There’s a quote by Bill Callahan, the nomadic songsmith behind Smog, that’s been stuck in my head for weeks now: “I would prefer it if Gorge Bush just went back to war on himself with cocaine and booze and a musicless life and left us alone.” Misspellings and grammar aside, his assertion summarizes the beauty of music. It’s a way of life, a means to convey and encapsulate both the mundane and the ineffable events. It changes the way we think and feel, the way in which we view the world around us. This idea of music as a common bond, a universal language, is the nexus of the modern musical Once, screened last Saturday afternoon at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown.
The film, which won the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, is a visual album that gives purpose and meaning to The Swell Season, a recent collaboration between the Frames’ Glen Hansard and Czech pianist Marketa Irglova. The two musicians star in the film, directed by former Frames bassist John Carney (On the Edge, Bachelors Walk), portraying nameless characters who meet in the streets of Dublin, Ireland. Hansard is a struggling musician and street performer, fictionalizing his real-life struggle. Hansard quit school at age 13 to busk on the streets of Ireland, long before Damien Rice and Rodrigo y Gabriela came into town. He later scrounged together money from family and friends to record a demo, which ultimately led to a contract with Island Records for a string of singles and 1992’s Another Love Song.
In the film, Hansard meets Irglova, an immigrant pianist, while busking, filling the nameless streets with the plaintive cry of “Say It to Me Now” from 1996’s Fitzcarraldo. What unfolds is a charming look into the way music shapes our lives, capturing small joys and creating subtle humor that, like the Frames’ best work, manipulates the effects of tension and release, swaying effortlessly from moments of frailty and frustration.
It’s no surprise that Hansard’s live performances, including a cover of Van Morrison’s “And the Healing Has Begun,” translate so beautifully to the big screen. He is a charming, natural storyteller, a fact made evident by the Frames’ intimate live album, Breadcrumb Trail, recorded in Brno, Czech Republic, and 2002’s electrified Set List.
Hansard, Irglova, and director Carney stopped by after the film’s conclusion for a Q&A session. Here are a few excerpts:
Glen Hansard on Austin: “I’m quite familiar with Austin. Every time I’m here I buy the whole Daniel Johnston cassette catalog.”
On busking in Ireland: “You become part of the architecture. Women will leave their children with you to watch as they go into the shops. It’s quite common.”
On getting into character: “It was a matter of just being ourselves and trusting John to tell us when we were screwing up.”
On his Irish accent: “Singing does soften any accent significantly … The American accent is the accent of rock & roll, the universal accent of music really.”
Hansard and Irglova then performed a breathtaking six-song set that included album/movie highlight “Falling Slowly” and “Leave,” a heartbroken tale written from the perspective of Hansard’s character. It was one of the most memorable musical experiences I’ve ever had in Austin, further proof of the power of the music.
This article appears in May 18 • 2007.