Music Heard on the Island, 2015 Edition

So my last couple of posts got pretty heavy, so let's change it up to something a bit more lighthearted.
2015 was a cool year in music. I liked a lot of what happened last year. Of course, there was some crap, but it seemed like I saw less of it then I did in 2014. Heck, 2015 was the year Justin Bieber finally became somewhat acceptable listening material. That in and of itself was enough to sit up and take notice of the musical year.

2015 saw a lot of great music, and sadly I missed a lot of it. I heard snatches here and there - Chris Stapleton's appearance on SNL left me wanting more, and the Chris Cornell and Sara Bareilles features on Zac Brown Band's new Jekyll+Hyde intrigued me. I still have yet to get to those albums.
2015 was also the year of the comeback. Shania Twain released a live album? Natalie Imbruglia finally stopped feeling "Torn"and released new music? Howie Day still exists and is making music? I didn't listen to any of them, but it's interesting that they came back (see below for more).
And there were a bunch of albums that I listened to in 2015 that, on looking them, actually came out in 2014, or even 2013. Son Little is an excellent modern blues album that caught my attention with the return of Spotify's "Discover Weekly" feature. Vance Joy's "Riptide" pulled me in (get it?), but that album came out last year, too. Whoops.

Anyway, onto albums that actually came out in 2015 and that I did listen to:

1. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly: In March, the Billboard charts were swimming in the sludge that was Meghan Trainor's "Title", struggling to stay afloat with Fall Out Boy, Ne-Yo, and the remaining singles from Mark Ronson's "Uptown Special", none of which were making us dance in the street (RIP David Bowie) the way Uptown Funk did. Meanwhile, people who know more about rap than I do were abuzz with discussion of an impending new album from Kendrick Lamar. Then near the Ides of March, "King Kunta" threw open the pop-culture doors and drop-kicked Meghan Trainor across the room. I think Australian comedian Felicity Ward put it best when she Tweeted:

Aaarrrrgghghgh @kendricklamar 's King Kunta makes me want to scream out loud on this bus. I won't. But I love it. REPEAT.

— Felicity Ward (@felicityward) March 31, 2015

The rest of the album is amazing, but very differently so. It gets heavy. It's an intense 78 minutes that delves deep into racism in our country, and it takes a couple of listens before it can fully sink in. But it is a beautiful album. One of the coolest parts is that most of the album features live musicians creating the musical canvas on which Kendrick paints his words.  My friend Jon Lehning, a working jazz saxophonist, points out that TPAB is as much jazz as it is rap in some places. I fell in love with it instantly. Check out this video of a live performance.

2. Gavin Harrison - Cheating the Polygraph. I have been a longtime fan of the band Porcupine Tree. It started with, as many of my musical discoveries start, with an interview in Modern Drummer that introduced me to this master of making intricate drumming chops blend into the music so you barely notice. Harrison creates beats at times that I can often only begin to guess at, much less try to imitate. Here he takes Porcupine Tree songs and filters them through big band arrangements, molding them from progressive hard rock into a beautiful bop jazz, while maintaining their progressive sensibilities. The result is a mix of guess-the-PT-song as you enjoy the awesome layers of horns and woodwinds breathing new life into the tunes. The album goes by pretty quickly, but it's a fun ride for jazz fans and PT lovers alike. A Sampler Montage.

3. Chris Cornell - Higher Truth: Chris Cornell's new album pre-order emerged right as I was starting to get the itch for new music in October of last year. Soundgarden had put out a new album and tour the previous year, and Cornell had announced he was doing another solo project this year. His previous solo albums have seen mild success, with the melodic alt-rock of Euphoria Morning and Carry On, contrasted with the Timbaland-produced Scream, an album that fused Cornell's voice with hip-hop beats and made Cornell fans everywhere seriously question one of the greatest voices in rock. Higher Truth takes a more stripped-down approach and lays it all on the songwriting. And it absolutely does not disappoint. It balances an acoustic folk aesthetic with heartfelt rock-out moments (lead single Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart displays this perfectly). The songs on this album let Cornell's voice shine, as the pain, sorrow, or hope of the forlorn lyrics cuts into your soul. Definitely one of my favorites. Arguable best moment: "Murderer of Blue Skies" which starts as a quietly intense folk+electronica rhythm and suddenly bursts forth with an electric guitar and crashing drum beat, one of the album's best cathartic moments. 

