New Album alert: Neil Halstead

I'm a bit slow hearing about this one, but I'm so excited I can barely stand it. He's also touring the States for the first time in forever this summer (supporting Jack Johnson) but unfortunately they appear to be all stadium shows. And the closest one to NYC is in Jersey. Ah well. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that he'll come through the City later in the year once his new album is out.

Man. What with Neil's new album coming out and Bob's show in Prospect Park, this August is shaping up to be pretty awesometown.

Roo turns 30. It's true.

Robert Frost says: Time and tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty.

I say: Just because it’s standing still, doesn’t mean it has to be quiet!

Music Starts at 8pm. Bring your earplugs, your liver, and your friends. After all, Frost also said that hell is a half-filled auditorium.

I Know Who Made My Bed: Colour Revolt @ the Mercury Lounge

I went to the Mercury Lounge last night to check out Snowden, which is a band I'd already seen live once before about a year ago (also at the Merc, if memory serves). I really like them--their Anti-Anti album consistently goes through periods of heavy rotation in my library--and have been dying for them to come back 'round to the City so I could see them again. But not dying enough, apparently, to wait through a headcount for the Fire Warden (although, honestly, I think the Merc was just trying to pack more people inside). Eyeroll. I guess that's what I get for hitting up Happy Hour beforehand...and on a school night.

However, despite my lameness in skipping out on the band I actually went to see, I did manage to catch the entire Colour Revolt opening set. And it was awesome.

I will admit that I have a sentimental soft spot for Oxford, Mississippi, so when I found out a couple hours before they went on that they are based out of Oxford I was probably irrationally predisposed to like them. But they happily exceeded my crazy expectations with their driving beat and their guitar-heavy sound. [Incidentally, it was probably a good thing that I could only see the lead singer from my particular vantage point because I generally have little patience for bands with too many guitarists (3 guitars and 1 bass in this particular case)...seeing the set up might have changed my favorable predisposition to a more dismissive one. I know, I know...there is no rhyme or reason.]

Since I only really saw the lead singer (and guitar player), Jesse Coppenbarger, I can only comment on his particular performance by mentioning that I was impressed with the sound he pushed out of his seemingly-slight frame. He has a great sense of phrasing and styling.

On a related note: I was excited enough about the show last night that I downloaded their new full-length album this morning (Plunder, Beg, and Curse) and I will say that, although some are quite good, some songs are a disappointment...especially when I had the live versions of these songs fresh in my head. But this is a young band and judging from the performance last night I have to say I'm really excited to see where they go from here.

Then Again, the Same Old Story: Updates

So, this is where I've been hiding out the past five days. I know that it doesn't quite explain my extended absence from Morland but...well...so it goes.

In my absence, I also made it up to I-Town for Record Store Day a couple (three?) weeks ago. Because there's really only one independent record store that I hold near and dear to my heart. (Even though they update their website even less frequently than I do...ahem.)

Overall, I have enjoyed my recent ventures from the City. I find New York to be a bit overwhelming at times and it's been good to see trees and mountains and space. I'm already planning my next escape and I'm thinking it might have to be Texas.

I have only seen one show in the past month, which is partly why I've been so quiet, and it was a repeater to boot. I didn't have much to add about Josh Ritter's performance from what I already said last fall so devoting a whole post to the show seemed uncalled for at the time. Suffice it to say, he's still one of my favorites and still puts on one hell of a show. I mean, any man that can get a room full of Williamsburg hipsters to partner up with strangers and waltz around the room mid-set is alright by me. (The picture of the set list for this show was posted by urockrock on Flickr; see more pics here.)

In other news: I quit my job and will soon be joining the ranks of under-paid creative types that hang around the City. I'm hoping the change of pace will allow me more time to check out music around town and that, in turn, will translate into more updates on Morland. Famous last words.

And, finally, clear your schedule the evening of June 7th: in true wannabe-rockstar-fashion I have organized a great line-up of bands to play at a venue in Chinatown to celebrate my 30th. Details forthcoming.

