In short
Interview with Irish musician Glen Hansard about his career, the Oscar-winning song “Falling Slowly,” and his new two-part live album, “Don’t Settle, Transmissions East and West,” recorded during two nights at Funkhaus in East Berlin after a rainstorm turned a concert into an intimate, people-in-the-round moment.
Guest backgrounds
Glen Hansard is an Irish singer-songwriter and longtime rock musician. He busked in Dublin at 13, formed The Frames in 1990, starred in the 2007 film Once with Markéta Irglová, and later toured as The Swell Season.
Key claims
Audiences should be invited onto new material even if it disappoints some; he avoids social media to stay focused on humanity; record sales are harder now, so touring and direct fan support matter.
Notable examples
He recounts a headmaster letting him leave school to play on Dublin streets; he plays studio songs “A Great Weight is Lifted,” “Carrickfergus,” and discusses “Falling Slowly.”
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOGlenn Hansard's Musical Journey
0:35 to 3:16
Discussion of Glenn Hansard's career, including his early days and influences.
“I don't know you, but I want you all the more for that.”
Live Performance at 9:30 Club
3:16 to 3:45
Glenn talks about his recent performance at the 9:30 Club and audience reactions.
“You know, all an artist ever wants is a cup of tea to be told they're welcome, and you'd be surprised how hard that is to come by.”
Transition from Frames to Solo Artist
4:31 to 6:39
Glenn reflects on his transition from The Frames to his solo career and his new album.
“Glenn Hansard, Ramble there that we just played, something a little edgier, a little harder than, than admittedly what you're known for to a lot of people because of the Oscar.”
Glenn's Musical Roots and Original Songs
6:39 to 14:00
Discussion about Glenn's roots in Irish music and his songwriting process.
“I was kind of in a funny spot around that age from a working class kind of, you know, lower income, whatever area.”
Musical Introduction
14:00 to 16:10
Glen Hansard performs a song that sets the tone for the discussion.
The Power of Music and Connection
16:50 to 18:00
Glen discusses the impact of music and his experiences meeting people during his tour.
“Just the idea of a great weightlifting, just the idea of tyranny kind of passing out or passing in.”
Reflections on America
18:00 to 18:23
Glen shares his observations on the American spirit and humanity he encountered.
“That's the main feeling I have is it's very strong.”
Fan Stories and Personal Connections
18:23 to 19:21
Glen listens to a touching story from a fan about their shared experiences.
“He heard the music rising, and he didn't want to tell a long story.”
Glen's New Album Insights
20:44 to 21:42
Glen talks about his upcoming two-part album and the creative process behind it.
“Let's get back to our conversation now with Irish singer-songwriter Glenn Hansard.”
Live Performance Experience
21:42 to 24:32
Glen recounts a memorable live performance that led to his new album's creation.
“but also stick with us because maybe another song coming up in a few minutes with Glenn Hansard.”
Show all 18 chapters
Collaboration with Marquetta Irglova
24:32 to 25:51
Glen reflects on his artistic relationship and collaboration with Marquetta.
“I heard this incredible harmony, and I sort of located the voice, and she came up on stage and joined us, and we've been pals ever since.”
Tour Insights and Observations
25:51 to 27:13
Glen shares his thoughts on the American tour and the culture he's experienced.
“and I'll contribute a little bit to her work.”
The Value of Humanity
27:13 to 28:00
Glen emphasizes the importance of human connections amidst societal issues.
“Oh, I don't mind the phones being at the shows.”
Reflections on Humanity
28:00 to 28:31
Discussing personal experiences and observations about humanity in America.
“I'm talking about just the meeting people on the street.”
Glenn Hansard Performs 'Carrick Fergus'
28:31 to 32:55
Glenn Hansard sings a classic Irish song, sharing its cultural significance.
“I'm going to sing you an Irish song because I feel like it.”
