Heat Rocks

Introducing Primer, MaxFun’s Newest Music Podcast

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 21 May 2024 07:05:00 +0000

Hello Heat Rockers! This is Producer Christian, I edited Heat Rocks and you might've heard my voice on a few episodes with Oliver and Morgan! So we've been working on a new music podcast here on Maximum Fun and I'm so excited to finally share it with you! Primer focuses on genres of music from outside the English-speaking world. This first season we're talking about Japanese City Pop and I will be hosting alongside Yosuke Kitazawa.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe to Primer! I think you're really gonna love what we've made here. :)

On November 5th, 1979, Miki Matsubara’s debut pop single “Mayonaka no Door/ Stay with Me” was released in her home country of Japan. It was a huge hit and remained her biggest and most beloved work throughout her entire career. Over 40 years after its original release, it soared in popularity once again when a whole new international audience discovered the song through TikTok. Its catchy hook and incredible vocals still resonate with listeners today and has become a staple in the City Pop genre. If you’ve heard one City Pop song, it’s probably Stay with Me.

On our inaugural episode of Primer, radio/tv presenter Linda Marigliano joins us to discuss City Pop icon, Miki Matsubara and her debut record, Pocket Park. We get into the unexpected renewed interest in Mayonaka no Door, the story behind Miki’s sudden departure from the music scene, and Linda’s personal connection and discovery of City Pop.

Check out our Spotify playlist for this episode!

Follow Linda: Instagram | Twitter | Tough Love | Love Language

Follow Primer: Instagram | Twitter | TikTok

The Heat Rocks Appreciation Episode

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 17:11:21 +0000

Well, we're finally here. After nearly 200 episodes, we're ending our run with Maximum Fun! We intend to come back sometime in 2022, and to celebrate this occasion, it's and Oliver, Morgan, and Producer Christian episode. We talk about our favorite moments from the show, the things we appreciate about the show, and we have a few good laughs.

Follow Morgan and Oliver on Twitter to keep up with upcoming projects!

Until next time, Heat Rockers.

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Cat Zhang on Flo Milli's "Ho, why is you here?" (2020)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 5 Aug 2021 18:43:58 +0000

Music writer and resident TikTok expert Cat Zhang sits down with us to discuss Flo Milli's 2020 debut mixtape Ho, why is you here? We get into what goes into making a TikTok hit, Flo Milli's unique voice, and her role in the current hip hop landscape.

More on Cat Zhang

Check out Cat's latest article on TikTok trends
Listen to Cat chatting with our friends at Switched on Pop
Twitter | Website

More on Flo Milli

Flo Milli Is Here. Get Used to It. (The Ringer)
Flo Milli Came to Flex (Rolling Stone)
Back Pack (Flora The Explorer) music video

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Ho, why is you here? unless otherwise indicated):

19
May I
In The Party
Paul Anka: Put Your Head On My Shoulder
yung cxreal and baby frankie: dumb bitchitis
Send The Addy
Flo Milli: Back Pack (Flora The Explorer)
Beef FloMix
Not Friendly
Pockets Bigger
Pussycat Doll
Ethereal and Playboi Carti: Beef
Beef FloMix
May I
Like That Bitch
Weak
In The Party
Mood Everyday (Intro)
Pussycat Doll
Jacki-O: Sugar Walls
MC Lyte: 10% Dis
Doja Cat: Streets

Hey Heat Rockers, if you have an appreciation for the show, we’d love to play some of them during our Aug 11th appreciation episode. You can either send use a voice memo to heatrockspod@gmail.com OR you can phone in a voicemail to (310) 986-3340‬. We just need them all in by August 8th (Sunday), thanks!

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Music & Popcorn #7: Daphne A. Brooks on the "Waiting to Exhale" soundtrack (1995)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 00:09:30 +0000

We continue our Music and Popcorn miniseries, where we chat about some of our favorite movie soundtracks. This week, we're talking to professor and writer Daphne Brooks about the soundtrack to Waiting to Exhale. We get into Babyface's prolific career, Whitney Houston's presence on both the soundtrack and the movie, and the mystery surrounding DJ Theo Mizuhara.

More on Daphne A. Brooks

Check out her book Liner Notes for the Revolution
And check out the accompanying playlist!
Website

More on Waiting to Exhale

Show Tracklisting (all songs from the Waiting to Exhale OST unless otherwise indicated):

Exhale (Shoop Shoop)
My Funny Valentine
My Love, Sweet Love
Count On Me
It Hurts Like Hell
Why Does It Hurt So Bad
Let It Flow
Not Gon' Cry
My Funny Valentine
Sittin' Up In My Room
Wey U
Kissing You
Let It Flow
Prince: Head
Exhale (Shoop Shoop)
Maxwell: Sumthin' Sumthin'
A Tribe Called Quest: Hot Sex
Dionne Farris: I Know
Oleta Adams: Get Here
En Vogue: Don't Let Go (Love)

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Music & Popcorn #6: '90s OSTs with Jocelyn Brown

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 20:06:38 +0000

We reboot our Music and Popcorn series, where we talk about some of our favorite movie soundtracks. This week, we invite our friend Jocelyn Brown to discuss a few iconic 90s OSTs, Love Jones, Boyz N The Hood, and Trainspotting. We get into what makes these soundtracks so memorable, the shift in tone from 80s and 90s OSTs, and proper record care etiquette.

Show Tracklisting:

Primal Scream: Trainspotting
Refugee Camp All-Stars Presents Melky and Day: I Got A Love Jones For You
Ice Cube: How To Survive in South Central
Monie Love: Work It Out
Ice-T: New Jack Hustler
Kid 'N Play: Fun House
Too $hort: It's Your Life
Quincy Jones: Setembro
Stanley Clark: Boyz N The Hood Theme
Main Source: Just A Friendly Game of Baseball (Remix)
Yo Yo: Mama Don't Take No Mess
Ice Cube: How To Survive In South Central
Quincy Jones: Setembro
Tony! Toni! Toné!: Me and You
Ice Cube: A Bird In The Hand
The Five Stairsteps: O-o-h Child
Newcleus: Jam On It
Compton's Most Wanted: Growin' Up In The Hood
Blur: Sing
Lou Reed: Perfect Day
New Order: Temptation
Underworld: Born Slippy (Nuxx)
Primal Scream: Trainspotting
Goldie: Inner City Life
Brian Eno: Deep Blue Day
Iggy Pop: Lust for Life
Lou Reed: Perfect Day
Brian Eno: Deep Blue Day
Maxwell: Sumthin' Sumthin'
Cameo: Shake Your Pants
Meshell Ndgeocello & Marcus Miller: Rush Over
Refugee Camp All-Stars & Lauryn Hill: The Sweetest Thing
Dionne Farris: Hopeless
Refugee Camp All-Stars & Lauryn Hill: The Sweetest Thing
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane: In A Sentimental Mood
Refugee Camp All-Stars Presents Melky and Day: I Got A Love Jones For You
SWV: Anything
Dinosaur Jr.: Turnip Farm
Large Professor and Pete Rock: The Rap World

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Yola on Jill Scott's "Who Is Jill Scott? - Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 (2000)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 21:07:15 +0000

This week, we talk to singer/songwriter Yola about Jill Scott's debut studio album "Who Is Jill Scott? - Words and Sounds, Vol 1." We get into Jill's time with The Roots, how her poetry shaped her songwriting, and Jill's role in the neo-soul movement.

More on Yola

Check out Yola's newest single and upcoming album Stand for Myself!
Yola is Ready to Meet Her Moment (Rolling Stone)
Twitter | Instagram

More on Jill Scott

Jill Scott’s Debut Album ‘Who Is Jill Scott? Words And Sounds Vol. 1’ Turns 20 | Anniversary Retrospective (Albumism)
Check out the original version of You Got Me by The Roots w/ Jill Scott
Jill Scott's Def Poetry appearance

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Who Is Jill Scott? - Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 unless otherwise indicated):

Love Rain
Yola: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Yola: Stand For Myself
A Long Walk
Brotha
The Roots: You Got Me (Live)
Slowly Surely
Jilltro
Try
It's Love
Jill Scott: Gotta Get Up (Another Day)
Honey Molasses
The Roots (Interlude)
Do You Remember
Love Rain
I Think It's Better
Exclusively
Jill Scott: Crown Royal on Ice
He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)
A Long Walk
Do You Remember
Moe Koffman: Days Gone By
Slowly Surely
I Think it's Better
He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)
Watching Me
A Long Walk
Gettin' In The Way
It's Love
I Think it's Better
The Roots (Interlude)
Grenique: Star of the Story
Adriana Evans: Love Is All Around
Minnie Riperton: Les Fleurs

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Kris Bowers on Kendrick Lamar's "Section.80" (2011) [redux]

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 8 Jul 2021 20:17:21 +0000

In honor of Kendrick Lamar's Section.80 turning 10 years old this month, we are re-airing our convo with Kris Bowers on Lamar's debut studio album.

[show notes from original post]

To talk about Kendrick Lamar’s studio LP debut, we wanted to find someone of K-Dot’s generation, another L.A. young gun, and who better than pianist and composer, Kris Bowers? Like Kendrick, Kris grew up in L.A. and just as Kendrick has ascended the hip-hop ladder, so has Kris in jazz, as he won the prestigious Theolonious . But more than that, the web of Los Angeles musical ties was bound to bring the two into orbit in different ways – something we discuss in the episode – not the least of which is the fact that Kris covered one of the biggest tracks in Kendrick’s early career: “Rigamortis.”

In our conversation with Kris, we got deep into how he put together both the song and video for his version of “Rigamortis,” whether or not Kendrick has a jazz sensibility in his style, and what it’s like to see a hometown kid become the Greatest Rapper Alive.

More on Kendrick Lamar’s Section.80

Kendrick talking about Section.80 in an interview with Complex.com.
Ditto but in an interview with Billboard.
Ogden Payne’s revisit of the album in 2016 for Forbes.

More on Kris Bowers

Kris on NPR’s “Piano Jazz: Rising Stars.”
NY Times on Kris winning the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Prize.
Website | Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Section.80 unless indicated otherwise):

Hol' Up
A.D.H.D
Kris Bowers: Forget-er
Kris Bowers: Rigamortis
Rigamortis
Murs: Everything
Chapter Six
Keisha's Song (Her Pain)
Kendrick Lamar: Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst
Ab-Souls Outro
Poe Mans Dreams (His Vice)
F*ck Your Ethnicity
Kush & Corinthians
Rigamortis
Kris Bowers: Rigamortis
Willie Jones III: The Thorn
Rigamortis
Blow My High (Members Only)
HiiiPower
Ab-Souls Outro

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Benny Sings on Phil Collins' "Face Value" (1981)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 2 Jul 2021 00:20:43 +0000

This week, we talk to producer/singer Benny Sings about Phil Collins' solo debut album, Face Value. We get into the incredible drum fill of In The Air Tonight, it's iconic use on Miami Vice, and the real life issues Collins was going through when making this album.

More on Benny Sings

Check out Benny's new album Music
With The Vibrant 'City Pop', Benny Sings Stakes His Claim For The Masses (NPR)
Twitter | Instagram

More on Face Value

Phil explaining the origins of In The Air Tonight
In The Air Tonight on Miami Vice
Check out Chris Molanphy's episode of Hit Parade on Phil Collins

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Face Value unless otherwise indicated)

This Must Be Love
Droned
Benny Sings: Sunny Afternoon
Phil Collins & Phillip Bailey: Easy Lover
One More Night
If Loving Me Is Easy
Droned
Hand In Hand
I Missed Again
Behind the Lines
In The Air Tonight
I'm Not Moving
In The Air Tonight
If Leaving Me Is Easy
I'm Not Moving
Gino Vanneli: Love & Emotion
Frank Sinatra: Only the Lonely
Paul McCartney: Say Say Say

Marzz on Kierra Sheard's "This Is Me" (2006)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:10:15 +0000

Singer/songwriter Marzz sits down with us to discuss Kierra Sheard's gospel album This is Me. We get into the secular production of this album, Kierra's place in the Clark Sheard family, and Marzz's own experience in the church.

More on Marzz

Check out Marzz's Love Letterz EP
Marzz Evokes The Brightest And Most Vibrant Colors All By Living In Her Truest Aura (Uproxx)
Instagram | Twitter

More on Kierra Sheard

Show Tracklisting (all songs from This Is Me unless otherwise indicated):

This is Me
Why Me?
Marzz: Countless Times
It Is What It Is
No, Never
Faith
Karen Clark Sheard & Kierra Sheard: You Loved Me
Have What You Want
This Is Me
Yes
Faith
No, Never
You
Yes
Hear This
Change
You
Kim Burrell: Open Up The Door
Mary Mary, Shackles (Praise You)
J Moss: Rebuild

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Celebrating Lil' Kim's "Hard Core" (1996)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 23:04:54 +0000

This week, Oliver and Morgan are discussing Lil' Kim's debut studio record "Hard Core" which is turning 25 years old this year. We get into Lil' Kim's role in Bad Boy and Junior M.A.F.I.A., the effect she had on the Megan Thee Stallions and Cardi B's of today, and what made this record so unforgettable.

More on Hard Core

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Hard Core unless otherwise indicated):

Drugs
Spend A Little Doe
Junior M.A.F.I.A.: Get Money
Big Momma Thang
Not Tonight
Big Momma Thang
Not Tonight
Spend A Little Doe
Jeru The Damaja: Ya Playin' Yaself
Total: Can't You See
112: Peaches and Cream
Junior M.A.F.I.A.: Player's Anthem
Foxy Brown: I'll Be
Foxy Brown: (Holy Matrimony) Letter to the Firm
City Girls: Fuck On U
HWA: Little Dick
No Time
Fuck You
Roberta Flack: Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye
Queen Bitch
The Notorious B.I.G.: Queen Bitch
Drugs
Fuck You
Dreams
We Don't Need It
Crush On You
Big Poppa
Dreams
Scheamin'
Big Momma Thang
Crush On You
Crush On You (Remix)
The Jeff Lorber Fusion: Rain Dance
No Time
G Yamazawa: Crush On You
Mariah Carey: A No No
Lido: Melodies From Heaven/Crush On You
No Time
Crush On You
Foxy Brown: Ill Na Na
Nicki Minaj: Itty Bitty Piggy
Nicki Minaj: Barbie Dreams

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Vijay Iyer on Prince's "Sign O' The Times" (1987)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:07:30 +0000

This week, we discuss Prince for the SIXTH time on Heat Rocks with musician/scholar Vijay Iyer. We get into Prince's love of the drum machine, Vijay's love of the 80s, and the many sides of Prince we see on this record.

More on Vijay Iyer

More on Sign o' The Times

Is Prince’s Sign O’ The Times the greatest album of all time? (BBC)
The Story of Prince's Sign o' The Times (Classic Album Sundays)
Prince's 'Sign O' the Times' Turns 30: All the Songs Ranked (Billboard)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Sign o'The Times unless otherwise indicated):

Housequake
Starfish and Coffee
Vijay Iyer: Night and Day
Prince: Little Red Corvette
Slow Love
Sign O' The TImes
Starfish and Coffee
It
Housequake
If I Was Your Girlfriend
The Ballad of Dorothy Parker
If I Was Your Girlfriend
It
Hot Thing
The Cross
Adore
U Got The Look
It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
Hot Thing
The Ballad of Dorothy Parker
Lords of the Underground: Flow On (New Symphony)
The Ballad of Dorothy Parker
Forever In My Life
The Cross
Slow Love
Vijay Iyer: Human Nature
Mystic Brew
If I Was Your Girlfriend
The Cure: Just Like Heaven
Madhouse: Three
Prince: Sometimes It Snows in April

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Patrick Paige II on The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ready to Die" (1994)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 3 Jun 2021 18:43:00 +0000

Bassist/producer/rapper Patrick Paige II joins Oliver and Morgan to discuss Biggie's debut studio album Ready To Die. We get into Big's knack for storytelling, Patrick's very cool math teacher, and what Biggie's career might've looked like if he were still with us today.

More on Patrick Paige II

Check out If I Fail Are We Still Cool?
Bass to Bass: In Conversation with Patrick Paige II and Thundercat (Complex)
Twitter | Instagram

More on Ready To Die

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Ready to Die unless otherwise indicated):

Respect
Mary J Blige: What's the 411 (Remix)
Friend of Mine
Patrick Paige II: Voodoo
Big Poppa
Suicidal Thoughts
Mary J Blige: What's the 411 (Remix)
Super Cat: Dolly My Baby (Remix)
Notorious B.I.G.: Party and Bullshit
Unbelievable
One More Chance
Gimme The Loot
Warning
Things Done Changed
Juicy
Gimme the Loot
Everyday Struggle
Machine Gun Funk
Me and My Bitch
Who Shot Ya
Things Done Changed
Machine Gun Funk
Unbelievable
Big Poppa
The What
Unbelievable
Respect
Me and My Bitch
Juicy
Machine Gun Funk
Wun Two: Juicy
Craig Mack: When God Comes
A Tribe Called Quest: Phony Rappers

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Steve Arrington on Heatwave's "Too Hot To Handle" (1976)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 27 May 2021 20:56:56 +0000

Musician/producer/minister Steve Arrington sits down with Morgan and guest co-host Jocelyn Brown to discuss Heatwave's debut scorcher, Too Hot To Handle. We talk about the music scene in Dayton, Rod Temperton's prolific career, and Heatwave's ability to meld various genres into one cohesive and funky record.

More on Steve Arrington

Steve's interview on NPR
Check out Down to the Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions
Twitter | Instagram

More on Heatwave

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Too Hot To Handle unless otherwise indicated):

Always and Forever
Ain't No Half Steppin'
Slave: Watching You
Steve Arrington: Nobody Can Be You
Boogie Nights
I'll Beat Your Booty
Too Hot To Handle
Super Soul Sister
Boogie Nights
Lay It On Me
All You Do Is Dial
Sho 'Nuff Must be Luv
Slip Your Disc To This
Rock With You (Rod Temperton Demo)
Slip Your Disc to This
Boogie Nights
Ain't No Half Steppin'
Michael Jackson: Off The Wall
Boogie Nights
All You Do Is Dial
Too Hot To Handle
Always and Forever
Super Soul Sister
Ain't No Half Steppin'
Ohio Players: (I Wanna Know) Do You Feel It?
The Brothers Johnson: Closer to the One That You Love
Prince: Condition of the Heart

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Pell on N.E.R.D's "In Search Of..." (2002)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 20 May 2021 18:30:02 +0000

Rapper/producer Pell sits down with us to talk about N.E.R.D's "In Search Of..." We get into the sex, drugs, rock & roll of it all, The Neptunes' prolific career, and N.E.R.D's influence on Pell's own work.

More on Pell

More on N.E.R.D.

Explaining the Cult Popularity of N.E.R.D. (Vulture)
Pharrell's Signature 4 Count (Genius)
‘In Search Of…’: N*E*R*D’s 21st-Century Hip-Hop Mission Statement (uDiscoverMusic)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from In Search Of... unless otherwise indicated):

Lapdance
Pell: Eleven:11
Mase: Lookin' At Me
Mystikal: Shake Ya Ass
Kelis: Caught Out There
Britney Spears: I'm A Slave 4 U
702: I Still Love You
Jadakiss: Knock Yourself Out
Old Dirty Bastard: Got Your Money
Jay-Z: I Just Wanna Love You (Give It To Me)
Nelly: Hot In Herre
Tape You
Brain
Brain (2001 Electronic Version)
Brain
Run To The Sun
Young Franco: Juice
N.O.R.E.: Superthug
Am I High
Provider
Stay Together
Run To The Sun
Am I High
Bobby James
Things Are Getting Better
Baby Doll
Tape You
Provider
Lapdance
The Neptunes: Light Your Ass On Fire
N.E.R.D.: Perfect Defect
N.E.R.D.: You Know What

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Kemp Powers on De La Soul's "De La Soul Is Dead" (1991)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 13 May 2021 20:56:19 +0000

It’s #MaxFunDrive and if you like what we’re doing here on Heat Rocks, please consider supporting us and our network and help keep the show going!

https://maximumfun.org/join

Director and screenwriter Kemp Powers sits down with us to discuss De La Soul's sophomore effort, De La Soul Is Dead. We get into DLS's shift in image and tone, the growth of Prince Paul as a producer, and Kemp's very , ahem, special connection to the song "Let, Let Me In"

And stay tuned to the very end for a short bonus beats on Kemp's love of dancehall music!

