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Musical Genius and the Ambient Soundscape of New York
Discordant elements in “Begin Again” and “August Rush”
A genius music producer named Dan Mulligan (played by Mark Ruffalo) is fired from the record label he co-founded. Begin Again begins with Dan, prior to getting fired, driving his car while getting through his workload of checking out a bunch of demo CDs. He plays them one by one, and gets disappointed again and again. He throws the CDs out of the window.
The record label fires him because he’s a mess. His failing marriage aside, he’s failed to bring in new talent. The label has anyway gone down to catering to quick buck sugar pop, so it’s got no more use for him.
Drinking to flush out frustration with the artless music industry, Dan walks into an open-mic bar. Onstage is Gretta (played by Keira Knightly), a raw talent, reluctantly performing a song. Just a guitar and her voice.
He barely notices her until all of a sudden, elusive inspiration washes over him, and he starts having aural visions of keyboards, violins, cello, bass, and percussion alongside Gretta’s acoustic performance. The full-band arrangement forms in his head.
Together, Dan and Gretta gather other “terminally, miserably bored musicians.” People like a busker who salvages recording equipment. A…
