Jake Morley’s Famously Lossmaking Email Newsletter

Hi

A month back I was introducing Keep Me Around on stage, doing my thing, you know the one, about how it’s a flaws-and-all grown-up kind of love song that acknowledges the struggle as well as the romance. It’s probably a bit of a shtick at this point. Anyway I noticed a subtle pang like something was off, but I wasn’t quite sure what.

Around that time I’d been craving mainstream escapist crime fiction and started reading Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club. There’s a running theme in that book of elderly people whose lives are quietly driven by profound love born of absolutely decades of excellent marriage. While not really foregrounded, it runs so deep in the characters it permeates everything they are, making them do all kinds of mundane things and even the occasional extreme thing which you need a bit of in mainstream escapist crime fiction.

My hunch is I was feeling a bit of a discord between my song about the day-to-day and these characters I’d been engrossed in who always seemed to have one foot in some unspoken eternal.

A few days later I was working on a song about dancing in the kitchen and it happened again. The unspoken eternal voice was finding it all a bit flimsy.

So I grabbed a line from the kitchen dancing song - And the last time I checked - and started building a new song around it, something from that other perspective. It seemed to resist keeping to a tempo so I took it off the grid which could be a genius link on my part to the whole eternal / beyond time thing or could be a complete coincidence (definitely the former). Lyrics draw upon the unchanging imagery of nature and the drunken, unapologetic, unqualified love like you tend to find in novels and, if you’re really lucky, when you get home from work.

Here’s a first take live video of it. I’m pretty sure with the right studio production it will land even better, but that’s a task for another day.

Any comments? Songs don’t really make sense to me until I share them and see how people react. Often my sense is a little off one way or the other, and in need of a little adjustment, so I’d welcome your thoughts behind the button below.

It took quite a few weeks for these lyrics to settle, even now I’m doing little tweaks, so I want to offer a huge thanks to all of my paid subscribers who support me on this platform. Your subscriptions directly help me write songs I might otherwise not be able to write. Thank you and again thank you. Usually I only send these demos to the paid group, but I figure maybe I should send some to everyone? I felt quite inspired by this ‘Unlocking the Commons’ idea in another newsletter I follow where a small number of people collectively pay for the creation of something that everyone else gets to enjoy for free.

Who knows, not me, I’m gonna get back to that kitchen song.

Thanks always for listening,

Love

Jake

Audio if you prefer that

The Last Time I Checked (live demo)

The Last Time I Checked (live demo with loop intro)

Lyrics

And the last time I checkedLeaves flutter in the windAnd the last time I checkedSummer follows the springNewborn babies cryThere’s somebody on my mindA heavy haze I’m looking throughAnd the last time I checkedIt was you, my loveIt was you

And the last time I checkedRivers flow on to the seaAnd the last time I checkedSugar is sweetLove is precious rareBeauty is everywhereThere’s a light at my windowAnd the last time I checkedIt was you, my loveIt was you

And the last time I checkedApples fall toward the groundAnd the last time I checkedI’m happier when you’re aroundFires burn and dieIn the morning I open my eyesThere’s a face I’m turning toAnd the last time I checkedIt was you, my love, it was youIt was youIt was you

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe

Hey folks,

Minimal written waffle this week.

Instead I made a live session for you. Stick it on while you potter about.

Expect some news and chatter, a few songs I haven’t played in a while and a generous helping of first-take mistakes kept in for ‘realness’, all accompanied by periodic creaky chair noises:

* Aforementioned chatter (0:00)

* Sideline (3:08)

* Room In The Middle (6:57)

* Childish Thoughts (instrumental) (10:04)

This felt fun, light, breezy. I should do it more often. Hope you enjoy it too.

(new!) Tour dates

Featuring… rescheduled dates from the Autumn tour and a few new ones. More to announce soon.

Thursday 23rd February 2023 - London Green Note. *SOLD OUT*Thursday 30th March 2023 - Manchester The Castle. Tickets. *VENUE UPGRADE*Sunday 2nd April 2023 - Nottingham, Running Horse. Tickets.Wednesday 19th April 2023 - Suffolk Riverside Theatre. Tickets.Thursday 20th April 2023 - Cambridge Tall Trees. On sale Monday 9am. *NEW*Sunday 23rd April 2023 - Winchester Railway Inn. Tickets.Friday 28th April 2023 - Leamington Spa Temperance. Tickets. *NEW*Sunday 21st May 2023 - Bristol Louisiana. Tickets. *NEW*Saturday 7th October 2023 - Purley On Thames St Mary’s Church. Tickets. *NEW*

See all dates on a map here: https://share.jakemorley.com/livemap

My store is here

Art prints, signed lyric books, all sorts… https://music.jakemorley.comJust in case (like me) you’re still Christmas shopping.

