Live Friday: 11-30-07

Here it is! The last Live Friday of 2007. Have no fear, the segment will survive into 2008 (unlike other segments, which will be cut in favor of new, more exciting segments). But the reason why Live Fridays (and other segments) will be taking a December break is because the entire month is devoted to one thing: lists. I won't put an exclamation point after lists, because even though the prospect excites me a little bit, there's plenty of people out there who hate lists. I understand why. In many respects there's far too many lists to keep track of at the end of the year anyways. But having a whole month devoted to arbitrary lists is a little insane. Even I'll admit that. Still, I like to give credit where credit is due. If I thoroughly enjoyed it in 2007, it's probably on a list somewhere. But more on all this list stuff later. Let me actually discuss this Live Friday.

Undoubtedly one of my absolute favorite things about 2007 was a little movie called "Once." It starred Glen Hansard of The Frames and classically trained pianist Marketa Irglova as two lonely people who inspire one another both creatively/musically and in their own love lives. The whole thing is essentially a musical, as several songs are performed throughout the film, however it breaks that film convention by not having the characters break into song at random times or participate in dance numbers. After all, they're musicians, so when they sit down and play, you see them sitting and playing. Anyways, one of the biggest benefits of the film, aside from being inspiring and wonderful, is its soundtrack. I talked about that a few months back, and I'm recommending it yet again if you haven't picked it up. That, or the album Hansard and Irglova did together under the moniker The Swell Season, which also has a couple of the soundtrack cuts on it.

What I'm giving you here are the four tracks that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova performed for their radio session on WXPN. Unlike a lot of WXPN's performances, this one was actually recorded with a moderate-sized crowd. So instead of just the music, there's some crowd noise as well before and after most of the songs (I tried to cut as much crowd noise out as possible). Have no fear though, these tracks sound great. They even perform a cover of The Frames song "Star, Star" as an extra little treat. If you've had a chance to see The Swell Season on tour this year, I hope it was really good. I tried to go but tickets sold out before I had a chance to pick them up. But these tracks, along with any recorded material from Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, get my highest recommendation. Enjoy.

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova- Falling Slowly (Live on WXPN)
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova- Once (Live on WXPN)
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova- If You Want Me (Live on WXPN)
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova- Star, Star (Live on WXPN)

Click here to stream the full interview and performance

Buy the "Once" soundtrack from Amazon

Labels: glen hansard, Live, marketa irglova, movies, once, Soundtrack, the swell season