More on Kemp

More on De La Soul Is Dead

De La Soul Is Dead Turns 30 (The Source)
De La Soul's Classic Album De La Soul Is Dead Is Turning 30. It Was The First Album I Fell In Love With (Very Smart Brothas)
An Album Found in a Trashcan: De La Soul Is Dead (PopMatters)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from De La Soul Is Dead unless otherwise indicated):

Intro
Shwingalokate
Jungle Brothers: I'll House You
My Brother's A Basehead
De La Soul: Brain Washed Followers
Pease Porridge
Bitties in the BK Lounge
Oodles of O's
Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)
Kicked Out the House
Skit 1
A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"
Millie Pulled A Pistol on Santa
Let, Let Me In.
Bitties in the BK Lounge
Pease Porridge
Rap De Rap Show
Keepin' The Faith
A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"
Oodles of O's
A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"
Bitties in the BK Lounge
Lou Donaldson: It's Your Thing
Bittis in the BK Lounge
Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)
Skit 5
Black Sheep: Flavor of the Month
The Pharcyde: Otha Fish
A Tribe Called Quest: Buggin Out
Eek-A-Mouse: Border Patrol
Shinehead: Chain Gang Rap
Super Cat: Ghetto Red Hot (Remix)
Sean Paul: Punkie
Super Cat: Dolly My Baby (Remix)
Shabba Ranks: Mr. Loverman

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Karriem Riggins on A Tribe Called Quest's "Midnight Marauders" (1993)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 6 May 2021 20:39:14 +0000

It's #MaxFunDrive and if you like what we're doing here on Heat Rocks, please consider supporting us and our network and help keep the show going!

https://maximumfun.org/join

Drummer and producer Karriem Riggins sits down with us to discuss a bonafide classic, A Tribe Called Quest's third studio album Midnight Marauders. We get deep into the samples used on this record, Q-Tip's growth as a producer, and how Bob Power helped shaped the sound of the LP.

More on Karriem Riggins

More on Midnight Marauders

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Midnight Marauders unless otherwise indicated):

Midnight Marauders Tour Guide
Electric Relaxation
Jahari Massamba Unit: Etude Montrachet
A Tribe Called Quest: I Left My Wallet In El Segundo
Award Tour
Steve Biko (Stir It Up)
The Chase, Part II
Common: The Hustle
Clap Your Hands
The Roots: Push Up Ya Ligher
Sucka N****
Award Tour
J Dilla: Beej-n-Dem Part 2
Midnight
Q-Tip: Let's Ride
8 Million Stories
Electric Relaxation
Oh My God
God Lives Through
Kool & The Gang: Who's Gonna Take The Weight
Oh My God
A Tribe Called Quest: Oh My God (Remix)
A Tribe Called Quest: Oh My God (Know Naim Remix)
Cal Tjader: Aquarius
Midnight Marauders Tour Guide
Lyrics to Go
Minnie Riperton: Inside My Love
James Brown: Just Enough Room For Storage
Lyrics to Go
Ronnie Foster: Mystic Brew
Electric Relaxation
Brethren: Outside Love
Electric Relaxation
Jack Wilkins: Red Clay
Sucka N****
The Meters: Handclapping Song
Clap Your Hands
Bob James: Nautilus
Clap Your Hands
Lou Donaldson: Ode to Billie Joe
Clap Your Hands
Weldon Irvine: We Gettin' Down
Jade: Don't Walk Away
Award Tour
Lyrics to Go
God Lives Through
Digable Planets: Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
The Roots: Good Music
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth: They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)
Slum Village: Keep It On
De La Soul: Breakadawn

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Nite Jewel on Kraftwerk's "Computer World" (1981) [redux]

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 17:49:17 +0000

In honor of Computer World's 40th anniversary (!!!) we decided to rerun our episode with Nite Jewel discussing this classic album.

[show notes from the original post]

When we invited L.A.’s own Nite Jewel to join us, it probably shouldn’t have been a surprise that she picked Kraftwerk’s Computer World; after all, she’s toured the world performing the album. In sitting down with us, NJ (aka Ramona Gonzalez) broke down how she first became obsessed with the album, walking the streets of Berkeley, thinking about German philosophy (no, really!) and why the LP is such a masterpiece of fusing a variety of musical elements all colliding in the early 1980s.

More on Computer World

How the album invented “computer funk” (Rolling Stone)
The “sampling legacy” of the album (The Vinyl Factory)
DJ Food’s appreciation (Clash Music)

More on Nite Jewel

Nite Jewel on performing Computer World (Pitchfork)
2017 interview (Bandcamp)
Interview with KALX (aka the best college radio station out there, according to O.W.)
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Computer World unless indicated otherwise):

Computer World
Nite Jewel: 2 Good 2 Be True
Nite-Funk: Let Me Be Me
Pocket Calculator
Computer Love
Zapp: Computer Love
Home Computer
Model 500: Future
Cluster: Prothese
It's More Fun To Compute
Gillette: Short Dick Man (Bass Mix)
Afro-Rican: Give It All You Got
Numbers
Nite Jewel: Artificial Intelligence
Home Computer
Night Jewel: Numbers
Numbers
Home Computer
Computer World 2

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Joshua Abrams on Arthur Verocai's "Arthur Verocai" (1972)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 18:05:07 +0000

Bassist/composer Joshua Abrams sits down with Oliver and guest co-host Jocelyn Brown to discuss Arthur Verocai's underrated self-titled debut record. We discuss the rediscovery of this album via sampling, the texture of Arthur's synth work, and why we connect with the album even though our Portuguese is, uhh, a bit rusty.

More on Joshua Abrams

More on Arthur Verocai

Arthur Verocai: Return Of A Brazilian Secret (NPR)
The Legend of Arthur Verocai (The Vinyl Factory)
I Threw Everything Away: An Interview with Arthur Verocai (Sounds and Colours)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Arthur Verocai unless otherwise indicated):

Pelas sombras
Seriado
Velho parente
Caboclo
Little Brother: We Got Now
Dedicada a ela
Seriado
Velho parente
Presente grego
Sylvia
Caboclo
Aaliyah: Are You That Somebody?
Caboclo
Que mapa?
Caboclo
Na boca do sol
Sylvia
Na boca do sol
Que mapa?
Karina (Domingo no Grajaú)
Dedicada a ela
Ivan Lins: Hei Você
Celia: Na Boca Do Sol
Gal Costa: Relance

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Jason King on Sylvester's "Living Proof" (1979)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 18:47:57 +0000

Writer and musician Jason King sits down with Oliver and guest co-host Jocelyn Brown to discuss the Sylvester live album Living Proof. We talk about Sylvester's vision of wholeness and sharing good vibes, the countless gorgeous moments captured in the live setting, and the medley of genres he blended together.

Please stick around to the end of the episode to hear a snippet of our past conversation with Shea Serrano about DMX. Rest in Power.

More on Jason King

Jason in conversation with Dua Lipa (NPR Music)
Check out Jason's work with Pitchfork
Twitter | Instagram

More on Sylvester

Love Me Like You Should: The Brave and Bold Sylvester (Amazon Music)
The Extraordinary Musical Legacy of Sylvester (The Guardian)
Bigger Than Disco, 'You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)' Is A Celebration Of Self (NPR)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Living Proof unless otherwise indicated):

Overture - Live
Happiness - Live
Sylvester: You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
Sylvester: Over and Over
Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?) - Live
Herbie Hancock: Magic Number
Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?) - Live
Sharing Something Perfect Between Ourselves - Live
Body Strong - Live
Sylvester: Fever
Medley: Live
Blackbird: Live
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) - Live
Blackbird - Live
Sharing Something Perfect Between Ourselves - Live
You Are My Friend - Live
Medley - Live
Dance (Disco Heat) - Live
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
Sylvester: I Need Somebody to Love Tonight
Patrick Cowley & Sylvester: Do You Wanna Funk?
Sylvester & The Hot Band: A Whiter Shade of Pale
Sylvester: Be With You

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

The Twilite Tone on Stevie Wonder's "Hotter Than July" (1980)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 8 Apr 2021 19:28:39 +0000

Producer and DJ The Twilite Tone sits down with Oliver and guest co-host Jocelyn Brown to discuss Stevie Wonder's 1980 comeback album, Hotter Than July. We get into Stevie's foray into country western and reggae, his return to All I Do, a song he cowrote over a decade prior as a teenager, and the impact Disco Demolition Night had on black music.

More on The Twilite Tone

More on Hotter Than July

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Hotter Than July unless otherwise indicated):

Cash In Your Face
Rocket Love
The Twilite Tone: Do It Properly
Stevie Wonder: Fingertips
All I Do
Do Like You
As If You Read My Mind
I Ain't Gonna Stand For It
Master Blaster (Jammin')
I Ain't Gonna Stand For It
Happy Birthday
As If You Read My Mind
Master Blaster (Jammin')
Tammi Terrell: All I Do Is Think About You
All I Do
Lately
Rocket Love
Do Like You
Cash In Your Face
Happy Birthday
As If You Read My Mind
Lately
Syreeta: Cause We've Ended As Lovers
Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack: You Are My Heaven
Gary Byrd & The GB Experience: The Crown
Logg: Lay It On The Line

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Xenia Rubinos on Abbey Lincoln's "Abbey is Blue" (1959)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 1 Apr 2021 18:31:31 +0000

Multi-instrumentalist & songwriter Xenia Rubinos joins Oliver and guest co-host Jocelyn Brown to discuss Abbey Lincoln's underrated jazz LP, Abbey is Blue. We discuss Abbey's melancholy voice, her work in the civil rights movement, and how her work has influenced Xenia's own music.

More on Xenia Rubinos

More on Abbey Lincoln

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Abbey is Blue unless otherwise indicated):

Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
Come Sunday
Xenia Rubinos: Lonely Lover
Lost In The Stars
Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln: Triptych: Prayer/Protest/Peace
Brother Where are You?
Afro Blue
Thursday's Child
Laugh, Clown, Laugh
Lost In The Stars
Xenia Rubinos: Laugh Clown
Let Up
Long As You're Living
Mongo Santamaria: Afro Blue
Afro Blue
Lonely House
Let Up
Lonely House
Laugh, Clown, Laugh
Come Sunday
Long As You're Living
Laugh, Clown, Laugh
Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln: Driva' Man
Nina Simone: I Loves Your Porgy
Charles Mingus: Fables of Faubus
Duke Ellington: Warm Valley

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

MF DOOM Special with Dante Ross

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 17:51:58 +0000

This week marks the 17th anniversary of Madvillainy and we invited A&R man and producer Dante Ross to discuss working with KMD, Dumile's move from Zev Love X to MF DOOM, and the stories behind the production of Mr. Hood and Black Bastards. Buckle up, we go deep on this one.

Rest in power, Villain

More on Dante Ross

More on DOOM

ALL CAPS: The Legacy of MF DOOM, Rap’s Greatest Supervillain (Mancunion)
The Wondrous Rhymes of MF DOOM (The New Yorker)
For DOOM by Open Mike Eagle

Show Tracklisting:

MF DOOM: Figaro
Grand Puba: 360° (What Goes Around) - SD50 Remix
3rd Bass: The Gas Face
KMD: Peachfuzz
KMD: Boy Who Cried Wolf
KMD: Peachfuzz
KMD: Bananapeel Blues
KMD: Humrush
Little Wink & Eddie's 25th Century Band: Peacock
KMD: Soulflexin'
KMD: F*@# Wit' Ya Head!!
KMD: Get-U-Now
Kain: I Ain't Black
KMD: Black Bastards!
KMD: Constipated Monkey
Shazzy: Gigahoe
Brand Nubian: Wake Up - Stimulated Dummies Mix
Everlast: What It's Like
Grand Puba: Step to the Rear
KMD: Plummskinz (Loose Hoe, God and Cupid)
KMD: Black Bastards!
KMD: What A N**** Know - Q3 Version
KMD: What A N**** Know?
KMD: Sweet Premium Wine
The Five Stairsteps: New Dance Craze
KMD: Sweet Premium Wine
KMD: Suspended Animation
MF DOOM: Rhymes Like Dimes
Madvillain: Meat Grinder
Madvillain: All Caps
Madvillain: Accordion
Madvillain: Rhinestone Cowboy
Madvillain: All Caps
MF DOOM & Ghostface Killah: Lively Hood
Madvillain: Rainbows
MF DOOM: Rap Snitch Knishes
MF DOOM: Hoe Cakes
MF DOOM: Potholderz
MF DOOM: LIGHTWORKS

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Megan Pattison on Teena Marie's "It Must Be Magic" (1981)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 17:38:00 +0000

DJ and record collector Megan Pattison AKA DJ Mamabear sits down with Oliver and guest co-host Jocelyn Brown to discuss Teena Marie's It Must Be Magic. They get into Teena's growth as an artist and producer, the growing rift between her and Motown Records, and how roller skating was the best way to get into new music

More on Megan Pattison

More on Teena Marie

Show Tracklisting (all songs from It Must Be Magic unless otherwise indicated)

The Ballad of Cradle Rob and Me
Revolution
Vaughan Mason & Crew: Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll
It Must Be Magic
Teena Marie: Lovergirl
365
Opus III (Does Anybody Care)
Square Biz - Instrumental - 12" B Side
Revolution
Portuguese Love
Where's California
7 Days of Funk: Let It Go
It Must Be Magic
Square Biz
It Must Be Magic
365
Yes Indeed
Where's California
Square Biz
Change: Hold Tight
Annette Peacock: Pony
Ozone: (Our Hearts) Will Always Shine
Ozone: Strutt My Thang

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Sheila Burgel on The Ronettes' "Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica" (1964)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 19:26:52 +0000

Writer and DJ Sheila Burgel sits down with Oliver and guest co-host Jocelyn Brown to discuss The Ronettes' Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica. We talk about impact of girl groups through the decades, the "wall of sound" formula, and the influence of girl groups across the globe.

More on Sheila Burgel

Check out Sophisticated Boom Boom on WFMU
Sheila's astonishing record collection (Dust & Grooves)
Website

More on The Ronettes

It's Time To Recognize The Ronettes As Rock And Roll Pioneers (NPR)
Classic Tracks: The Ronettes 'Be My Baby' (Sound On Sound)
The Ronettes on American Bandstand

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica unless otherwise indicated):

Chapel of Love
Baby, I Love You
Amy Winehouse: Back to Black
BLACKPINK: Ice Cream
Be My Baby
What I'd Say
(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up
I Wonder
Do I Love You?
So Young
You Baby
C. Jérôme: Da Dou Ron Ron
Eiichi Ohtaki: Kimiwa Tennenshoku
Adrienne Posta: Shang A Doo Lang
The Pipettes: Because It's Not Love (But It's Still A Feeling)
Walking in the Rain
(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up
Baby, I Love You
Be My Baby
How Does It Feel
When I Saw You
Be My Baby
The Shangri-Las: Give Him A Great Big Kiss
Laura Nyro & Labelle: The Bells
The Dixie Cups: I'm Gonna Get You Yet
Reparata and the Delrons: I Can Hear The Rain
Lesley Gore: You Don't Own Me

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Jeff Parker on John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" (1965)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 4 Mar 2021 19:12:41 +0000

It doesn't get much more classic than this, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme is a bonafide heat rock. Musician/DJ Jeff Parker sits down with Oliver and guest co-host Jocelyn Brown to discuss this truly iconic album, it's unexpected gospel leanings, and the intentionality behind every aspect of this album.

More on Jeff

More on A Love Supreme

The Story of A Love Supreme (NPR)
Seeing Through A Love Supreme to Find John Coltrane (The New Yorker)
A Love Supreme's entry in the Library of Congress

Show tracklisting (all songs from A Love Supreme unless otherwise indicated):

A Love Supreme Pt. I - Acknowledgment
A Love Supreme Pt. IV - Psalm
Tortoise: TNT
Jeff Parker: Fusion Swirl
A Love Supreme Pt. II Resolution
A Love Supreme Pt. IV - Psalm
John Coltrane: Alabama
A Love Supreme Pt. I - Acknowledgment
A Love Supreme Pt. III - Pursuance
A Love Supreme Pt. IV - Psalm
A Love Supreme Pt. III - Pursuance
A Love Supreme Pt. IV - Psalm
A Love Supreme Pt. I - Acknowledgment
A Love Supreme Pt. II - Resolution
A Love Supreme Pt. I - Acknowledgment
A Love Supreme Pt. II - Resolution
A Love Supreme Pt. IV - Psalm
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane: In A Sentimental Mood
Alice Coltrane: The Sun
John Coltrane: Spiral

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Samm Henshaw on Kirk Franklin's "The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin" (2002)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 23:48:54 +0000

Singer/songwriter Samm Henshaw sits down with us remotely to discuss Kirk Franklin's gospel masterpiece, The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin. The blending of secular music and gospel, Kirk Franklin's role in the gospel music scene, and how his own work has been influenced by Kirk's work.

More on Samm Henshaw

Check out Samm's new single All Good
Instagram | Website

More on Kirk Franklin

Show Tracklisting (all songs from The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin unless otherwise indicated):

When I Get There
Samm Henshaw: Church
Samm Henshaw: Broke
Kirk Franklin: Why We Sing
Lauryn Hill: Joyful Joyful
Kirk Franklin: Stomp (Remix)
Funkadelic: One Nation Under A Groove
He Reigns/Awesome God
Intro
Hosanna
Don't Cry
My Life, My Love, My All
When I Get There
The Blood Song
Samm Henshaw: All Good
Hosanna
Brighter Day
Don't Cry
Caught Up
Intro
911
Hosanna
My Life, My Love, My All
Don't Cry
Kirk Frankin: Declaration (This Is It!)
Charles May & Annette May Thomas: Keep My Baby Warm
Kirk Franklin: Silver and Gold
Altered Natives: Heavenly Melodies (Remix)

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Take Two #8: Mary J Blige's "What's the 411?" with Naima Cochrane

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:38:26 +0000

We wrap up another edition of Take Two and discuss Mary J Blige's debut album What's The 411? We get into Mary's role in hip-hop soul, the story of Uptown Records, and Mary's image at the time.

More on Naima

More on What's the 411?

Mary J. Blige, 'What's The 411?' at 20: Classic Track-By-Track Review (Billboard)
‘What’s The 411?’: When Hip-Hop And R&B Collided On Mary J. Blige’s Debut (uDiscoverMusic)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from What's the 411? unless otherwise indicated):

Slow Down
What's The 411?
Lil Louis: Club Lonely (I'm On The Guest List Mix)
My Love
Real Love
Leave A Message
Love No Limit
Mariah Carey: Emotions
Shanice: I Love Your Smile
Tracie Spencer: Tender Kisses
Lisa Fischer: How Can I Ease The Pain
Real Love
Reminisce
Love No Limit
Intro Talk
I Don't Want To Do Anything
Love No Limit
Changes I've Been Going Through
You Don't Have To Worry
What's the 411?
Leave A Message
Audio Two: Top Billin'
Real Love
Reminisce
Changes I've Been Going Through
Intro: Ribbon in the Sky
Guy: Do Me Right
SWV: Anything - Old Skool Radio Version

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Take Two #7: Mary J Blige's "Mary" with Naima Cochrane

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 00:01:36 +0000

Take Two is back again with another couple of iconic albums from an iconic artist. This time, Morgan is talking about Mary J Blige's album "Mary" with music industry vet Naima Cochrane. We get into Mary's shift in tone on this album, the production and talent behind the scenes, and what Mary means to New York.