Paid is a thing now

Last week I launched a paid subscribers community.

Lots of you have already joined, which is very encouraging.

If you’d like extra exclusive content, or just want to support the things I already do, this could be for you.

love jake

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe

One night at a sleepover at my best friends house, I think I was about 10, my friend has this great idea “how about we sneak back downstairs after bedtime and watch Fatal Attraction?” Yeh! That is a great idea. What’s Fatal Attraction? Oh.

During one of the many desperately confusing explicit sex scenes that followed, my friend commented “she’s really got the hump with him”. Clearly he’d heard of the concept of humping as a sex word, and also the phrase “she’s really got the hump with him” and mistakenly assumed the two were connected. For years afterwards I felt a momentary panic whenever I heard those words, wondering how the situation in question involved frantic sex on a kitchen countertop. It was all very regrettable and my advice to present-day 10 year olds would be to delay the watching of violent erotic thrillers for at least several more years. Enjoy Jumanji, or the Mockingbird trilogy. These are films for you.

I’m not sure why I’m telling you all this, except that it’s quite funny in hindsight and tangentially shows how often we build experiences one on top of the next, creating a chain of causation through our lives, which is the idea behind this month’s live song Trace It Back.

Words are said, emotions are felt, thoughts are thunk, each creates a tiny ripple of consequence that cuts from moment to moment. Over the years I’ve found myself tuning in more and more to this whole crazy system. Not only because it’s interesting but also because it helps me feel marginally less incomprehensible to myself. Why am I feeling slightly panicky right now? Ah yes I ran an apocalyptic thought experiment about 5 minutes ago. Why am I feeling kind of gloopy and demotivated? Ah yes I started scrolling on my phone right when I was about to do something important and productive. An unsaid word here, a lack of fresh air there. This kind of data is constantly changing who I am even if I don’t realise it.

It might all sound overly sensitive, but what can I say? I’m a singer-songwriter, we’re a sensitive breed.

Tracing back my mood has become a habit for me. Usually I do it more with ones of a negative flavour, but the joyous ones get a look in too, like the example in this song. Let’s talk about the live video for it.

The video

There comes a moment in everyone’s life when someone is talking about some apparently mainstream technology and you have absolutely no idea what’s going on.

For me it occurred around midday on 6th April 2022 when I was invited to perform a concert in the metaverse.

Allow me to explain.

There’s a virtual world called Decentraland. The finite, traversable, 3D virtual space within Decentraland is called LAND, a non-fungible digital asset maintained in an Ethereum smart contract. Land is divided into parcels that are identified by cartesian coordinates (x,y). These parcels are permanently owned by members of the community and are purchased using MANA, Decentraland’s cryptocurrency token.

One area of Land developed into the Festival District. Imagine it like a virtual Glastonbury. Players there spent Mana to experience virtual live music events. One stage in this festival district is run by The Harrison, which is a real venue in real London. The Harrison were inviting me to play a filmed show, to be broadcast in their metaverse venue. With me so far?

Apparently it ended up looking a bit like this, which is to say slightly less well attended than my usual shows but with much bolder fashion choices on display.

The short story is that I played a gig, it was recorded with nice mics and fancy cameras, and I wanted to share one of the songs with you. It’s the 9th video in my live video series of songs from Some Things Are Like Other Things.

You can click on the image above, click this link to YouTube, listen with the audio player further up, or download the MP3 here.

Live Videos:

9 down, 3 to go.

* So I Had This Dream

* Hands

* Other Ideas

* Asking For A Friend

* Keep Me Around

* Captured

* Childish Thoughts

* Trace It Back

* The Everything Goes Back To Normal Button

* Some Things are Like Other Things

* Knots

* No Drama

There’s also a video playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4Z0AIn26cVAsafDmGO87vQctd9wLty6Y

Some Things Are Like Other Things

Thank you to everyone who has bought the Lyric Book / CD, listened online and shared their messages about the new record. It’s had a couple of nice reviews:

“Jake Morley is going underappreciated in his life time and that is a crying shame. I honestly can’t recommend this album enough” Listen With Monger

“Dreamy...infectious... it’s all rather wonderful” Fatea Magazine

Huge thanks to all the stations playing it, including BBC Radio Bristol, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Leicester, BBC Gloucestershire, BBC Radio Wiltshire, Amazing Radio, Shoreditch Radio, Brum Radio, Night of the Artisans and loads more.

Live dates

I’ve got a bunch more tour dates almost ready to announce. They’ll be added below as soon as I have them.

Thursday 23rd February 2023 - London Green Note. *SOLD OUT*Thursday 19th April 2023 - Suffolk Riverside Theatre. Tickets.Sunday 23rd April 2023 - Winchester Railway Inn. Tickets.