4. Zella Day - Kicker: I actually forgot about this album until I went to make this list. Spotify brought back its "Discover Weekly" feature (I guess it used to be called something else, my sister was telling me - she was over the moon when it came back). One of my playlists featured the song "Ace of Hearts." I was immediately floored as Zella Day's forlorn voice cut into my soul over the slick slow 6/8 beat. I went to check the rest of the album out and Mustang Kids immediately had me dancing, having fun with the same theme that Halsey's "New Americana" tried to use later in the year (and not nearly as well). The album features a lot of emotion, but it's channeled through some beautiful lyrical imagery and fantastic layered beats and soundscapes.


The next one is not one I actually heard in 2015, but I was strapped for another selection that really captured my heart. On review of albums that came out last year in anticipation of this playlist, I came across this and was pretty much immediately sold:

5. The Corrs - White Light: I know what you're thinking. The most beloved Irish family band of the late '90s and early 2000s has returned? Okay, maybe you're not thinking that, because if you're like most of the population of the United States, the last (and possibly only) time you ever heard The Corrs was 2000's "Breathless," and that's only if you saw The Corrs Live in Dublin DVD, or heard it in that Debra Messing movie "The Wedding Date." Well, they made 2 albums after that, the last one in 2004, and then lead vocalist Andrea Corr struck out on her own for a bit. Apparently in recent years, drummer Caroline got the band back together, and they went into the studio under the radar. The result is an album that seems to pick up right where they left off in 2004. The first single, "Bring On The Night," features the same dance-pop vibe  that kept "Breathless" in your head for days, with a resilient hope that makes you want to sing along and then go fight a dragon. The rest of the album continues the Corrs' tradition of balancing pop sensibilities with traditional Irish songwriting and instrumentation - the tin whistle, bodhran, and violin blend so well with guitar, keyboards, and drums. They didn't necessarily break much new ground, but after 11 years, this is exactly what Corrs fans want. 


Honorable Mentions:
Kamasi Washington - The Epic. If you like the instruments and stylings you heard in TPAB above, check this out. Washington provides the saxophone flavor on the album. My closest musicophilic compadre Eric suggested it to me, and similar to TPAB, I was instantly hooked.
Brian Wilson - No Pier Pressure. I've been expecting this album since this video came out. And it does not disappoint. Wilson hearkens back to Pet Sounds with the same Beach Boy-style harmonies and sonic textures that we've loved for years.
Def Leppard - Def Leppard. Another comeback album, DL releases an album of new material that manages to cull together all the best parts of their music over the years. "Wings of an Angel" is one of my new belt-out-in-the-car anthems.

Toto - Toto XIV. This was a great album, but, while Joseph Williams may be a technically better singer, and the years have been good to him and his voice, I miss Bobby Kimball's over-the-top vocals, the desperate wails and angry growls of his mighty choruses.  On the whole, a good album...I just wasn't satisfied on a visceral level.

The Island's Got You Covered...(Or Insert Other Bad Cover Pun)

I don't remember if I came up with this on my own or if I heard it somewhere, but I firmly believe that "a good cover is one that makes you appreciate the original in a different way." My good friend Harsha and I have talked at length about the value of a good cover. They come in many forms - some stay true to the original, and some alter it almost to the point where it's a different song entirely. Of course the best way to judge a cover is "does it sound good?" But even that is difficult. We've all seen those YouTube comments that describe a cover as "better than the original!" Or on the flip side, "utter garbage." Because everyone wants something different when they hear a cover, depending on who is doing it and in what context.

This is probably going to end up a multi-part list, so I'll just start with five. I won't be talking about covers that many people know better than the original - so I won't mention "All Along The Watchtower" or "Higher Ground", and I'm gonna try to avoid the ones that are often mentioned in "Best Covers" lists (including one of my favorites, Johnny Cash's emotional man-at-the-end-of-his-life rendition of NIN's "Hurt"). I'm gonna try to talk about the ones that I find interesting, whether positively or negatively. I am also only going to talk about covers that are recorded on albums or as singles/B-sides, rather than some that bands exclusively perform live. Otherwise I could be here all day.

