you are the blood.

Well, creative people have, yet again, produced something that makes it easy for us to get involved.

The Red Hot Organisation is dedicated to supporting the fight against HIV and AIDS through pop culture.  Damn straight!  Do what you love to do and support what you’re passionate about… no compromise.  These guys have become super inspiring for me, even though I didn’t find their site through a proactive google search…

I was driving, listening to maybe my favorite radio station ever: Triple J, when I heard a new Arcade Fire song.  [!!!!!]  Well, I was immediately psyched because usually, new songs = new album = tour = I might get to see them.  I’ve been wanting to see the Arcade Fire for a very long time.

Come to find that they did the song for a compilation for the Red Hot Organisation.  So, no tour, but two discs of some seriously good music to support a passionate cause:

[I have bolded the tracks I am especially excited about.]

DARK WAS THE NIGHT

THIS DISC
1 Knotty Pine – Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
2 Cello Song (Nick Drake) – The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
3 Train Song (Vashti Bunyan recorded, written by Alasdair Clayre) – Feist + Ben Gibbard
4 Brackett, WI – Bon Iver
5 Deep Blue Sea – Grizzly Bear
6 So Far Around the Bend – The National (arrangement by Nico Muhly)
7 Tightrope – Yeasayer
8 Feeling Good (popularized by Nina Simone) – My Brightest Diamond
9 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
1 Well-Alright – Spoon
2 Lenin – Arcade Fire
3 Mimizan – Beirut
4 El Caporal – My Morning Jacket
5 Inspiration Information (Shuggie Otis) – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
6 With A Girl Like You (The Troggs) – Dave Sitek
7 Blood Pt 2 (based on original song “You are the Blood” by the Castanets) – Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
8 Hey, Snow White (Destroyer) – The New Pornographers
9 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

Check out the site to get more excited.

I am continually embarrassed by my lack of involvement in the needs of our world, especially the ones that I claim to care about.  This organisation attests to how beautiful the marriage of passions can be.  What if all of us, such different, incredible individuals, strived to combine our loves for a greater cause?

pop culture + the fight against HIV

art + environmental sustainability

running + the fight against breast cancer

live music + multiple sclerosis [a poster that is currently hanging close by.]

How amazing!

The possibilities are endless… and gorgeous.