See all dates on a map here: https://share.jakemorley.com/livemap

Lyrics

Today I feel unusually wellSuspiciously soI should try and trace it backIt might be useful to knowWhy I burn a fraction more brightMaybe it’s nothingOr that a butterfly flapped its wingsBut much like a temporarily mislaid actor’s nameOh I think I’ll have to

Trace it backTrace it backTrace it back to the sourceI feel uncommonly aliveAnd I need to know whyGonna trace it back to the source

I start to riffle through my records of the dayWith my mind’s fingertipsBut there's not one entry out of placeI should let it goWas my step always this light?It's right under my noseOn the tip of my tongueIt’s there and then it’s goneAlmost like I’m hiding some good news from myselfOh I think I’ll have to

Trace it backTrace it backTrace it back to the sourceI feel uncommonly aliveAnd I need to know whyGonna trace it back to the source

You paused in loveYou paused in loveYou paused in love

Trace it backTrace it backTrace it back to the sourceI feel uncommonly aliveAnd I need to know whyGonna trace it back to the source

Trace it backTrace it backTrace it back to the sourceI feel uncommonly aliveAnd I need to know whyGonna trace it back to the source

Credits

Written by Jake MorleyRecorded at The Harrison, London by New Roots as part of the Decentraland project.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe

Faced with the tough decision of whether to rehearse today for the start of the tour, which starts in just a couple of days, or write a barely-quarter-arsed email to you my response was firm and decisive. The guitar playing must come first. With that kind of strong leadership in the face of difficulty I can’t help wondering if I should consider running for office.

Partly it’s comes down to which environment I am most clearly confronted by the resulting success or failure. Which is most salient, hardest to ignore?

For example, email stats are just numbers on a page. While you delete a badly written email, cursing my name to hell and back, I am obliviously eating a bowl of delicious homemade soup. While you chuckle at a well-written email I am being somehow pulled into an old WhatsApp group thread for a 5-a-side football group I no longer play in. Either way I’m not quite present at the moment of delivery, so it’s easy to shrug it all off.

But it’s really obvious when playing a successful show that it feels great, and the reverse is very much true also. So it’s only natural to put in a little extra effort there. Never underestimate an artist’s need to comfort their fragile ego.

Hands Live Video

Isn’t that the same thumbnail I shared above? Yes. Yes it is. Because you’d already forgotten it hadn’t you? All that talk of soup and such. And I need you to click it real bad, clicky clicky, like and subscribe. Blame me all you like but I know how all this works. I am in your brain.

The last of a trilogy of rather nicely filmed live videos, this one is maybe my favourite.

Recorded with John Parker on double bass and Patsy Reid on fiddle by Northern Cowboy Films, it’s a completely different approach than the studio version which is here and I for one am proud of it.

Watch the live video here, listen at the top or download the MP3 here.

Please do share it about. Why not send it to a relevent blog? Or print out a screenshot and hold it up on Oxford Street? Perhaps accidentally include the link within an important work email to your CEO and then backtrack later that you see an analogy between the songs themes and the current business climate? Just ideas I dunno, feel free to get creative.

Comments always welcome. I’ll post updates from the road, very excited to be playing again. Loads of love Jake.

Some Things Are Like Other Things - live videos so far:HandsOther IdeasAsking For A FriendKeep Me AroundCapturedChildish ThoughtsSome Things are Like Other ThingsNo Drama

There’s also a video playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4Z0AIn26cVAsafDmGO87vQctd9wLty6Y

Live dates

Friday 23rd September - Totnes Barrel House. The Glasshouse support. Tickets.Saturday 24th September - Bristol The Exchange. Read this first.Friday 30th September - Coatbridge Georgian Hotel. 4 tickets left.Saturday 1st October - Berwick-upon-Tweed, Repas7.Sunday 2nd October - North Yorkshire Old School House. Tickets.Monday 3rd October - Leeds Oporto. Tickets.Wednesday 12th October - Suffolk Bull Inn. Tickets.Thursday 13th October - Suffolk Bull Inn. *SOLD OUT*Sunday 16th October - London Green Note. *SOLD OUT*Friday 21st October - Brighton Folklore Rooms, Annie Dressner supports. Tickets.Saturday 22nd October - Winchester Railway Inn. Tickets.Wednesday 26th October - Manchester Rose & Monkey. Tickets. Thursday 27th October - Nottingham Running Horse. Charity Stow supports. Tickets.Friday 28th October - Lintrathen Lodge At Lochside. Tickets.Saturday 29th October - Carnoustie Dibble Tree Theatre. Tickets.Sunday 30th October - Tayport The Larick Centre. Tickets.

See all dates on a map here: https://share.jakemorley.com/livemap

Here is that important work link you were meant to send to the CEO.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe

Hey folks. Your fourth favourite singer-songwriter here.

