Portishead: SOS (ABBA Cover) In an exhilaratingly dark version of ABBA’s “SOS,” Portishead’s Beth Gibbons brings an immense heartbreak to the Swedish group’s 1975 pop song. The cover is a tribute to Jo Cox (a Batley and Spen MP who fought for refugees’ rights) who was murdered last week outside a library. In this context, and in this downtempo version, the song carries much more …
Robert Glasper—longtime crusader of liberating jazz and its players from rigid definitions—took samples from Miles Davis’ archive (predominately his later electric years) and collaborated with the likes of Laura Mvula, Hiatus Kaiyote, Stevie Wonder and John Scofield to create the unique and contemporary tribute album Everything’s Beautiful. Erykah Badu not only lends her voice in drum machine-led bossa nova song “Maiysha (So Long)” but also …
This year, musicians protested through shouts and rhymes, exposed painful wounds, gave the middle finger to haters and, most of all, perfectly captured the essence of the here and now through their songs. In no particular order, here are 12 musical highlights from our soundtrack to 2015, including everything from uneasy electronica to acoustic tearjerkers. Revisit the songs we noted in our Listen section (updated …
