1.12.2015

Marketa Irglova


Did you ever see the movie Once? If you did, you probably remember that it was excellent. I saw it in the theater back in 2007. The film was lovely. The soundtrack was outstanding.

Falling slowly, eyes that know me. 

Remember? Ahhh yes. That song reminds me of the Chicago years.

Marketa Irglova, then about 20 years old, was the female lead in the film. She and Glen Hansard received the Academy Award for best original song for Falling Slowly. Fast-forward over the last 6 years, and Marketa has packed in quite a lot of living according to Wikipedia. I know, I know...Wikipedia isn't a great source. I wish I could talk about Marketa as a personal friend, because after listening to her new CD for the last 2 weeks, I feel a real kinship with her. But alas, the stars haven't yet aligned. Maybe Marketa and I will become friends about the same time that John Mayer and I finally fall in love.

Now...back to Marketa. She went through a marriage and divorce. Then she met her beau and had a beautiful baby. They live in Iceland. And she is making the most amazing music of her life! I LOVED the Once soundtrack. But I truly like her new album entitled Muna even more.

First, let me tell you about how I stumbled upon it. I was at the library and about to complete my final check out. I had gone there to pick up a book on hold. Which turned out to be in CD format instead of a paper book. 14 hours of audio non-fiction. It was too much. Couldn't do it. Then, beckoning to me from the new music section was a beautiful CD with a bird on the front.

Now, as you may remember, I adore anything with a bird on it.

I walked over to the CD and picked it up. "Marketa Irglova" was labeled on the side. "I know her," I thought. "From Once!" So I checked it out. On my drive back to Stewartville, I popped in the disc and was greeted by the sounds of church bells and chanting. That's song #1: Point of Creation. The song sets the mood for the whole album. It is holy stuff; God and Jesus and Mary. The whole album is deeply spiritual. Mesmerizing tones and lyrics. The whole thing is terrific. Here are my favorites.

This is Marketa with her CD. Don't you think she and I could be #besties?
The lyric artwork inside the case is BEAUTIFUL, too!

"But you and I have minds of our own - we can choose to disengage from the collective misperception of the kind of war that's being waged here"

"That I am you, you are me, and loving grace can set us free."

"Well come on then, God, show me which way you'd like me to go and I wont presume to question how I was ever supposed to know. There have been signs along the way, but they've been so very obscure." 

"How do you expect nothing but stay open to everything?"

"Cause seasons change. They go as quick as they came, and it's their fault if we choose to stay the same."

"A prayer for the right to be loved, despite all our prior sins."

"I summoned you to me as the missing part of my life's design - your destiny's linked with mine, as I light these candles for you, an offering to your unspoken wish coming true but the present is the gift. Yeah, this right here." 

**: My two very favorites. 

2 comments:

  1. Thanks, Em! Didn't even finish listening to your two favorites before going to amazon to buy the album (happens to be $5 now for the mp3 version). I have the Once soundtrack, too. ;-)

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  2. Hi Emily,
    what a passionate review! Only music and art can do it. Thanks!
    Marek

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