Memories of 'The Commitments'
32:55 to 33:58
Glenn Hansard shares his experience being part of the film 'The Commitments'.
“People, as you sing, Glenn, people are writing in from all over America.”
Current Music Industry Challenges
33:58 to 35:44
Discussion on the challenges artists face in making a living from music today.
“Well, there's a wonderful book by Roddy Doyle, a great Irish writer, called The Commitments, which is basically about a Northside Dublin soul band.”
Gratitude for Live Music
35:44 to 36:21
The importance of supporting artists by attending shows and buying merchandise.
“and I know Warren, and Warren put me on the guest list, and I just said, no, I'm paying.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This message comes from Mattress Firm. Sharing a bed doesn't have to mean restless nights. Mattress Firm's sleep experts can match you with a Tempur-Pedic Split King sleep system. Get a$300 instant gift with purchase. They make sleep easy. Hi, it's Todd. Today, Irish musician Glenn Hansard has died in a motorcycle crash in Ireland at the age of 56. We were lucky to have Glenn Hansard on our show recently to talk about his decades-long career as a musician and his latest album called Don't Settle, Transmissions East and West. Here's that conversation with Glenn.
0:44I'm Todd Zwillick. This is 1A.
0:58Glen Hansard:I don't know you, but I want you all the more for that. That's Falling Slowly from the 2007 indie romance film Once, starring Irish singer-songwriter Glenn Hansard and Czech-Icelandic singer-songwriter Marquette Erglova in a dramatized version of their own musical partnership. It's no surprise if you recognize Falling Slowly. It won an Oscar for Best Original Song, and the musical duo became a hit in the United States when they recorded and toured as the swell season. But well before those days, Glenn Hansard was a fixture of the music scene in Ireland, first busking on Dublin streets at the age of 13.
1:50In 1990, he formed the Irish rock group The Frames. Today, Hansard is reflecting on his decades of music making. And also looking ahead, his new two-part album is called Don't Settle, Transmissions East and West. And part one drops next week.
2:16Let me ramble And in the G.
2:23Glen Hansard:Roma And deadly wonder So far from home
2:38Glenn Hansard joins me here in studio. Glenn, welcome. Hi, how are you doing? I'm very well. We'd also love to put your comments and questions to Glenn Hansard. You can send them to 1A at WAMU.org. And by the way, Glenn is here, and so is his guitar sitting right next to him. So don't peel away from 1A. You're about to hear Glenn Hansard live in our studio, if things work out for us. Let's see. We played 9.30 last night, so my voice is a bit shot. 9.30 Club in Washington, D.C., the famous music club in Washington, D.C. Yeah, not far from where I live in the district. It's a great mecca to music.
3:16One of my favorite rooms in America. Really? Yeah, just something about that room. It's about the staff. It's about how you're treated. You know, all an artist ever wants is a cup of tea to be told they're welcome, and you'd be surprised how hard that is to come by. I love hearing it. I love hearing it because I love the 9.30 Club, and we all do here in the District of Columbia. More to come. Stay with us.
3:42Every episode of It's Been a Minute, NPR's What's Happening in Culture podcast starts by asking three questions. Who? How? Why now? If the culture's asking it, we're talking about it. At NPR, we stand for your right to be curious and indulge your cultural curiosity. Follow It's Been a Minute wherever you get your podcasts and we'll break down the zeitgeisty topics that are filling your feed. This season on Planet Money Summer School, we go to China, one of the world's biggest economies. And what we learned is... Americans are crazy. Chinese are crazy. These are two countries full of these crazy hustlers.
4:17The U.S. and China are more alike than you might think. On Planet Money Summer School, a strange lesson about success, how to handle the downsides of progress. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the 1A Podcast. Glenn Hansard, Ramble there that we just played, something a little edgier, a little harder than, than admittedly what you're known for to a lot of people because of the Oscar. Yeah, I guess. I mean, I was in a rock band for a long time and Once was very much about kind of these folk songs and this folk duo. And, and I love it. It's also another part of what I do.