Wistful Thinking

People that know me well, or even slightly, also know that I love music and listen to it a lot. It's one of those aspects of my personality that I'm sure comes across very quickly. After all, I was one of those people that carried a stack of cd's and a player around with them at all times in the pre-iPod era. (God, I'm glad those days are behind me.)

When it comes to the music I like, there are some things that stick out right away as themes. However, I would hesitate to say I have a particular type of music that I prefer above all others. For lack of a better explanation, I usually say I like "musically interesting" songs...which is really a vague way of saying, even more vaguely, "I know it when I hear it." I played in a lot of orchestras in my childhood (cello) and I'm pretty sure my ear has been trained through that experience--while I can't always vocalize why something is interesting, I somehow can just hear it...in the same way I was trained to pay attention to and integrate with the workings behind great orchestral arrangements.

I do not, however, have any pretensions about my abilities as a musician. I was at the time and, figuratively speaking, still am the perfect orchestra member: capable, with no soloist inclinations. Which is only to say, I have no idea what makes a good musician tick. I have enough knowledge and experience to appreciate it when I see it, but understanding is beyond me.

But now, there is a new blog on the NY Times, Measure for Measure, that can offer me (and many others like me) the opportunity to get into the head of that fascinating character, the singer/songwriter. Andrew Bird and Roseanne Cash, among others, are purporting to give the reader a behind-the-scenes look at the songwriting process and I have to say I find the project fascinating. I'm not sure if it will get me any closer to understanding, but I recommend you check it out.

Beware the Ides of March

The middle and end of March hit Morland like a Mack truck. I was in the longest-lasting and worst mood I can remember in years. I don't really have a convincing explanation for it, although I do have more than a handful of partially-convincing arguments for it. Perhaps it was all of that rolled together. In any case, I'm pulling out of it and getting back in gear (no little thanks goes to JM for entertaining me this past weekend in DC). And below is a brief recap of the past couple weeks:

I saw one of the worst shows I've ever seen a couple weeks ago. I'd mention the band but I don't think I could be constructive in my criticism. I was really looking forward to this show and, rather unfortunately for him, had convinced my friend JV to come along with me. It was a good thing for me that I did since he kept me sane, and tipsy, throughout. I also discovered, although I guess I've always known, that I'm a bit of an elitist. Go figure.

I saw a great great show too. I was lucky enough to catch Beth Orton at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on the 30th of March. She played an acoustic set of gems from her previous albums and generally charmed me from start to finish. And the MHW had arranged the space into a seated venue, which also added to the charm and intimacy of the experience. I've always loved her work, which is electronica-spiced folk, but hearing her play her songs unplugged really opened my eyes to the depth of her talent. And gave further credence to the (perhaps grand) claim that she is the "female Van Morrison." It was lovely, all round.

I have been enjoying the music that people have been dropping me (see the widget on the right sidebar). It really has served the purpose of introducing me to music that I have not heard yet. I do intend on somehow working those songs back into Morland in some way or another, but for now I just wanted to say thanks for the songs thus far.

I have also been enjoying my new obsession, the John Adams mini-series on HBO. It's brilliant.

Lastly, for my friends I haven't spoken to in a while: the Fabry screening is happening (finally) next Monday - Wednesday. I will keep you updated.

**The sweet picture of the Beth Orton show comes from the doubtful guest's flikr page. See more here.

I Almost Don't Belive It

Well, it looks as if it's really happening this time: I just found out that Portishead is emerging from the depths with their (repeatedly) promised third album. While I won't say it about every band with the power to instantaneously take me back to my dorm-room years, I will say I'm excited to see what Portishead has up their sleeve. Afterall, I still listen to Dummy every now and again. But, 11 years is a long time: just look at poor Axl.

