to featuring in Barack Obama's latest promotional video. An instrumental version of the much loved track Fake Empire underpins snippets of everyday Americans working for change.


The National's latest album Boxer is out now in Australia through Beggars Banquet/Remote Control.
Their latest release is the A Skin, A Night DVD / CD package featuring an exclusive documentary on The National by French director Vincent Moon and the 12 song Virginia EP with material from the band.

www.myspace.com/thenational