More on Naima

More on Mary

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Mary unless otherwise indicated):

Give Me You
Time
Father MC: I'll Do 4 U
Destiny's Child: Jumpin' Jumpin'
Mariah Carey: Heartbreaker
Missy Elliott: She's A Bitch
Macy Gray: I Try
All That I Can Say
Sexy
Deep Inside
I'm In Love
The Love I Never Had
Your Child
All That I Can Say
The Love I Never Had
Beautiful One
The Love I Never Had
I'm In Love
Let No Man Put Asunder
Gretchen Parlato: All That I Can Say
Gretchen Parlato: Weak
Not Lookin
Beautiful Ones
Mary J Blige: My Life (Live)

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

J Dilla Special

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 4 Feb 2021 18:14:48 +0000

In honor of J Dilla's birthday, we've put together a medley episode featuring our conversations on Donuts and Fantastic, Vol. 2 with Nate Patrin and Dan Charnas, respectively. Happy Birthday Jay Dee, we miss you.

If you like these snippets, please check out our full episodes in the archives!

Show Tracklisting

J Dilla: Two Can Win
Pharcyde: Drop
Slum Village: Players
Erykah Badu: Kiss Me On My Neck
J Dilla: One For Ghost
Pharcyde: She Said (Remix)
Motherlode: When I Die
J Dilla: Donuts (Intro)
J Dilla: Waves
10cc: Johnny Don't Do It
The Isley Brothers: Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time For Love) Pts. 1 & 2
J Dilla: Bye
J Dilla: So Far To Go
Tarika Blue: Dreamflower
Erykah Badu: Didn't Cha Know
J Dilla: Workinonit
Galt MacDermot: Golden Apples Pt. II
J Dilla: Mash
J Dilla: Geek Down
The Jimi Entley Sound: Charlie's Theme
Jackson 5: All I Do Is Think Of You
J Dilla: Time: The Donut of the Heart
J Dilla: Don't Cry
J Dilla: U-Love
Slum Village: CB4
Prince: Lady Cab Driver
Little Beaver: A Tribute to Wes
Slum Village: Conant Gardens
The Singers Unlimited: Clair
Sugarhill Gang: Rapper's Delight
Slum Village: Players
Slum Village: Hold Tight
Slum Village: Forth and Back (original version)
Slum Village Get Dis Money
Herbie Hancock: Come Running to Me
Slum Village:: Jealousy
Slum Village: Untitled/Fantastic
Slum Village: I Don't Know
Baden Powell: É Isso Aí
Slum Village: Fall In Love
Gap Mangione: Diana In The Autumn Wind
Slum Village: Fall In Love

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Valerie June on Etta James' "At Last!" (1960)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 20:10:38 +0000

In January 1960, 22 year-old Etta James began recording her debut album, At Last! It would go on to be her best selling record and the title track is undoubtedly one of the greatest songs ever to be put on wax. Etta lived the blues and effortlessly moved through pop, R&B, and rock. She went on to release countless more records, but never reached the commercial success of At Last, partially due to the changing musical landscape and her struggles with addiction throughout her life.

Singer/songwriter Valerie June sits down with us to talk about the legacy of Etta James, what separated Etta's voice from her contemporaries, and how khakis introduced Oliver to an Etta classic.

More on Valerie June

Check out Valerie's new track "Call Me A Fool"
Valerie's Tiny Desk Concert
Twitter | Instagram

More on Etta James

Show Tracklisting (all songs from At Last! unless otherwise indicated):

At Last
My Heart Cries
Valerie June: You Can't Be Told
Girl of My Dreams
It's A Crying Shame
Trust In Me
Aretha Franklin & Lou Rawls: At Last
Aretha Franklin: Skylark (Alternate Version)
Valerie June: Workin' Woman Blues
Etta James: I'd Rather Go Blind (Live at Montreux)
Valerie June: Cosmic Dancer
All I Could Do Was Cry
A Sunday Kind of Love
At Last
A Sunday Kind of Love
Anything to Say You're Mine
If I Can't Have You
Tough Mary
At Last
Etta James: The Sound of Love
Etta James & Sugar Pie DeSanto: In The Basement
Etta James: Champagne & Wine

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Salaam Remi on Jungle Brothers' "Straight Out The Jungle" (1988)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 20:34:46 +0000

There's a certain lo-fi feel to Jungle Brothers' debut effort, Straight Out The Jungle. The group made the record at home using early sampling technology, but its influence is undeniable. It brought together house music, jazz, and hip-hop, and marked the beginning of the Native Tongues family. Groups like De La Soul and ATCQ would become the biggest members of the collective, but don't sleep on this heater.

Record producer Salaam Remi sits down with us to chat about the JB's place in the Native Tongues family, the countless flipped samples throughout the record, and his personal journey as a super producer.

More on Salaam

More on Jungle Brothers

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Straight Out The Jungle unless otherwise indicated):

Jimmy's Bonus Beat
Jimbrowski
On The Run
Behind the Bush
Slick RIck: Children's Story
MC Lyte: Paper Thin
EPMD: You Gots To Chill
Big Daddy Kane: Ain't No Half Steppin'
Braggin' and Boastin'
The Magictones: Good Old Music
Jimbrowski
Sly & The Family Stone: You Can Make It If You Try
Because I Got It Like That
Isaac Hayes: Joy
Behind the Bush
The Meters: Groovy Lady
I'm Gonna Do You
The Meters: Rigor Mortis
I'm Gonna Do You
Mandrill: Mango Meat
Straight Out The Jungle
Marshall Jackson: Move Your Body
I'll House You
Super Cat: Ghetto Red Hot (Remix)
Lou Donaldson: It's Your Thing
De La Soul: Bitties In The BK Lounge
Poor Righteous Teachers: Shakiyla
Super Cat: Ghetto Red Hot (Remix)
Because I Got It Like That
Behind The Bush
I'm Gonna Do You
Because I Got It Like That
On The Run
Straight Out The Jungle
Queen Latifah: Come Into My House
KMD: Peachfuzz
Chill Rob G: Court Is Now In Session

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

DJ Soul Sister on The Meters' "Rejuvenation" (1974)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 01:23:13 +0000

The Meters helped change the New Orleans sonic landscape with their funky records and signature "second line" rhythms and in 1974, they released the heater Rejuvenation. The biggest difference on this record: vocals. Most of the members got a chance to flex their vocal and instrumental talents. This change up proved to be successful, becoming one of the group's most influential records and was heavily sampled all throughout 80s and 90s hip-hop.

DJ Soul Sister AKA The Queen of Rare Groove, joins Oliver and Morgan to discuss the funkiness of The Meters, the New Orleans music scene, and what it's like to DJ at George Clinton's birthday.

More on DJ Soul Sister

More on The Meters

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Rejuvenation unless otherwise indicated):

Africa
Jungle Man
Lee Dorsey: Can You Hear Me
The Meters: Thinking
Heavy D & The Boyz: Gyrlz, They Love Me
Hey Pocky A-Way
It Ain't No Use
Love Is For Me
People Say
Aaron Neville: Hercules
Aaron Neville & Linda Ronstadt: Don't Know Much
Neville Brothers: Dance Your Blues Away
Just Kiss My Baby
Public Enemy: Timebomb
Just Kiss My Baby
Africa
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Hollywood
Hey Pocky A-Way
Africa
Just Kiss My Baby
People Say
Hey Pocky A-Way
It Ain't No Use
People Say
Lee Dorsey: Yes We Can Pt. 1
The Meters: A Message From The Meters
Dr. John: (Everybody Wanna Get Rich) Rite Away

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Brittany Spanos on Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" (2005)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 7 Jan 2021 23:38:19 +0000

By 2005, Mariah Carey had been through the wringer. Her debut film Glitter bombed at the box office and the accompanying soundtrack performed poorly, at least in comparison to Mariah's previous efforts. Her intended comeback album Charmbracelet received some praise but still failed to bring her back into the limelight. Mariah took a break from music for three years to focus on herself and came back with The Emancipation of Mimi. She worked with top producers in hip-hop like The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri, and Kanye West, but still featured her signature ballads with that unmistakable whistle register. It was a much more personal album, but with enough jams to succeed in the clubs.

Music writer Brittany Spanos sits down with us remotely to discuss the tough road that led to this album, the timelessness of some of the singles, and where Mariah belongs in the current music landscape.

We are selling custom 45 adapters with the proceeds going to the Downtown Women’s Center. You can find a link to preorder here

More on Brittany

Check out Brittany's work with Rolling Stone
500 Greatest Albums podcast
Twitter | Instagram

More on The Emancipation of Mimi

‘The Emancipation Of Mimi’: Mariah Carey’s Record-Shattering Comeback (uDiscover Music)
Mariah Carey on Why 2005's Iconic 'The Emancipation of Mimi' LP Was 'More Than a Comeback Album' (Billboard)
15 Times Mariah Carey’s Pen Game Shines on ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ (Rated R&B)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from The Emancipation of Mimi unless otherwise indicated):

I Wish You Knew
Mariah Carey: Vision of Love
Mariah Carey: Dreamlover
Mariah Carey: Fantasy (Remix)
Joy Ride
I Wish You Knew
Circles
Mine Again
To The Floor
Say Somethin'
Shake It Off
We Belong Together
It's Like That
Fly Like A Bird
Shake it Off
Get Your Number
Mine Again
Stay the Night
Mariah Carey: Fourth of July
Alicia Keys: Teenage Love Affair
Mariah Carey: A No No

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Our Heat Rocks of 2020

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 20:39:23 +0000

Oliver and Morgan discuss their personal favorite records of 2020 and talk about their hopes for the new year. Thanks for sticking with us through this year, Heat Rockers!

We are selling custom 45 adapters with the proceeds going to the Downtown Women’s Center. You can find a link to preorder here

Show Tracklisting

SAULT: This Generation
Jay Electronica: The Neverending Story
Thundercat: Fair Chance
Lianne La Havas: Out Of Your Mind - Interlude
SAULT: The Beginning & The End
SAULT: Scary Times
SAULT: Stop Dem
Jay Electronica: Ezekiel's Wheel
Jay Electronica: Exhibit C
Jay Electronica: A.P.I.D.T.A.
Jay Electronica: Flux Capacitor
Lianne La Havas: Seven Times
Lianne La Havas: Read My Mind
Donny Hathaway: Jealous Guy
Donny Hathaway: Misty
Donny Hathaway: Thank You Master (For My Soul)
Donny Hathaway: Voices Inside (Everything is Everything)
Thundercat: Dragonball Durag
Thundercat: Black Qualls
Thundercat: Existential Dread
Run The Jewels: yankee and the brave (ep. 4 )
Run The Jewels: out of sight
Run The Jewels: yankee and the brave (ep. 4)
Chet Baker: Embraceable You
Amy Winehouse: Love Is A Losing Game
Minnie Riperton: Les Fleurs

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Phonte on Intro's "Intro" (1993)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 19:29:46 +0000

We are re-airing one of our all-time favorite episodes. It's our discussion with Phonte about Intro's self-titled album from way back in 2017.

This week rapper, producer, and songwriter Phonte (Foreign Exchange, Little Brother) joins Oliver and Morgan to talk about R&B group Intro’s 1993 self-titled debut album. The release was part of the changing tide of R&B music, when slow jams were giving way to more uptempo hits and singers were exchanging suits for Timbs and jeans.

Phonte shares about what Intro’s brand of new jack swing meant to him as a teenager learning about life in Greensboro, North Carolina. Don’t get him wrong: he was a hardcore hip-hop head, but he grew up both in an R&B household and in the church where singing was a big part of his musical formation. Phonte breaks down the group’s influence on his understanding of songwriting, lyrics, and the balance between uptempo and down-tempo songs. He also discusses the album’s mature themes, crediting them for helping a young brother’s macking game.

More on Intro

More on Phonte:

Heat Rocks Holiday Music Special 2020

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 22:45:15 +0000

Oliver and Morgan sit down with music supervisor Jocelyn Brown to discuss their favorite holiday songs, Christmas trap music, and the tightrope novelty songs must walk to become a great holiday classic.

More on Jocelyn

We are selling custom 45 adapters with the proceeds going to the Downtown Women’s Center. You can find a link to preorder here

Show Tracklisting:

James Brown: The Christmas Song
Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra: Little Drummer Boy
Trap Music Now: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas Is You
Otis Redding: Merry Christmas Baby
Khruangbin: Christmas Time Is Here
James Brown: Go Power At Christmas Time
James Brown: Let's Unite The Whole World At Christmas
James Brown: Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud
Donny Hathaway: This Christmas
Musad & The Warm Expressions: Black Christmas
Yogi Yorgesson: I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas
Elmo and Patsy: Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)
Carpenters: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Robert Glasper: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
The Clark Sisters: Oh Come Emmanuel
The Clark Sisters: Silver Bells
The Clark Sisters: Chipmunk Song

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Take Two #6: Drake's "Scorpion" (2018)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 21:57:32 +0000

In this installment of Take Two, we’re looking at two albums from the one and only Drake. Last week, we talked about Nothing Was The Same and this time around, we're chatting about the 2018 double album Scorpion.

As mentioned in the show, we are selling custom 45 adapters with the proceeds going to the Downtown Women’s Center. You can find a link to preorder here

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Scorpion unless otherwise indicated):

Nonstop
In My Feelings
Survival
Sandra's Rose
March 14
I'm Upset
Pusha T: The Story of Adidon
I'm Upset
Is There More
Nice For What
God's Plan
Finesse
Nice For What
Nonstop
The Game: Good Girls Go Bad
Meek Mill: Amen

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Take Two #5: Drake's "Nothing Was The Same" (2013)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 3 Dec 2020 19:49:28 +0000

In this installment of Take Two, we're looking at two albums from one of the biggest and most prolific rappers of the 2010s, Toronto's very own Drake. Next week, we'll be diving into his 2018 double album Scorpion, but for now, we're talking about Nothing Was The Same from 2013.

As mentioned in the show, we are selling custom 45 adapters with the proceeds going to the Downtown Women's Center. You can find a link to preorder here

More on Nothing Was The Same

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Nothing Was The Same unless otherwise indicated):

Worst Behavior
Furthest Thing
Drake: Thank Me Now
Lenny Kravitz: Sunflower
Best I Ever Had
305 To My City
Tuscan Leather
Come Thru
Started From the Bottom
Pound Cake/ Paris Morton Music 2
Hold On, We're Going Home
Wu-Tang Forever
Too Much
Drake: The Ride
From Time
Furthest Thing
Worst Behavior
Drake: Too Good
Chance The Rapper: Favorite Song

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Formative Songs with G Yamazawa

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 1 Dec 2020 19:41:25 +0000

Oliver invites G Yamazawa back on the show to talk about three songs that shaped his life and rap style.

Check out our full discussion with G Yamazawa and listen to his new album!

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Soulquarian Medley

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 17:22:42 +0000

This week, we're giving thanks and replaying our three episodes on albums produced by the Soulquarians, all of which turned 20 this year: Ill Camille on Common's "Like Water for Chocolate," Bosco on Erykah Badu's "Mama's Gun," and Tall Black Guy on D'Angelo's "Voodoo"

If you like these snippets, check out the full episodes in our archives!

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Discovering Music Through Samples with Joseph Schloss

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 21:40:16 +0000

Oliver sits down with ethnomusicologist Dr. Joseph Schloss to discuss the origins of sampling in hip-hop and a few of their favorite music discoveries through samples.

Pick up Joseph's books!

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

VanJess on Amy Winehouse's "Back To Black" (2006)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 21:50:14 +0000

When Amy Winehouse released her debut studio album Frank back in 2003, it made waves in her native UK, but it didn't quite make it across the pond. Those who heard it, loved her contralto vocals, relatable lyrics, and blending of musical genres. A few years later, she would go on to release her second and final album, Back to Black, to both critical and commercial success, earning the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album and selling over 16 million copies worldwide. Unfortunately, the success was short-lived; Winehouse struggled with substance abuse and mental illness and died of alcohol poisoning in 2011, at just 27 years old.

R&B sister duo VanJess sits down with us to discuss Amy's influence on artists today, blue-eyed soul, and what direction her next album would have gone if she were still here with us.

More on VanJess

Check out VanJess' new single Slow Down
VanJess Are The Sister Two-Piece Cultivating Their Own Strand Of R&B (Vogue)
Twitter | Instagram

More on Back to Black

Salaam Remi on producing the album
‘Back To Black’: How Amy Winehouse Crossed The Atlantic (uDiscoverMusic)
‘Back to Black’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know (Rolling Stone)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Back to Black unless otherwise indicated):

Rehab
VanJess: Touch the Floor
Addicted
Jazmine Sullivan: Round Midnight
Amy Winehouse: In My Bed
Tears Dry on Their Own
Back to Black
Tears Dry on Their Own
Waking Up Alone
Love Is A Losing Game
Rehab
Amy Winehouse: Valerie
He Can Only Hold Her
The Icemen: (My Girl) She's A Fox
Love Is A Losing Game
Just Friends
Back To Black
Amy Winehouse: Mr. Magic (Through the Smoke)
Me and Mr. Jones
Back to Black
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: Let Them Knock
Amy Winehouse: Amy, Amy, Amy
Corinne Bailey Rae: Till It Happens to You
Sade: Tar Baby
Snoh Aalegra: Fool For You

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Favorite Breaks with Loren Kajikawa

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 18:50:28 +0000

Oliver sits down with musicologist Loren Kajikawa to discuss why instrumental breaks hit us in such a specific way, the different ways musicians have approached breaks, and their personal favorite moments in music.

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Anjimile on Oliver Mtukudzi's "Vhunze Moto" (2002)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 17:35:02 +0000

Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi is perhaps Zimbabwe's most renowned and iconic musician. His thoughtful songwriting and exceptional guitar playing spoke truth to power and gave him a loyal fanbase. He went on to become a star in his home country and pioneered a whole new genre of music, Tuku music. His wisdom and messages of affirmation resonated with millions and his music continues to inspire to this day.

Singer/songwriter Anjimile sits down with us (remotely) to discuss Tuku's 41st album (!!!) Vhunze Moto. We discuss the impact of Tuku's music in Zimbabwe, the characteristics of Tuku music, and the rules of playlists on long road trips.

More on Anjimile

Check out Anjimie's new LP Giver Taker
Anjimile Just Can't Wait To Be King (NPR)
Twitter | Instagram

More on Oliver Mtukudzi

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Vhunze Moto unless otherwise indicated):

Kusekana Kwanakamba
Anjimile: In Your Eyes
Yave Mbodza
Wongororo
Gondo
Ndakuvara
Kusekana Kwanakamba
Gondo
Lauryn Hill: To Zion
Wongororo
Ziva Nguva
Moto Moto
Tapera
Kucheneka
Ndakuvara
Moto Moto
Leonard Dembo: Chitekete
Thomas Mapfumo: Wauraiwa
Oliver Mtukudzi: Mai Varamba

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Nas & Unused Samples

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 17:21:29 +0000

On this week's edition of Bonus Beats, Oliver takes a couple of questions from the mailbag about overlooked samples and Nas' best LP (besides Illmatic)

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Kevin Smokler & Christopher Boone on B.T. Express' "Non-Stop" (1975)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 5 Nov 2020 20:39:38 +0000

The disco funk group B.T. Express hit the ground running with their debut studio album Do It ('Til You're Satisfied), which reached the top spot in the US R&B albums chart and went gold. The title track went on to become a staple in club playlists and the band started work on their next project. Just a year later, their sophomore album Non-Stop was released and it once again reached the top of the R&B chart, but did not enjoy the same amount of commercial success. Nonetheless, the album's funky vibes and distinct sound stood out, and it's kept us grooving ever since.