You’re looking well. A new baby in the family I hear, congrats.

Three weeks since my last post. Merely the blink of an eye for JMFLEN circa 2020, but an eternity for JMFLEN circa 2022. Perhaps each moment without me was like the slow motion fall of a cherished mug? Or perhaps it was like a deep breath in an expansive spring meadow. Either way, it is what it is and I’m back now.

Some Things Are Like Other Things

I’ve got a new song for you today. The title track no less.

Watch the video on YouTube here.Listen to the audio at the top or download the MP3 here.Drop comments wherever you can, and share it around if you like it.

‘Alright artists. We get it.Some things are like other things.’A tweet I once saw

Is that all art is? Pointing out that things are a bit like other things? The same trick played over and over again?

….Maybe. So what if it is? Would that be so bad? I love drawing connections between things. You can upend my whole world with a good metaphor.

So I thought I’d write a song embracing it, celebrating it.

Hugest thanks to Roxanne de Bastion and Zoe Konez for joining me on this video. They are two of the kindest, most talented artists I know. Please support them by checking out their amazing music, more info is in the credits below.

Having a good summer? What are you up to? Do you like the song? Let’s chat in the comments.

Live Dates

This is a difficult time for (almost) everyone.If you really want to come to a show but the ticket price is an issue get in touch.There might be ways we can make it work.

Friday 23rd September - Totnes Barrel House. Tickets.Friday 30th September - Coatbridge Georgian Hotel. Tickets.Saturday 1st October - Berwick-upon-Tweed, tickets soon.Sunday 2nd October - North Yorkshire Old School House. Tickets.Monday 3rd October - Leeds Oporto. Tickets.Wednesday 12th October - Suffolk Bull Inn. Tickets.Thursday 13th October - Suffolk Bull Inn. *SOLD OUT*Sunday 16th October - London Green Note. Last few tickets. Friday 21st October - Brighton Folklore Rooms. TICKETS 🙏.Saturday 22nd October - Winchester Railway Inn. Tickets.Wednesday 26th October - Manchester Rose & Monkey. Tickets. Thursday 27th October - Nottingham Running Horse. Tickets.Friday 28th October - Lintrathen Lodge At Lochside. Tickets.Saturday 29th October - Carnoustie Dibble Tree Theatre. Tickets.Sunday 30th October - Tayport The Larick Centre. Tickets.

See all dates on a map here: https://share.jakemorley.com/livemap

Credits

Roxanne de Bastionhttps://roxannedebastion.comCurrently on tour opening for Katie Melua.Her latest album ‘You & Me, We are the Same’ (2022) has had lots of radio play this year. Iggy Pop loved it, which should say it all. She’s just finished a UK tour.

Zoe Konezhttps://zoekonez.comA hugely talented songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Zoe is a big inspiration to me. Check out her Patreon here and drop into her regular live streams. We recorded this in Zoe’s studio.

Jake MorleyI wrote the song.This live version was mixed / edited (poorly) by me.

Lyrics

Love is like a wild lakeLooks pretty from a distanceKind of a shock when you first jump inThen it feels amazingLet its depth support youNot overwhelm youLove is like a wild lakeSo there we go

Grief is like a mountainFirst impossibility imposingIt looms right over everythingOh it can block out the sunLater more like a companionA landmark in the skylineGrief is like a mountainSo there we go

And you are like a campfireI’m like a guitarTogether we make magic or ashesSome things are like other thingsSo there we go

Life is like a nice hotelYou’re just borrowing a room for a whileKinda lucky to be hereSo you may as well go for a swimBe nice to the cleanersCheck out with a smileLife is a like a nice hotelSo there we go

And you are like a campfireI’m like a guitarTogether we make magic or ashesSome things are like other thingsSo there we go

Failure’s like going to the gymThe thought of it’s the hardest partIgnore anybody judging youThey’re only afraid of it themselvesSometimes it’s painfulBut it makes you strongerFailure’s like going to the gymSo there we go

And you are like a campfireI’m like a guitarTogether we make magic or ashesSome things are like other thingsSo there we go

Sometimes it’s all too muchLike drinking from a firehoseLike the scale of inequalityLike getting out of bedBut still we move onLike we mustSome things are like other thingsSo there we go

Some things are like other thingsSome things less soThat is all that I amThat is all that I know

Love is like a wild lakeGrief is like a mountainLife is like a nice hotelFailure’s like going to the gymSometimes it’s all too muchBut still we move onSome things are like other things

And you are like a campfireI’m like a guitarTogether we make magicPowerful on our ownBut together (together)We’re keeping bodies warmTogether (together)We give each other reasons to carry onSome things are like other thingsSo there we goSome things are like other thingsSo there we go

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe

I thought I’d try talking with my mouth this week rather than my fingers. A bit new… but I loved it.

