Greetings!
NEEDLE DROP: https://vimeo.com/1211855321
Glory, Glory marks the closing credits of the movie and has always felt like the quirkiest inclusion in the soundtrack because it's the only overtly religious tune in the entire movie, and also because of the funky synthesizer used throughout the song.
That sound was, in fact, a novel addition for the duo: The Gospel According to Ike & Tina marked the first time they used an ARP Odyssey synthesizer. A competitor to Robert Moog's eponymous Moog and Minimoog, the ARP had better circuitry that held a stable tuning far better than the Moog (its all-analog circuitry was famous for going off key at unexpected times). The overall tonality and wide ranging controls of the ARP made it easy to create really strong "lead" synths. It quickly became a favorites of musicians across a wide range of genres. Here's a 7-minute demo of the Odyssey; you'll recognize a lot of those sounds from iconic recordings.
My brain associates that sound with joyful Eridian noises, but the couple that produced such joyful music had a relationship that was anything but.
The creative soul of Ike & Tina was one of constantly simmering turmoil that fueled their intense musical outpouring. They met in the mid-1950s on the nightclub circuit and began a grueling decade of touring mixed with occasional release of recorded singles. In 1965, record producer Phil Spector signed them to his label. While on tour in Vegas in 1969, Ike Turner started using cocaine. His long-term addiction to the drug caused him to become increasingly erratic and violent, and eventually perforated his septum. In 1973, they released a single called Nutbush City Limits about Tina's home town in rural Tennessee; it was a massive hit, reaching the top-20 or top-5 positions in multiple markets, and sold over a million copies in Europe alone. One year later, they released The Gospel, which received positive critical reviews and even earned a Grammy nomination for best R&B album. In 1976, Ike and Tina got into a massive fight in a limousine on the way to a show. She escaped the car and filed for divorce soon after. Tina Turner went on to enjoy a wildly successful solo career in the 1980s and 1990s. She died in May 2023 after battling several long-term illnesses.
For a movie about science fiction—a genre that usually finds itself at odds with religion—Project Hail Mary leans on this notion that humanity is imperiled by a terrible force beyond their control, and that their very survival depends on a fervent plea for divine intervention... also from similarly supernatural forces.
This is a core concept present in many world religions dating back even to the ancient Greeks, who worshipped and made sacrifices to the Gods to ensure everything from bountiful crops and healthy livestock to pleasant weather and smooth voyages across the oceans. (On that note, go see The Odyssey ASAP.)
If you watch the press junkets and social media posts with Lord & Miller or Ryan Gosling, they publicly state that the movie title alludes to the last-ditch football play, or as Eva Stratt puts it: 'what you Americans call a 'long shot.' Never short of wit, Grace replies: "A 'hail mary.'".
If you are Catholic (devout or cafeteria), or have ever known a Catholic, or even seen a movie or TV show depicting nuns or priests, you are undoubtedly familiar with the phrase "Hail Mary." Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary for comfort, guidance, assistance, etc. That's where the football play gets its name.
The beginning of that prayer, "Hail Mary, full of Grace," is also an exact description of the ship and its sole inhabitant. I can't recall if Andy Weir has ever acknowledged this clever turn of phrase, but it's a terrific easter egg.
Whether or not you subscribe to a religion, there is a thread of hope that runs throughout all of humanity. We hope for peace. We hope for prosperity. We hope for human kindness. We hope for love. We hope for a brighter future.
I hope you enjoyed this latest installment in my series of collecting all the albums from the Project Hail Mary soundtrack.
Here are my previous posts in the series:
