John Moreland is a masterful singer-songwriter best known for his albums In the Throes (2013) and High on Tulsa Heat (2015). Fresh off his European tour with Jason Isbell, John joins us in the studio to talk about writing songs on the road and why nowadays, it’s more difficult to find the right melody than the right words (7:20). Plus, John describes how he first fell in love with music (12:20), why he chooses to not idolize the greats (31:15), and how his goal as a writer is to build what Bob Dylan would call “sturdy songs.” (34:00)

 

Stick around at the end of the show for a performance of “Nobody Gives a Damn About Songs Anymore” by John Moreland.

 

And also, please check out John’s performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert by clicking here.

 

Topics mentioned:

High on Tulsa Heat by John Moreland

In the Throes by John Moreland

Earthbound Blues by John Moreland

“Nobody Gives a Damn About Songs Anymore” by John Moreland

“Shiny Happy People” by REM

“Stand” by REM

“White Flag” by John Moreland

“Elephant” by Jason Isbell

“Step Inside This House” by Lyle Lovett

“One Headlight” by The Wallflowers

“Rich Man’s War” by Steve Earle

“Hearts Too Heavy” by John Moreland

“Hang Me in the Tulsa County Stars” by John Moreland

Heartworn Highways

Don’t Look Back

Old No. 1 by Guy Clark

Dublin Blues by Guy Clark

Live at The Old Quarter by Townes van Zandt

Run the Jewels 1 & 2

“Bad Liver and Broken Heart” by Hayes Carll

World Gone Wrong by Bob Dylan

“Sing Me Back Home” by Merle Haggard

Son of Anarchy

People mentioned:

John Moreland

Edgar Cayce

Jason Isbell

Harry Nilsson

Tom Petty

Bruce Springsteen

Jason Molina

Lightnin’ Hopkins

ZZ Top

Guy Clark

Townes van Zandt

Red City Radio

Banner Pilot

Randy Newman

Aaron Lee Tasjan

John Prine

Christian Lee Hutson

Toby Keith

 

Twitter: @BrianKoppelman

iTunes: itunes.com/themoment

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