"Shane MacGowan & Friends" Benefit Song for Haitian Relief Coming 3/8

Benefit songs don't always stand the test of time. I have to admit that to this day, hearing the original "We Are the World" still makes my eardrums cry in pain (even WITH Springsteen in it) because it was played soooo daaaamnn much then. And let's be honest, it's not a song you'd listen to on repeat even if you liked it. The smart move would be to find a song that's a classic and get some popular artists to get folks to buy it.

As we mentioned a little while back, Nick Cave, Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, and Mick Jones of The Clash, among others, took the latter approach in order to raise money for Haitian relief. "Shane MacGowan and Friends" got together recently to do an all-star cover of "I Put a Spell On You," which will be available as a download next month. They released the video from the recording yesterday and...call it a way cooler antithesis to that "We Are the World" remake. And what's better, it's a good version of the song. Really good. And MacGowan's scratchy voice and caterwalling yells add such a cool element. Screamin Jay Hawkins, the song's originator, would be proud. That's the beauty of classic songs, they become classic because they're just downright great. So you get a classic song, sung by some of the best artists around, AND it benefits a good cause? What more do you need?

"I Put a Spell on You" will be available on 3/8 here. All proceeds will go to Concern Worldwide, an Irish-based international humanitarian organization, which has been working in Haiti for more than 16 years.

Shane MacGowan, Mick Jones, Nick Cave, and Chrisse Hynde, Among Others, Releasing Benefit Single for Haiti

Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan and Mick Jones of The Clash have organized a group of musicians to cover the Screamin Jay Hawkins song "I Put a Spell On You" as a benefit single for Haitian relief. Sort of a punk "alternative" to Simon Cowell, who is also putting out a benefit single, as is Quincy Jones' remake of "We Are the World," Jones and MacGowan brought in other musicians, such as Chrissie Hynde and Sex Pistols Glen Matlock among others, with Nick Cave as producer.

The single is set for release in late February. Money raised is going to Concern Worldwide, an Irish-based international humanitarian organisation, which has been working in Haiti for more than 16 years.

Read more: Shane MacGowan, Nick Cave and Johnny Depp team up for Haiti single

Wilco Will Love You & Haiti, Baby: Wilco Giving Away Concert MP3s for Haiti Donation

Entertainment Weekly of all things reported yesterday that Wilco is giving away recordings of two shows from last year. One of the two includes last year's show in Coney Island, NYC, which had guest appearances Feist, Yo La Tengo, and Ed Droste from Grizzly Bear. The other is from last November in London.

The show downloads are free but the band is requesting that fans make a donation for Haitain relief efforts to Oxfam (here) or Doctors Without Borders (here). "In exchange for the free music, we ask that you make a minimum donation of $15 to one of the organizations listed if you are able." Considering how completely mind-blowing the Coney Island show was said to be, $15 is well worth it for that show alone. So please donate what you can.

Wilco Shows for Haiti Donations

Wilco: Keyspan Park, Brooklyn, NY (07-13-09)

-Donate to Oxfam here
-Donate to Doctors Without Borders here

Wilco: HMV Forum, London, UK (11-04-09)

Seen Your Video: "Hard Times Come Again No More" by Mary J. Blige on Hope for Haiti Benefit

I feel silly even writing what I'm about to write, but the beauty of a voice carrying a piece of music made me weep this weekend. Sure, music is a big part of my life and sure, I've been "moved" by music, like getting goosebumps or not breathing for a second when a song or a lyric has especially hit home. But never, ever, have I been moved to tears by the beauty of a voice. And oddly, it happened by way of an artist whose music I never follow-Mary J Blige.

Though I'm not a fan of her music, I have always thought that Blige had an amazing voice; how could you not? The power and emotion that she employs makes a listener feel like you and Mary are having a heart-to-heart, like she's really feeling everything she's singing. Blige also doesn't seem to employ vocal gymnastics and go all over a register to be impressive (I'm looking at you Beyonce).

But this weekend I was watching clips from Friday's Hope for Haiti Benefit broadcast and I randomly clicked on hers. The waterworks weren't immediate, but about half way through her version of "Hard Times Come Again No More," I felt myself getting choked up. The song, written in 1854 by Stephen Foster, is a song of endurance, of sympathy, and of strength of character. The song has been done wonderfully by a good many others, but the stunning magnificence and grace that is Blige's voice, coupled with a song about perseverance and appreciation of life itself, just put it over the edge. It seemed so silly at first, having tears fall over a singer's voice. But it gave me a great reminder that music can (and has) moved people to move proverbial mountains, as well as make one's heart sing if you just listen.

Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
There's a song that will linger forever in our ears;
Oh Hard times come again no more.

Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
Hard Times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door;
Oh hard times come again no more.
While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
There are frail forms fainting at the door;
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say
Oh hard times come again no more.

There's a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,
With a worn heart whose better days are o'er:
Though her voice would be merry, 'tis sighing all the day,
Oh hard times come again no more.

Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,
Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore
Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave
Oh hard times come again no more.

Seen Your Video: Justin Timberlake/Mark Morris Cover "Hallelujah" @ Hope for Haiti Benefit

It's easy to rag on Justin Timberlake: the denim tux he wore with Brittney, the hair, the boy-band heritage. One thing you can't rag on him for though is his voice: this man can sing. I knew The Hope for Haiti Benefit was happening but apparently, I'd missed the "when" (it was last night). Timberlake and Mark Morris covered Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah“ and while everyone and his mom seems to have covered this song, a select few (Cohen, Jeff Buckley) do it with the justice it deserves. This Timberlake/Morris version should now be added to that "few" column. It's mindblowingly beautiful.

The version can also be purchased on iTunes.

NYC's Bell House Hosting Strength Through Unity Benefit for Haiti on Jan. 27

Wow, what a tremendous lineup! The Bell House in NYC just announced the "Strength Through Unity: A Benefit for the Victims of the Earthquake in Haiti." The benefit is set for Wednesday, 1/27 and 100% of the proceeds will be split between the Save the Children and Partners in Health charities.

Lineup is to include...
Jimmy Fallon, Cold War Kids, Ted Leo, Eugene Mirman, The Wrens, Sondre Lerche, Todd Barry, and Here We Go Magic. AC Newman (New Pornographers), Rhett Miller (Old 97s), and Nicole Atkins will perform as The Seekers.

Tickets are $50 and go on sale Monday, 1/18 @ noon here.

DMV Helps Haiti Benefit Concert Set for 930 Club This Monday

BL&L doesn't typically cover rap events but when one is for a cause this important, you have to do what you can. DC rapper Wale is gathering a bunch of friends and other DC artists for a benefit to raise funds for residents of Haiti this Monday, 1/18, at the 930 Club. Organized by DMV Helps Haiti, 100% of all ticket sales will be donated to the Partners in Health Organization and Yéle Haiti, which was founded by Wyclef Jean.

Coined "DMV Helps Haiti Benefit Concert", the lineup will include Wale w/ D.C. Don Juan, Tabi Bonney, Phil Ade, XO, Kingpen Slim, K-Beta, Que (formerly of Day26), and special surprise guest. Tickets are $20 and $100 (VIP), and went onsale today at 2 pm here.

If you don't plan to go, please still donate. Those poor people need all the help they can get. The video below, shot by a Christian NGO worker Troy Livesay who lives in Port-au-Prince, is in the Delmas 91 area, as Livesay makes his way to a makeshift survivor's camp.



Click here to make a donation to Yéle Haiti Foundation.

Click here to make a donation to Partners in Health Organization.