Click play if you get a moment, and let me know if I should do more.

Answering these questions from last week

* What's going through your mind when you're performing live? You often look so tied-up and involved in the moment that you're not aware of anything else..... but in reality, you may be thinking of painting the spare room or who made the smell near the bar earlier...

* What is the most confusing youtube comment you've seen on one of your videos?

* Give a choice which one would you like most to cover one of your songs - Christine McVie or Stevie Nicks?

* There must be many memorable moments that you have witnessed as a performer on stage, what is your funniest memory?

* What, if anything, did you learn from the great, late, Colin Vearncombe?

* What are all the guitar tunings you've used across all the songs you've written so far?

* Out of all the venues you've played, which one has been your favourite, and why?

* If you could learn to play any other instrument, what would it be?

* How do you feel when you see someone covering one of you songs - is it a bit weird seeing someone else sing the words which were once in your head?

* It seems like you've not played at that many (UK) festivals since. Is that correct, and if so, are there any reasons for that?

* What's one of your musical "guilty pleasures" some people might be surprised about?

* Any chance of a tutorial for The Floods? Even just a simplified version?

Want more like this? Got an idea for something else? Drop it in the comments.

Have a great week everyone!

The Floods

Starts at around 20:49.

Live Dates

This is a difficult time for (almost) everyone with the cost of living crisis.If you really want to come to a show but the ticket price is an issue get in touch.There might be ways we can make it work.

Friday 23rd September - Totnes Barrel House. Tickets.Friday 30th September - Coatbridge Georgian Hotel. Tickets.Saturday 1st October - Berwick-upon-Tweed, tickets soon.Sunday 2nd October - North Yorkshire Old School House. Tickets.Monday 3rd October - Leeds Oporto. Tickets.Wednesday 12th October - Suffolk Bull Inn. Tickets.Thursday 13th October - Suffolk Bull Inn. *SOLD OUT*Sunday 16th October - London Green Note. Last few tickets. Friday 21st October - Brighton Folklore Rooms. Please someone buy TICKETS 🙏.Saturday 22nd October - Winchester Railway Inn. Tickets.Wednesday 26th October - Manchester Rose & Monkey. Tickets. Thursday 27th October - Nottingham Running Horse. Tickets.Friday 28th October - Lintrathen Lodge At Lochside. Tickets.Saturday 29th October - Carnoustie Dibble Tree Theatre. Tickets.Sunday 30th October - Tayport The Larick Centre. Tickets.

See all dates on a map here: https://share.jakemorley.com/livemap

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe

Here’s a live video of a new called Captured.I hope you get pulled in and watch it 80 times.

It’s impossible to create and consume at the same time.

To put it another way, you can’t write a song whilst watching Paul McCartney’s Glastonbury set on iPlayer, even during the really obscure Wings album tracks. It is possible to write a song whilst eating a sandwich of course, something I’ve proved many times before. But that’s different.

To quietly sit at a piano playing an F chord in the hope it does something interesting today requires you (at least for a moment) to not experience the greatest works of art ever, the best movies, the funniest jokes, what more you might learn about the horrific dismantling of reproductive rights in America or any number of other important issues, a coffee with an old friend, the northern lights, messaging your mum, a good book, and any thought you might otherwise think were you not playing an F chord. That’s a lot of things to not do and I’ve left quite a few things out. You have to concentrate with F.

I wonder if Shakespeare felt that too? Did he have to turn down a really banging party to go write Henry IV? Or pass up a hot date to go write Romeo & Juliet?

Let’s be honest, he had it easy. They hadn’t yet perfected the ultimate tool for monetised distraction back then. No wonder he’s still the high watermark of artistic achievement. The wi-fi was so rubbish anyone would have smashed out those plays out of sheer boredom.

Could I interest you in everything all of the time?A little bit of everything all of the time

Apathy’s a tragedy and boredom is a crimeAnything and everything all of the time

Bo Burnam, Welcome to the Internet (Inside, 2021)

At our fingertips is the sum total of all human knowledge and creativity and almost every connection we have to friends, family and loved ones. It’s available at any moment, day or night, for the low low price of our attention. Behind each screen sit millions of hard-working people and billions of dollars, working together in algorithmic harmony to pull us back into your smartphone just one more time. And then one more time after that.

Perhaps this model is so successful because it mirrors the behaviour of the human mind? A seemingly endless number of thoughts are served to you every day, each vying to pull you into some narrative, capture your attention, beguile you away from the bare reality of consciousness. Yeh I’ve done a rudimentary amount of meditation can you tell? On my meditation app. On my phone.

Click the video to watch. Or click here. Or you can listen to the song on the player at the top, or download an MP3 here. Or go sit at a piano and play F.

