Not the same old song

John Moreland talks sneakers, Star Trek, and other stuff he luvs

Somewhere between two years of non-stop touring for his 2015 album, High on Tulsa Heat, and getting married, John Moreland recorded his arguably most ambitious album to date: Big Bad Luv, which will be released on May 5 from 4AD Records. 

Featuring guest vocals by members of Dawes and Shovels & Rope, piano from Rick Steff of Lucero, and mixed by Grammy Award-winning Tchad Blake, Moreland’s fourth solo effort, Big Bad Luv, is a multilayered rallying cry for the down but not out. 

Despite this new record having an overall upbeat tone, Moreland’s words are still weighted—a rock and roll album with real life at its heart. And because his work is already serious and in many ways speaks for itself, he and I decided to skip the typical “where do songs come from?” questions and instead touch on a few topics close to his heart.

Editor’s note: At the time of this interview, John Moreland was on a weeklong coast-to-coast tour run of festivals. Upon printing, he was headed to Europe for a two-week tour, to be followed by a three-month U.S. tour (June – August), then back to Europe through the end of September. Bobby Dean Orcutt is Moreland’s tour manager.

Bobby Dean Orcutt: First off, I have to ask: how pumped are you about Russell Westbrook right now?

John Moreland: Oh, I’m really pumped. I mean, if he’s not the MVP it’s gonna be a shame. I’m going to get a commemorative tattoo either way. Getting a 42 triple doubles tattoo—even if he leaves Oklahoma one day—that’s a tattoo I need on my body, just as an NBA fan.

ORCUTT: What was your favorite NBA era?

MORELAND: The earliest NBA that I can remember is like ‘89 – ‘93. That’s my favorite era. Jordan’s first three championships, the year or two before that, the battle between the Bulls and Pistons. Basketball now is so commercialized—as a player you’re sort of groomed to be in NBA from the time you’re a kid. Back in the ‘90s that wasn’t the case. The teams hated each other because they hadn’t been friends and playing each other in leagues since they were eight … It was way more entertaining. There’s not the rivalries now. I miss when the teams hated each other.

ORCUTT: Does “Space Jam” hold up?

MORELAND: You know, I love Michael Jordan so much that I can’t really answer that question because I can’t watch it objectively.

ORCUTT: You aren’t technically a sneakerhead, but sneaker culture is something you’re into. How did that start?

MORELAND: It all started with Air Jordan 6’s. When I was a kid all my older cousins listened to rap and turned me on to it. So, I was into hip-hop and basketball at a time [when] those two cultures were jelling in a way they hadn’t before. Maroon Jordan 6’s—I used to dream about them. 

I got into punk rock around the time Jordans got really bad, like the 14’s. [I] started playing in hardcore and punk bands and it just wasn’t cool to wear Jordans anymore. Now sneaker culture has gotten so big it’s bleeding into other scenes and you see hardcore kids wearing retro Jordans and Air Max 1’s and stuff.  

More people are into it right now so that’s cool, but there’s a huge reselling problem. Things come out in limited quantities, some asshole uses a bot on his computer to buy up a thousand pairs in ten seconds, marks them up, and sells them on eBay for a ridiculous price. It’s the exact same shit that happens with concert tickets. Nike’s whole approach now is they just make so many pairs that the resale value is nothing. I mean, people were getting shot over shoes. Now they release so many pairs that shit doesn’t happen. But since they’re making so many the quality has gone down. The Jordans of the last few years have been pretty not-awesome. Even the resale value of Yeezys are going down in price. Just a year ago a pair of Yeezys came out, resellers bought them all, retail price was like 200 bucks, and they were going for like $3,000 on eBay—that shit’s crazy. Now they’re going for like $500 on eBay, which is still too much. It makes me not even like them. When I see Yeezys it just makes me think the person wearing them is a fucking idiot who paid way too much for their shoes. 

ORCUTT: Right before this interview I saw you and everyone else hyping up the new Kendrick Lamar record on Instagram. Why is hip-hop so exciting right now?

MORELAND: I don’t know, I guess I think that’s just the way tastes have shifted in the general population: most people don’t really care about guitars anymore, but also—and this is a huge part of my perspective—being part of the Americana scene where there’s so many people trying to be Bob Dylan or Neil Young, or whatever, just doesn’t feel relevant. I mean, I think it’s cool to be influenced by old shit, but I think hip-hop is relevant to right now, 2017. A lot of the stuff with guitars is just throwback nostalgia shit that doesn’t resonate. People playing dress-up and playing a character. 

ORCUTT: So, speaking of nostalgia, you don’t really care about anything sci-fi or fantasy related, with the exception of “Star Trek The Next Generation.” Why is that? Is it because the show is good or is it nostalgic?

MORELAND: I’ve never seen “Star Wars” and I don’t care about sci-fi at all, but I am into “Next Generation” because when I watched it, to me, it wasn’t fantastical. It was really easy to see the parallels and metaphors about real shit. Plus Gene Roddenberry was kind of a badass. There was this social commentary that he wanted to make, and he used this science fiction show to do it … futuristic framing of social issues. I also remember noticing there’s shit in “Next Generation” where anytime they describe how things are back on Earth it always made you think, “Oh, that’s like exactly what socialism would be like.”

ORCUTT: Television with a message used to be a constant—entertaining family TV that taught you a lesson. 

MORELAND: “Full House” always had what me and my sister would call the “accidental self lecture.” Like Danny Tanner or Uncle Joey or Jessie would be explaining to one of the girls a situation. They’d get down on a knee and teach them a lesson—just some shit about life. Then it would dawn on them that the shit they’re explaining to the girls totally applies to the shit they’ve been going through in that episode—it’s like this epiphany moment that happens every time, and it’s hilarious. 

ORCUTT: I’ve heard you talk about Tom Petty’s way of writing simple choruses that sound huge and say a lot without using many words. What about that is appealing?

MORELAND: The simplicity. It’s what makes it a good song, so memorable. There’s different schools of songwriting and, growing up, I was more into the pop or rock school where you write a two-line chorus that’s big and simple. Around In the Throes I got more into the folk school, which is a little wordier—the Townes Van Zandt, John Prine style where there’s more to dissect. Now I feel a little bogged down by that and I’m trying to get back to the Tom Petty method. They both have pros and cons. What I like about Petty’s is there’s nothing to dissect. It’s just right there and it doesn’t mean that it’s dumb, it’s actually extremely profound but it’s in very simple language with a good economy of words.

ORCUTT: You’ve used the acronyms FTW and PMA on posters and in social media. They’re common terms in the world of punk and hardcore, but what do FTW and PMA mean to you? 

MORELAND: When I was a kid, the group of friends I had would always say “FTW” or “fuck the world.” But we did it as a joke, in a sarcastic way. We thought we were past that, like more mature, so we’d say it kind of parroting punk kids, but then it sort of became real after a while. I find it kind of encouraging to say “fuck the world … what everybody else is doing.” I’m gonna create my own life and worry about the things that are in my control. I am going to make my shit the best it can be and try to live life on my own terms. That’s what FTW means to me. And PMA is “positive mental attitude,” from the Bad Brains song.

For more from Bobby Dean, read his profile of John Calvin Abney.