Torres and Opinions on Miguel

Torres

Mackensie Scott of Torres has shown off her prodigious songwriting abilities in two critically acclaimed and intensely emotional albums. Torres joins Jim and Greg for a conversation and live performance. Later they review the latest from Grammy-winning artist Miguel.

Download Subscribe via iTunes

Music News

Chris Squire, a celebrated bassist and founding member of the British  rock band Yes, died last Saturday in Phoenix at the age of 67. Squire announced earlier in the summer that he would not be joining the band for its summer and fall tour as he was receiving treatment for leukemia. Squire was the only member of Yes to play on each of the band's twenty-one albums and to participate in every tour over their four decade career. Squire sought to create a "cinematic trip for the mind" through his work with Yes, and Jim greatly admires this nuanced approach to making music. Greg and Jim remember Squire by playing "Heart of the Sunrise" from the band's hit 1972 album Fragile.

Torres

Georgia-born musician Mackenzie Scott emerged out of the Nashville scene in 2013 with a critically-lauded debut under the moniker Torres. Her 2015 followup Sprinter, recorded with PJ Harvey collaborator Rob Ellis, has earned even more acclaim, including a spot in Greg's Best of 2015 (So Far) list. Torres joined Jim and Greg in the studio to discuss her emotionally charged and unconventional songwriting. She became devoted to music early on, idolizing Taylor Swift as a teen and then earning a college degree in songwriting. Her songs are both intensely personal and also sung behind the guise of characters, drawing inspiration from varied sources like the Old Testament and J.D. Salinger. Torres explains how music allows her to confront feelings about her childhood when other methods of communication have failed.

Wild Heart Miguel

Wildheart

Wild Heart is the third studio album from cutting edge R&B singer and songwriter Miguel. Miguel who is of both Mexican American and African American heritages, has always had a different approach to the R&B genre. While his first album was tinkered with by A&R folks, his last record was his coming-out party; displaying his affection for multiple genres and subject matter of an adult variety. On this third album, Wild Heart, Miguel continues his exploration into genre and sexuality. Jim thinks he comes from the school of thought of Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, artists whose avant garde nature scared traditionalists. He gives this album a Buy It rating. Greg agrees and says the orchestration and the honest lyrics make this album one of his favorites of the year. He gives it a Buy It as well.

Dear Listeners,

For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!

edit