Natalie Portman curates indie-flavored charity comp

"Hear Natalie Portman's 'new favorite band'" reads the title of the Entertainment Weekly web page. And whose picture should we see but that of Beirut's Zach Condon, standing nonchalantly with an umbrella in hand?

A high-brow music blog sensation splashed across the website of a mainstream publication? Only the Power of Portman could make something like this happen. With her high-voltage smile, cheery demeanor and quiet wit, Portman could probably break Sunn O))) to the masses with one wiggle of her adorable nose.

Still, with her new charity compilation Big Change: Songs for FINCA, Portman assembles a slightly more palatable crowd of artists. In addition to the aforementioned Beirut, Portman's playlist includes Tokyo Police Club, Norah Jones, M. Ward, Antony & the Johnsons, and... oh yeah... The Shins. Do we really have to dredge up the specter of Garden State again?

"The Shins are the ones who created their own success," Portman told EW.com when prodded on the subject. "No one is gonna think a sound is great just because I say so. They hear the songs, and that's what decides it for them."

Good to know that we non-celebrities still have some free will in determining our own musical fates. Still, putting Ms. Portman's taste in tunes aside for a moment, what exactly is FINCA? Here's a quick primer from the organization:

"FINCA International provides financial services to the world's lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living."

Wow... so it's not so much alms for the poor as it is helping the underprivileged to start up their own businesses? Maybe even the celebrity vultures at Fox News could get behind this one.

Big Change is set to hit iTunes on Oct. 30, retailing at $7.99. Pitchfork has the complete track list (which includes several exclusive songs), and EW.com provides a stream of the exclusive Beirut track, "My Night With the Prostitute From Marseille."

Related links:
The Playlist: Wow, Actors Like Music Too!...
VillageBanking.org
Paste: Beirut - Man of the World
YouTube: That one scene from Garden State

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