“Knotty Pine”
from the compilation Dark Was the Night
2009
The forthcoming Red Hot charity compilation Dark Was the Night contains some intriguing collaborations. The album has been produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, and will be available in stores on February 17. Among the collaborations are tracks by Feist and Ben Gibbard, Antony and Bryce Dessner, and this match-up between David Byrne and the Dirty Projectors.
Byrne talked about the collaboration on his blog last year, saying: “I sent Dave some lyrics I had written in maybe ’75 or ‘76. I used to type out odd little pieces in those years, some of which turned into Talking Heads songs. These lyrics were unlike any I knew at the time, and made some of those TH tunes so peculiar.”
Byrne calls it “a bouncy little tune,” and he’s not wrong. The song begins with a lone vocal from Amber Coffman, who is joined in the second verse by Dave Longstreth and Byrne, and Dirty Projectors bass player Angel Deradoorian. It bodes well for Dark Was the Night, which also includes tracks from Arcade Fire, Beirut, Grizzly Bear, and a version of “Amazing Grace” by Cat Power.