Oliver is flying solo with Kevin Smokler and Christopher Boone, the filmmakers behind the documentary, Vinyl Nation. They discuss what set B.T. Express apart from the disco acts of the day, the resurgence of vinyl records in 2020, and one of the weirdest Carpenters covers we've heard in a minute.

More on Kevin and Christopher

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Non-Stop unless otherwise indicated):

Discotizer
B.T. Express: If It Don't Turn You On (You Oughta Leave It Alone)
EPMD: So Wat Cha Sayin'
Happiness
Devil's Workshop
Kool & The Gang: Celebration
Peace Pipe
Give It What You Got
Close To You
Janet Jackson: I Want You
Close To You
You Got It — I Want It
Still Good, Still Like It
Devil's Workshop
Whatcha Think About That?
Discotizer
B.T. Express: Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)
The Freedom Affair: Rise Up
TV On The Radio: Happy Idiot

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Take Two #4: Jay-Z's "The Black Album" (2003)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 22:47:27 +0000

We finish our Jay-Z Take Two series with what was supposed to be Hova's swan song, The Black Album. We discuss the hype surrounding this album, the ridiculous amount of remixes we got out of this, and Just Blaze's extraordinary production.

More on The Black Album

Ranking the Beats: Jay-Z's The Black Album (Vibe)
Revisiting The Black Album (Albumism)
The Making of The Black Album

Show tracklisting (all songs from The Black Album unless otherwise indicated)

Dirt Off Your Shoulder
December 4
Moment of Clarity
Interlude
99 Problems
Encore
Public Service Announcement
December 4
Notorious B.I.G: Sky's The Limit
Lucifer
Jay-Z: Moment of Clarity (Remix)
J Treds: Praise Due
Faith Evans: Burnin' Up
Faith Evans: Burnin' Up (Remix)
Jay-Z: Public Service Announcement (Remix)
What More Can I Say
Jay-Z: Pump It Up Freestyle
Public Service Announcement A Capella

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Take Two #3: Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt" (1996)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 21:55:50 +0000

We continue our Take Two miniseries and looking at two albums from an iconic artist. This time, it's Jay-Z and his debut studio album Reasonable Doubt. This marks the first time we're talking about a Hova album in depth and we discuss why that may be, Jay's features before this album dropped, and what the future of New York rap and Jigga's career might have looked like if Biggie was still with us.

More on Reasonable Doubt

Show tracklisting (all songs from Reasonable Doubt unless otherwise indicated):

Bring It On
Ain't No N****
The Jaz: It's That Simple
Jay-Z: In My Lifetime (Remix)
Can I Live II
Feelin' It
Ain't No N****
The Whole Darn Family: Seven Minutes of Funk
Ain't No N****
The Ohio Platers: Ecstasy
Brooklyn's Finest
D'Evils
Allen Toussaint: Go Back Home
D'Evils
Junior M.A.F.I.A: Player's Anthem (Remix)
Can't Knock the Hustle
Brooklyn's Finest
Coming of Age
Dead Presidents II
Politics As Usual
Brooklyn's Finest
De La Soul: Dog Eat Dog
Foxy Brown: Ill Na Na

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Hanif Abdurraqib on The Beach Boys' "Surf's Up" (1971)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 22:54:04 +0000

The Beach Boys are often regarded as one of the most prolific and influential American bands of all time. However, the group has has its fair share of missteps and controversies over the years. They found early commercial success with songs like "Surfin' USA" and "I Get Around" and critical success with the album Pet Sounds. As time went on and the musical landscape changed, the band struggled to find their voice. Their follow up albums flopped commercially and critically, inner turmoil created division in the band, and rumor was that they were on the brink of breaking up.

In 1971, The Beach Boys released Surf's Up , their most socially-aware and emotional album up to that point. Gone were the band's matching outfits and singing about girls and surfing, and in it's place were more downtempo tracks about the environment, protests, and taking good care of your feet.

Writer and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib sits down (remotely) with us to discuss one of the weirder entries in the Beach Boys' discography. We talk about the sudden shift in image for the band, The Beach Boys' place in American pop music, and why they struggled to keep up with music trends.

More on Hanif Abdurraqib

Preorder Hanif's new book A Little Devil In America
Hanif's incredible music project SixtyEight2OhFive
Twitter | Instagram

More on Surf's Up

That Time The Beach Boys Tried to Pull It Together for Surf's Up (Ultimate Classic Rock)
Surf's Up: The Socially Aware Album That Made The Beach Boy Cool Again (uDiscoverMusic)
Rolling Stone's original review for Surf's Up

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Surf's Up unless otherwise indicated):

Feel Flows
Don't Go Near The Water
The Beach Boys: I'll Be Home For Christmas
Long Promised Road
The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations
Surf's Up
Don't Go Near The Water
The Coasters: Riot in Cell Block No. 9
Student Demonstration Time
A Day In The Life of A Tree
Don't Go Near The Water
Feel Flows
Lookin' At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)
Disney Girls (1957)
Take A Load Off Your Feet
Feel Flows
A Day In The Life Of A Tree
Bullion: God Only Knows
Sly & The Family Stone: Just Like A Baby
Bill Withers: Hope She'll Be Happier

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

The Art of Sampling #3B with Dan Charnas on Slum Village's "Fantastic, Vol. 2" (2000)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 8 Oct 2020 22:44:26 +0000

This week, we're wrapping up the third edition of The Art of Sampling and talking about Slum Village's album Fantastic, Vol. 2 with music exec and writer, Dan Charnas. We discuss J Dilla's sampling techniques, the great lengths the label went through to keep this project under wraps, and the influence of Dilla on future beatmaking.

More on Dan Charnas

More on Fantastic, Vol 2

Fantastic, Vol 2 Turns 20 (Albumism)
Discover Samples On Slum Village's Fantastic Vol. 2 (Power 106)
Once Upon A Time: Fantastic Vol. 2 at 20 (Rock and Roll Globe)

Song Tracklisting (all songs from Fantastic Vol. 2 unless otherwise indicated):

Intro
Hustle
Prince: Lady Cab Driver
Little Beaver: A Tribute to Wes
Conant Gardens
The Singers Unlimited: Clair
The Sugarhill Gang: Rapper's Delight
The Singers Unlimited: Clair
Players
Untitled/Fantastic
Hold Tight
Climax
Forth and Back (Demo Version)
Get Dis Money
Herbie Hancock: Come Running to Me
Jealousy
Brand New Heavies: Sometimes (Remix)
Once Upon A Time
I Don't Know
Untitled/Fantastic
I Don't Know
Baden Powell: E Isso Ai
Fall In Love
Gap Mangione: Diana In The Autumn Wind
Fall In Love
CB4
Fall in Love
Slum Village: Keep It On
Hiatus Kaiyote: Fingerprints

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Three Year Anniversary Special

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 1 Oct 2020 20:14:16 +0000

This week, we're celebrating our three year anniversary (!!!) and talking about our personal favorite moments of the show.

Thank you so much for listening and sending in your favorite moments! And here's to many more unforgettable episodes, scorching hot albums, and wonderful conversations.

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

The Art of Sampling #3A with Nate Patrin on J Dilla's "Donuts" (2006)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 20:09:57 +0000

The long awaited third installment of The Art of Sampling series is finally here and we're talking about one of the most influential beat tapes in the history of hip-hop and producer Christian's favorite album of all time, J Dilla's Donuts.

Music writer Nate Patrin sits down with us (remotely) to discuss the cult following of J Dilla after his passing, the emotionality of the sample flips, and his role in neo soul movement.

More on Nate Patrin

Pick up Nate's new book Bring That Beat Back: How Sampling Built Hip-Hop
Nate's writing on Stereogum
Twitter

More on Donuts

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Donuts unless otherwise indicated)

Two Can Win
Light My Fire
The Pharcyde: Drop
A Tribe Called Quest: 1nce Again
Slum Village: Fall In Love
Erykah Badu: Kiss Me On My Neck
Dilla Says Go
One Eleven
The Pharcyde: She Said (Remix)
Motherlode: When I Die
Donuts (Intro)
Waves
10cc: Johnny Don't Do It
The Isley Brothers: Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love), Pts 1 & 2
Bye
J Dilla: So Far To Go
The Twister (Huh, What)
Brand New Heavies: Sometimes
Brand New Heavies: Sometimes (Ummah Remix)
Louis Hayes: Dance with Me
Tarika Blue: Dreamflower
Erykah Badu: Didn't Cha Know
Workingonit
Galt MacDermot: Golden Apples Part II
Mash
Geek Down
The Jimi Entley Sound: Charlie's Theme
The Jackson 5: All I Think of is You
Time: The Donut of the Heart
Airworks
Don't Cry
Slum Village: Fan-tas-tic
Tonex: Jesus Saves
Miguel Atwood Ferguson and Carlos Niño: Fall in Love
Ghostface Killah: Murda Goons
Hi
The Pharcyde: Runnin'
Knxwledge: Komo_te.amo
J Dilla & Danny Brown: Dilla Bot VS The Hybrid

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Syreeta Gates on Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy" (2018)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 19:19:48 +0000

When Cardi B dropped her first single Bodak Yellow back in the summer of 2017, it was a bit of a slow burn. It spent a few months moving around in the charts, but eventually became a number one single and one of the biggest hits of her career. She quickly followed up with a few more singles "I Like It" and "Bartier Cardi" which showed her versatility as a rapper, incorporating wildly different genres of music like trap, Latin boogaloo, and R&B. Cardi was hungry and made it clear through her honest lyrics and fiery delivery.

Scholar and archivist Syreeta Gates sits down with us to discuss Cardi's move from Love & Hip-Hop: New York to one of the most powerful voices in rap music, the distinct New York vibe of the entire record, and what makes Cardi so charismatic

More on Syreeta Gates

More on Cardi B

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Invasion of Privacy unless otherwise indicated):

Thru Your Phone
Drip
Bodak Yellow
Get Up 10
Best Life
Drip
Lil' Kim: Ladies Night
Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion: WAP
Drip
Bickenhead
I Like It
Be Careful
Drake: Nice for What
She Bad
Bartier Cardi
Best Life
Queen Latifah: Wrath of My Madness
Lil' Kim: Queen Bitch
Megan Thee Stallion: Girls in the Hood

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Take Two #2: Janet Jackson's "The Velvet Rope" (1997)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 22:19:49 +0000

Our second episode of the Take Two miniseries focuses on Janet Jackson's risqué and introspective album, The Velvet Rope. We discuss Janet's move to a more neo soul sound, how she matured as an artist when creating this record, and how Janet's gone underappreciated in the last decade.

Take Two #1: Janet Jackson's "Control" (1986)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 3 Sep 2020 22:01:53 +0000

This week, we are kicking off Take Two, a new miniseries where we look at two seminal albums of one artist. First up, we're discussing Janet Jackson's third studio album "Control" We talk about Janet's changing image at the time, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' production techniques that helped usher in New Jack Swing, and this album's influence on artists like Beyoncé, Britney Spears, and Taylor Swift.

More on Janet Jackson and Control

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Control unless otherwise indicated):

He Doesn't Know I'm Alive
Control
Janet Jackson: If It Takes All Nighta
Control
You Can Be Mine
Control
Nasty
Paula Abdul: Opposites Attract
The Pleasure Principle
When I Think of You
Nasty
When I Think of You
Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)
Control
Let's Wait Awhile
Madonna: Like A Virgin
Cherrelle: Saturday Love

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Tiffany Johnson on Lupe Fiasco's "Food & Liquor" (2006)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 20:53:04 +0000

Chicago has given us plenty of great artists: Noname, Chance the Rapper, Common, and of course today's focus, Lupe Fiasco. Lupe might not have known it at the time, but his debut album helped usher in a new era of rap. This new class of freshmen were raised by videogames, skateboard culture, and anime, but also addressed issues that affected them like systemic racism and gun violence.

Filmmaker Tiffany Johnson sits down with Oliver and Morgan to discuss Food & Liquor, the interesting production choices made on the album, and how Lupe's style influenced the Odd Futures and Cool Kids of today.

More on Tiffany Johnson

More on Lupe Fiasco

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Food & Liquor unless otherwise indicated):

Sunshine
Intro
Kick, Push
Kanye West: Touch the Sky
I Gotcha
Just Might Be OK
Daydreamin'
American Terrorist
Wallace Collection: Daydream
Gunter Kallmann Chor: Daydream
I Monster: Daydream
Moody Blues: Dear Diary
Free the Robots: Diary
Pressure
The Instrumental
Pressure
The Emperor's Soundtrack
I Gotcha
Outro
Pressure
Outro
The Cool Kids: Black Mags
The Cool Kids: Mikey Rocks

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Wu-Tang Clan Special

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 18:33:21 +0000

In honor of GZA's birthday and the release of multiple members' solo debut albums, we're recutting and remastering our episodes on the Wu-Tang Clan. If you like what you hear, please listen to the full conversations in the archives!

Show Tracklisting:

Open Mike Eagle (ODB's Return to the 36 Chambers)

Damage
Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Intro
Baby C'mon
Brooklyn Zoo
Thelonius Monk: Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are
Cuttin' Headz
Brooklyn Zoo
Goin' Down
Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie)
Hippa To Da Hoppa

David Ma (GZA's Liquid Swords)

I Gotcha Back
Liquid Swords
GZA: Come Do Me
Swordsman
Shadowboxin'
Liquid Swords
Willie Mitchell: Groovin'
Liquid Swords
Cannonball Adderly: Aries
Gold
Ann Peebles: Trouble, Heartaches, & Sadness
Shadowboxin’
Gold
Labels
Swordsman

Havoc episode (Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx)

Can It All Be So Simple (Remix)
Spot Rusherz
Incarcerated Scarfaces
Criminology
Ice Cream
Earl Klugh: A Time For Love
Ice Cream
Incarcerated Scarfaces
Verbal Intercourse
Knuckleheadz
Rainy Dayz
Shark N***** (Biters)
Spot Rusherz
Ice Cream

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Braxton Cook on Emily King's "Seven" (2011)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 19:47:41 +0000

You'd think being dropped from a major label would hurt your career, but in Emily King's case, it helped fuel her success. In 2008, she left a major label, J Records, and began working on an independent record. With the help of producer/composer Jeremy Most, she created "Seven" a seven-track EP filled with soulful ballads and heartfelt lyricism.

Singer/saxophonist Braxton Cook joins Morgan to discuss this album, Emily King's powerful voice, watching her perform live (remember live shows?), and the subtle but important decisions she makes throughout the record.

More on Braxton Cook

More on Emily King

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Seven unless otherwise indicated):

Ever After
Braxton Cook: FJYD
No More Room
Emily King: Walk In My Shoes
Georgia
Christian Scott: Georgia (Live)
Emily King: Georgia (Live)
Every Part
Down
Emily King & Nick Hakim: Down (Live)
Down
Radio
Braxton Cook: Never Thought
Sides
Georgia
Every Part
No More Room
Down
Emily King: Look At Me Now
Nick Hakim: Cuffed
Brittany Howard: Georgia

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Duckwrth on Blue Magic's "Thirteen Blue Magic Lane" (1975)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 6 Aug 2020 19:58:44 +0000

We are in the final stretch of the #MaxFunDrive! If you like what we do, please consider becoming a member and supporting our show.

maximumfun.org/join

Rapper/songwriter Duckwrth joins us to talk about Philly soul group Blue Magic and their spooky soul LP Thirteen Blue Magic Lane. We discuss the band's place in the Philly soul scene, pillow talk in music, and we invent a new subgenre of music #pinkysoul

More on Duckwrth

More on Blue Magic

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Thirteen Blue Magic Lane unless otherwise indicated):

Chasing Rainbows
The Loneliest House on the Block
Duckwrth: Psycho
Blue Magic: Sideshow
Haunted (By Your Love)
Chasing Rainbows
Duckwrth: Nobody Falls
The Loneliest House on the Block
The Gospel Music Worship Mass Choir: Chariot is a Comin'
Karen Clark Sheard: Jesus is a Love Song
Born on Halloween
D'Angelo: Untitled (How Does It Feel)
Stop and Get a Hold of Yourself
I Like You
Chasing Rainbows
Classics IV: Stormy
The Intruders: I'll Always Love My Mama
Born on Halloween
Dilated Peoples: Right and Exact
We're on the Right Track
Blue Magic and Margie Johnson What's Come Over Me
Rick James: Fire and Desire
Loneliest House on the Block
I Like You
The Dramatics: I Made Myself Lonely
The Intruders: Together
Stevie Wonder: You've Got it Bad Girl

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Camille Yarbrough on India.Arie's "Worthy" (2019)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 21:09:56 +0000

We are in the middle of our annual #MaxFunDrive! If you like what we do, and are in a good financial spot, please consider becoming a member of the network and supporting our show.

maximumfun.org/join

"Every one of us is worthy"

This is the mantra that permeates throughout all of India.Arie's 2019 album, Worthy. It had been six years since she last released a proper LP, and India didn't miss a beat. She discusses injustice in Black America, finding love, and gives us some uplifting words that we can all use, especially in these times.

Singer/poet/educator Camille Yarbrough sits down with us to discuss the timeliness of the album, the parallels between Camille's and India's work, and India's growth as an artist in her nearly 20 year career.

Bonus Beats: Alphabet Soup - D

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 18:15:31 +0000

We are in the middle of our annual #MaxFunDrive! If you like what we do, and are in a good financial spot, please consider becoming a member of the network and supporting our show.

maximumfun.org/join

Morgan continues the Alphabet Soup series and discusses some of her favorite albums that start with the letter D

The Albums

J Dilla: Donuts

Quincy Jones: The Dude

Pastor T.L Barrett: Do Not Pass Me By

The Roots: Do You Want More?!!!??!

Sade: Diamond Life

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Regina Bradley on OutKast's "Aquemini" (1998)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 21:22:18 +0000

In 1995, OutKast was booed by an angry crowd at the Source Awards after they won Best New Artist. During his speech, Andre 3000 famously declared "The South got something to say." Nowadays, ATL has a solid place in the history of rap, but OutKast had to fight for a seat at the table.

OutKast becomes the newest member of the Triple Crown club here on Heat Rocks and we're talking to professor/scholar Regina Bradley about the duo's smothered, covered, diced, and topped LP, Aquemini. We discuss Andre's evolution as a rapper, the deep Atlanta love throughout the record, and where this album ranks in OutKast's discography.

More on Regina Bradley

More on Aquemini

Outkast’s ‘Aquemini,’ the blueprint of the Southern black renaissance, turns 20 (The Undefeated)
Aquemini Turns 20 (Stereogum)
The Making of Aquemini (Creative Loafing)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Aquemini unless otherwise indicated):

Rosa Parks
SpottieOttieDopaliscious
Hold On, Be Strong
Slump
West Savannah
Return of the "G"
Nathaniel
Rosa Parks
SpottieOttieDopaliscious
Mamacita
Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
Liberation
SpottieOttieDopaliscious
Chonkyfire
Aquemini
Rosa Parks
De La Soul: Patti Dooke
Goodie Mob: Cell Therapy
Dungeon Family: Trans D F Express
EARTHGANG: Blue Moon

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Ali Shaheed and Morgan chat EWF's "All 'n All"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 21:30:23 +0000

We are in the middle of our annual #MaxFunDrive! If you like what we do, and are in a good financial spot, please consider becoming a member of the network and supporting our show.

maximumfun.org/join

Morgan and Ali Shaheed Muhammad quickly geek out over Earth Wind and Fire's "All 'n All"

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Ali Shaheed Muhammad on Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back" (1988)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 23:13:39 +0000

We are in the middle of our annual #MaxFunDrive! If you like what we do, and are in a good financial spot, please consider becoming a member of the network and supporting our show.

maximumfun.org/join

Public Enemy's debut album Yo! Bum Rush the Show enjoyed critical and commercial success back when it first landed in 1987, especially considering how controversial the album was. In fact, DJ's refused to play PE on the radio because of Chuck D's politics.