4:53I mean, it was kind of, it's always been that way, you know, like folk songs and sometimes it's a rock and roll song. It's very varied. Our show, it's funny, I actually saw, I saw a couple look at each other last night in the audience. I don't usually watch out for them. I just watched a couple go, this isn't the guy from Once. It just doesn't seem right. In other words, they showed up for the familiar, for the hit. Yeah, yeah. Now, does that warm your heart to give them something new because audiences want what they like? You've got to do what you've got to do. You've got to do what you've got to do.
5:24If you believe it, and, you know, if you're behind it and you believe it, then the audience are invited to get on board. And if, you know, sometimes you'll disappoint people and that's just part of being who you are. You see anybody disappointed last night? No, no, just that couple. I saw them leave. Because I went through, like, I think I played like three rock songs in a row. And I think they were like, I don't think this is that guy. Yeah, but if they stay to the encore. Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. Right? Yeah. Second encore, they'll get the song they came for. Right afterwards that we played the song they came for.
5:53Well, good. You know what? Couple, if you're listening, missed it. Stay in there. Hang in for a minute when an artist wants to do something that you're not familiar with. Exactly. There was a little kid at the front. He was obviously there with his parents and Arthur. Lovely kid, actually. And I leaned over to him. I said, are you okay? He said, yeah. I said, which song do you want to hear? And he's like, I want to hear Falling Slowly. I was like, great, let's do it. So we just did it right there and then. All right. Well, they missed it. I said something a minute ago that might have caught people's attention.
6:2313 years old, you dropped out of school to play on the streets? Or how did that work? Yeah, I mean, I was around music. Music was in my house. My family was, my house was full of music all the time. My dad loved to bring his friends home and there'd be sing songs. And so it was in my home and in my life. I was kind of in a funny spot around that age from a working class kind of, you know, lower income, whatever area. I was starting to get into a bit of trouble. And basically, I discovered Bob Dylan. and once I discovered Bob Dylan my life took a very interesting and kind of poetic turn and then suddenly my relationship with my headmaster you know because my headmaster with my principal was given, like I was getting sent down to him a lot because of my attention span or whatever but suddenly we were having conversations about Dylan and we were having conversations about Joni Mitchell and suddenly he was like hey you know what, music, you really love music don't you?
7:18I said I do. He said you know what, I'm going to cut you a deal I'm going to give you a few months off we're almost at the summer break anyway go into Dublin, play on the street start at the bottom if you want to do music, start at the bottom do it today, go home and do it today and I'll get you a few months off school and if it works out for you, you stay out there you had a headmaster in charge of your reading, writing and arithmetic probably at a Catholic school I don't know who bought in to you spending more time with music. He saw something in you and about your future. He saw the passion, you know, and I think in the school I was in, if there was something you were passionate about, that was what you followed.
8:01And so he's a great guy. And actually I played Carnegie Hall about eight years ago. Played their solo and I flew him over. Oh, that's great. I wanted to show him. I said, look now, I'm playing Carnegie Hall because that's it, isn't it? Like Carnegie Hall is the great, the moment you've arrived at some point in your career. Sure. So he came and I was very proud. I introduced him from the stage. What validation for a headmaster. To tell a student to leave school, essentially. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then to be proved right at some point. We got this email. I'm going to go right to this from Hannah in Ohio.
8:36Glenn, I've seen you three times now. I adore your energy, your passionate music. Most recently, you and Marketa in Detroit is when I saw you. Initially heard you during your once period. have dove into your music since then. The soundtrack to Once was the soundtrack to our first child's pregnancy and birth, so it's always sweet to hear those old songs, but your rocking out is such a treasure. Afraid your guitar's gonna break one of these days. Such a pleasure to hear a conversation with you. That's lovely to hear from Hannah, but there is yet another listener who knows you from The Thing. Yes.
