Red Hot + Rio (Indie Love)

Have you guys heard of an Organization called Red Hot? From what I can tell, they raise money for AIDS research by having musicians make CDs and giving the money to charity. A few years ago, they released Dark Was the Night, which had a bunch of songs recorded by American indie artists that I love.

But the big super exciting news is that now, they're releasing an album called Red Hot + Rio 2 (they apparently already had Red Hot + Rio 1 that seems to only be available as a physical CD on Amazon). The first Red Hot + Rio CD seems less exciting because I don't know any of the artists.

HOWEVER.

Red Hot + Rio 2 is a Brazil-residing Indie lover's dream. It's basically a bunch of my favorite non-Brazilian bands and singers either singing in Portuguese or collaborating musically with awesome and talented Brazilian musicians. (On a side note, it's basically a musical metonymy for my relationship.)

Check out the description from the official website:

The compilation features over 30 original collaborations between Brazil’s legendary musicians and today’s international indie artists including John Legend, Os Mutantes, Devendra Banhart, Caetano Veloso, Dirty Projectors, Seu Jorge, Beck, Bebel Gilberto, José Gonzalez, Beirut, Tom Zé, Of Montreal, Marisa Monte Gogol Bordello, DJ Dolores, Aloe Blacc, Angelique Kidjo, Rita Lee, Madlib, Money Mark, Céu, Apollo Nove, Mayra Andrade, Trio Mocotó, Tha Boogie, Alice Smith, Carlinhos Brown, Los Van Van, Brazilian Girls, Marcos Valle, St. Vincent, Neon Indian, Forró In The Dark, Mia Doi Todd, Javelin, and many more.

Aren't you so excited?! But it doesn't come out until June 28th! How will I stand the wait? There's also the moral dilemma of whether to illegally download or legally buy a charity CD. I guess I have until the end of June to figure that out, though I think I'll feel too guilty for stealing money from AIDS orphans in Africa to torrent it.

If you think this kind of stuff is annoying, well, that's Ok. If nothing else, this CD will show Brazilians what it feels like to hear a non-native speaker sing their native language.

My procrastinating on translating has also led me to discover that Death Cab for Cutie is releasing a new album at the end of May. Happiness!

If this stuff is up your alley (Fiona, Carolina), check out Beruit's Caetano Veloso cover here, and a new Death Cab song here.

Ok ok ok ok. Back to work.