Every Day is Gettin' Straighter

My sister sent me some tracks to listen to by Rodrigo y Gabriela, which I'm really diggin' these days.  I thought I would share:


Listening to them this evening put me in mind of the man who really sold his soul to the devil, David Rawlings. I've seen him perform twice now with Gillian Welch and I have to say he's unbelievable. One thing I find so amazing about watching him perform is his use of the microphone as a second instrument since his guitar isn't plugged in. The following video is pretty exemplary:


And while we are on the topic of the lovely Gillian Welch, allow me to admit that if Morland had a theme song the following would probably be in the running:


It was the live version of "Time (the Revelator)" that I really wanted to embed in this post, but YouTube doesn't allow you to embed the particular video I wanted. If you haven't had enough check that version out here and stay with it through the end (there's also a short interview before the song starts).

Morland Furry? Really?

I went to this website this afternoon to find Morland's band name. I thought the list was pretty funny. My personal favorite: Thigh of the Morland Teen. Heh. Check it out:

Here are your band name generator results:

Morland Of The Chimp
Morland Playground
Thigh Of The Morland Teen
Morland Conflict
Morland Of The Delay
Morland Of The Obscurity
Morland Prophet
Luminary Of The Moaning
Official Morland And The Pure Checker
Morland Furry

An Appetite for Greater Things: the Coward Robert Ford

For whatever it's worth: I think Casey Affleck should have gotten the golden prize last night. I'm sure that Bardem was great in "No Country" (I have not seen NCFOM), but Affleck's performance in "Jesse James" was one of the best I've ever seen.

Let's Hear it For the Girl: Morland Needs a Kick in the Rear

(Photo by Rahav Seger via NYT)
As I mentioned a while back, I haven't been going to a lot of shows recently. I attribute this to the fact that I've stopped listening to music. And by that I mean I really haven't listened to a whole song for weeks now. It hasn't really been a conscious thing...I just find that I reach for my iPod less when I'm wandering around and finding myself listening to the city more. And while this might sound romantic and charming, at root I find it makes me depressed and sullen. I'm pretty sure that all this is just a phase but I'm also certain that this anti-music period in my life is something I'm going to have to dig myself out in a proactive like fashion.

In that vein, today I have purchased a ticket to see the Walkmen at Webster Hall in a couple of weeks. If they can't snap me out of it, I'm not sure who will. I've never seen them live but I've always meant to. So instead of making another excuse this time around I just bought a damn ticket. I have also spent a sizable amount of time today "discovering" new music to track down and listen to when I get home. Since a handful of the bands on my list are coming to town soon, hopefully I'll find something in there to get excited about.

I have also added a new feature to my blog, which you can see on the right hand side. This widget allows you, my dearest reader, to send me files directly. Specifically, I'd love some audio files. If you have a song you've been listening to over and over and can't get it out of your mind, I want to hear it too. Send it on over: click the add button, find the file, hit the drop button. Easy peasy.

Together, we can get this blog back on track!! Ha!

So Much For Consistency (and other thoughts)

So, I joined LinkedIn. And Facebook. And I promised that I'd write more. What do you want from me?! Ha. Anyway, I've completely zoned out over the Democratic primary elections such that any free time I get at work is spent surfing the web to get the latest polls, pundit's opinions and projections, and stump speeches. And all I can say is, isn't this exciting?!!

No doubt about it, I'd love to have the chance to vote in the first female or black President of the USA. And I'd *really* love to get a progressive liberal back into the White House. But, fundamentally, this election is exciting to me because people are getting involved after seemingly years of a serious decline in political engagement. Perhaps it's my optimism or wishful thinking, but I can't help sense that people are getting into the process this time around--I've had more conversations about politics with friends, workers and family than I can remember from previous election cycles (and the record numbers set at the primary polling stations around the country seem to support my feelings as well). And, as more and more States get the opportunity to be a deciding factor in the nomination, the more riled up and involved everyone (hopefully) will become. And that goes for the Republicans as well. And that's a good thing, no?

That said, it's a tricky balance for the Democrats. Roger Cohen has some interesting thoughts about this towards the end of his NYT OpEd today. Food for thought....and I'm looking at you, Washington...