9:11And is down for the rock and roll. Oh, thanks, Hannah. Thank you. Yeah, I mean, it was an interesting transition. I mean, my band The Frames toured in America for years, and, you know, we'd play clubs, and I think we may have actually played the 930 back in the day. Or was the Black Cat? We played the Black Cat for sure, but I'm just trying to think of other clubs we may have played in the D.C. area. But when once happened, it was just such a phenomenon that me and Mar went on the ride, and that sort of became the beginning of my career, if you like. It was almost like people didn't know anything that happened before, but now I'm kind of going back to that, and I love those guys, and, you know, I hope that me and them will make a record together again.
9:46soon. But right now, I'm just enjoying this, and this has been a wonderful run. Well, I want to talk about the new album, and of course, I want to hear a little bit of music. A lot of people do know you from the Frames. I mean, we're going back to 1990, so Gen Xers, you know, if you're into the Frames, this is for you. Are you an Irish musician? Do you think of yourself that way? I think of myself as an Irish person, an Irish musician. I mean, of course, Irish music is a huge part of my root. And it's not in my songwriting as clearly as maybe I'd like it to be. But no, it's very much my root. I grew up learning ballads.
10:25Those songs are timeless. I mean, actually, you know what? Because my voice is shot, I might sing you an Irish. I'll sing this song that I've got tuned up, but I might sing you an Irish song to sort of... Well, go ahead and pick it up. Okay. Yeah, yeah. If you need to tune up.
10:39Glen Hansard:Yeah, great. Let's have a look at this. Yeah, if you need to tune up. We're doing this live in studio, yeah. Let's go.
10:53Glen Hansard:Shall I just sing one? Please. Okay. This is called A Great Weight is Lifted. This is a kind of a wish for all of you guys in November. I hope that everything goes according to our hopes.
11:21guitar solo
11:43The clouds are parted. The sky is clear. The sun is grinning from ear to ear. No thunder rolling. No gathering storms. No more sitting in the dock for too long. Great weight is lifted. Great weight is gone.
12:09Great tongues have spoken. Great lessons learned The spell is broken The tables have turned Nobody's falling Through the cracks Nobody breathing All down my back No fiery furnace No tolling bells No more wandering round the nine circles of hell Great Raiders lifted Great Raiders gone Oh, no.
12:45Glen Hansard:Any way the wind blows, any way the wind blows, any way the wind blows, now I will roam.
13:22Thank you. When they decided they would leave us Fend for ourselves Great weight is lifted Great weight is gone
14:03The storms have lifted The coast is clear The sands have shifted There's nobody here You had your chance But your chance was blown The tyrants will tumble It's just how it goes Your mighty empire Will go up in smoke And screw you if you can't take a joke Great weight is lifted Great weight is gone
14:38Any way the wind blows
14:41Glen Hansard:Any way the wind blows Any way the wind blows Any way the wind blows Any way the wind blows Any way my love goes Every way the wind blows Any road I wanna go down I will rock
15:15Glen Hansard:circle the wagons tell me who can we trust we've been pushed to the margins left out in the dust We watched in silence We saw what we saw It's holy murder In the name of our Lord We ruminated We watched in the vine Now every time I raise my head I'm made to choose a side Great weight is lifted Great weight is gone Great weight is gone Great Raiders gone, gone, gone, gone Great Raiders gone, gone, gone, gone
16:06Hey, it's applause all over America into the radios right now. Wonderful. Glenn Hansard. Now, there's a kid who grew up on Dylan. That's what that says to me. That's right. That feels a bit like a Dylan. Well, I mean, I don't want to go that far, but it definitely, it's of the same mind, yeah. I love those list songs, Dylan. Dylan always wrote these amazing list songs. Like, the first song I ever learned to his was, That's Alright, Mom, I'm Only Bleeding. You know, darkness at the break of noon,
16:36Glen Hansard:the shadows even, the silver spoon, the hem of bleed, the child's balloon eclipses both the sun and moon. I understand you know this soon there is no sense in trying. It's like, you're just being hit by images constantly. It's the greatest thing. You said that you wanted people to hear that as maybe inspiration for November? Yeah. What do you mean? Just the idea of a great weightlifting, just the idea of tyranny kind of passing out or passing in. I have to say that everyone we've met on this trip, no matter what their political attitude or their position, I've met a lot of humanity on this trip.