Chuck and the group started working on the next album right away. It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back was released in 1988 and is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time. No one was doing what PE was doing. Together with Hank Shocklee and the Bomb Squad's chaotic, sample heavy production, Public Enemy started a movement.

The one and only Ali Shaheed Muhammad of Tribe, Lucy Pearl, and countless other projects sits down with us to discuss Public Enemy's sophomore album, the use of samples all over the place, and Flava Flav's mastery of the art of the hypeman.

More on Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Hear Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Adrian Younge Team With Jazz Royalty on New Comp (Rolling Stone)
Ali's bio on Linear Labs
Twitter | Instagram

More on Public Enemy

Show Tracklisting (all songs from It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back unless otherwise indicated):

Cold Lampin' With Flavor
Bring the Noise
Caught, Can We Get A Witness
Black Steel In The Hour of Chaos
Don't Believe the Hype
Terminator X to the Edge of Panic
Louder Than a Bomb
Rebel Without a Pause
Spoony Gee & The Treacherous Three: Love Rap
Terminator X to the Edge of Panic
Isaac Hayes: Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic
Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
Lafayette Afro Rock Band: Darkest Light
Show 'Em Whatcha Got
Terminator X to the Edge of Panic
Bring the Noise
Louder Than A Bomb
She Watch Channel Zero?!
Countdown to Armageddon
Don't Believe the Hype
James Brown: Funky Drummer
X-Clan: Grand Verbalizer, What Time is It?
Ice Cube: Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside)
Louder than A Bomb

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Adeline on Chaka Khan's "Naughty" (1980)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 9 Jul 2020 20:40:44 +0000

Chaka Khan proved she was more than capable of holding her own when she released her debut solo album, Chaka back in 1978. Before that, she was in the band Rufus and stood out from her contemporaries with her powerful voice and ability to swing from one genre to the other while still being unmistakably Chaka. She continued working with Rufus, but started venturing out and doing more solo work, and eventually released her follow up Naughty in 1980.

Singer/bassist Adeline sits down with us to talk about Naughty, Chaka's voice, the funky bass lines throughout the record, and the stellar lineup Chaka was able to wrangle.

More on Adeline

More on Chaka

Trailer for The Greatest Ears in Town
Chaka Khan’s Naughty Turns 40 (Albumism)
Why Chaka Khan's Naughty Still Matters 40 Years Later (Soul Tracks)

Song Tracklisting (all songs from Naughty unless otherwise indicated):

Get Ready, Get Set
Adeline: After Midnight
What You Did
Clouds
So Naughty
Chaka Khan: Stronger Than Before
Chaka Khan: Caught in the Act
Our Love's in Danger
Too Much Love
Prince: I Feel For You
Chaka Khan: So Not To Worry
Chaka Khan: And The Melody Still Lingers On (Night In Tunisia)
Chaka Khan: Roll Me Through the Rushes
Chaka Khan: Better Days
Get Ready, Get Set
Nothing's Gonna Take You Away
Move Me No Mountain
Nothing's Gonna Take You Away
So Naughty
Bionic Boogie: Hot Butterfly
Papillon
David Bowie: Underground
Get Ready, Get Set
So Naughty
Natalie Cole: I've Got Love On My Mind
Natalie Cole: I Can't Breakaway (From You)
Minnie Riperton: Inside My Love

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

BONUS BEATS: Alphabet Soup - C

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 7 Jul 2020 21:55:58 +0000

Oliver continues the Alphabet Soup series and talks about his favorite albums that begin with the letter C

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Phillip Merritt on Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" (1979)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 2 Jul 2020 19:00:57 +0000

It's part 2 of our listener specials where we invited fans of the show to talk about their personal Heat Rocks. This time, Phillip Merritt AKA Lost In Williamsburg, comes down with our first official disco album, Bad Girls by Donna Summer.

More on Phillip Merritt

More on Bad Girls

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Bad Girls unless otherwise indicated):

Hot Stuff
Dim All The Lights
My Baby Understands
Donna Summer: The Hostage
Donna Summer: Love to Love You Baby
On My Honor
Lucky
Harold Faltermeyer: Axel F
Hot Stuff
Our Love
New Order: Blue Monday
Hot Stuff
Bad Girls
CHIC: Le Freak
The Michael Zager Band: Let's All Chant
One Night In A Lifetime
Can't Get To Sleep At Night
Bad Girls
Dim All The Lights
Sunset People
Bad Girls
Eddie Kendricks: Girl You Need A Change of Mind
Kelis: Jerk Ribs

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bruno Major on Chet Baker's "Embraceable You" (1995)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 19:41:33 +0000

When jazz trumpeter Chet Baker began to sing on his records, his voice received a polarizing response, to put it lightly. At first, critics despised his light and dreamy voice paired with minimal accompaniment. However, audiences loved it, and Chet became a household name.

This album, Embraceable You, was recorded in the middle of his success, but wasn't released until 1995, about 40 years after the recording. The label thought it was "too depressing" to put out and is often forgotten about in Chet's enormous discography.

Singer/songwriter Bruno Major joins us from London to talk about this long lost album, Chet's signature voice and delivery, and bringing Baker's tunes to a new audience.

Father's Day Special

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 18:56:16 +0000

Oliver and Morgan discuss their favorite father/child songs, whether it be duets, a father's song about a child, or a child covering their father's music. Happy Father's Day! Stay safe and tell us about your dad's favorite records.

Show Tracklisting

Michael Kiwanuka: Love & Hate
Michael Kiwanuka: Rest
Michael Kiwanuka: Cold Little Heart
Michael Kiwanuka: Father's Child
Donny Hathaway: The Ghetto
Take 6: Some Day We'll All Be Free
Lalah Hathaway: A Song For You (Live @ Singapore Jazz Festival)
Loudon Wainwright III: Rufus Is A Tit Man
Loudon Wainwright III: The Days That We Die
Babyface: The Day (That You Gave Me A Son)
Earth. Wind & Fire: You & I
Earth, Wind & Fire: That's the Way of the World
The New Holiday's: Maybe So, Maybe No
Doja Cat: Say So
Cate le Bon: Are You With Me Now?
Gil Scott Heron: Rivers of My Fathers
Ed OG & Da Bulldogs: Be a Father to Your Child
Ed OG & Da Bulldogs: Be a Father to Your Child (Remix)

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Jason Randall Smith on The Art of Noise's "In Visible Silence" (1986)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 18:54:10 +0000

Today's episode is the first of two where we invited listeners of the show to talk about their personal Heat Rocks. This week, listener Jason Randall Smith sits down with us to talk about "In Visible Silence" by The Art of Noise. We discuss the prolific use of the Fairlight Sample in this album, the extremely 80s feel of it all, and its questionable placement in a certain ABC made-for-TV movie.

More on Jason

More on Art of Noise

Show Tracklisting (all songs from In Visible Silence unless otherwise indicated):

Legs
Peter Gunn
Legs
Malcolm McLaren: Buffalo Gal
Art of Noise: Beat Box
Opus 4
Legs
Afrika Bambaataa: Planet Rock
Backbeat
Paranoimia
Yello: Oh Yeah
Instruments of Darkness (Prodigy Remix)
Instruments of Darkness
Camilla
Eye Of A Needle
Peter Gunn
Legs
Slip Of The Tongue
Eye Of A Needle
Moments In Love
Beat Back
YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA: Stairs
Jean-Jacques Perrey: E.V.A.
YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA: Rap Phenomena
Art of Noise: Art of Love

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Alphabet Soup - B

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Sun, 7 Jun 2020 23:31:02 +0000

Morgan continues the alphabet soup series and talks about her favorite albums that begin with the letter B

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Adam Mansbach on Black Sheep's "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" (1991)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 4 Jun 2020 19:40:49 +0000

When Black Sheep joined the Native Tongues family in 1989, they brought an irreverent and humorous tone to the hip-hop collective. Native Tongues had lighthearted rappers in the group to begin with, but Black Sheep took it one step further. They were witty, they teased, and they flipped some iconic samples. And oh yea, and they released one of the biggest hits of the '90s, The Choice is Yours (Revisited).

Writer Adam Mansbach sits down with Oliver to discuss Black Sheep's debut record, the gangsta rap blacklash happening at the time, and the more problematic parts of the record.

Show Tracklisting (all songs from A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing unless otherwise indicated):

Try Counting Sheep
Flavor of the Month
To Whom It May Concern
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: In A Little Spanish Town
Flavor of the Month
U Mean I'm Not
Tim Dog: Fuck Compton
U Mean I'm Not
Butt in the Meantime
McCoy Tyner: Impressions
The Choice is Yours (Revisted)
Freddie Hubbard: Povo
Black with NV (No Vision)
Gary Bartz: Celestial Blues
To Whom It May Concern
Black Sheep: Without A Doubt
L A S M
Gimme the Finga
Have U.N.E. Pull
Shades of Brown: The Soil I Tilled For You
A Tribe Called Quest: Excursions
Have U.N.E. Pull
The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)
Strobelite Honey
Are You Mad?
The Choice Is Yours
KMD: Humrush
De La Soul: A Rollerskating Jam Named "Saturdays"
De La Soul: Skit 2

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Felicia Angeja Viator on Cypress Hill's "Cypress Hill" (1991)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 28 May 2020 21:56:58 +0000

In August of 1991, the LA rap scene was transformed by a trio of Latino rappers from South Gate. Cypress Hill was riding hot off the success of How I Can Just Kill A Man and found a huge audience in LA. DJ Muggs' production fit in perfect with B-Real and Sen-Dog's flow and together they helped create the blueprint for a more laid-back and smoked-out style of gangsta rap, a full year before Dre's The Chronic dropped

Professor and author Felicia Angeja Viator sits down with us to discuss the LA rap scene, B-Reals unique singsong delivery, and Muggs' talent for finding the perfect loops.

More on Felicia

Pick up her book "To Live and Defy in LA"
The Show Must Go On: Felicia Angeja Viator on “To Live and Defy in LA: How Gangsta Rap Changed America” and “The Batterram” (US History Scene)
Website |Twitter

More on Cypress Hill

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Cypress Hill unless otherwise indicated):

Break It Up
Latin Lingo
The Phuncky Feel One
Pigs
Hand On The Pump
Real Estate
The Phuncky Feel One
How I Can Just Kill A Man
The Funky Cypress Hill Shit
The Village Callers: Hector
The Funky Cypress Hill Shit
Hand on the Pump
Gene Chandler: Duke of Earl
Born to Get Busy
Hand on the Pump
Above the Law: Livin' Like Hustlers
The Psycho Realm: The Big Payback
Ice Cube: We Had To Tear This Mothafucka Up

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Alphabet Soup - A

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 26 May 2020 17:50:05 +0000

On this week's bonus beats, Morgan plays her favorite music geek game and talks about her favorite albums that start with the letter A

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Sly's "Small Talk" with Michael Barnes

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 22 May 2020 07:00:13 +0000

Professor and DJ Michael Barnes joins Oliver to talk about Sly & The Family Stone’s final album, “Small Talk” and in particular the Time for Livin’ drum break that can only be found on a specific Canadian pressing of the album. Michael also gets into the tiny but significant differences between this version and the mainstream LP. Be ready, crate diggers, this is a deep dive.

Havoc on Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" (1995)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 21 May 2020 21:37:08 +0000

When the Wu released their debut album back in 1993, fans were eagerly awaiting every member's solo record. Method's Man's Tical and ODB's Return to the 36 Chambers came out over the next two years and did not disappoint. Raekwon the Chef was up next , but no one was really prepared for what he was about to drop. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx stood out from from the crowd, not only because of the signature purple cassette tape, but because of its influence on mafioso rap, the introduction of Wu-Gambinos and the popularization of Cristal in rap.

The one and only Havoc of Mobb Deep sits down with us to talk about this groundbreaking album, RZA's masterful production and use of samples, and the New York rap scene at the time. Get ready, folks, this right here is a true heater of an episode.

More on Havoc

More on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

David Ma talking to Raekwon about Only Built (WaxPoetics)
The Making of Only Built (XXL)
Raekwon the Chef Has The Hip Hop Recipe (The LA Times)

Song Tracklisting (all songs from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx unless otherwise indicated):

Can It Be All So Simple (Remix)
Spot Rusherz
Mobb Deep: Eye For A Eye (Your Beef is Mines)
Incarcerated Scarfaces
Criminology
Striving For Perfection
Mobb Deep: (The Infamous Prelude)
Ice Cream
Earl Klugh: A Time For Love
Incarcerated Scarfaces
Verbal Intercourse
Criminology
Knuckleheadz
Rainy Dayz
Shark N***** (Biterz)
Wu-Tang Clan: Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber
Heaven & Hell
Wisdom Body
Spot Rusherz
Guillotine
Ice Cream
Ghostface Killah: Poisonous Darts
Mobb Deep: Shook Ones, Pt. II
Ghostface Killah: Buck 50

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Jarrett Hill on India.Arie's "Testimony Vol. 1, Life & Relationship" (2006)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 14 May 2020 19:41:31 +0000

When Testimony Vol. 1 dropped in 2006, India.Arie was still riding the success of her previous album, Voyage to India, which helped bring neo-soul and acoustic R&B to the forefront. She stood out from her contemporaries with deeply confessional and introspective songwriting. India's lyricism was somewhat polarizing when Testimony Vol. 1 was first released, but something about it hit different, especially for those of us in complicated relationships.

Journalist Jarrett Hill (who cohosts FANTI here on Maximum Fun) joins us to talk about India's place in the neo-soul movement, what India's work meant to a college-aged Jarrett Hill, and what critics failed to understand when this album was first released.

More on Jarrett

More on India.Arie

Song Tracklisting (all songs from Testimony Vol. 1, Life & Relationship unless otherwise indicated):

Private Party
Heart of the Matter
India.Arie: Video
Wings of Forgiveness
*NSYNC: Selfish
I Choose
Better People
India'Song
I Choose
I Am Not My Hair
CeCe Winans: Let Them Fall In Love
India'Song
Nas: Bye Baby
Tweet: Complain
India.Arie & Joe Sample: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Anita Baker: Been So Long

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Originals vs Covers and Crate Digging Stories

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 12 May 2020 23:40:06 +0000

On this week's Bonus Beats, Oliver talks about covers that are more famous than the original song and tells us his favorite crate digging story.

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Comfort Music #3: Audience Picks

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 7 May 2020 20:04:13 +0000

The Albums:

Erykah Badu: New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)

Peabo Bryson: Crosswinds

De La Soul: De La Soul is Dead

Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: Winter in America

Gino Vannelli: Brother to Brother

We wrap up our Comfort Music miniseries with picks from you, our audience. Thank you all so much for sending in your picks and testimonials. We couldn't possibly get through every submission, but know we read every recommendation and loved all of your albums. We hope you're staying safe and find some solace in the music we've discussed throughout this series.

Show Tracklisting:

Erykah Badu: Umm Hmm
Erykah Badu: Window Seat
Wings: Arrow Through Me
Erykah Badu: Gone Baby Don't Be Long
Fabulous Souls: Take Me
Erykah Badu: Love
Erykah Badu: Out My Mind Just In Time
Erykah Badu: I Want You
Erykah Badu: Green Eyes
Erykah Badu: Sometimes
Erykah Badu: Out My Mind Just In Time
Erykah Badu: 20 Feet Tall
Peabo Bryson: I'm So Into You
Peabo Bryson: Point of View
Peabo Bryson: Crosswinds
Peabo Bryson: Smile
Peabo Bryson: Love is Watching You
Minnie Riperton: Here We Go
Regina Belle & Peabo Bryson: A Whole New World
De La Soul: Ring Ring Ring
De La Soul: Bitties in the BK Lounge
De La Soul: Oodles of O's
De La Soul: Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa
De La Soul: Kicked Out The House
De La Soul: A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"
Jungle Brothers: Behind the Bush
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: Peace Go With Your Brother
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: Your Daddy Loves You
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: Rivers Of My Fathers
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: Your Daddy Loves You
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: H2OGate Blues
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: The Bottle
Gino Vannelli: Brother to Brother
Gino Vannelli: Appaloosa
Gino Vannelli: Brother to Brother
Gino Vannelli: Wheels of Life
Gino Vannelli: Living Inside Myself
Gino Vannelli: Love & Emotion

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Quincy Jones' "Summer in The City" with Thes One

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 5 May 2020 17:37:06 +0000

Producer Thes One of People Under The Stairs talks about one of the most iconic samples of all time, "Summer in the City" by Quincy Jones. We discuss why the record is so ripe for sampling, how different artists have flipped this sample to fit different moods, and if that fantastic intro is off limits after The Pharcyde used it.

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Nelson George on Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions" (1973)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 20:10:15 +0000

Innervisions marked a significant transition in Little Stevie Wonder's career. He began to move away from the Motown romantic ballads and towards a more conscious and experimental sound. He talked about poverty, racism, drugs, and Richard Nixon. It's an album filled with social justice anthems, made almost entirely by Stevie himself at 23 years old.

Culture critic and writer Nelson George sits down with us (remotely) to talk about Stevie embracing of new musical technology, the changing landscape of black radio at the time, and Stevie's own transformation as an artist during the early 70s

More on Nelson George

More on Innervisions

BBC's review of Innervisions
Stevie Wonder Emerges As A Visionary with Innervisions (Ultimate Classic Rock)
Malcolm Cecil on working with Stevie (Wax Poetics)

Show Tracklisting (All songs from Innervisions unless otherwise indicated):

Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing
Living For The City
Too High
Living For The City
Too High
New York Voices: Too High
Golden Lady
Jesus Children of America
Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing
Barbra Streisand: All In Love Is Fair
Higher Ground
Curtis Mayfield: Future Shock
Donnie: Heaven Sent
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: Hope That We Can Be Together Soon

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Old Music Reviews and James Gadson

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 21:48:48 +0000

On this minisode, Oliver goes back to a few of his old reviews and discusses the extremely underrated and overlooked session musician James Gadson.

Ask us a question on Facebook or Twitter @heatrockspod and we might answer it in a future Bonus Beats episode!

Oliver's archived review of Dilated Peoples The Platform (Wall of Sound)
Oliver's archived review of M.O.P's Warriorz (LA Weekly)
James Gadson with Bill Withers on Ain't No Sunshine

Comfort Music #2: Oliver's Picks

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 18:00:20 +0000

We continue our Comfort Music series with Oliver and discuss his five favorite comfort albums. We talk about the often overlooked genius of Labi Siffre, the intimacy of Duke Ellington's compositions, and how Tribe helped Oliver get through the tough times.

Show Tracklisting:

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: April in Paris
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: Isn't This A Lovely Day?
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: Under a Blanket of Blues
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: The Nearness of You
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: Moonlight in Vermont
Duke Ellington: Solitude
Duke Ellington: Where or When
Duke Ellington: Willow Weep For Me
Labi Siffre: Gimme Some More
Labi Siffre: I Got The...
Labi Siffre: Cannock Chase
A Tribe Called Quest: Electric Relaxation
A Tribe Called Quest: God Lives Through
A Tribe Called Quest: Award Tour
Frank Ocean: Pink + White
Frank Ocean: Nikes
Frank Ocean: Seigfried
Frank Ocean: White Ferrari

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Reggae Covers with Adam Mansbach

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 20:10:58 +0000

On this special bonus ep, Oliver talks to writer Adam Mansbach to discuss the weird and wonderful world of reggae covers. They talk about their favorite (and least favorite) covers, why reggae and hip-hop share more in common than you might think, and what aspects of a song lend themselves to a good reggae flip.