Catching Up

So things at Morland have slowed down a bit. This blog was, ultimately, envisioned as a way to help me remember what I liked about different music shows that I was going to (those of you that know me well know I suffer from a TERRIBLE memory). After all, for the first half of 2007 it seemed as if I was going to a show at least once a week, sometimes more.

Problem is, when I'm going through a period of non-show-going (like now) I find that I don't have a lot to share. I don't have many shows coming up on the horizon either so Morland has the potential to look a little bleak. I'm not sure if I don't have shows lined up because nothing in particular is coming that excites me or I'm just not feeling it on a general level. In either case, I've been neglecting Morland. So here are some updates to catch up, and every effort will be made to post something more regularly, even if it's not of any musical bent. Promises made, yada yada yada:

-Clearly, a New Year has come and gone. Mine was spent quietly with the BF and a handful of our friends upstate. It was a great time and I look forward to 2008.

-I am now the proud owner of a Kindle, which I received for Christmas. And it's as awesome as I thought it would be. I do get stared at on the subway sometimes, which can be unnerving.

-Everyone is getting older: my sister and my friend ADS both hit that 30-year mark and released their hold on years of misguided youth. Heh. Here's to many more! I'll be seeing you there soon enough.

-My cat went blind.

-I haven't been listening to any new music. If you got something cool, clue me in.

-I have watched the first Austen installation on PBS that I mentioned below. Persuasion. It was terrible. I'm hoping the others will make up for it.

Goin' Commerical: Bishop Allen Clicks with Sony

As readers probably already know, I am very fond of Bishop Allen and have really enjoyed seeing them get more attention recently. I'm of two minds about music being used in commercials these days, but when I saw a new Sony digital camera ad on TV last night featuring BA's Click Click Click Click I couldn't have been more chuffed.

I went to YouTube today to find the commercial to share with you all, but when I found their video for the song I had to share that instead. Because it's awesome. So, enjoy:

All Austen, All the Time!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Morland is extremely excited to find out that adaptations of all six Austen novels are being trotted out by PBS' upcoming 2008 Masterpiece Theatre schedule. Apparently four of the six adaptations are brand spankin' new, to which we can only say hooray! Northanger Abbey, in particular, is in dire need of a fresh take (and we're not just saying that because of not-so-obvious reasons). So, it would appear that I am officially booked on Sunday nights from January 13th until, say, about mid-May. Yay!

As the Light is Long: Elvis Perkins in Deerland @ the Bowery 12/7

Last Friday, HT and I checked out Elvis Perkins in Deerland at the Bowery and had quite the enjoyable evening. Their performance was very tight, which should be expected since they appear to have quite a heavy tour schedule, and I was very happy to hear them experiment with some of their material, which has been around for a while and could use some new additions (hint hint).

The meat (and bones) of the show is the music presented on EPD’s album, Ash Wednesday, which is very heavy on the religious and metaphysical overtones.* And a quick overview of Perkins’ oft-cited back-story perhaps gives some insight as to why he would be so concerned with such topics: his father, Anthony, died from complications of AIDS when Perkins was still a teen and his mother was on one of the planes that crashed in 9/11. Part of me feels bad bringing up his back-story in this context because I don’t think EPD can be understood, nor approached, only from that particular angle. In fact, to cite my own personal experience, I saw EPD open for the Pernice Brothers at the Merc nearly-to-the-day a year ago and bought their album on the spot. It wasn’t until a couple of months later that I was enlightened as to Perkins’ personal history and I had already fallen in love with the lyricism and imagery of Perkins' writing. I find his lyrics to be as full of meaning as most Dylan tunes (to again, sigh, offer an oft-cited influence on EPD) and they could be interpreted in a myriad of ways…it’s not even clear to me that the common interpretations given of his songs in light of his personal back-story are as definitive as they are made out to be. [That said, let me offer my own opinion that the album’s title track is (intentionally or not) the best song about 9/11 I’ve heard.]