17:14and everyone we speak to, it's just been amazing how much, just kind of real depth of conversation we've had. Whether it's an Uber driver or whether it's someone you meet after a show. I've just met a lot of great people, I have to say. The country might feel like it's in a kind of a funny place, but people are talking. People are communicating really openly, I think, in a decent way. I mean, I'm offline. I'm not doing any of the socials. So I'm not tuning into the evil of it all. I'm just like meeting people face as I'm, you know, meeting people as I'm. As an outsider, but also somebody who's traveling around this country.
17:51I mean, is America all right to you? You think it's doing all right? I have to say I just feel like there's a lot of humanity. That's the main feeling I have is it's very strong. It's, you know, from what you, if you look at, it's funny. My friend did a car journey recently. He did it for fun. He went from Turkey to Mongolia. Anyway, I'll tell you about that in a minute. Still tuning up there. We're going to go to a break. That's Glenn Hansard. He heard the music rising, and he didn't want to tell a long story. But I'll tell you a story. We've got a lot of people writing in. This is from Sharon.
18:30Isn't this nice? We've been huge fans for two decades. When my son was three years old, we had a chance to meet you in Raleigh, North Carolina. My son rocked to your music the entire concert. He had all your songs memorized. We found your tour bus to give him a chance to meet his hero. You came out of your tour bus, took his little guitar, started busking with it, singing the Hoover song. Now he's 15, and his guitar with your message to him, rock on, Liam, hangs on his wall, and he's still rocking on it today. That's wonderful. It's for his stories like that all over America, Glenn Hansard, I'm sure of it.
19:06Well, you heard Glenn Hansard there with a ballad for America. He says looking forward to November. We're going to hear about his new album recorded live over two days and talk a lot more about the music and career of Glenn Hansard and maybe, just maybe, another song. I'm Todd Zwilich. This is One A.
19:25Have you ever been so upset that you can't even think straight? When we're distressed and in high anxiety, we tend to breathe from our chest, which is actually more hyperventilating and is the opposite of relaxing. So we want to breathe from our belly area. This week on the Life Kit podcast, tips for those painful, stressful moments. Listen to Life Kit on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. Don't miss my interview with writer Gia Tolentino. We talk about plastic surgery and how current beauty standards are changing our relationship to reality.
20:02It seems more explicitly anti-human right now than ever before. There seemed to be something that's dovetailing with the age of AI. Listen to Fresh Air on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. The most compelling global stories straight to your ears. That's what we do at State of the World from NPR. Developments in Ukraine, Iran, with Ebola, but also how British beavers are fighting the effects of climate change. So we said the beavers can do it probably a fraction of the cost, certainly more sustainably. Listen to State of the World every weekday on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
20:38The NPR app cuts through the noise, bringing you local, national and global coverage. No paywalls, no profits, no nonsense. Download it in your app store today.
Read the full transcript
20:54Let's get back to our conversation now with Irish singer-songwriter Glenn Hansard. First part of his new two-part album drops next week. We're going to talk about it. A lot of people in America know him from starring in the 2007 indie film Once, winning a Best Original Song Oscar for his song Falling Slowly, or from his duo The Swell Season that was born from that very movie. But it's 2026, and Glenn Hansard is a little older than he was in those days. We're all in the same boat. Just a phenomenal song that you treated us to before the break. Oh, thank you. if you didn't have your radio on, please go back after the show.
