Last fall, we reported brilliantly on charity organization War Child and the then-forthcoming details of their partnership with Astralwerks Records in releasing Heroes, a benefit album whose proceeds will provide humanitarian assistance to the war-affected children in some of the most devastated regions in the world.
In case you’ve forgotten, the album's concept mirrors one of the intrinsic aims of War Child's efforts in war zones around the world -- to place faith in the next generation (not that Next Generation, you nerd). In other words, they basically asked a whole heaping mess of rock elders to select a classic track from their own canon and nominate an artist from the current scene to create a modern reworking of that classic song.
Well, it seems the record is now complete, boasting 16, count ’em, 16 tracks of classic tunes from the likes of The Clash, Dylan, The Kinks, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, and many more, as interpreted by such TMT-relevant acts as TV on the Radio, Beck, The Hold Steady, Hot Chip, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc. It’s like your very own Best New Music compilation CD... whatever that is!
Anyway, Heroes will officially be released on February 24, 2009 via Astralwerks. And hey, it looks like our personally-biased, overly-critical, yellow journalism has paid off once again, because what’s that down there rounding out the tracklisting? A cover of Bowie’s “Heroes!” Ah, the system works... Ahem, now, save those kids, everyone!
Heroes tracklist:
1. Beck (Bob Dylan - "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat")
2. The Kooks (The Kinks - "Victoria")
3. The Hold Steady (Bruce Springsteen - "Atlantic City")
4. Hot Chip (Joy Division - "Transmission")
5. Lily Allen feat. Mick Jones (The Clash - "Straight To Hell")
6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (The Ramones - "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker")
7. Franz Ferdinand (Blondie - "Call Me")
8. Duffy (Paul McCartney - "Live And Let Die")
9. Estelle (Stevie Wonder - "Superstition")
10. Rufus Wainwright (Brian Wilson -" Wonderful & Song For Children")
11. Scissor Sisters (Roxy Music - "Do The Strand")
12. Peaches (Iggy Pop - "Search And Destroy")
13. Adam Cohen (Leonard Cohen - "Take This Waltz")
14. Elbow (U2 - "Running To Stand Still")
15. The Like (Elvis Costello - "You Belong To Me")
16. TV On The Radio (David Bowie - "Heroes")