All of which is to say, given the religious overtones of the album, it was fitting that EPD started their set on Friday night with the ghostly “Good Friday”, which opened up like a hymnal calling us to church. The rest of the set was smartly constructed with build-ups leading to aching minimalist songs that were even more striking once the listener had been warmed up by more raucous tunes. I loved the energy projected on stage by Deerland—they too provide the relief by which a more somber Perkins is enhanced. EPD are a great band and I was happy to see them stretching themselves a bit—I look forward to their future efforts.

HT and I also managed to get to the show early enough to catch Bon Iver open for EPD and I thought he was great. It definitely motivated me to look into him some more and perhaps I’ll post a Listening post about him at a later date. As a quick summary: think Anthony and the Johnsons gone folk (with a little bit of—don’t laugh—Kenny Loggins sentimentality thrown in…and I truly mean that as a compliment and I say it mainly for the benefit of Boo).

*A quick clarification: the album is a solo effort recorded under EP, before the formation of EPD. A quick judgment: EP benefits as EPD, although the album is very good.

**Thanks to HT for the awesome picture too!!

Amazon's new Kindle: I'm reading my xmas list folks

I don't think I've wanted anything this bad since the iPod came out. Unless you count the iPhone. But, as much as I love Apples I won't Sprint for one.


If this little thing can do for my reading what the iPod did for my music, I'll be a very happy camper. And to be honest, if given the choice between one of these for xmas and a non-Sprint iPhone...I'd have to go with the Kindle.

How Many Connections Do YOU Have?

Yesterday I found an invitation in my inbox to become a member of a friend’s “professional network” via the professional-networking site LinkedIn.com. The first thought to run through my mind? Oh. God.

I’ll admit that I was quick to jump on the Friendster bandwagon back in the day: I really enjoyed reconnecting with many of my college friends and even a couple people from my high-school era. Not to mention the never-ending satisfaction that came in creating and recreating your own personal dust-jacket. It was like launching your own marketing strategy complete with personal Hallmark addendums. After a while, though, the site became less about a place to reconnect and maintain friendships and more about how many “friendsters” or testimonials you had. It began to feel like middle-school, which is the only other forum I’d previously encountered where people’s cliques, tastes and popularity were so blatantly on display for others to judge and dissect.

So, when everyone subsequently jumped over to MySpace I only half-heartedly followed suit. I never really engaged with that site, though, mainly because I felt the tone delve deeper into middle-school territory with personal-page “comments” that read more like really bad jokes and chain emails. I’ve also managed to resist the pull of FaceBook for precisely the opposite reasons: nothing is quite as uncool as joining a social-networking site that my mother could very well be a member of. God forbid she proves to be more popular than I would! Ha!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against these kinds of sites. I still keep my profiles up on Friendster and MySpace. After all, the birthday reminders from the former are invaluable and the pictures posted by friends on the latter are great to have. And I have joined other kinds of sites since my Friendster-crack days as well: I have profiles up on Yelp and Shelfari, etc. Although, unlike Friendster and MySpace, I joined these other sites anonymously with the use of initials and nicknames (as I have also done with this blog). I like to share my opinions, but I also don’t necessarily want just anyone to know they are mine.

Which brings me back to LinkedIn. As a professional networking site, LinkedIn differs from the others in that it is supposed to be used for business networking and the like. For example, you might find out that your friend has a friend who manages a venture capital firm and because you have mutual connection that VC-friend might be willing to look at your new business plan. Not to mention that you could do a little preparatory research on the people who will be interviewing you at the firm you would like to join—perhaps you could warm them up with talk of your mutual love of gardening? You get the idea. [In fact, to see all the ways that LinkedIn can help you and your professional career, check out this nicely written and (careful now) very persuasive plug here.]

But therein lies the rub: any research you can do on them, they can clearly do on you as well. And do you really want your (current or future) co-workers and employers to have ready access to that information? I mean, granted, they could find out more “damaging” things about you from Friendster and MySpace than they might from LinkedIn but even still it sort of makes me cringe to think about. Some things are better left as skeletons in my closet…even when those skeletons in my closet might just be lazy co-workers that I’m “connected” to and thus (to the people that also know the co-worker in question) inadvertently projecting a similarly lazy persona. And saying “no” to a connection invite would probably disrupt office politics, so there may not be an easy way around that. (For more about this, and a generally funny article, you should check this out.)