21:36Get on the 1A.org. Listen back to the replay of this show. You don't want to miss it, but also stick with us because maybe another song coming up in a few minutes with Glenn Hansard. Glenn, let's talk about the new record. Yeah. Let's make sure we do that. Don't Settle Transmissions East-West. This is a live one. Yeah, it's a live record. What happened was I was doing a concert in The Hague and my potential new manager had come over to see me from London. And about four or five songs into the set, just the sky opened and torrential rain came down and people were kind of getting up to leave. And, you know, it was summer's day, but just an unexpected rainstorm.
22:17And so I invited everybody to come on the stage. And so everyone came up and we'd like, we set a couple of thousand people around or a thousand people sort of sitting around us on the stage. and we ended up doing a very different kind of concert, much more like sort of very intimate and quiet while it rained and it was a beautiful, just a beautiful moment. And Brian, who was there, said, you know, I really loved what happened there. That was really interesting. Do you think we could make a record? Maybe that's what we do. Maybe that's the first thing we do is your management. We make a record of you sitting with people all around and so he thought of a great place.
22:53is a wonderful old radio station, disused radio station called Funkhaus in East Berlin. And it's been there for a long time. And it's gorgeous. It's absolutely beautiful. Stoic kind of architecture, very communist architecture. And we went in there and we recorded two nights of shows. How many people did they pack in there? I think we put in around 700 or 800 people in and around us. And we filmed it and we recorded it and we thought, well, look, nothing ventured, nothing gained. it's going to be a career spanning just a gig, do a gig it's songs from all over your career and we did it and it sounded great and we were very happy with it so it's now a record so two nights of performance sort of edited I said down to one live album, that's almost like a I don't know, that's almost like a cafe feel a big cafe, but people in the round, people close in I'm very much in the style of what the frames did and very much in the style of busking that idea of just going on stage and letting what happens happen and capture it all, and let's see if there's something worth using in it.
23:53And it felt really good. It was my birthday as well. It was my 55th birthday. So there was kind of an added element of celebration in the air, which I really enjoyed. Was there a goal artistically in terms of what kind of music you chose, what you wanted audiences to take away from it? Not at all. I just wrote a set list, and we recorded songs, and we just recorded it as if it was a regular gig, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Moji writes and says, It's great to hear Glenn singing. I've missed his past few DC shows, and I want to send him a big hello and a hug from Moji, a fan, and a pal.
24:25Moji's an amazing singer. That's a friend. She's amazing, yeah. I first met Moji in Denver, I believe. I just heard a harmony come out of the crowd. I was singing one of my songs. I heard this incredible harmony, and I sort of located the voice, and she came up on stage and joined us, and we've been pals ever since. She's amazing. Hi, Moji. Hi, Moji. Moji, a pal and a friend. And well, your collaboration with Marquetta Irglova, your once co-star, if people know and remember once, they'll remember Marquetta. It continued with touring an album since the swell season. I understand you were a couple for a short time.
25:02There was a period there, yeah. As many artists will say, collaborations turn into coupledom and then not. It's an intimate act. Writing is an intimate act, for sure. Well, last year you released your first album together in 16 years. Yeah, and actually that song I sang, the Great Wait song, is on that record. Yeah, we made a record last year. We went over to Iceland. Mar lives in Iceland with her three kids and her husband. And I went over and we hung out and we recorded some songs and we put it out and we did a little tour and it was just so fun. It was really, really enjoyable and great to see that response to that music again back out on the road.
25:37It was really heartening. But that's quite an artistic relationship to circle back. I mean, 16 years, I think, is the gap, right? Right. That's planetary, circling back. It is. It is. But we've always stayed in touch with each other, and Marquetta sings on some of my records, and I'll contribute a little bit to her work. So we've kind of stayed in artistic touch, if you like. But this was just like, no, let's get together and do a record and do a tour and see how it goes. So speaking of touring, you've been all over America on this tour. I know you were here in Washington, D.C. last night, but that's it for America?
