Darryl Hunt was 19 years old when, in 1984, he was wrongfully convicted (with no physical evidence to speak of) of the brutal rape and murder of Deborah Sykes in Winston-Salem, NC. He served 19.5 years in prison before DNA tests exonerated him. Seriously, 19.5 years. Deborah was white, Darryl is black, and his ordeal is said to have served as a fountainhead of racial tension for nearly 20 years in the Winston-Salem area. For more information on Darryl, check out the documentary The Trials of Darryl Hunt, the soundtrack for which is now available on Amie Street. And it's good.

The inimitable Paul Brill scored the picture, and was subsequently placed in charge of recruiting artists to donate tracks to the retail soundtrack (many of the songs on the soundtrack don't actually appear in the movie). The proceeds of this soundtrack go directly to the Darryl Hunt Foundation, which works to benefit other wrongly convicted prisoners. In addition to scoring the film and coordinating the soundtrack lineup, Paul Brill also provided another song of his own, Powerlines : a must-have if it's not a have-already.

But we're only getting warmed up, blogrock faithful. The soundtrack also contains studio offerings from the likes of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah ( Yankee Go Home ), M. Ward ( To Go Home ), and Califone ( Ladders ), and contains live/demo gems (gems, I say!) from Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon mainman Mark Kozelek ( Have You Forgotten (Live) ), Andrew Bird ( Happy Day (Live) ), and Margot and The Nuclear So & So's ( Things You Shouldn't Do (Demo) ). The Kozelek track is possibly my favorite version (there are a few) of the song that I've heard.

But lest you get the idea there's nothing but rock on the soundtrack, there are some great hip hop tracks as well. It shouldn't be surprising that these ones are more... topical than their indie rock counterparts. Make sure to check out (in no particular order) G-Unit member Spider Loc's Behind Bars , The Hunt Is On by Sticman (of Dead Prez), and Five O from The Last Poets.

Whether it's hip hop or indie rock that floats your boat (or both... it could be both), this is a solid collection of songs, pieced together with care for a good cause. Have a listen.