The Year in News 2009
Ryan Dombal, Tom Breihan, and Amy Phillips, Pitchfork, 7 December 2009 [Link]

JANUARY
DARK WAS THE NIGHT-- QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST INDIE COMPILATION EVER MADE

When we announced the tracklist for charity compilation Dark Was the Night on January 15, it almost seemed fake. David Byrne, Sufjan Stevens, the Decemberists, Conor Oberst, Stuart Murdoch, Grizzly Bear, the National, Feist, Bon Iver, Cat Power, Andrew Bird, Dirty Projectors, and many, many more on the same album?! Not only was it true but the record-- curated by the National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner-- summed up the whole Indie Universe more than any other this year. Best of all, the project raised almost $700,000 for AIDS awareness organization Red Hot.