Lessons from Glen and Marketa

To say that I had a great time on America's highways over the weekend would be a grand understatement. The Redline Project is not a venue for personal pontification, so I will reserve my bouquet of wanderlust tales for blogs that exist elsewhere.

The trip's relevance to the Redline Project is somewhat limited as I did not write songs, record tracks, or research software techniques while away. In short, a fuse in my mind had blown, and I gave the old brain a weekend off. I am pleased to report that my cranium is operating at full tilt, and I am ready once again to dive into the deep end of this project.

Of all the dashboard crooners that meandered around the Gulf Coast with me, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova spent a considerable amount of time singing through a stack of songs from the movie, "Once."

Have you seen the film? If you have not, go rent it tonight. If you are busy tonight, put it on the list for tomorrow. "Once" is the story of two brokenhearted musicians who meet each other in Dublin, Ireland. The two form a beautiful collaboration and discover a life-giving friendship in the process. The film is gorgeous, the plot delicious, and the music sumptuous. One lovely detail about the movie: the main actors realized their music was meant to exist past the scope of the picture and started a band that still performs today.

Why are you still reading this blog post? Go to the rental store now, or at least hit up your Netflix queue.

Beyond enjoying the music at face value, I spent ample time listening deeply to Glen and Marketa, trying to understand lyrics and their constructions, considering song structures, analyzing chords, pondering vocal techniques.

Neither Glen Hansard or Marketa Irglova have perfect voices. On the recordings, there are notes out of tune, phrases unaligned rhythmically, and even an occasional wrong note. Why then is the music so gripping, so compelling, so haunting?

Part of the answer lies in the performers' abilities to bring their songs to life with emotional conviction. Their voices cry in sad moments and rip during choruses of rage. The two singers invite the listener on a journey into the story behind the song, and it is impossible not to taste the bittersweet sentiments carefully penned for such a purpose.

I have over-thought every lyric I have written for this project, trying to saturate every line with as much meaning and emotion as it could hold. Because I deem my voice an unworthy instrument, I have relied on words alone to create meaning in the songs I am trying to sing.

With Glen and Marketa as role models, I am going to practice using whatever voice I have to deliver compelling performances of the poetry I am working so diligently to write. I would like nothing better than for my songs to be compelling and perfect, but since I have to choose, compelling may be the way to go.