On the heels of penning the soundtrack to film project Into the Wild, alt-rock stalwart Eddie Vedder will now contribute to The People Speak, a documentary miniseries based on Howard Zinn’s 1980 book A People’s History of the United States, and its companion piece, Voices of a People’s History of the United States, Billboard.com reports. The project, also featuring contributions from John Legend, among others, will feature onscreen performances from the likes of Matt Damon, Marisa Tomei, and Danny Glover, plus Viggo Mortensen and Josh Brolin, and will showcase readings based on America’s struggles with war, class, race, and women’s rights.
“It’sgoing to be a great piece of entertainment but more importantlysomething people can watch and learn and remember how great thiscountry has been and how individual people have changed the course ofhistory,” executive producer Chris Moore said. “It’s going to make themthink, laugh, and cry and be proud to be American.”
Production for the series will begin in January in Boston, though a network has yet-to-be attached to the project.
Cold War Kids Offer Free EP Download
Merry Christmas Cold War Kidsfans! While you determine what to purchase for each of the four boysthis holiday, they’ve already got your present wrapped and under thetree. And guess what? You can open it early! Starting today, the ColdWar Kids are offering a free download of their rare, 2005 EP Mulberry Street over at RCRD LBL.The six-song release, which was recorded in one day in a garage/studio,will be released two songs per day between now and Friday (Dec. 14).
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Sigur Rós Plot Theatrical ‘Heima’ Screenings
Remember Heima?Sigur Rós’ live DVD, which dropped late last month, documenting aseries of free performances in Iceland while on tour behind 2006’sacclaimed LP Takk? Well, turns out the band have slated ahandful of theatrical screenings for the film and fans in SanFrancisco, Denver, Boston, Austin, and Seattle will have the chance tocheck out the documentary on the silver screen next week.
Tickets for each screening are available for purchase here.
Heima screenings:
12/18, San Francisco, CA (Embarcadero Center Cinema / 7:30 P.M.)
12/18, Denver, CO (Chez Artiste / 7:30 P.M.)
12/19, Boston, MA (Kendall Square Cinema / 8 P.M.)
12/19, Atlanta, GA (Midtown Art Center / 8 P.M.)
12/20, Austin, TX (Dobie Theatre / 8 P.M.)
12/20, Seattle, WA (Metro Cinemas / 8 P.M.)
Silent Years Offer Free LP Download, Detail ‘Globe’
Thoroughlyembracing the holiday spirit, and giving fans a little musical fodderas the band wrap efforts on their forthcoming LP, The Globe, Detroit-bred indie rockers the Silent Years have unveiled a free download of 2006’s self-titled debut. The download is up now and available here until Dec. 26.
As for The Globe, the Silent Years — alums of SPIN.com’s Artist of the Year competition — are channeling a grandeur and ambitious musical mindset. A statement explains: “We were watching the film Powers of 10,which they used to show in middle school science classes. In the film,the camera starts out, framed on a couple having a picnic. Every 10seconds, the field of view expands by a power of ten — the picnicbecomes Chicago, Chicago becomes North America, and soon you’re seeingthe Earth in the context of its solar system. This got us thinkingabout the similarities between mankind and all other components of theuniverse. An atom is to a cell, as a cell is to a man, as man is to theEarth, as the Earth is to the universe, etc.” Heavy.
Though a definitive release date has yet-to-be set, The Globe is expected to drop in spring or summer of 2008.
