Pitchfork

Devendra Banhart photo by Lauren Dukoff

Some two years ago, the Pitchfork news page was graced with an unlikely pairing of names: Devendra Banhart and Janet Reno (just imagine the children there). Since then, Banhart's only gotten wackier, while Reno's been toiling away night and day plotting her descent into the vile world of recorded music. We are thus pleased as punch to report that Reno's Song of America compilation is finally ready to crash the charts.

The lineup has expanded considerably since our last report, and the set-- due September 18 via Split Rock Records/31 Tigers-- now spans 50 songs and three discs. In addition to Banhart's cover of Malvina Reynolds' "Little Boxes", Song of America also includes Andrew Bird's take on early 20th century jam "How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm" and Danielson's version of another early radio classic, "Happy Days Are Here Again".

The set also includes tunes from Janis Ian, John Mellencamp, Marah, Martha Wainwright, Blind Boys of Alabama, Bettye LaVette, Old Crow Medicine Show, and plenty of folks we won't pretend to have heard of. Among the songs tackled: "Yankee Doodle", "Go Down Moses", "Battle Hymn of the Republic", "Home on the Range", and "The Times They Are A-Changin'". The track breakdown by disc is not yet known, but all tracks are listed below in running order.

We could attempt to explain what this is all about, but we'll let Janet herself do that (via the press release): "The historical detail of the songs fascinated me and I suggested that Ed [Pettersen] record a whole album of songs focusing on key periods in American history, in order to tell our story to young people who might find joy in learning history through music."

And truly, there's never been a better time to get your granddad into Danielson.

Earl Bullhead - "Lakota Dream Song"
Julie Lee - "Once More Our God Vouchesafe To Shine"
Blind Boys of Alabama - "Let Us Break Bread Together"
John Wesley Harding - "God Save the King"
Elizabeth Foster - "Young Ladies in Town"
Malcolm Holcombe - "The Old Woman Taught Wisdom"
Ed Pettersen - "The Liberty Song"
Harper Simon - "Yankee Doodle"
The Wilders - "Jefferson & Liberty"
Steven Kowalczyk-Santoro - "Hail Columbia"
Take 6 - "Star Spangled Banner"
Beth Nielsen Chapman - "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"
Freedy Johnston - "Peg and Awl"
BR549 - "Sweet Betsy From Pike"
Will Hill and Jehnean Day Washington - "Trail of Tears"
Minton Sparks and Pat Flynn - "Declaration of Sentiments"
Fisk Jubilee Singers - "Go Down Moses"
Mavericks [ft. Thad Cockrell] - "Dixie's Land"
Marah - "John Brown's Body"
Joanna Smith - "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Janis Ian - "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye"
Tim O'Brien - "Thousands Are Sailing to Amerikay"
Otis Gibbs - "The Farmer Is the Man"
Joni Harms - "Home on the Range"
Jake Shimabukuro - "Stars & Stripes Forever"
Jen Chapin - "Over There"
Andrew Bird - "How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm"
Karen Parks - "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
Danielson - "Happy Days Are Here Again"
Andy Bey - "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?"
Jim Lauderdale - "Seven Cent Cotton and Forty Cent Meat"
Old Crow Medicine Show - "Deportee"
Suzy Bogguss - "Rosie the Riveter"
Folk Family Robinson (Black Crowes with Stan Robinson) - "Reuben James"
Scott Kempner - "Apache Tears"
Elizabeth Cook and the Grascals - "The Great Atomic Power"
Devendra Banhart - "Little Boxes"
The Del McCoury Band - "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
Kim Richey - "Get Together"
The Dynamites / Charles Walker - "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud"
Ben Taylor - "Ohio"
Anthony David - "What's Going On"
Martha Wainwright - "I Am Woman"
Matthew Ryan - "Youngstown"
Bettye LaVette - "Streets of Philadelphia"
Gary Heffern / Chris Eckman - "Wave"
Shortee - "The Message"
Judith Edelman / Neilson Hubbard - "Sleep, My Child (Schlof Mayn Kind)"
The Wrights - "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning"
John Mellencamp - "This Land Is Your Land"