That said, I'm sure I'll be joining up with LinkedIn in the next couple of days or so. Afterall, the Fortune 500 companies are doing it. And I found my boss on there too. Ha!

Listening: Eric Bachmann

My belated post below about the Josh Ritter show I went to a while back brings to mind the fact that I discovered Eric Bachmann there. He opened for Ritter that night and he totally blew my mind. While this will lose me some cred in the eyes of some people, I had no idea who he was but, thankfully, managed to catch his whole set that night because I misjudged the actual start-time of the show. Bachmann was the frontman of Archers of Loaf and currently fronts Crooked Fingers (hence the cred-losing thing: I've never really listened to either of those bands before even though I probably should have).

At any rate, he impressed me so much with his opening set that I bought his album the next day, To the Races (pictured above), and have been listening to it pretty much non-stop since then. Calling it merely acoustic folk seems a bit of a let-down even though that is precisely what is: it's stripped down folk at its best.

If for nothing else, this album should be explored for the opening song alone. Man o'War is lyrically dense and haunting in it's build-up (but those who know me well also know I'm a sucker for a slow-build). It incorporates so much imagery and room for interpretation, in fact, that I'm still unsure as to whether the song is about Man o'War (as the album title would suggest), a man o'war (as the opening line and the references to blue bottles suggests), or a Man of War (as the imagery of the ocean and sinking suggests). Perhaps them all? In my opinion, like similar-in-style Dylan lyrics, it doesn't really matter.

So, if you get a chance, check it out. And I'm talking to you, Boo.

You are the Northern Lights: Josh Ritter @ Webster Hall 11/9

So, about forever and a day ago I checked out Josh Ritter's show at Webster Hall. I was going to let this post slide (as I have other posts when I've been a little late on the draw in posting about a show) but I just had to mention this show. It was, without a doubt, the most fun I've ever had at a show in New York City. So please excuse my lateness and allow me to tell you that Mr. Ritter puts on one hell of a show.

The first great thing about this show was Ritter's obvious enjoyment in performing for us, which was coupled by the uber-enthusiasm emanating from the audience. The atmosphere was positively electric. It still brings chills to me. As for proof of his enjoyment, the grin you can see in this picture to the left rarely disappeared from his face the entire evening. Even in the quieter moments, a small smile would creep out as he was singing.

I have been a Ritter fan for more than a few years and mostly for a dumb reason: we both hail from Idaho. Not necessarily the greatest reason to check out a band, granted, but the reason that led me to him nonetheless. I find his lyrics to be clever and his country-by-way-of-Leonard-Cohen style is also definitely my cup of tea. So I was extremely excited to have the chance to finally see him live.

However, I'd been reading a few interviews that Ritter had been giving around town leading up to the show and was starting to get a little worried about what I was getting myself into. There was a lot of talk (by him) about his new album being less "auto-biographical" and more "rockin" than his previous albums and how he was getting tired of being fit to the mold of the confessional singer-songwriter type. Fair enough. But, while it's true that his new album does include references to pirates and Joan of Arc, I found it to be neither rockin (per se) or a huge departure from his other work. Different, yes, but more like a progression rather than a departure. So...with visions of Ryan Adam's attempt at be coming more of a "rock star" in my head, I was really worried that my first look at Ritter live was going to let me down.

And, let me tell you kids, Josh Ritter can rock! And it turns out his new album is rockin...or at least more so than I thought it was while listening to it over my head phones on the subway. Nothing like context to set one straight.

I had such fun that night. There was a lot of dancing in the crowd, a lot of chit-chat from Ritter, and a lot of interaction between the crowd and the guys on stage. As Josh Ritter said as he closed the show, the night was truly magical. It's too bad I can't go back again.

*Thanks to Kyle Dean Reinford on Flickr for the awesome shot. Please check out more of his shots from that night here.