Tag Archives: Glen Hansard

The Most Moving Performances In Music (Part 1)

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This is the first part of something that I hope to build along with your collaboration. The title speaks for itself, really – I’ll try and collect together these moments in which music becomes a true epiphany.

I have begun by picking my five favorite moments. I have made an effort to include some performances by artists I am yet to add to the blog like Pink Floyd (just give me time), and artists I am to cover more extensively like Queen.

Please, add your suggestions by leaving a comment. The idea is to let everybody discover these performances he might not hear about otherwise, and which are too amazing to be missed. I’m counting on you!

So, without further ado:

1- Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova Perform “Falling Slowly” At The 80th Academy Awards.

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova Performing "Falling Slowly" Live At The 80th Academy Awards

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova Performing "Falling Slowly" Live At The 80th Academy Awards

The stars of “Once” play the movie’s signature tune at the 80th Academy Awards. You can watch the performance here.

2- Pink Floyd Performs At The Live 8

The whole band reunited for the first time in 24 years for the Live 8 festival, and they proved that they still had it. “Comfortably Numb” was the final song they played that night. The performance started gathering momentum when Mason threw his headphones away (around the 2:00 mark)… The song ended up being even more mesmerizing than ever.

3- Music Video: Queen’s “These Are The Days” Continue reading →

Once – Original Soundtrack Album

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Once's Original Soundtrack Album Is Dominated By Glen Hansard's Songs. Marketa Irglova Has Two Sogs In, And The Band "Interference" Sings "Gold"

Once's Original Soundtrack Album Is Dominated By Glen Hansard's Songs. Marketa Irglova Has Two Songs In, And The Band "Interference" (With Glen In Tow) Contributes "Gold"

This new section (Original Soundtrack Albums) should have been added to MusicKO last month. I knew that the first album to be featured had to be the OST to “Once”, arguably the most striking musical I have ever seen. And that was what held me for so long. I have lived with the CD for the past month, trying to convince myself that it is every bit as good or essential as the film. And it is not. It is a fine album. But the movie was more than fine in every sense.

The problem might as well lie in Marketa’s solo songs. “The Hill” is not played fully in the movie. It is used in a very specific scene towards the end, and if you take the scene away you are also taking its weight with it. And “If You Want Me” is completely insipid. It dawns on you that what matters is how the song comes to be (the phenomenal street shot), not the finished song. The impromptu “Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy” is a toss-off, and while it is too short to cross anybody it is irrelevant.

Besides, “Say It To Me Now” is somehow limp if you didn’t watch the scene in the movie, with the camera slowly closing in and the Girl clapping as the shot ends.

Still, the album has its fair share of brilliance. I don’t need to tell you about
“Falling Slowly” because the song speaks for itself. I would kill to get my hands on the Oscar performance. All I could find was the performance embedded above, and the moment when Glen and Marketa get the coveted statues. Notice how they cut poor Marketa off. It is a good thing the host brings her back after the break. You can watch it here. Continue reading →

Once (Movie Review)

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"Once" Stars Glen Hansard And Marketa Irglova. The Movie Was Released In 2007, And It Was Written And Directed By John Carney.

"Once" Stars Glen Hansard And Marketa Irglova. The Movie Was Released In 2007, And It Was Written And Directed By John Carney.

Talk about dark horses to the ones who produced “Enchanted”. The same year that Disney’s musical was competing for three Oscars for best original song at the 80th Academy Awards, a down-to-earth number from a low-budget release named “Once” stole the prize in their noses. The song was named “Falling Slowly”, and it was performed by the film’s protagonists, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.

I am uncertain if I would have learned about the movie were it not for Glen and Marketa’s performance that night. And I can tell you for sure that missing this title (written and directed by John Carney) would have been a great, great loss. Continue reading →