26:08Are you headed back to Europe? I'm going to go home tonight, yeah. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. So we caught you just before heading back over. Are you touring in Europe now? We start next week. So a little bit of break. Yeah. Yeah. Tell me a little bit more about what you've seen across America in this moment. I mean, you said you're not online. You don't really bask in the ugliness and the partisanship of the current moment. For those of us who are paid to do that and sort of have to be in that pool, I'll call it, it's hard to see up over the edge sometime. Yeah, I know what you mean. I needed to do it just for my humanity.
26:49I needed to get free of it from my mind to be a creative person and to not get caught up in other people's energy. Because, you know, it is. It's spelled, you know. When people, if you're in your day and you pick up your phone and someone has access to you, it can feel like a voodoo, you know. I don't like it. So I just got away from it. And I have to say I don't regret it at all. You allow phones out at your shows? Oh, I don't mind the phones being at the shows. If people want to record it, that's fine. And, you know, I think all of that stuff kind of will pass, all this posting stuff from shows all the time.
27:23If people want to post something, that's fine. As long as the energy behind it is like, oh, this was a nice moment. Whereas when people are probably trying to, you know, I'm not interested when people are trying to catch you out. Because I sometimes go off on a story, and I don't know where the story's going. I'm just talking, you know, and people are filming you. And sometimes you find yourself saying, oh, you know what? Please don't post this because I just said something really silly or whatever it was. No, but I just said, you know, the people we've met, there's a kind of a, there's an openness and a kind of an openness in the heart of the American dialogue right now.
27:59And I'm talking about the day-to-day people. I'm talking about just the meeting people on the street. I've really, I've had a, I've had a really great trip. It feels like there's more humanity than maybe there was even when I was here in the early 2000s. I love hearing that. It's surprising to hear. You can miss that if you're too much online, too much on media. But to hear that from an actual reporter, I'll call you, who's been out talking to Americans and being among Americans, it warms my heart to hear that. Would you mind giving us another one? Would that be okay? Yeah. I'm going to sing you an Irish song because I feel like it.
28:35This is kind of a classic old Irish song called Carrick Fergus. Actually, it may be Scottish. There's a little bit of debate about where it's from. That don't matter. We're all cousins. We won't let him debate it too long as Glenn Hansard gets set here in our 1A studios whenever you're ready. Okay.
28:57Glen Hansard:I wish I was In Carrick, Fergie Only for nights In Ballyground I would swim over The deepest ocean The deepest ocean My love to find But the sea is wide And I can't swim over And neither have I The wings to fly I wish I meant With the handsome boatman Who'd ferry me over To my love and I My childhood days Bring back fun reflections Of happy times there Spent long ago My boyhood friends And my own relations Have all passed on now Like melting snow But I'll spend my days In endless roaming The grass is green And my bed is free Ought to be back now In the caric circus Where the winding road leaves Down to the sea And in Kilkenny It is reported On marble stone there As black as ink With gold and silver I would support her But I'll sing no more now Till I get a drink For I'm drunk today And I'm seldom sober A handsome rover From town to town Oh, but I am sick now And my days are numbered Come all ye young men And lay me down Come all ye young men And lay me down
32:54Glenn Hansard, live in studio here with 1A. Beautiful. People, as you sing, Glenn, people are writing in from all over America. My goodness. Just remembering the times that they've seen you. Kevin and Kendra are from Minneapolis. They've seen you going all the way back to the frames. They saw you in L.A. They say thank you for singing the soundtrack to our lives. Oh, that's so sweet. Thank you. Tom in Ithaca, New York, saw you back in Raleigh, Durham. Another note from North Carolina where he says you handled bad technical mishaps like a performer, exactly as you would with charisma. Kathleen says, I can't believe you haven't mentioned The Commitments, which was a hit movie for Gen Xers.