The album version is an absolute peach. One of my favourites. Excited for you to hear that one.

Do you find it easy to switch off? Do you get sucked in?

What do you think of the song? Any resonance for you?

Let me know in the comments.

Credits

John Parker plays double bassPatsy Reid plays violinI play guitar and singNorthern Cowboy Films were behind the cameras, edited the video and mixed the audio

Feels Like Healing

A new podcast series launched this week about grief and creativity, featuring conversations with some friends and peers in the music world. It’s created by the wonderful artist Al Lewis, who like me experienced the death of his dad aged 21.

My conversation with Al is the first episode, and there are more to come from other musicians, artists and authors like Sarah Howells (Bryde) and John Parker.

Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or search for it in your podcast app. Find out more on the podcasts social channels - Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Live Dates

My my these are stacking up a bit.

Friday 23rd September - Totnes Barrel House. Tickets.Friday 30th September - Coatbridge Georgian Hotel. Tickets.Sunday 2nd October - North Yorkshire Old School House. Tickets.Monday 3rd October - Leeds Oporto. Tickets.Wednesday 12th October - Suffolk Bull Inn. Tickets.Thursday 13th October - Suffolk Bull Inn. *SOLD OUT*Sunday 16th October - London Green Note. Tickets.Friday 21st October - Brighton Folklore Rooms. Tickets. Please GOD TICKETS.Saturday 22nd October - Winchester Railway Inn. Tickets.Wednesday 26th October - Manchester Rose & Monkey. Tickets. Thursday 27th October - Nottingham Running Horse. Tickets.Friday 28th October - Lintrathen Lodge At Lochside. Tickets.Saturday 29th October - Carnoustie Dibble Tree Theatre. Tickets.Sunday 30th October - Tayport The Larick Centre. Tickets.

See all dates on a map here: https://share.jakemorley.com/livemap

Lyrics

I've been capturedBy a powerful organisation in CaliforniaThey caught me unawaresNow I'm caught I don't know whereAnd time takes on a dull veneer of blueConfused and astrayI made for easy prey

I've been capturedNow everywhere they lead me by the handSome days I blame myselfBut I really never stood a chanceWell organised, determined and financedThey wore me down til I was gladTo give them everything I had

Often I wake and I don't know where I amJust waiting on the promise of releaseI am made of sleepOf memories and fragments of an old dreamWhat value is this lifeWhen your mind is not your ownI'm never alone

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe

Am super jet-laggy here, writing like a dull drunk.

Luckily, Jake-from-the-past is coming to the rescue, saving my vegan faux-bacon with a song from the archive: Kinda Weird.

Almost everyone likes to be considered a little weird sometimes. In a certain light it starts to look like being special, or interesting, or part of a tribe. It’s a pleasing thought for many of us when faced with our apparent mediocrity, so we amplify it a little.

Is it weird that I don’t mind crowded trains or assembling flat-pack furniture? Maybe a little. But I also like eating sandwiches and hate doing my tax return.

I finished writing this song in the dressing room at the Borderline London in 2012 and opened the show with it, playing it randomly and often ever since. The lyrics were tweaked in 2013, and this version was recorded in 2014. It almost made it onto The Manual, but like The Treasurly Trinkety Trap I just couldn’t find a nice spot to sit it in.

Listen to Kinda Weird above, or download the MP3 here. What do you think of it?

PS do check out my live dates further down. There are some new ones. If you haven’t yet bought tickets, consider picking some up?

Credits

I’m on electric guitar and vocals.Mikey Rowe added some wonderfully subtle keyboardCalum MacColl produced, engineered and mixed.

Lyrics

I sometimes speak of things that I know bugger all aboutYou like enormous waves and I like grey skiesI don't mind crowded trains or assembling flat-pack furnitureYou know every king and queen since William the 1st

We're all kinda weirdSo choose the kind of weird that you preferI like mine kind and weirdI wonder what your kind of weird might be

I sometimes picture you in Paris 1922Or maybe 1810, or post-war EnglandI pick leaves from passing trees then throw them to the groundYour mouth smiles when you frownI always tend to roam while talking on the phoneYou're afraid of mayonnaiseI hate freezer drawers

We're all kinda weirdI'm kinda weirdSo choose the kind of weird that you preferI like mine kind and weirdI like your kind of weirdYeh I wonder what your kind of weird might beCos maybe it's like meMaybe it's like me yehI wonder if your kind of weird is me

My favourite gigs ever

Thank you so much for sharing your comments on last week’s open thread.

I was as interested in our memories as much as our actual choices here. How reliable are they? How many classic gigs have you forgotten? Sarah K mentioned she’s kept a record of every gig she’s ever been to. I wish I’d done that. I wonder how it would change my list? Probably a bit.

