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...