Music for MRI is a project being run by the artist Robert Manning who has Multiple Sclerosis. The project’s aim is to get artists Robert loves to record a cover of his song “Washington Parks” all for raising money and awareness for MS (the disease) and the MS Society (the charity). Artists who have covered it to date include: Ash & We Are Scientists, Ed Harcourt, Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler and the latest by Marissa Nadler:
Extract from Robert’s Blog (Spetember 2011)
Over the last 6 weeks, soon after the Ash/We are Scientists release (which was, and continues to be an amazing success) my life, time and energy has been nothing but firmly focused on my family, what with my Father and 4 month old baby both finding themselves in hospital, both very unwell… It was during this time, at my lostest ebb I received an email out of the blue from Marissa Nadler, included in the email was a link to the finished version of Washington Parks… What can I say except is it everything i wished for, beautiful, haunting and completely fitting for the situation/mood I was in at the time, and to be honest, am still in..
Ever since the email mentioned above, the health of my Father and son is improving day by day… I have exchange lovely emails with Marissa who has offered incredible words of support, and in her words “It was fate that she sent the song that day, at that time, at my lowest”
This is the original by Robert:
Extract from Robert’s blog (March 2012):
Since my last post I have been hibernating from the world spending all my time and energy with my family. We didn’t have a great end to the year but thankfully 2012 has started with everyone well, happy and out of hospital..
It is amazing how quickly time flies when you are struggling with MS, when it takes such great determination to make it through a single day, before you know it, you blink and 3 months have passed… My MS at the moment has not been great, fatigue is horrendous, every night I sleep with what feels like heavy weights all over, compressing my body, then I wake up feeling like I’ve drunk a barrel of rum.
You can help by buying the covers here on bandcamp: http://happymonster.bandcamp.com/
There is also a donate link on Robert’s Blog: bobertmanning.blogspot.co.uk
