Pitchfork

The talk in MusicCriticTown these days is that jobs are scarce, underpaid, and underappreciated. So it seems that former Dallas Observer music editor Zac Crain has found one solution to these problems: give the whole thing up and run for mayor of Dallas.

We're a little baffled by his decision, but hey, the only thing we've ever campaigned for was the position of albums on Pitchfork's year-end list. Then again, Crain bears a slight resemblance to a hairier Ian MacKaye, so maybe he has MacKaye's political bent and knack for riveting public performances as well.

Though he announced his candidacy back in April, he has recently recruited members of the Dallas music scene to contribute songs to a benefit album for his campaign.

The 32-song, double-disc compilation features contributions from the Polyphonic Spree's Tim DeLaughter, Ben Kweller, Rhett Miller (with instrumentation by Jon Brion), the Deathray Davies' John Dufilho with the Apples in Stereo's Robert Schneider, Centro-matic, the Paper Chase, and many more. Plenty of the tracks are previously unreleased or were written exclusively for the compilation, which is available for purchase here.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

01 Fishboy: "The Ballad of Zac Crain" (exclusive)
02 The Crash That Took Me: "Julianne"
03 Philip E. Karnats: "When the Stereo Broke Its Back" (previously unreleased)
04 Pleasant Grove: "Luzern" (exclusive)
05 Centro-matic: "Atlanta" (previously unreleased)
06 The Paper Chase: "Oh! The Horror! The Horror!" (previously unreleased)
07 Pikahsso: "God for a Day" (exclusive)
08 Shanghai 5: "Love Is a Racket"
09 I Love Math: "These Paper Walls" (previously unreleased)
10 Here, In Arms: "Darling"
11 Smile Smile: "Taking Its Toll"
12 Sorta: "Grown Man"
13 The Dutch Treats: "My Bionic Hand"
14 Dove Hunter: "What Turns Inside" (previously unreleased)
15 Red Monroe: "Our Love" (exclusive)
16 Tim DeLaughter: "Winter Wonder Slumber" (previously unreleased demo)

Disc 2

01 Shibboleth: "Pokky Pokky" (exclusive)
02 Ben Kweller: "Magic" (previously unreleased demo)
03 American Werewolf Academy: "Summer Ship" (exclusive)
04 Rhett Miller: "She Loves the Sunset" (previously unreleased)
05 Voot Cha Index: "Japan"
06 J.D. Whittenburg: "Secrets That You Keep"
07 Radiant: "That Girl"
08 Salim Nourallah: "It's My Dream"
09 Hydroponic Sound System: "Lone Star Uprising"
10 John Dufilho with Robert Schneider: "I'm Jinxed" (as-yet-unreleased)
11 Saboteur: "Bitchin' Into Oblivion"
12 Pilotdrift: "...you know the world is wonderful" (previously unreleased)
13 Olospo: "You Deserve Better" (previously unreleased)
14 Rose County Fair: "Midnight on the M Streets"
15 Hardin Sweaty and the Ready to Go: "The Fall"
16 Dave Little: "Zac Crain Ain't No Laura Miller" (exclusive)