Tag Archives: Glen Hansard

Glen & Colm Kill Everytime

Following on from The Swell Season‘s 2006 self-titled debut album and the film that grew out of it, Glen Hansard (pictured above, extreme left) and Markéta Irglová released a second long player last year. Strict Joy was the title of that album and its release followed on from the low-budget success of Once (2007) and their subsequent Best Original Song Oscar for Falling Slowly in 2008. The duo are still gigging and recording and have just released an acoustic version of Candi Staton’s disco classic Young Hearts Run Free. You can download it for free at Levi’s Pioneer Sessions site. It’s the second in a series of a dozen free downloads that will be available over the coming weeks from the site and will also include tracks from She & Him, The Shins and Dirty Projectors. You just need to provide your email address and a few details and a link to the mp3 will appear moments later in your inbox. Here’s another cover of a pop hit that Glen did a few years ago with Colm Mac Con Iomaire (pictured above on the right of the frame)

Everytime (Britney Spears cover) – Glen Hansard & Colm Mac Con Iomaire

Best Albums of the 00s: Skylarkin’

Skylarkin' - Mic Christopher (2002)

My chronological look back at my favourite albums of the past decade continues with the only Irish entry on the list. Mic Christopher’s Skylarkin’ (2002) was the only solo album that he released. In the middle of November 2001, Mic played a gig in Groningen, Holland. He was found later at the bottom of a stairway, where he appeared to have slipped and hit his head as he fell. He lapsed into a coma from swelling to the brain and passed away a few weeks later. He is best known for the album’s opening track, Heyday, which was used in one of Guinness’ TV advertising campaigns. It is a shame that the rest of the album is not better known because it is a wonderful collection of eleven consistently good songs. That it works so well as an album is surprising considering that the collection was put together and released posthumously. Mic had put down all the tracks and had left instructions as to how the album should be completed. His friends and family followed these instructions to produce a consistent and cohesive collection of songs. The album was released in 2002 and won the 2003 Best Album at the Irish Meteor Music Awards

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The Simpsons Love to See You Smile

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This St Patrick’s Day, Sky One screens a special Irish edition of their animated sitcom, The Simpsons. For the first time, this latest instalment will be premiered in the UK and Ireland before being shown in the USA.  The episode, entitled In the Name of the Grandfather, sees Homer and his dad coming to Ireland to run a pub. I’m sure that a few leprechauns will appear as well as cameos from Irish personalities. It seems that animated versions of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová will turn up and Colm Meaney will voice one of the characters.

The Simpsons has been going for nearly 20 years and I used to watch the early seasons and have seen some episodes over the last few years. I watched the film version and it wasn’t bad, considering the difficulty of translating 20 minute storylines into a full-length script. It takes a while to create each new episode, which means that this one will be slightly out-of-date. It was written prior to our current economic woes, so it will comment on the Ireland of the Celtic Tiger. Also, I understand that the quality of the series has faded somewhat, but I’ll be tuning in for a bit of blarney.

And now, a couple of Oscar-winning duets. To celebrate the appearance of Glen and Markéta, I’ve included the title track of their 2006 album, The Swell Season. This was a slow burner, but its songs inspired the film Once, which was built around the songs from the album. The film was also a slow burner, but it built up a following in the States and it was great to see them win the 2008 Academy Award for Best Song with Falling Slowly

The Swell Season – Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová

In 1990, Randy Newman received one of his many Best Original Song Oscar nominations for I Love to See You Smile, taken from the film Parenthood. Later that year, a duet between Homer and Marge appeared on the album, The Simpsons Sing the Blues. This album also contains Homer’s wonderful version of Born Under a Bad Sign and even two hit singles, Do the Bartman and Deep, Deep Trouble. Have a listen to Homer and Marge singing I Love to See You Smile and, hopefully, the episode will bring a few smiles to Irish eyes

I Love to See You Smile – The Simpsons

UPDATE: This Irish instalment of The Simpsons was quite diverting. It took a while to get going and we were already about a third of the way into the show when Homer decided to take his dad to Ireland. Then the leprechauns appeared. And the singing. And the dancing. It was quite funny in places, particularly when it poked fun at certain aspects of Irish culture. There was a brief musical interlude that was lacking in musical quality, but made up for it with a witty lyric. The parts that worked best were those that had a more subtle touch,  usually appearing as visual gags in the background. Thankfully, the cameos were kept to a minimum and Glen and Markéta’s appearance was brief, albeit amusing. Overall, it had its fair share of Paddywhackery, but contained enough authenticity for Irish viewers. Even though it’s a brand new episode, an Irish audience would find many of the references to be outdated. Still, American fans of The Simpsons will most likely enjoy it, even if their knowledge of Irish culture is as rudimentary as their knowledge of culture in general