“And in this moment, I am happy.”
– Incubus,
Wish You Were Here
After the breakthrough success of their 1999 album, Make Yourself, Incubus found themselves in a dreaded sophomore slump, facing intense pressure to replicate or build on their previous accomplishment.
Seeking solace and inspiration, they decided not to work in a conventional studio setting. Instead, they retreated to a house overlooking the coast of Malibu, California, on a street named Morning View Drive.
The house served as an optimal environment for the band to enter a state of flow, as they worked on their next album. Amid all the pressure, they wanted to approach making music not as a job to put food on their table, but as an intimate, confessional endeavor. As their then-bassist Alex Katunich remarked, “The idea was to not feel as if you were driving (somewhere) to work on a record. You could just get up and it was a natural extension of your day.”
In this immersive environment, the band made Morning View, which is widely regarded as the perfect Incubus album.
Released in 2001, Morning View represents the peak of Incubus’s songwriting, as it strikes a tender balance between the band’s energetic rock sound and a broadened sense of insight. It also showcases the band’s versatility, seamlessly weaving softer, atmospheric elements into their sonic palette. Most notably, the closing track, Aqueous Transmission incorporates Asian elements, with the use of a traditional Chinese pipa (gifted by Steve Vai).
Lyrically, Morning View is deeply introspective, as it explores the timeless and universal themes of spirituality and personal growth. It is no wonder that the album has resonated so deeply with listeners over the decades, becoming a steadfast companion in their personal journeys, with each listener carrying their own story of how the album has accompanied them through life’s highs and lows.
With that being said, Morning View could hold very different meanings to different people. On a literal level, the title, Morning View, refers to the street the album was written and recorded in.
But figuratively, for me, Morning View is about seeing life anew. It’s about “waking up” from the monotony of living on autopilot, and approaching each day with a renewed, elevated perspective.
You can just hear how the tranquil Malibu setting seeps into every track. Even in the heavier and melancholy tracks, there is a cohesive invitation for you to pause, breathe, and reconsider the world around you.
As it has been for countless people out there, Morning View is easily one of my favorite Incubus albums. Even as someone who endlessly nerds out about music, there really aren’t that many albums that I thoroughly enjoy listening to from start to finish.
There are no filler songs in Morning View, as each and every track coalesce into what feels like a sonic journey, transporting you to a much-needed calm and reflective place.
This is my commentary on each track from the album, and what they mean to me. Hopefully they might inspire you, just as they have inspired me, to see life through the lens of a new morning view.
Nice to Know You
I didn’t quite get this song for a while — what the heck does “pins and needles” mean? Despite the lyrics being plain, I felt like they were speaking about something I knew next to nothing about. It wasn’t until I got into Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, and had amazing experiences in meditation, that I could finally relate to the song. Nice to Know You is about having an elevated perspective. It’s about that spiritual sweetness you feel when you’re able to go beyond you, and connect to a force larger than yourself. It’s when you’re able to say to the rest of the world and their petty concerns, “Goodbye, nice to know you!”
Circles
Virtually every culture believes in some form of karma, or the idea that there are consequences to every action we take. Do good, and you receive good. Do evil, and you receive evil. It’s one thing to be mindful of karma in our own actions. But Circles invites us to take it up a notch. And that is, when another person wrongs us, we don’t retaliate. Rather, we leave them to their own karma. We trust that whatever goes around, comes around, eventually.
Wish You Were Here
I personally interpret this as a very happy song. I think of the line “wish you were here”, not in a sense of longing, but of wholeness. It isn’t, “I feel sad and I miss you,” but “I’m having such a beautiful moment; if only you could see how beautiful this is.” Fitting the album’s spiritual theme, I love how vividly written the lyrics are: “I dig my toes into the sand. The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket. I lean against the wind; pretend that I am weightless. And in this moment, I am happy.”
