Jeff Mangum, The Mountain Goats, Yo La Tengo, Jay Reatard, Many More Contribute to Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox

When Chris Knox (Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love) suffered a stroke this summer, his peers from around the world realized what they could have lost: a musician who deserved more credit for introducing punk and alternative music to his home country of New Zealand.

In hopes of changing the odds, then, many of his fellow musicians have come together in a two-disc tribute album with proceeds going directly toward Knox’s recovery. Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox features cover songs by Jay Reatard, The Mountain Goats, Yo La Tengo and even the ever-hard-to-pin-down Jeff Mangum, selected from Knox’s extensive solo and group discography.

Although physical copies are not available until Feb. 23, Merge and major online retailers have made Stroke available for download now. To hear snippets of what to expect, plus full-length version of Knox’s original songs, visit ChrisKnox.co.nz.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:
1. Jay Reatard – Pull Down The Shades
2. The Checks – Rebel
3. The Bleeding Allstars – Ain’t It Nice
4. Peter Gutteridge – Don’t Catch Fire
5. The Chills – Luck Or Loveliness
6. David Kilgour – Nothing’s Going To Happen
7. The Crying Wolfs – All My Hollowness To You
8. Stephin Merritt – Beauty
9. Portastatic – Nostalgia’s No Excuse
10. The Mint Chicks – Crush
11. Jay & Sam Clarkson – I’ve Left Memories Behind
12. Sky Green Leopards – Burning Blue
13. Shayne Carter – The Slide
14. Pumice – Grand Mal
15. Hamish Kilgour – Knoxed Out

Disc 2:
1. Boh Runga – Not Given Lightly
2. Red & Zeke (Feat. Bill Doss and Neil Cleary) – Bodies
3. Jeff Mangum – Sign The Dotted Line
4. Bill Callahan – Lapse
5. Genghis Smith – Growth Spurt
6. Yo La Tengo – Coloured
7. AC Newman – Dunno Much About Life But I Know How To Breathe
8. Alec Bathgate – Glide
9. Don McGlashan – Inside Story
10. Sean Donnelly – The Outer Skin
11. Lambchop – What Goes Up
12. The Mountain Goats – Brave
13. The Tokey Tones (and friends) – Round These Walls
14. The Bats – Just Do It
15. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – My Only Friend
16. The Finn Family – It’s Love
17. Jordan Luck – Becoming Something Other
18. The Verlaines – Driftwood
19. Lou Barlow – Song Of The Tall Poppy
20. The Nothing – Napping In Lapland
21. Tall Dwarfs – Sunday Son