Like many of you, I found this unbearably difficult. Here is a quick guess:

Rage Against The Machine, Finsbury Park, 2010My favourite band of all time broke up just as I was falling in love with them. For 10 long years after that I learned the songs backwards, pretending to be Tom Morello in the mirror and watching old live videos. When I finally got to see them live, I wondered if the anticipation would only lead to disappointment. Instead it was the best gig I’ve ever been to. The whole thing was spiritual to me, primitive, exhilarating. I was transported, liberated. It’s not the same, but you can watch the concert film here.

Daft Punk, Hyde Park 2007This tour changed pop music forever, with some critics likening it to The Beatles appearing on Ed Sullivan in 1964. It was certainly unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before or since. Other-wordly, beyond human, like awesome aliens had landed to play us a concert. The lights, the staging, the volume, the way the songs blended together, it blew my mind.

A good friend turned down a free ticket for this, and it’s become a running joke between us ever since. I wonder if that’s influenced the choice? The gig has become a memory of a memory of a memory, which seems fitting considering Daft Punk’s follow up album. You can see a video of a show from that tour here. They also released the audio as a live album.

Peter Hook And the Light, The Forum, Kentish Town 2016.No doubt I’ve been to better gigs but this was the moment where I finally understood 80s music. A set of Joy Division then a set of New Order. The synthetic drums, the production, the dance floor… finally it all made sense, unlocking a huge genre of music I’d never been able to enjoy before. Not bad considering I wasn’t even on drugs.

Honourable mentions to Nick Cave at All Points East 2018. I’ve never seen so many people silent at an outdoor gig. It was eerie, captivating, an absolute masterclass in frontmanery. Radiohead at The Royal Festival Hall playing music from Kid A before it was released. Foy Vance at a church in Shepherd’s Bush. So so many more…

Live Dates

Speaking of which, here are my upcoming shows.

Friday 23rd September - Totnes Barrel House. Tickets.Friday 30th September - Coatbridge Georgian Hotel. Tickets.Sunday 2nd October - North Yorkshire Old School House. Tickets.*NEW* Monday 3rd October - Leeds Oporto. Tickets.Thursday 13th October - Suffolk Sprat Shed. *1 TICKET LEFT* Sunday 16th October - London Green Note. Tickets.Friday 21st October - Brighton Folklore Rooms. Tickets.Saturday 22nd October - Winchester Railway Inn. Tickets.Wednesday 26th October - Manchester Rose & Monkey. Tickets. Thursday 27th October - Nottingham Running Horse. Tickets.*NEW* Friday 28th October - Lintrathen Lodge At Lochside. Tickets.*NEW* Saturday 29th October - Carnoustie Dibble Tree Theatre. Tickets.*NEW* Sunday 30th October - Tayport The Larick Centre. Tickets.

See all dates on a map here: https://share.jakemorley.com/livemap

Thanks everyone. See you next week!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe

Watch the live video for Other Ideas, listen to the song above, download an MP3 here.

The song

One thing I’ve learned from hanging out with lots of folk musicians over the years is that songs don’t necessarily have to reinvent the form to be good. I like that idea, and the blues agrees. Do an old thing well and it somehow feels new.

Am hoping this song could sneak into category.

Like several others on this album it was born not long after my daughter, in the hazy moments between sleep and awoken. This happy shuffling me was a great songwriter because he was too tired to second guess himself. Instead of sticking his oar in like he usually does, he just quietly got out of the way and let the song through whilst making a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

Truth is, and I know you’ll be staggered at this revelation, I do have a tendency to occasionally overthink things a little. Whilst caught up in what may have been I’m actually just busy missing the present. Other Ideas means a lot to me as a reminder to stop stressing over outcomes, let go and appreciate what I have right in front of me.

Like all good folk songs it has a generous number of choruses. You might even consider joining in with some of them on my upcoming UK tour? I even attempted this myself on this video, mainly because everyone else in the room was concentrating on playing instruments or holding cameras.

1 of 3 in a series

It feels so good to make music with other people again.

We shot this at Yellow Arch Studios, Sheffield. Home to several of those trendy vegan places with that interior decor they love so much on Instagram, and also my audio / video production studio friends Northern Cowboy Films. Money well spent on both counts.

My huge thanks go to John Parker, Patsy Reid, Mark Lewis and David Haynes for taking part. Wonderful people at the top of their game. Full credits below.

We shot three videos in total, so two more still to come…

Any thoughts?

Your comments are always a highlight of these emails for me. Good song? Meh? Let me know here. And if you know someone else who might like it, please pass it on.

Liner Notes

The booklet part.