So here goes:

1. Katy Perry: "Use Your Love." We'll start with one that Harsha showed me. He and I have a love for The Outfield's "Your Love" that borders on ridiculous. The mighty one-hit wonder is an oft-quoted source of joy in our lives, and the 2013 SNL sketch revolving around it is amazing. Now, Katy Perry is an admitted guilty pleasure of mine, and I like a lot of her songs. Still, this cover took me a few listens before it grew on me. She alters the lyrics to be from a girl's perspective, matching The Outfield's moral ambiguity with her own (regarding cheating), and ups the tempo into a dance pop number (which, when Perry first heard the original in a club, was the vibe she got from the song, inspiring her to cover it). The result may not be quite as satisfying as the original, but it's still a lot of fun, and despite the hate that Katy Perry gets from most classic rock fans, is definitely worth a listen. Use Your Love Video

2. Toto, "Burn Down The Mission." Toto's 2005 covers album, Through The Looking Glass, was seen as somewhat of a letdown by critics who were hoping to see more of a reworking of the songs, rather than straightfoward renditions. But Toto's goal in making the album was just to have fun playing their favorites, and adding a little Toto flavor while they did it. Bobby Kimball, (now-former) lead singer, chose to pay tribute to Sir Elton John with this cover, and it's a great choice. All the power of Kimball's over-the-top vocals comes into play as he channels the desperate-turned-triumphant emotions of the song's protagonist, and this, combined with the rest of Toto's musical prowess, creates a whirlwind of a song that will definitely make you take anything the critics say with a grain of salt. Burn Down The Mission Video

3. Santana ft. Nas, "Back in Black." Believe me, I already know what you're thinking. "I'm sorry, what? Nas singing AC/DC?" 2010 saw Santana taking his trademark formula of teaming up with assorted lead singers on each album and applying it to classic rock covers, resulting in Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time. He brings in several modern names in rock and other genres to perform Santana-fied renditions of some of the best rock songs of decades past, and in teaming up with Nas...I'm not ashamed to say that I finally understand the words to this song after hearing Nas rap them. But more than that, the song is totally fitting for a rapper. It's all about how awesome the vocalist is, how he packs a punch and can't wait to show you how legendary he is. Whether it's Brian Johnson singing at the top of his lungs, or Nas bringing his cool swagger to it, the song becomes a serious headbanger in either version. Back in Black Video

4. Alex Clare, "When Doves Cry." Alex Clare is best known for the song "Too Close", made popular by those MSN commercials from a few years ago. His 2011 album The Lateness of the Hour attempts to fuse EDM soundscapes and pop songwriting. It doesn't always hit its mark, but one of the spots where it does is this cover. He takes Prince's synthpop seduction dance and turns it into an emotionally-charged dubstep-flavored ballad. Clare's story is an interesting one - according to legend, his first record deal fell through when he was unable to book dates on Saturdays because of his Orthodox Jewish practices. He later gained fame through the Microsoft commercials, while his vacant spot at the first record label was filled by a young woman named Adele. Funny how life works out. (The only available video is this one, where someone choreographed a hoop routine to the song: When Doves Cry Video)

5. Vanessa Carlton, "Paint It Black." I first heard this song at a dance concert, where someone choreographed an intense piece that was only enhanced by Carlton's raw vocals. The songstress behind every '90s-kid's favorite piano intro has a rock side, too, and in fact, it's later on that same album that brought us "A Thousand Miles" where she pays homage to the Rolling Stones. When the sitar drone brings you in, followed by the floor tom pedaling up to the first verse, you think, "okay, this could be good." Then the drums drop out and it's just Vanessa and the bass line spitting out the words through gritted teeth...and then that snare hit and Vanessa cuts loose with, "I see the girls walk by..." and once again, you can't help but headbang the whole way through. Paint It Black Video

I could go on and on about my favorite covers. But what are some of yours? Or do you disagree with my thoughts on these? Or are there better cover versions of these songs? Let me hear from you!