More on Adam Mansbach

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Comfort Music #1: Morgan's Picks

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 20:30:36 +0000

The Albums:

Earth, Wind & Fire - Spirit (1976)

Vesta Williams - Vesta (1986)

Anita Baker - Compositions (1990)

Agent K - Feed The Cat (2002)

Braxton Cook - Somewhere In Between (2007)

We are kicking off our Comfort Music series this week with Morgan's five comforting albums. We discuss what exactly makes music comforting, Tower Records, and the power of pleasant voices.

Show Tracklisting:

Earth, Wind & Fire: Spirit

Earth, Wind & Fire: Imagination

Vesta Williams: Don't Blow A Good Thing

Vesta Williams: Congratulations

Vesta Williams: You Make Me Want to (Love Again)

Vesta Williams: I'm Coming Back

Lalah Hathaway: I'm Coming Back

Vesta Williams and Lalah Hathaway: I'm Coming Back

Vesta Williams: Be You

Anita Baker: A Perfect Love Affair

Anita Baker: More Than You Know

Anita Baker: Love You To The Letter

Agent K: Armz R Deh

Young Disciples: As We Come (To Be)

Agent K: Rideaway Getaway

Agent K: Hands

Kaidi Tatham: These Things Shall Pass

Braxton Cook: FJYD

Braxton Cook: I Cook

Jill Scott: Slowly Surely (Theo Parrish Remix)

Jill Scott: Jilltro

Jill Scott: Honey Molasses

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Heat Rocks Mailbag II

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 17:46:11 +0000

Oliver answers a couple of questions from fans on this special mid-week minisode!

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Remembering Bill Withers with Joey Dosik

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 9 Apr 2020 19:18:30 +0000

(This episode originally aired 03/28/2019)

The Album: Bill Withers: +Justments (1974)

Despite the massive success of Withers's first two albums, Just As I Am and Still Bill, label problems prevented +Justments (his fourth LP) from being released on CD until 2010. As such, it's been a sleeper of an album despite how good it is. Withers was never the most confessional of artists but this album, which came about during the dissolution of Withers's marriage to Denise Nicholas (amidst accusations of abuse), is about as close to he gets to talking about his personal life via song. Meanwhile, scoring all this were former members of the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band, as good a rhythm section that any artist in L.A. could hope to be hooked up with.

+Justments was the pick by L.A. soulster Joey Dosik, who's recorded extensively with Vulfpeck but has recently branched into his solo career with his debut album from last year, Inside Voice, which includes a cover of "Stories" from Withers's album. Amongst other things, we discussed how Dosik discovered this slept-on album in his ex-girlfriend's crates, how he learned his own singing voice by studying Withers's, and how drumming great James Gadson is supernaturally clean in the pocket.

Note: the first half of our episode was taped in the MaxFun kitchen on a remote rig because the power had gone out in our building. We were able to get back into the studio properly for the second half but we apologize for the uneven sound quality of the first half.

More on Joey Dosik

"Joey Dosik Talks NBA-Inspired 'Running Away' & Getting A Pep Talk From Quincy Jones" (Billboard)
Interview with Atwood Magazine
Twitter | Bandcamp | Website

More on +Justments

Bomani Jones on +Justments.
Review on Popmatters.
"Ain’t No Sunshine In Bill Withers’ Masterpiece, +’Justments" (Trunkworthy)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from +Justmentsunless indicated otherwise):

Ruby Lee
Joey Dosik: Game Winner
Stories
Bill Withers: Ain't No Sunshine
Can We Pretend
Heartbreak Road
Can We Pretend
Heartbreak Road
Stories
Joey Dosik: Stories (Live)
Joey Dosik: Stories
Railroad Man
You
Green Grass
Ruby Lee
Shuggie Otis: Inspiration Information
Stevie Wonder: Visions

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Bonus Beats: Heat Rocks Mailbag

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 7 Apr 2020 18:22:07 +0000

Oliver answers a couple of questions from fans on this special mini episode to get you through the week.

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Trackademicks on Sade's "Lover's Rock" (2000)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 2 Apr 2020 22:36:45 +0000

After the amazing success of Sade's previous album, Love Deluxe, fans were eagerly awaiting the band's next album. Fans had to wait for 8 long years before Lovers Rock dropped in the fall of 2000. And the wait was most definitely worth it. As the title suggests, the band moved more towards soul, R&B, and, well, lovers rock.

Producer/Remixer Trackademicks sits down with us to discuss Lovers Rock on its 20th anniversary. We get into the crazy amount of Sade remixes, (including Trackademicks' own remixes), Sade's impeccable voice, and the space and patience throughout the album.

More on Trackademicks

More on Lovers Rock

The Making of Lovers Rock
The Fader's 2000 cover story on Sade
A Peek Behind Sade's Veil of Heartbreak (The New York Times)

Song Tracklisting (all songs from Lovers Rock unless otherwise indicated):

By Your Side
2 Player Co-Op: No Ordinary Love
Every Word
Immigrant
Droop-E: I'm Loaded
Slave Song
Sade: No Ordinary Love
The Neptunes: By Your Side (Remix)
Cottonbelly Fola: By Your Side (Remix)
Naked Music: By Your Side (Remix)
Ben Watt: By Your Side (Remix)
Trackademicks: Give It Up (Remix)
Lovers Rock
Slave Song
Every Word
All About Our Love
King of Sorrow
It's Only Love That Gets You Through
Somebody Already Broke My Heart
Flow
Lovers Rock
Massive Attack: Better Things
Massive Attack: Five Man Army
Astrud Gilberto: Beber de Agua
Esthero: Breath From Another
Alex Isley: Into Orbit
Alex Isley: Road to You (Trackademicks Remix)

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Patrice Rushen on Minnie Riperton's "Come to My Garden" (1970)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 23:26:54 +0000

Musician/composer/producer/songwriter/music director/legend Patrice Rushen joins us to discuss Minnie's debut solo album Come to My Garden. We talk about the lush orchestration courtesy of Charles Stepney, Minnie's distinct voice, and Patrice's own journey with the album.

At around the 27:50 mark, Morgan incorrectly states Lynn Fiddmont's song was "I Love You", when it's actually "U R Loved"

More on Patrice

"Patrice Rushen Found Success in Jazz and Dance Music. She Hasn’t Been Forgotten" (The New York Times)
Pop Matters' interview with Patrice
Website

More on Minnie Riperton

Minnie Riperton – 10 of the best (The Guardian)
Minnie Live on ABC 's In Concert

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Come to My Garden unless otherwise indicated):

Come To My Garden
Oh By The Way
Masters At Work: I Am The Black Gold of the Sun (Remix)
Only When I'm Dreaming
Earth, Wind & Fire: That's the Way of the World
Expecting
Lynn Fiddmont: U R Loved
Ramsey Lewis: Les Fleurs
Gang Starr: Jazz Music
Les Fleurs
Completeness
Rainy Day in Centerville
Les Fleurs
Rotary Connection: Memory Band
Memory Band
Flora Purim: You Love Me Only
Expecting
Come To My Garden
Oh By The Way
Chicago Gospel Keyboard Masters: Walk With Me Lord
Close Your Eyes And Remember
Come to My Garden
Rotary Connection: Turn Me On
Kadhja Bonet: Childqueen
Carleen Anderson: Morning Loving
Earth, Wind & Fire: Imagination
Deniece Williams: Free

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Cam O'bi on Kanye West's "Late Registration" (2005)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 21:25:48 +0000

When Kanye West first announced the follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut, The College Dropout, the biggest question on everyone's mind was "can he do it again?" And Kanye proved without a doubt that he can. He enlisted composer/producer Jon Brion to help create a much more lush and dense record. They dug through the crates and flipped some fantastic records and collaborated with some of the biggest artists at the time, like Jay, Nas, Jamie Foxx, even Adam Levine came into the studio for this one.

Fellow producer-turned-rapper Cam O'bi sits down with us to discuss Kanye West's sophomore album, Late Registration. We talk about the prolific use of samples on the album, the changing image of Kanye at the time, and the influence it had on Cam's own producing techniques.

More on Cam

More on Late Registration

Every sample used on Late Registration (Bandstand)
How Kanye West Handed In A Stone-Cold Classic (uDiscoverMusic)
Heard 'Em Say animated by Bill Plympton

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Late Registration unless otherwise indicated):

Gold Digger (Radio Edit)
Cam O'bi: Perfect
Jay-Z: This Can't Be Life
Celebration
Lupe Fiasco: Kick Push
Diamonds From Sierra Leone (remix)
Skit #1
Heard 'Em Say
Noname: Yesterday
Noname: Shadow Man
Cinderella (1950): Sing Sweet Nightingale
Noname: Diddy Bop
Heard 'Em Say
Kanye West: Impossible
We Major
Orange Krush: Action
We Major
Addiction
Touch the Sky
Curtis Mayfield: Move On Up
Touch the Sky
Drive Slow
Cowboy Bebop: Tank!
Akifumi Tada: White Ice
Late
Sean Rose: Tomorrow
Gold Digger
Gone
The Whatnauts: I'll Erase Away the Pain
Late
The Kay-Gees: Heavenly Dream
Celebration
Diamonds from Sierra Leone (remix)
Kanye West: Love Lockdown
Drive Slow
Jay-Z: Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Common: Resurrection
Pink Floyd: Money

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Emily Yoshida on Björk's "Post" (1995)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 16:12:14 +0000

Björk's sophomore album Post marked a significant change in the singer/songwriter's career. For one, it was heavy; the growl of her voice, the grittiness of the instrumentation on songs like Army of Me, the music videos directed by Michel Gondry. Post was also much more unpredictable that her first solo album Debut. Björk collaborated with a ton of different producers like Tricky, Graham Massey, Howie B, and Nellee Hooper, who all brought in their unique flavor to this eclectic album.

Writer and critic Emily Yoshida joins us to discuss Post, the truly wild videos released for this album, and the many characters of Björk's voice.

More on Emily

Emily's work on Vulture
The Night Call podcast with Emily, Molly Lambert, and Tess Lynch
Twitter | Instagram

More on Post

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Post unless otherwise indicated):

Possibly Maybe
Hyperballad
Enjoy
Army of Me
It's Oh So Quiet
Björk: Litli Tonlistarmadurinn
Betty Hutton: It's Oh So Quiet
It's Oh So Quiet
Possibly Maybe
DJ Shadow: Mutual Slump
Hyperballad
Martin White: Army of Me
Isobel
It's Oh So Quiet
I Miss You
Hyperballad
Rufus Wainwright: Greek Song
FKA twigs: mary magdalene

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there
If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Music and Popcorn #5: Drea Clark on the "High Fidelity" soundtrack (2000)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 5 Mar 2020 23:13:03 +0000

We have reached the end of the Music and Popcorn series, where we invite folks from the world of TV and film to discuss their favorite soundtracks!

This week, Drea Clark of Who Shot Ya (here on MaxFun) joins us to talk about the High Fidelity OST. We discuss how the film has aged over the past 20 years, the absolute absurd amount of placements in the film, and our favorite unexpected music moments in other films.

More on Drea

More on High Fidelity

Jack Black performing Let's Get It On
Roger Ebert's review of High Fidelity
High Fidelity Found Romance in a Record Store in 2000 (The Hollywood Reporter)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from the High Fidelity soundtrack unless otherwise indicated):

Always See Your Face
Lo Boob Oscillator
Bow Wow Wow: I Want Candy
Most of the Time
Oh Sweet Nuthin'
Everybody's Gonna Be Happy
You're Gonna Miss Me
Dry the Rain
Jack Black: Let's Get it On
I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)
KRS-One: Outta Here
Echo and the Bunnymen: People Are Strange
Nick Cave: Red Right Hand
Pixies: Where Is My Mind
Los Lobos: Sabor A Mi

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Music and Popcorn #4: April Wolfe on "The Bodyguard" soundtrack (1992)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 23:15:11 +0000

We are nearly at the end of our Music and Popcorn miniseries here on Heat Rocks, where we talk about our favorite movie soundtracks with folks from the world of TV and film!

This week, April Wolfe of the Switchblade Sisters podcast here on MaxFun joins us to discuss Whitney's showstopping performances, the iconic fits, and how a 2020 version of The Bodyguard might look like.

Music and Popcorn #3: Sean Fennessey on the "Juice" soundtrack (1992)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 22:18:01 +0000

We are on week three of our Music and Popcorn miniseries and we could not be more excited to have The Ringer's own Sean Fennessey with us to talk about the soundtrack to the Ernest Dickerson classic, Juice.

We discuss the importance of New York rap in the film,the unique place Juice has in the lineage of hip-hop movies in the early 90s, and the...let's say questionable portrayal of the art of DJing

Music and Popcorn #2: Renée Bever on the "Us" soundtrack (2019)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 21:44:05 +0000

We are in the middle of our Music and Popcorn series, where we talk to our favorite folks from the world of film and TV about the soundtracks they love. This week, Renée Bever of the podcast Attack of the Queerwolf sits down with us to talk about the "Us" soundtrack and score.

We talk about the masterfully creepy Luniz flip, the infamous Ophelia/police scene, and whether Lupita Nyong'o was snapping on beat.

Music and Popcorn #1: The Medley

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 6 Feb 2020 21:48:05 +0000

This is the first of a five episode miniseries we're calling Music and Popcorn, where we talk to guests from the world of film and TV about great soundtracks.

This week, it's a special medley episode, featuring our past interviews with Eliza Skinner, Tre'vell Anderson, Luis Xtravaganza, and the folks from Heatbreak Radio discussing their favorite movie OSTs

And if you like these snippets, go back and check out the full episodes in our archives!

Show Tracklisting:

The Psychedelic Furs: Pretty In Pink
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: If You Leave
Jesse Johnson: Get To Know Ya
Modern English: I Melt With You
The Psychedelic Furs: Pretty In Pink
Otis Redding: Try A Little Tenderness
New Order: Thieves Like Us (Instrumental)
Faye Wong: Dream-Person
Dennis Brown: Things in Life
Flying Pickets: Only You
Los Indios Tabajaras: Always in My Heart
Nat King Cole: Quizás, Quizás, Quizás
Mamas & the Papas: California Dreamin'
Dennis Brown: Things in Life
Dinah Washington: What A Diff'rence A Day Makes
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John: You're The One That I Want
John Travolta & Jeff Conaway: Greased Lightnin'
Stockard Channing: There Are Worse Things I Can Do
Alison Moyet: There Are Worse Things I Can Do
Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You
Sha Na Na: Born To Hand Jive
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John: Summer Nights
Sha Na Na: Born To Hand Jive
Frankie Valli: Grease
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John: We Go Together
Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé, Anika Noni Rose: Dreamgirls
Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose: Fake Your Way to the Top
Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé, Anika Noni Rose: Move
Eddie Murphy, Keith Robinson, Anika Noni Rose: Patience
Jennifer Hudson: And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Josh Kun on Manu Chao's "Clandestino" (1998)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 22:00:02 +0000

When Manu Chao announced he would be releasing his first solo album, fans around the world were both elated and hesitant. Manu's previous albums with his band Mano Negra were both critically and commercially successful, but the band's breakup was ugly and Manu was running around Central/South America, playing bar shows for three years before he started work on the album.

Clandestino was initially released to little mainstream success, but eventually found its audience around the world. It tackled issues like social injustice and immigration and spoke to the displaced. It spoke truth to power.

Writer and academic Josh Kun sits down with Oliver and guest host Ernest Hardy to talk about the power of politically charged music, the nomadic production of this album, and the term "world music."

Tall Black Guy on D'Angelo's "Voodoo" (2000) redux

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 19:34:34 +0000

The Album: D'Angelo Voodoo (2000)

Tall Black Guy, AKA Terrel Wallace, has been making beats and remixing artists like 79.5, Stro Elliot, and Moonchild, for a long time. Listen to any one of his songs and you'll understand why he's one of the best producers out there and why we were so excited to talk to him. It's no surprise that his personal heat rock (and ours) was "Voodoo" by D'Angelo.

Making the album was no small feat. D'Angelo took a long break between albums to learn more about playing the guitar, and linked up with the Soulquarians to lay down some of the funkiest, most eclectic, and just plain hottest tracks of all-time. It took nearly 5 years to make, but the wait was worth it.

Morgan is flying solo and talked to TBG about the wide range of D'Angelo's influences, the shift from "Brown Sugar" to "Voodoo," and D'Angelo's personal shift from neo soul darling to full-on sex symbol.

Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding on the Nat King Cole Trio's "Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio" (1991)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 20:36:07 +0000

It's easy to think of Nat King Cole as "that Christmas song guy" but his musical output is truly astounding, recording hundreds of songs with over a hundred of them becoming hits on the pop charts. The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio is by far the largest album we've ever discussed on Heat Rocks and we couldn't have asked for better guests to come break it down with us.

Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding of the Switched on Pop podcast sit down with us to talk about this enormous anthology, the timbre of Cole's voice, and the ubiquity of the AABA song structure. Stay tuned to the very end for a special Heat Rocks theme song workshop.

Wendy & Lisa on Prince's "Around the World in a Day" (1985)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 9 Jan 2020 22:31:37 +0000

We here at Heat Rocks talk a lot about Prince, and this marks the FIFTH episode where we're discussing an album of his. Around in the World in a Day incorporated more psychedelia and a wider variety of instruments, which made for a much more eclectic and unconventional album. This is also Morgan's favorite episode, so we couldn't be more excited to talk about this magnificent album.

Wendy & Lisa of the Revolution come down to the studio to talk about creating this record with Prince, the funkiness of the record, and what life was like working alongside his purpleness for all those years.

This is a very special episode you definitely do not want to miss.

Our Heat Rocks of the 2010s

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 2 Jan 2020 20:00:05 +0000

Oliver's albums

Erykah Badu's New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) (2010)

Laura Mvula's Sing to the Moon (2013)

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly (2015)

Frank Ocean's Blonde (2016)

Tyler, The Creator's Flower Boy (2017)

Morgan's albums

Thundercat's The Golden Age of the Apocalypse (2011)

Robert Glasper Experiment's Black Radio (2012)

Beyoncé's Beyoncé (2013)

D'Angelo's Black Messiah (2014)

Kamasi Washington's The Epic (2015)

Oliver and Morgan are kicking off the new decade and talking about their favorite albums from the 2010s. They discuss their own personal journeys through the decade and the changes in the music industry in general.

Happy new year, Heat Rockers. Hope you all have a great one!

Show Tracklisting:

Erykah Badu: Fall in Love (Your Funeral)
Tyler, the Creator: See You Again
Robert Glasper Experiment: Ah Yeah
Kendrick Lamar: Momma
Beyoncé: Drunk in Love
Frank Ocean: Nights
Erykah Badu: Love
Erykah Badu: Out My Mind, Just In Time
Erykah Badu: 20 Feet Tall
Laura Mvula: Like the Morning Dew
Laura Mvula: Father Father
Laura Mvula: She
Kendrick Lamar: Alright
Kendrick Lamar: Wesley's Theory
Kendrick Lamar: Complexion (A Zulu Love)
Kendrick Lamar: For Sale? - Interlude
Frank Ocean: Pink + White
Frank Ocean: Godspeed
Frank Ocean: Self Control
Tyler, the Creator: Glitter
Tyler, the Creator: See You Again
Thundercat: Daylight
Thundercat: Walkin'
Robert Glasper Experiment: Cherish the Day
Robert Glasper: Portrait of an Angel
Robert Glasper Experiment: Move Love
Robert Glasper Experiment: Black Radio
Beyoncé: Haunted
Beyoncé: Drunk in Love
Beyoncé: Partition
D'Angelo: Really Love
D'Angelo: 1000 Deaths
Kamasi Washington: The Message

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Holiday Music Special with Alonso Duralde redux

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 19:21:56 +0000

The Albums: Vince Guraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) Andy Williams' The Andy Williams Christmas Album (1963) Stax Records' Christmas in Soulsville (2007)

Heat Rocks was hyped to have film critic Alonso Duralde (The Wrap), one of the hosts of Maximum Fun's movie podcast Who Shot Ya? guest with us to talk about our favorite Christmas songs, holiday fare, songs that should play when it's cold outside, baby.