33:42Yes. I was in The Commitments. I was the guitar player at Outspan Foster. It was a wonderful, wonderful moment in my life. We came to America in 92, and we did a little tour around America, playing some concerts. A fantastic memory. How did that movie come about? Well, there's a wonderful book by Roddy Doyle, a great Irish writer, called The Commitments, which is basically about a Northside Dublin soul band. And they meet a kind of a slightly dodgy, kind of older trumpet player who claims he knew Wilson Pickett and claims he played on all these great records in America. And basically, as the film goes on, he's proven right.
34:23This guy actually did play with all these great people. But there's always that doubt as to whether he was. But he kind of guides these young, young kind of sort of troubled hearts into making music. And it's just a, it's one of those great community films made by Alan Parker who made Fame and Bugsy Malone and some other fantastic, it made Midnight Express. I remember Bugsy Malone as a kid. Yeah. They drove around in cars with pedals on them. That's right. Yeah, wonderful film. So it's a fantastic memory for me so long ago. They say, we're going to go. Before we go, you're headed back to Europe.
35:00You're just wrapping up here in America. What about music in the current moment? They say that artists are only making money on tour. People aren't buying record albums anymore. Or if they are, you can't make a dime on them. Yeah. It's, you know, it's a tough climate to try and make a living. But, you know, thank God for people. And, you know, there's an Irish term, metal, which is basically just people gathering. So people are coming out to see shows because they understand. They understand the power of their dollar. They're coming out to see shows because they know that that's where the artist makes their money.
35:34They're not making it on record sales. And they're not really making it on merch or anything like that. But just, or, you know, go see a band, buy their t-shirt, pay in. That's the thing I do. If I love a band, like I just saw Dirty Three, one of my favorite groups, and I know Warren, and Warren put me on the guest list, and I just said, no, I'm paying. If you like the artist, if you like the kid on the street with the guitar case open, you put a dollar in the case. You don't just walk by, right? Exactly. That kid was you. Yeah. And look at you now. Look at us. Look at us. That's a chance to hear you in studio.
36:04Thank you. It's a rare treat and a pleasure to have you on live where we can hear your music and talk about your career and look forward to the new album, the new live album, Don't Settle, Transmissions East and West. Glenn Hansard, thank you for being here. Thank you, Ted. Remember that text is the fastest way to connect with us. You can find out how to sign up for our next text service under the Talk to 1A tab at the 1A.org. Today's producers were Alexandra Boti and Alison Brody. And this program comes to you from WAMU, part of American University in Washington, distributed by NPR. I'm Todd Zwillick.
36:43What a pleasure it's been this hour. Let's talk more soon. This is 1A.
37:05GLP-1s are best known as weight loss drugs, but they may also help people cut back on alcohol, cigarettes, and opioids. They seem to work for many types of addiction. Maybe these effects are much broader than we previously thought. Ideas about the brain, addiction, and empathy. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. On a new episode of Are We Doomed? We are losing the moon. The moon is indeed drifting away. And what to do. Blow it up. Yeah, um, I think that's overkill. The moon, why we might need it, a real plan to nuke it, and new space race for it.
37:48Join me for Are We Doomed? Distributed by the NPR Network. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
From the publisher
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The song “Falling Slowly” first debuted in the 2007 indie romance film “Once” starring Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard and Czech-Islandic singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová. It tells the story of a dramatized version of their own musical partnership.
That song won an Oscar for best original song and the musical duo became a hit in the U.S. when they recorded and toured as The Swell Season.
But long before any success stateside, Hansard was a fixture of the Irish music scene, first busking on Dublin streets at age 13. And in 1990 he formed the Irish rock group The Frames.
Today, Hansard is reflecting on his decades of music-making and looking ahead. His new two-part album is called “Don+t Settle – Transmissions East and West.” He sits down with us to talk about the first part.
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