Just a Phase
Nothing in this life lasts forever. But with that being said, this doesn’t have to be a morbid truth. Take comfort in knowing that whatever difficult experience or emotion that you may be going through will eventually lose its significance over time — that this too, shall pass. Or, to quote the song, “It’s just a phase.”
11 a.m.
This song doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves, but I honestly think it’s one of Brandon Boyd’s best accomplishments as a songwriter. 11 a.m. is about what goes on in our head after ending a relationship. Poignantly, the lyrics could just as well describe what an addict experiences during withdrawals — how we turbulently teeter between relief and primal panic throughout the day. “The credits traverse signifying the end, but I missed the best part, could we please go back to start?” the lyrics lament. “But then again, you’re always first when no one’s on your side.” Then again, then again, then again…
Blood on the Ground
This song reminds me a lot of Honey Bee from Tom Petty’s Wildflowers album, especially with the bluesy guitar riffs, and the loud, banging drums. Blood on the Ground is a resolution to non-violence, or more precisely, holding back our tongue in times of anger. Because “blood in our mouth beats blood on the ground”.
Mexico
“You only think about yourself,” the lyrics hauntingly proclaim. In a relationship, it’s easy to get so enmeshed in how you feel about the other person, that you neglect how they actually make you feel. It takes self-respect to be firm about your own needs, and be willing to walk away when you couldn’t reach a compromise. As the song goes, “You better bend before I go on the first train to Mexico.”
Warning
One of my favorite moments of seeing Incubus live back in April was the song Warning. It was utterly surreal, to be among thousands of Incubus fans singing in unison, “Don’t ever let life pass you by.” All of us could relate to how fleeting life is, yet, we are all guilty of living as if we have forever. To borrow a metaphor from the song — we are like frogs cozied up in our “cosmic jacuzzi” that’s gradually getting warmer and warmer. By the time we realize that the water has reached its boiling point, it’s already too late.
Echo
I like to think of Echo as the sister track to Stellar from the Make Yourself album. While Echo makes for a mellower listen, the guitar riffs in both songs nearly resemble one another in their dreamy melodies, and the lyrics similarly speak about love being a transcendental experience. It’s amazing how many ways there are to say “I love you.” Quoting the lyrics, “Could you show me, dear, something I’ve not seen? Something infinitely interesting?”
Have You Ever
The grass is always greener on the other side. It always seems like other people have it better than we do. And especially in our age of social media, it’s much easier for us now to compare ourselves to others, and to harbor envy for those people who are living lives more “perfect” than our own. Have You Ever views this from an interesting perspective, that is, as the person being envied. “If you ever try to fit in my shoes,” the narrator proclaims. “They’ll never be quite as soft as they seem.”
Are You In?
Taking a closer look at the lyrics, this song wouldn’t make much sense. But interestingly, as a whole, it can be understood as a song about peace and harmony. I’m not completely sure how true this is, but I remember reading somewhere that this song was written as a jam after the band members had a heated argument. After not talking to each other for a while, someone started playing their instrument, to which the rest of the band followed, one after another. As Brandon eventually joined in, he sang, “It’s so much better when everybody’s in.”
Under My Umbrella
“If this is right, I’d rather be wrong. If this is sight, I’d rather be blind.” Under my Umbrella is about having the courage to not only challenge conventional thought, but actually living by your own values and standards. On a side note — whether or not it’s deliberate — it’s cool to see how this song thematically plants the seeds for Incubus’s next album after Morning View, titled A Crow Left of the Murder….
Aqueous Transmission
In Islam, there’s a concept called tawakkul. It’s when you’ve done all you could that’s within your control, and you leave the rest to God. You let go of your expectations, because you trust that He would only give you the best outcome, whatever it may be. I tend to think of this concept when I listen to this song. It ties in really well with the song’s imagery of floating down the river of life, and surrendering to God, or a higher power, who oversees its ebbs and flows. When all is done on your end, you could choose to lie flat on your vessel, “marvel at the stars”, and “feel your heart overflow.”
Izzat Zailan 