We visit the canon of Christmas music over the years (Andy Williams 1963 The Christmas Album, Vince Guaraldi Trio's A Charlie Brown Christmas and Stax Record's 2007 compilation Christmas In Soulsville and across genres and styles - crooners, sweeping orchestral cinematic pieces, summer songs vs. winter songs, modern Christmas traditions, etc.

Alonso broke down the power of nostalgia as it relates to Christmas music and how our tastes in music are informed by tradition.

Don't be a grinch. Listen to this wintery wonderland of an episode about favorite Christmas tracks.

Cristela Alonzo on A Tribe Called Quest's "We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service" (2016)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 00:15:14 +0000

2016 was a hard year, to say the least. We lost Prince, David Bowie, Phife Dawg, Sharon Jones, and many others that year. And on top of that, we here in the US had to reckon with the results of the presidential election. On November 11th 2016, A Tribe Called Quest dropped their final album, We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service, with verses from Phife himself. It came at a time we needed Tribe the most. It went Gold and was widely regarded as one of the best albums of the year.

Comedian Cristela Alonzo sat down with us to talk about We Got It From Here and why it quite literally changed the course of her life. We talk about the use of samples and how Tribe was able to update their sound for a modern audience without compromising the mission statement and production style that made them famous all those years ago.

Father Amde of The Watts Prophets on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" (1971)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 01:07:52 +0000

What's Going On? On May 21, 1971, Marvin Gaye released his eleventh studio album asking this simple question. It was a risky move, for sure. Gaye was at the height of his career and this new album was heavy, focusing on things affecting his community like drug abuse, poverty, injustice and the Vietnam War. People might not have been expecting this, but it was what he wanted to make.

Fortunately, the gamble paid off. What's Going On went on to sell over two million copies and is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and it's not hard to see why. It's a timeless record, as true back in 1971 as it is now.

Father Amde of The Watts Prophets sits down with Morgan to talk about why this album was so groundbreaking, how he got to know Marvin Gaye when he was was still with us, and what Marvin might be talking about if her were here now.

Van Hunt on The Sensational Nightingales' "It's Gonna Rain Again" (1972)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 5 Dec 2019 19:50:53 +0000

We've talked a ton of gospel here on Heat Rocks, but this episode marks the first time we've discussed a full gospel album on the show, and from none other than one of the very first gospel quartets, The Sensational Nightingales. The group was formed in 1942 as simply The Nightingales, but it wasn't until 1946 and the introduction of the sensational singer Julius Cheeks when the band really began to hit their stride. The quartet still tours to this day, albeit with a slightly different lineup, but the soul and tradition of Southern black gospel music is alive and well.

Singer/songwriter Van Hunt joins us in the studio to talk about his personal connection to gospel music, the influence of the Sensational Nightingales, and how artists can make the move from gospel to secular music.

Phil Yu on Boyz II Men's "II" (1994) redux

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 18:04:06 +0000

This episode originally ran 07/26/2018

The Album: Boyz II Men: II (1994)

Phil Yu is better known to most as Angry Asian Man...except that he isn't actually all that angry (though he is Asian and a man). Phil started his titular site nearly 20 years ago and since then, it has become an indispensable news resource about Asian American culture, politics and related issues. Phil, along with Jeff Yang, also hosts his own Asian American culture podcast, They Call Us Bruce.

Phil wanted to revisit one of the big hit albums of his youth: II by Boyz II Men. By '94, the group was already one of the biggest acts in all of R&B and expectations were beyond high for the follow-up. The quartet of crooners from Philly didn't disappoint as II continued the group's reign at the top, especially thanks to smooth ballads like "Water Runs Dry," "On Bended Knee" and of course, "I'll Make Love To You." (The three of us couldn't stop laughing when we were discussing the majesty that was the video for that single. Shout out to sexy finger wags.)

Shana Redmond on Jodeci's "Forever My Lady" (1991)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 19:34:54 +0000

“Don’t talk, just listen.”

Jodeci announced themselves to the world on their 1991 debut album, Forever My Lady. They didn’t invent new jack swing but few R&B groups so seamlessly melded the bravado of hip-hop style with soulful pipes that could melt hearts and quicken pulses. Backed by the musical mentorship of Al B. Sure and A&R-ed by a young Uptown intern named Sean “Puffy” Combs, Jodeci all but heralded the end of ‘80s quiet storm respectability and stepped left of the youthful innocence of early New Edition and even the genteel charm of their contemporaries, Boyz II Men. K-Ci, JoJo, Mr. Dalvin and DeVanté Swing were the self-proclaimed “bad boys of R&B” and they wore that attitude on their sleeve and in their songs.

Forever My Lady was the pick of our guest, UCLA professor, Dr. Shana Redmond who studies popular music, race and politics. Her first book, from 2014, was Anthem: Social Movements and the Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora and she’s currently working on two new books including Everything Man about the life and legacy of singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson. She discovered Jodeci at the precocious age of 11 and along with Morgan and Oliver, they discussed how Jodeci cut a different path into R&B of the era, whether the album’s ballads or dance jams aged better, and whether or not Jodeci covering the ‘60s pop group, The Association, was a wise decision or not. More on Shana Redmond

Interview on Left of Black with Mark Anthony Neal
How Do You Like It? podcast episode alongside Evelyn McDonnell and Alice Bag
Website | Twitter

Saul Williams on Portishead's "Dummy" (1994)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 22:33:05 +0000

Saul Williams is super talented. The multi-hyphenate artist not only has a way with words, he has an ear for heat rocks. And apparently kept a fire starting five in his CD changer. We were fortunate enough to have him bring his ear and words to the booth to discuss Portishead's debut album "Dummy" on Heat Rocks. Brooklyn meets Bristol in Atlanta, at a time when Saul was discovering global sounds, immersing himself in culture and scholarship - in other words, he and the album were both in the right place at the right time. We spoke about Beth Ortons haunting vocals, the rise of the trip hop genre, sampling as an aesthetic, lyrical ingenuity and why Atlanta’s club scene was unmatched in the 90s. More on Saul Williams

Saul's Tiny Desk Concert
Saul's new album, Encrypted & Vulnerable
Website | Twitter

Tisa Bryant on The Emotions' "Rejoice" (1977)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 7 Nov 2019 19:42:59 +0000

The Emotions started out singing gospel as The Hutchinson Sunbeams, but when they signed a deal with Stax/Volt, they changed their name and switched to soul/R&B. They enjoyed modest success during those years, charting on the Hot 100, but Stax was going bankrupt, and The Emotions were left stranded.

The group moved to Columbia Records and met Maurice White, who helped produce the biggest hits in their careers. "The Best of My Love" rocketed up the charts and reached the top spot on Billboard Pop and R&B and their album Rejoice went Platinum.

Critic and professor Tisa Bryant talks to Oliver and guest co-host Ernest Hardy about the change in sound between the Stax/Volt and Columbia Records years, the role Maurice and Charles Stepney played in the production of this album, and The Emotions' place in the vast world of girl groups.

Jason Concepcion on Herbie Hancock's "Thrust" (1974)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 18:12:08 +0000

Album: Herbie Hancock: Thrust (1974) Thrust followed on the heels of Herbie Hancock’s genre-altering best-seller Head Hunters album, one in which the gifted keyboardist and composer played with new conceptions of fusion jazz and synthesizer technology. Thrust, in many ways, could be considered a second half to Head Hunters; recorded within months of its predecessors with almost all the same players. Once again, Hancock and his team plumbed the possibilities of mixing funk rhythms with jazz improvisation, resulting in four tracks of fusion fire that, to our guest Jason Concepcion, marked a high point before a onslaught of “smooth jazz” would dial everything down. Concepcion is perhaps best known to people as a basketball savant as a staff writer for The Ringer and Emmy-winning producer behind their NBA Desktop segment. I first discovered him via Twitter, thanks to his expert, witty writing as @netw3rk. However, for all his sports acumen, Concepcion is also Berkelee School-trained, having once attended there with the ambition of going into film composition. Thrust was a revelatory way in which he engaged with the possibilities of jazz, soul and funk experimentations. During our conversation, we discussed Hancock’s penchant for innovation in that era, the highs and lows of 1970s fusion jazz plus we took a side trip into the current state of the 365 day NBA “season.” More on Jason Concepcion

Ringer archive
Jason on what Whiplash got right and wrong about music school (Grantland)
Twitter | Instagram

Gabrielle Civil on Prince's "Parade" (1986)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 17:58:24 +0000

No single artist has come up on this show more than The Purple One and it's not hard to see why. His enormous discography is filled to the brim with timeless records and undeniable fire.

Parade came at an interesting time in Prince's career; it would be the last album he recorded with The Revolution and was, ostensibly, the soundtrack to Prince's film Under the Cherry Moon, a critical and commercial flop. Parade endured and became one of his best selling albums, garnering near universal praise and launched his already successful career into the stratosphere.

Writer and artist Gabrielle Civil joins Oliver and guest co-host Ernest Hardy in the studio to discuss Under the Cherry Moon, the chances Prince took with the production of Parade, and the role of women in his world.

Luis Xtravaganza on the "Grease" soundtrack (1978)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 23:04:44 +0000

Although Grease was originally a somewhat raunchy Broadway musical, the film and the soundtrack (released 2 months ahead of the film's release) has left a lasting impact on millions of young adults the world over. Its relatable themes and catchy tunes have stuck with audiences, even 40 years after its initial release. The soundtrack contained numbers performed by the cast and more than a few songs by 1950s revivalist band, Sha Na Na. It went on to top the Billboard music charts, selling over 8 million copies, and helped launch Olivia Newton-John's career into a completely different direction. It also spawned a sequel, a recent live television special, and just this year, a Rydell High spinoff was just ordered by HBO.

Dancer and choreographer Luis Xtravaganza joins Oliver and guest co-host Ernest Hardy to discuss his love of the soundtrack, the influence it had on his career, and why you just can't not dance to so many of these earworms. Grease is the word.

Gerrick Kennedy on Whitney Houston's "My Love Is Your Love" (1998)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 18:14:54 +0000

The Album: Whitney Houston My Love Is Your Love (1998)

What was initially supposed to be a greatest hits compilation ended up being a full-on album. Whitney got everyone on this record. Babyface, Kelly Price, Faith Evans, Missy, and even Mariah Carey, all came into the studio to help create a true heat rock; four times platinum, six Grammy nominations, and the Oscar for Best Original Song/

Writer and critic Gerrick Kennedy joins Oliver and Morgan in the studio to talk about Whitney's move to hip-hop, her growth as an artist from her last studio album, and how this record helped celebrate black womanhood in a way that was so rarely heard at that time.

Luz Mendoza on Nina Simone's "To Love Somebody" (1969)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 3 Oct 2019 21:06:56 +0000

The Album: Nina Simone To Love Somebody (1969)

Nina Simone's discography is vast and full of true fire, but To Love Somebody often gets overlooked. Perhaps it's because it was released right after 'Nuff Said and Nina Simone and Piano, both fantastic albums in their own right. And although the album contained almost all covers (Revolution 1 and 2 were credited to Simone and Weldon Irvine), she found a way to make every single song truly her own.

Luz Mendoza of Y La Bamba joins Oliver and Morgan in the studio to discuss the chances Nina took on this album, the smaller, quieter moments in the music, and what Nina told us about herself throughout this LP. This is an episode you definitely do not want to miss.

Jason Woodbury on Karen Dalton's "In My Own Time" (1971)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 19:14:01 +0000

The Album: Karen Dalton In My Own Time (1971)

In My Own Time was the second and final studio album by Karen Dalton, a musician who preferred to stay out of the spotlight. She didn't enjoy much commercial success when she was here with us, but the impact she left on the world is immeasurable. Artists like Joanna Newsom, Nick Cave, and Bob Dylan have cited her as an influence (Dylan would even back her up on harmonica in live performances). Her unique voice, often compared to Billie Holiday, was a blend of bluesy, world-weary, and haunting, but warm.

Music writer James Woodbury joins Oliver and Morgan to discuss Karen's voice in the world of strangely captivating voices, the value of reissue labels, and Karen's interpretations of popular songs. Join us as we leave for the country and take a deep dive into this forgotten classic.

Jeff Chang on the "Wild Style" soundtrack (1983)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 19:35:11 +0000

The Album: Wild Style soundtrack(1983)

Wild Style began as a low budget but ambitious film project, centered around Zoro, a young graffiti writer swashbuckling his way through the style wars of early ‘80s New York. Directed by Charlie Ahearn and starring Lee Quinones as Zoro, Wild Style would become more of a quasi-documentary of hip-hop’s on its cusp from South Bronx street culture into the global phenomenon we know today. Filled with MC, graffiti, DJ and b-boy performances from a host of now legends, Wild Style would inadvertently spread the hip-hop gospel to a generation of youth around the world, enraptured with how it depictions of an explosive, impossibly colorful subculture that few had laid eyes on outside of the five boroughs. Its soundtrack, overseen by Fab Five Freddy and Blondie guitarist Chris Stein, was largely built off an exclusive disc of original breakbeats that became the sound bed for various live performance scenes throughout the movie. Electric, dynamic and fly as hell, the Wild Style soundtrack helped capture the sound of early hip-hop’s energy and flair from A to motherf—ng Z.

For a young Jeff Chang, growing up far away from the Bronx in Honolulu, Wild Style was like a secret cypher that he and his friends could pass around and decrypt. Long before the days of streaming video, if you didn’t catch a theatrical screening of this tiny, indie flick, you had to rely on nth generation bootleg dubs on VHS but as crappy as the images might have been, the inspiration was no less dimmed. This put Chang on the path to eventually become one of the most accomplished hip-hop critics in the formative ‘90s era, eventually culminating in his award winning Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation (2005), which, among other things, digs deep into hip-hop’s earliest days preceding even the Wild Style era. He’s since followed that up with Who We Be: The Colorization of America (2014) and most recently, We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation (2016) which became the inspiration behind the digital video series of the same name which just debuted this year.

Lee Fields on Sam Cooke's "Portrait Of A Legend" (2003)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 21:21:04 +0000

The Album: Sam Cooke Portrait Of A Legend (2003)

Legendary soul singer Lee Fields (Daptone, Truth & Soul, Big Crown Records) stopped by Heat Rocks to discuss the 30 tracks compiled by ABKCO records on Sam Cooke, Portrait of A Legend, released in the summer of 2003. The album covers multi-genres including gospel, pop and soul - Sam's hits, during his storied 15 year career which ended tragically with his untimely death at 33. Referred to as, "the man who invented soul" Sam Cooke hummed and crooned his way into soul music's canon starting with three words: You Send Me.

Lee Fields' career began 50 years ago with the release of his first single on the Bedford label "Bewildered". Since then he's released dance tracks, recorded with The Expressions, had his music placed in shows like Atlanta and Dear White People, toured the country and has his songs remixed by some of the best.

He and Morgan discussed the gospel according to Sam Cooke, symbolism in A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke as a lyricist, Sam Cooke as a storyteller. A veteran soul singer in conversation about one of the architects of soul music It gets no better.

Lorraine Ali on M.I.A's "Kala" (2007)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 5 Sep 2019 19:13:53 +0000

The Album: M.I.A. Kala (2007)

In 2005, when M.I.A. dropped onto the pop scene with her debut, Arular, heads weren’t quite ready. It was like she brought the full force of Global South dance culture in with her — gloriously bombastic — and the Sri Lankan/British singer/rapper simply didn’t sound like anyone else on the charts. For her follow-up, the idea on paper seemed smart: why not pair M.I.A. with one of the most innovative American producers of that era: Timbaland. Alas, in a post-9/11 world, Homeland Security deemed M.I.A. a threat to national security and refused to give her the necessary visa to come work in the U.S. Undaunted, M.I.A. and producer Switch jumped around the world, recording parts of what would eventually become Kala in cities across South America, Africa and Asia. The resulting masterpiece, propelled on the strength of the eventual mega-smash “Paper Planes,” all but established M.I.A. as a key voice in a different kind of new world order, one in which the borders of nationalism and colonialism were imploding and emergent movements and calls to action were part of that destabilization. As it turned out, M.I.A. didn’t need to come to the U.S. to help invade it with her sound.

Kala was the album pick of this week’s guest, Lorraine Ali who currently writes about television for the Los Angeles Times but also got her start as a music critic. As one of the few Muslim American culture critics out there, Lorraine connected heavily with who and what M.I.A. represented and during the course of our conversation, we got into what it was like to listen to Kala in the wake of the second Gulf War, burgeoning refugee crises and the shifting geo-political map in which the music of the Global South could be heard as a subversive force, bamboo bangas and all.

Allen Thayer on João Gilberto's "João Gilberto" (1973)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 19:06:50 +0000

The Album: João Gilberto João Gilberto (1973)

Before the summer got away from us, we wanted to record one more episode for the season and we invited a guest to pick the perfect LP for the end of the summer. We were not disappointed...

João Gilberto was as integral to Brazil’s bossa nova movement as Ray Charles was to soul or Run DMC was to hip-hop; it’s impossible to imagine its sound and style without his touch. By 1973, Gilberto was largely living outside of Brazil and on a stint in the U.S, he rolled through New Jersey with just a single accompanying musician, percussionist Sonny Carr. Together, they crafted what’s considered a minimalist masterpiece of the genre, Gilberto’s equivalent to the Beatles’ White Album. Parts of it sound like a dream, others like a lullaby, but at the heart, it’s the soothing voice of Gilberto and his nimble guitar playing that anchors all of it.

Our guest Allen Thayer, aka The Ambassador, is no stranger to Brazilian music. Though he hails from the Pacific Northwest, he’s long been fascinated with south Atlantic sounds. Author of last year’s 33.3 book on Tim Maia's Racional Vol. 1 & 2, Thayer also hosts the weekly “Brazilian Beat” radio show on KMHD and you can find him spinning Brazilian grooves (amongst other tasty treats) in and around Portland on the regular when he’s not penning articles for Wax Poetics.

100th Episode Spectacular: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings' "100 Days 100 Nights" (2007)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 22:38:57 +0000

The Album: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings 100 Days, 100 Nights (2007)

On the occasion of our 100th episode, we decided to devote a Host’s Choice episode to talking about the breakout 2007 album from Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Coming out hot on the heels of Amy Winehouse’s best-selling Back to Black (2007) which featured the Dap-Kings horn section, 100 Days, 100 Nights made it clear who the queen (and kings) of the retro-soul sound was. As their third album, that latest LP showcased the group’s growing prowess as songwriters and Jones was in top form with a voice able to bring heft and spark to the group’s stylings on Southern soul, uptempo funk and deep gospel.

Morgan and Oliver are mostly excited to have made it to #100 and we wanted to thank all our listeners, guests and producers for their support of our show over its first two years. Here’s to 100 more!

Raphael Saadiq on Earth, Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World" (1975) + Remembering Nipsey Hussle

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 21:30:45 +0000

The Album: Earth, Wind & Fire That's The Way Of The World (1975)

On March 15, 1975, Columbia Records released "That's The Way Of The World" the sixth studio album of Earth Wind & Fire, a band of 10 members who fused rock, jazz, funk and soul. The album sold five million units, and won a Grammy for the single "Shining Star" (Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group). Produced by Maurice White and Charles Stepney, the album focused on EWF's familiar themes, spirituality, oneness, love.

