Did anybody else notice the guitar that one of the performers at the Academy Awards show had with the four inch hole in the top? Not a Collings, fortunately, but it reminded me of the ones that were listed on Ebay a couple of months ago. Is this a new chic, like the designer jeans that are worn through for $300?

Watch the movie "Once" and you'll get it totally. The guitar was the one used in the film, about songwriters and songwriting. I really thought it was a fine flick.

I just saw "Once" and thought it was very good. The music was excellent. The Willy-style Takamine sounded great. Maybe a little too good when he was playing on the street but an enjoyable story that didn't take the usual Hollywood route.
A significant difference in the hole from the ones on eBay was that the hole in the Takamine was definitely "play wear" not the result of a sudden blow.

Addendum: Just found out that "Falling Slowly" from Once won Best Original Song Oscar at the Academy Awards Sunday night. The duo from the film are called The Swell Season - they are playing the Tower Theatre in Philly on May 20th. Wonder if Glen will be playing his Wholly Takamine?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Randy Carone,

We just saw "Once" the day before the Oscars. Enjoyed it immensely, great songs. Was really surprised yet pleased to hear he won an Oscar for that. I'm a little surprised that he played that beat-up Takamine on the show, but...

quote:

Originally posted by Randy Carone:

A significant difference in the hole from the ones on eBay was that the hole in the Takamine was definitely "play wear" not the result of a sudden blow.

Addendum: Just found out that "Falling Slowly" from Once won Best Original Song Oscar at the Academy Awards Sunday night. The duo from the film are called The Swell Season - they are playing the Tower Theatre in Philly on May 20th. Wonder if Glen will be playing his Wholly Takamine?

Yeah, I don't doubt that the hole is play wear-- Hansard & company are anything but posers! I've been a huge fan of Hansard (and his band The Frames) since the early-mid 1990s when they were a local band in Ireland. They played pretty constantly in pubs around Ireland (and later, on the Continent) those days & every show that I saw was incendiary. The fiddler who plays with them in the Swell Season is from The Frames too.

If you're in the States and get the cable station "Ovation," the Swell Season has a 1 hour live show that's been doing the rounds. If you like them, definitely check out The Frames: my favourite album of theirs is Dance the Devil: more acoustic stuff than some of their other releases.

Glad to see that for once something other than a tepid & generic Disney/ Celene Dion-esque song won an Oscar, though it's not actually anywhere near my favourite Frames/ Hansard song, even within the film.

Thanks for the tip on The Frames. I couldn't agree more about the pleasant surprise of Hansard as the winner. In the same category as Herbie Hancock winning Album of The Year at the Grammys. Moments of sanity in an ocean of mediocrity.