The Land of Sand and Birds
subtitled uhhhhh (nervous laughter)
a radio show mostly on 20th century classical music

From the basement of the Walker Memorial Building at MIT, we broadcast classical and other art music of the West from the last 50 to 150 years every Friday morning from 6 to 8 on WMBR in Cambridge, 88.1 FM.

You can listen to WMBR live on the internet at wmbr.org. Streaming archives of shows from the last two weeks are available here; scroll down halfway for The_Land_of_Sand etc., or scroll to wherever and listen to another WMBR show.

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For more detailed playlists, complete with performance, format, and label information and updated live on Friday mornings, visit track-blaster.com. (thanks Jon!)

For a master list of every filed playlist (searchable via command-F) click here.

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recent shows:

April 3, 2009

David Behrman - On the Other Ocean (1977)
Anton Webern - Symphony (1928)
Gyorgy Ligeti - Lontano ("Distant" or "Far Away") (1967)
Elodie Lauten - Kyrie from the Death of Don Juan (1985)
Kurt Weill - Der kleine Leutnant des lieben Gottes ("Lieutenants of the Lord") (1929)
Henry Cowell - Mother Goose Rhymes (1937)
Henry Cowell - Two Songs on Poems of Catherine Riegger (1933)


April 10, 2009

Sofia Gubaidulina - Pro et Contra (1989)
Edvard Grieg - Symphonic Dances (1896)
Edvard Grieg - Gone (1901)
Cristian Vogel - The Walk/Transition_Walk_Scream/The Scream (2006)
This Heat - S.P.Q.R. (1981)
This Heat - Health and Efficiency (1980)


April 17, 2009

Henry Brant - Angels and Devils (1931)
Poul Ruders - Concerto in Pieces (Purcell Variations) (1995)
Hiroshi Kawani - Flashback (1983)
Ralph Vaughan Williams - 4th Symphony (1935)
Lithops - Peek (2006)
Die Tödliche Doris - Schöne Musik (Beautiful Music) (1981)
Zeena Parkins - Vita Futuristica (1998)


April 24, 2009

DAT Politics - Rainbow Connection (2006)
DAT Politics - track 1 from Tracto Flirt (1998)
Giuseppe Ielasi - Plans (2003)
Sachiko M, Toshimaru Nakamura, and Otomo Yoshihide - Good Evening (2004)
Gordon Mumma - Hornpipe (1967)
Kites - The Hidden Family (2004) 
Black Dice - Cone Toaster (2003)


May 1, 2009

Béla Bartók - Suite from the Miraculous Mandarin (1919)
Edgard Varèse - Ecuatorial (1934)
Josef Matthias Hauer - Atonale Musik (Opus 20) #13 (1920-1922)
Josef Matthias Hauer - Atonale Musik (Opus 20) #14 (1920-1922)
Josef Matthias Hauer - Atonale Musik (Opus 20) #15 (1920-1922)
Ben Johnston - Sonata for Microtonal Piano (1965)
s-nemek - hep (1999)
Sebastian Roux + Kim Myhr - SIX (2008)
Cory Allen - Fermion (2008)
Robbie Basho - Lost Lagoon Suite (1967)


May 8, 2009

Hans Werner Henze - El Cimarrón (1970)
Jerry Goldsmith and the 20th C. Fox Orchestra (or something) - Theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Matmos - Enigma Machine for Alan Turing (2006)


May 15, 2009

Monolake - cctv (2005)
Edwin London - Portraits of Three Ladies (American) (1967)
Luigi Dallapiccola - Divertimento in Quattro Esercizi (1934)
John Eaton - Prelude to "Myshkin"(c. 1968)
John Eaton - Thoughts on Rilke (1968)
Tomita - Clair de Lune (Debussy) (1974)
Olivier Messiaen - Third Poem of the Ascension (1934)
Scatter - National Magic (2004)
Magma - Köhntarkösz part two (1974)
Arthur Russell - That's Us/Wild Combination (c. 1985)


May 22, 2009 (special show with guest cohost Jeff B.)

Ernest MacMillan - Two Sketches on French Canadian Airs (1927)
Edward Elgar - Cello Concerto (1919) 
Miles Davis/Joaquin Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez (1939/1960) 
Anouar Brahem - Conte de L'Incroyable Amour ("Story of the Incredible Love") (1992)
Igor Stravinsky - Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1929)
Paul Lansky - Table's Clear (1990) 
Jacques Lasry - Chronophagie 1 ("The Time-Eaters 1") (1968)
Stevie Nicks - Beauty and the Beast (1983)
     ^------ Happy birthday Stevie Nicks!


May 29, 2009

Dan Deacon - Build Voice (2009) 
David Rosenboom - Desert Night Touch Down (1981)
Iannis Xenakis - La Légende d'Eer (1978)


June 5, 2009

Aaron Dilloway - tracks 1 from Bad Dreams (2005)
Walter Piston - 2nd Symphony (1943)
John Cage - Fontana Mix (excerpt) (1958)
Jackson MacLow - Young Turtle Asymmetries (1967) 
Peter Dickson Lopez - The Ship of Death (excerpt) (1977)
Larry Fast/John Simonton - The World After April (1980) 
Krzysztof Penderecki - Kanon for Orchestra and Tape (1962)
Karol Szymanowski - Violin Concerto no. 1 (1916)
Louis Andriessen - The Schultz Song (1991) 
Laurie Anderson - Frames for the Pictures (1984) 
Laurie Anderson (feat. Peter Gabriel) - Excellent Birds (1984)

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Would you like to know the approximate frequency with which music from particular decades gets played on the show? A graph is available here. (Data analysis was last performed October 24.)

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Listening to the radio is a worthwhile hobby born in the early 20th century. The power to control our own isolated musical microclimates has grown since the invention of portable music players and the mp3, and that control is both good and bad - bad because, broadly, it reduces the diversity of sounds we hear, both musical and nonmusical, and bad also because it threatens radio listening. The danger to radio is an element of the bigger problem.
Worrying about music and assuming the burden of editorial control 24 hours a day get more tiring and less dignified as you get older. If you're old but you still like listening to music during the day, turn on your radio, and you'll feel less self-obsessed and generally better. You can read a book or donate to charity or whatever while you listen. The worst part of doing my radio show is that I can't listen to the radio while I'm doing it.
Long-form music can be especially beneficial because it helps you to take the long view of things. Deliberate more about those things.
HTML, like the radio, is a once and future king of media. The future of communication is one-way. Static, uninteractable-with HTML web pages on the internet open a world of potential public humiliation to their creators alone, like being on the radio. This encourages greater seriousness of tone, which is something the current internet lacks.

Thanks for visiting! For questions, corrections, complaints, etc., please email cmorten at mit period edu or call 617 253 8810 (at the station).