Hope for Strummers
I still strum my guitar after all these years, mostly Beatles tunes. I never learned to play lead. Judging by the gaping hole in his worn guitar on display during last night's performance of the Oscar winning song "Falling Slowly" Glen Hansard is a strummer too, from way back.
As noted in this MP3.com article:
"Once, the little indie musical that could, provided Oscar night's most memorable moments.
"The film's stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, who portray aspiring artists whose musical partnership lights a spark within both of them, took home the prize for best original song for "Falling Slowly." The track beat out music from the film Enchanted, which was the favorite with three of the five nominations.
"Hansard, who is the frontman for the Irish band the Frames but also pairs with Irglova in a group called the Swell Season, seemed stunned by the win and urged other independent artists to dream.
"'This is amazing! Hansard said. 'What are we doing here? This is mad!' He told the crowd that the film was made in three weeks with two handycams and $100,000. He exhorted the audience to 'Make art! Make art!'
"As Irglova went to say her part, the orchestra cut in to indicate that their time was up, and they were ushered off the stage. But after a commercial break, Oscar host Jon Stewart brought Irglova back out on stage to finish her speech.
"'This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all independent musicians and artists who spend so much of their time struggling," Irglova said. "No matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible...this song was written was from a perspective of hope, and at the end of the day, hope connects us all.'"