John Parker - playing a recently-range-extended double bass. A brother for life.Patsy Reid - playing a fiddle which she would really rather was not modified in any way thank you very much. So great to work with her again after she contributed to the album.Mark Lewis - video / audio production, Northern Cowboy.David Haynes - video / audio production assistant.Thomas Dibb & Lauren Housley - absent-on-this-occasion Northern Cowboys but wanted to give them a mention too. Huge congrats on the new baby.

Lyrics

Lately I've been dreaming againKind of a dangerous thing to doLast time I ran blind into the darknessBetting that I'd find the lightWaited for the world to send its richesTo follow me close behind

But the world had other ideasOther ideas in mindThe world had other ideasOther ideas in mind

All I wanted was everythingTo quiet that voice insideSo with hard work and all I learnedI put it all on the lineWaited for the world to do the decent thingAnd give me all I desire

Still the world had other ideasOther ideas in mindThe world had other ideasOther ideas in mind

Lately I've been dreaming againBut this time I'm bulletproofCos every wrong turn I ever madeThey all led me to youNow I see the world gave me plentyAnd I'm thankful every night

That the world had other ideasOther ideas in mindThe world had other ideasOther ideas in mind

The world had other ideasOther ideas in mindThe world had other ideasOther ideas in mind

UK Tour 2022

Friday 23rd September - Totnes Barrel House. Tickets.Friday 30th September - Coatbridge Georgian Hotel. Tickets.Sunday 2nd October - North Yorkshire Old School House. Tickets.Thursday 13th October - Suffolk Sprat Shed. Tickets.Sunday 16th October - London Green Note. Tickets.Friday 21st October - Brighton Folklore Rooms. Tickets.Saturday 22nd October - Winchester Railway Inn. Tickets.Wednesday 26th October - Manchester Rose & Monkey. Tickets. Thursday 27th October - Nottingham Running Horse. Tickets.More announced soon…

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe

Legging it from a headline show at the 100 Club to play a live session for BBC Radio 2 a few streets away didn’t strike me as especially odd at the time. The first of many surely? Lol. I imagine I walked the short journey with that obnoxious swagger of youth we all had once.

My first national radio session. The legendary Janice Long. She was warm, kind and interested, somehow turning my clunky PR biog into natural conversation. What a pro. I’ve done lots of radio since, but there was something special about this one. It felt like we’d finally arrived somewhere.

My manic energy added about 7 bpm to every song we played. I yelped like a cat for some reason in the Feet Don’t Fail Me Now solo. I talked in ums and ers at 100 miles an hour. I may have had nothing at all to say but boy did I say it with enthusiasm.

Driving in the tour van a few days later, we got a tip off to tune into Jo Whiley’s show. Jo declared Feet Don’t Fail Me Now her live session of the week. We turned it up loud, sung it out and felt like the world lay at our feet.

That kind of validation tends to come and go over the years.

It’s tragic how bad we are at recognising the golden moments until they’re gone. Then again, who really wants to know when they’re at one of life’s peaks? That sounds like a miserable sort of superpower.

Janice died on Christmas Day 2021. She’d been a regular host of Top of the Pops, the first woman to host a daily Radio 1 show, a key presenter at Live Aid, a top-level broadcaster of almost 40 years. Like John Peel, being a DJ seemed a natural extension of being a music fan. She couldn’t help herself. Many artists I know have a story to share about her coming to their tiny random gig, sending messages of support, playing the single that no one else would. She made a lot of us feel like we were actually alright at this.

I wonder how a young Janice Long would start out her career in 2022? Curate Spotify playlists? Become an Instagram influencer? YouTube famous? Maybe she’d start a Substack email newsletter sharing her favourite new music? Would there even be a role allowing her to fully realise her passion and talent? I have no idea, but will always be grateful for having played her show.

Listen to Feet Don’t Fail Me Now Live at BBC Radio 2 above, or download an MP3 here.

Share your thoughts in the comments, making as little mention as possible of how weird my voice used to get sometimes.

Credits: Harry Mead (drums), John Parker (double bass), Kev Pollard (keys) and Alex Genn-Bash (photos).

Thanks to everyone who voted on artwork last week. A wide spectrum of opinion! We’ve done a final tweak and it’s all signed off. More on that soon…

UK TOUR DATES 2022:Friday 23rd September - Totnes Barrel House. Tickets.Friday 30th September - Coatbridge Georgian Hotel. Tickets.Sunday 2nd October - North Yorkshire Old School House. Tickets.Monday 3rd October - Leeds Oporto. Tickets coming soon.Thursday 13th October - Suffolk Sprat Shed. Tickets.Sunday 16th October - London Green Note. Tickets.Friday 21st October - Brighton Folklore Rooms. Tickets.Saturday 22nd October - Winchester Railway Inn. Tickets.Wednesday 26th October - Manchester Rose & Monkey. Tickets. Thursday 27th October - Nottingham Running Horse. Tickets.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emails.jakemorley.com/subscribe