Oscar and Golden Globe nominated composer Raphael Saadiq joined Oliver and Morgan in studio to talk "That's The Way of The World" and all the things that made EWF iconic including, Philip Bailey's falsetto, Maurice White's mysticisms and drum heroics, Charles Stepney's production and the harmonies that caught his ear and his attention and the happy feelings the band's music inspired in his own musicianship as a youth growing up in Oakland.

You'll want to catch this one. Because Reasons.

And stay tuned after the interview for a special segment celebrating the life and music of Nipsey Hussle, who would have turned 34 this week. Rest in power, Nipsey.

Mark "Frosty" McNeill on Nina Simone's "It Is Finished" (1974)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 8 Aug 2019 20:47:13 +0000

The Album: Nina Simone It Is Finished (1974)

It Is Finished is an ominous title, least of all given where Nina Simone was in her personal life at the time. Much of the early ‘70s had seen the High Priestess of Soul escaping to Barbados, first to avoid a troubled marriage, then to avoid the IRS. But RCA Records lured her back to New York to tape a live show, much of which would go into It Is Finished alongside a few tracks from an earlier studio session. One of those vault cuts, “Funkier Than a Mosquito’s Tweeter” would become an unlikely hit on the funk/soul dance floor circuit but It Is Finished was far more than one-tracker, especially as Simone dipped into Afro-Caribbean spirituality via the (under-credited) participation of Exuma on much of this album. Our guest, Mark “Frosty” McNeill is the co-founder of the long-running Dublab internet (now terrestrial) radio station and together, we got deep into Nina’s public and personal tribulations of that era, how the album reflects a particular moment in black cultural identity and a spirited debate about Tina vs. Nina.

Summer Spectacular feat. Quetzal (redux)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 1 Aug 2019 17:29:33 +0000

Guests: Quetzal

The Albums:

Alé Kumá: Cantaoras (Alé Kumá, 2002)
Mary J. Blige: What's the 411? (Uptown, 1992)
The Smiths: Louder Than Bombs (Rough Trade, 1987)
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly (TDE, 2015)

Note: This is a rerun of an episode from 2018 that has been re-edited and remastered.

Together, each of our quartet got to pick an album that we associate with the summer and as you see above, we covered a whirlwind of styles and eras that bring up all manners of thoughts and feelings for us. Summer love may be fleeting but it lingers, always.

Jimetta Rose on Rufus & Chaka Khan's "From Rags to Rufus" (1974)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 00:32:12 +0000

The Album: Rufus & Chaka Khan From Rags to Rufus (1974)

Los Angeles soul singer, Jimetta Rose, has been making music for a long time, working with artists like Talib Kweli, Meshell Ndgeocello, and Shuggie Otis. Her velvety smooth vocals and thoughtful writing made her a force of nature in the LA music scene, bodying anything from R&B to jazz, to rap, and so much more.

Jimetta was on a journey, searching for a Chaka Khan dance record, and on her way there, found the funk. Jimetta sat down with us to talk Rufus and Chaka Khan's "From Rags to Rufus." We discussed the origins of Rufus and their transition to funk, the impact Chaka had on the band, and why her voice resonates with women from all walks of life, including a young Jimetta Rose.

David Ma on GZA's "Liquid Swords" (1995)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 23:47:36 +0000

The Album: GZA Liquid Swords (1995)

Music journalist David Ma has been in the game for a long time, writing for The Guardian, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Source, and many, many others. He's also the host of Dad Bod Rap Pod, a hip-hop roundtable discussion show from the Bay area. When he told us he wanted to talk about GZA's debut solo effort, Liquid Swords, we knew we were in for a good conversation. We talk about GZA's new jack swing beginnings, his role within the Wu-Tang Clan, and his seemingly endless vocabulary. Even within the Wu's solo efforts, Liquid Swords stands out, with its gritty production, complex lyricism, and hard-hitting flow. It stood the test of time and still bounces, Shogun Assassin samples included.

Gavin Turek on Carole King's "Tapestry" (1971)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 21:29:11 +0000

The Album: Carole King Tapestry (1971)

LA singer songwriter Gavin Turek's relationship with Carole King's Tapestry album began in her childhood, listening to her father play virtually every song featured on the piano. He taught her the notes, the chords, the vocals until the earth moved under her feet and made her a die hard fan.

She joined Heat Rocks to discuss what made this album fire, the west coast leanings of Tapestry, Carole's lyrical approach to the realness of relationships and why having a cat featured on your cover art is lit and progressive.

There are so many heaters on this album, she had four favorites. Listen in and you'll understand why.

Art of Sampling #2 with Thes One on Nas's "Illmatic" (1994)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 4 Jul 2019 19:36:27 +0000

The Album: Nas Illmatic (1994)

In our first episode from our four-part Art of Sampling series, we focused on one of the classic sources of samples from the mid-80s: the James Brown anthology, In the Jungle Groove. For #2, we wanted to turn our attention to an album whose use of samples helped influences sampling culture and for that, we went with a giant celebrating its 25th anniversary this year: Nas's debut album, Illmatic.

So much has been said about this LP over the years, we shouldn’t need to make a case for it but here’s the short version: it’s not simply considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time but it’s universally lauded as one of the greatest debut albums in any genre, least of all given the intense hype around Nas leading up to it. Befitting that anticipation, Illmatic drew, really for the first time, a Dream Team-esque assemblage of some of New York’s finest producers including Q-Tip, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor and L.E.S. Their production decisions, including the samples that powered their now iconic tracks, marked one peak in hip-hop’s golden era of sample-based production.

To help us break all this down, we invited one of Los Angeles’s finest: Thes One, half of People Under the Stairs (and composer of our theme song!) While Thes generally doesn’t like talking about other producers’ work, as a 16 year old hip-hop head hyped for Illmatic when it dropped in ’94, Thes brought his insights as both a producer and fan, and we touched on everything from the use of nostalgia in sample choices, how Nas’s flow worked with different beats, and why DJ Premier’s “bubba chip” drum programming was a game changer.

Kier Lehman on Steely Dan's "Aja" (1977)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 22:06:09 +0000

The Album: Steely Dan Aja (1977)

If you love the music on Insecure, you'll love the fact that Heat Rocks had an opportunity to sit down with the brainchild behind in. Kier Lehman, well known for his work on Insecure, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Being Mary Jane, Entourage, Love Is, sat down with us to talk about the seminal 1977 album that is a tastemakers dream and beloved across generations.

Walter Becker and Donald Fagen and 36 of the best and brightest musicians and vocalists in the business assembled on the west coast to produce seven tracks which dripped with jazz, rock, punk, soul and fire!

Music writers and critics across publication and decades all agree that Aja is a masterpiece and belongs in the canon of great albums.

What happens when two music supes sit down to unpack it? Tune in to find out.

Comeback Albums and Mailbag Special

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 21:22:05 +0000

We here at Heat Rocks took a break from recording episodes in order to recharge our batteries. We thought we'd celebrate our return with an episode partly dedicated to our favorite comeback albums. In the second half, we rummage through the Heat Rocks mailbag and answer listener questions about great debut albums, summer jams, the weirdest record sleeve finds, and more!

Show Tracklisting:

Mariah Carey: Butterfly
Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band: Cherchez la Femme/ Se Si Bon
Mariah Carey: Breakdown
LL Cool J: Mama Said Knock You Out
LL Cool J: Milky Cereal
Jay-Z: December 4th
Jay-Z: Dirt Off Your Shoulders
A Tribe Called Quest: Black Spasmodic
A Tribe Called Quest: We The People...
A Tribe Called Quest: Solid Wall of Sound
D'Angelo: Send It On
D'Angelo: Devil's Pie
Brandy: Brokenhearted
Joe Budden: Pump It Up
Young Gunz: Friday Night
Jay-Z: Show Me What You Got
The Rebirth: This Journey In
The Internet: Wanna Be
Missy Elliott: Sock It 2 Me
Digable Planets: Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
Digable Planets: Black Ego
Prince: Diamond and Pearls
Cissy Houston: Warning - Danger
Floyd Anckle: Hey Pocky A-Way
Johnny Nash: Cupid
Chaka Khan: Caught in the Act
Skye: Aint No Need

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Prince Special

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 19:05:39 +0000

The Albums:

Prince: Dirty Mind (1980)
Prince: 1999 (1982)
Prince: Purple Rain (1984)

Hard to believe but Prince's landmark album Purple Rain turns 35 years this week (and the Purple One himself would have just celebrated his 61st birthday last week). In honor of these milestones and the fact that Prince is one of Heat Rocks' Triple Crown winners (i.e. his albums have been featured three times so far), we decided to offer you a "Best of Prince" episode that splices together highlights from our previous three Prince eps:

#7: Anil Dash on 1999
#42: Meshell Ndegeocello on Purple Rain
#77: Illa J on Dirty Mind

Show Tracklisting (All songs by Prince unless indicated otherwise):

When You Were Mine
Dirty Mind
Controversy
Sister
Partyup
Sister
Dirty Mind
When You Were Mine
Head
D'Angelo: She's Always In My Hair
Gotta Broken Heart Again
D.M.S.R.
Little Red Corvette
Let's Pretend We're Married
1999
Little Red Corvette
Lady Cab Driver
All The Critics Love U in New York
Lady Cab Driver
Let's Go Crazy
For You
When Doves Cry
I Would Die 4 U
Let's Go Crazy
Computer Blue
The Beautiful Ones
When Doves Cry
Purple Rain
Housequake
Let's Go Crazy

Shout out to our Producer Supreme, Christian Duenas, for doing the edit work on this episode and if you enjoyed the highlights, be sure to download and listen to the entire episodes!

Hua Hsu on Depeche Mode's "Violator" (1990)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 6 Jun 2019 18:31:27 +0000

The Album: Depeche Mode: Violator (1990) By the time Depeche Mode released Violator in 1990, they had already become one of the giants of the modern rock world but Violator took the group to new heights of global success. Dark and moody yet intimately dance-able, the group and their album marked a height of synth-pop’s growth across the 1980s, a zenith that would soon be eclipsed by the on-rush of grunge and competing forms of so-called “alternative” rock. Violator was the pick of guest Hua Hsu, staff writer at the New Yorker and English professor at Vassar College. For him, Violator was part of a soundscape of growing up in the Bay Area, least of all as an Asian American. As he and Oliver (flying solo this week) discuss, modern rock became a soundtrack for a generation of Asian American youth, at least those growing up in West Coast suburbs for whom songs centered on alienation and otherness felt all too familiar. Besides, as Hsu notes, we all had piano lessons so a music built around synthesizers was an easy sell. More on Hua Hsu

Hua on the the Long Form podcast
"The Moon Represents My Heart: Music, Memory and Belonging" (Museum of Chinese in America)
Twitter | Website | New Yorker Archive

Guy Branum on Ani DiFranco's "Plastic Little Castle" (1998) Recorded LIVE

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 30 May 2019 18:45:03 +0000

The Album: Ani DiFranco: Little Plastic Castle (1998) Ani DiFranco has never been a pop star by conventional measure but Little Plastic Castle was her dealing with the costs of stardom within her niche of alternative pop/rock world. The result is what's considered one of her best albums ever — it ended up being her best-selling at the very least — one where she tries to work through what happens when public scrutiny and fan indignity begin to feel invasive and you wonder what it's all for. For DiFranco though, she reminds us: she's got better things to do than survive. Little Plastic Castle was the pick of our guest, comedian Guy Branum who, until very recently, was the host of the Maximum Fun pop culture panel podcast Pop Rocket (alas, recently cancelled, RIP!). Pre-Heat Rocks, Oliver was on Pop Rocket for two years and got to see, first hand, Guy's pop polymath skills in action. Taped earlier in the spring, live in front of an audience as part of the Voyager Institute series, the three of us discussed DiFranco's album within the context of Lilith Fair-era female artists, the politics of queer authenticity and how her invocation of cherry bombs probably doesn't refer to firecrackers. More on Guy Branum

Guy's 2018 memoir, My Life as a Goddess
Interview on NPR's It's Been a Minute
Twitter | Website

Vikki Tobak and Joseph Patel on Gang Starr's "Hard to Earn" (1994)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 23 May 2019 19:39:27 +0000

The Album: Gang Starr: Hard to Earn (1994)

Gang Starr's Hard to Earn dropped in the pivotal year of 1994, arguably the height of the Golden Era as it came alongside everything from Biggie's Ready to Die to Nas's Illmatic to OutKast's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Unlike those other debut albums, this was Gang Starr's fourth LP and by '94, they had established themselves as the (no pun intended) premier rap duo, avatars of a boom bap/braggadocio style that would help define an entire era. For DJ Premier, Hard to Earn marked the beginning of his imperial era, where the telltale sound of a Primo scratch was a mark of quality. Meanwhile, G.U.R.U.'s lyrical craft stepped up another notch (even if it was still "mostly tha voice" that got folks up). Fans will debate whether this was Gang Starr's best album but for Morgan and Oliver, it happened to be their favorite by the group. Aight? Chill. Hard to Earn was the pick of a dynamic duo of guests. First up: Vikki Tobak, author of the astounding new book, Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, quite possibly the best rap photography book ever created. She was in town as part of the new Contact High exhibit at the Annenberg Space for Photography (which is up through August, come catch it!). As part of the exhibit, there's a wonderful documentary video that accompanies, assembled by other other guest: Joseph "Jazzbo" Patel. He and Oliver go back to the '90s when both were young writers at URB Magazine and by the '00s, Patel had moved into video content, becoming one of the most influential behind-the-scenes talents at places like Vice TV, MTV, The Fader and Vevo. (He and Vikki are now working on a docu-series based on Contact High). In tackling this album, the four of us discussed everything from the highs and lows of the jazz-hip-hop era of the early '90s to why we need to bring back answering machine/voicemail skits to how to properly pronounce "DWYCK." More on Vikki Tobak and Joseph Patel

Oliver's review of Contact High (Los Angeles Times)
WOCA interview with Tobak
Patel interviewed on The House List podcast.
Tobak's Twitter | Instagram
Patel's Twitter | Instagram

DJ Rashida on OutKast's "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" (1994)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 16 May 2019 20:52:07 +0000

The Album: OutKast Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994)

Antwan (Big Boi) Patton and Andre (Dre) Benjamin began collaborating in 1992 and paired their genuis presenting it for the world to see on their debut project SouthernPlayalisticadillacmuzik which released on LaFace records in the spring of 1994.

LA’s own DJ Rashida sat with us to talk southern charm, the musicality of this album, black consciousness through the lyrics, what made the interludes so compelling and why this album stands the real test of time.

Moby on Joy Division's "Closer" (1980)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 9 May 2019 20:54:09 +0000

The Album: Joy Division Closer (1980)

Moby has been in the game for over three decades, making punk, electronic, alt-rock, dance, and everything in between. When we heard he was coming on Heat Rocks, we had no idea what album he'd pick, but we knew it was going to be some absolute fire.

Joy Division were pioneers, blending genres and helping create and popularize the sound that would become post-punk. Unfortunately, Closer would be Joy Division's final album. On May 18th 1980, just weeks before Joy Division's first tour in America, lead singer Ian Curtis took his own life. Factory Records released the album a few months later, and the remaining members would go on to form New Order.

We sat down with Moby to talk about post-punk, the wildly varied music scene on the East coast in the 80s, and the shift from Joy Division to New Order. We chat about Ian's deteriorating mental wellness and Moby's own experiences playing with New Order and covering Joy Division songs.

Grab a chair, this conversation goes deep.

Moby's new book, "Then It Fell Apart" is out now. Cop it at your local bookstore.

RJ Smith on James Blood Ulmer's "Odyssey" (1984)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 2 May 2019 19:54:23 +0000

The Album: James Blood Ulmer: Odyssey (1984) “Electric guitar” and “free jazz” may not be terms that folks normally pair together but when James Blood Ulmer first began collaborating with jazz giant Ornette Coleman in the mid 1970s, Ulmer found an instant kinship is the heady, improvisational style of Coleman’s harmolodics theory. The influence would shape the beginnings of Ulmer’s solo career later in the decade, culminating, for many, in Odyssey, recorded in 1983 with just Ulmer, drummer Warren Benbow and violinist Charles Burnham. Since then, the album is considered one of Ulmer’s greatest achievements, what longtime New York music critic, Robert Christgau lauded as a “ur-American synthesis that takes in jazz, rock, Delta blues and even country music…you’d be hard-pressed to pin just one style on any of this painfully beautiful stuff.” Odyssey came to us via music historian and author RJ Smith. He's already written books on everything from the Los Angeles post-war jazz scene to photographer Robert Frank to an R&B artist named James Brown. He's currently working on a new biography, this one about Chuck Berry. For RJ, Ulmer's masterpiece represented a distillation of musical movements all colliding together in early 1980s New York City and where Odyssey's opening song felt like an invitation to prayer and mediation.

Karen Tongson on The Carpenters' "A Song For You" (1972)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 18:37:44 +0000

The Album: The Carpenters' A Song For You (1972)

dulcet (adjective) used to describe a sound that is soothing and soft, like the dulcet harmonies in a 70s pop song or the dulcet tones of a harp.

It seems like Karen Carpenter invented dulcet tones. Her velvet buttery vocals floated and soared on songs like "We've Only Just Begun", "Top Of The World", "Close To You". Alongside her brother Richard, she created a signature sound built around layered arrangements and harmonies.

Our guest, Pop Rocket's own Karen Tongson, sat with us on Heat Rocks to deep dive into the Carpenters seminal, Close To You, their second studio album released on August 19th, 1970. We talked about what made Karen Carpenter's voice inimitable and extraordinary, how the Carpenters invented the power ballad, Karen's enunciations and lower register, and listened to acapellas that made us all swoon.

Karen's book "Why Karen Carpenter" makes its debut on June 1st and will cover all the ground we didn't in this episode, sans music, but Heat Rocks recommends that you listen to music of The Carpenters in prep!

Sy Smith on Meshell Ndgeocellos "Plantation Lullabies" (1993)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 20:56:56 +0000

When Plantation Lullabies first hit the scene back in 1993, there wasn't anything really like it. Meshell Ndgeocello was a bald, badass, and bold woman with bars talking about sexuality, racism, and gender relations while paving the way for neo-soul music and artists.

Plantation Lullabies gave us many, many things, and Sy Smith (who has played alongside Meshell for years) came by the studio to talk to us about it. We discuss the impact it had on neo-soul, the shades of funk and go-go throughout the record, and the freedom it offered to black America.

Settle in, because this episode and this album are essential to any Heat Rocker.

Bhi Bhiman on Sly and the Family Stone's "Stand!" (1969)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 19:38:35 +0000

The Album: Sly and the Family Stone: Stand! (1969)

When San Francisco’s Sylvester Stewart and his Family Stone released Stand! in the spring of the 1969, it further cemented the group’s reputation as the definitive pop act of the era, whose multiracial makeup mirrored the band’s multi-musical fluency in rock, pop, soul and funk. They captured the post-summer of love optimism of the times in songs like “Everyday People” and “You Can Make It If You Try” and though those good times wouldn’t last in the years to follow, for that brief, shining moment, Stand! thrust Sly and the Family Stone into the spotlight as avatars for a national feeling of possibility and positivity. Can it be it was all so simple then? Stand! was the pick of guest Bhi Bhiman, the singer/songwriter from Los Angeles (by way of St. Louis). Armed with an eclectic set of influences, Bhiman's dabbled in everything from songwriting with The Coup's Boots Riley to collaborating with comedian Keegan-Michael Key to releasing his most recent album, 2019's Peace of Mind, as a podcast. Together, we discuss how Stand! reflected the soon-to-be-dashed optimism of its time, how the Family Stone doesn't get enough credit for Sly's sound and ponder how Ike and Tina Turner managed to rip off "Sing a Simple Song" without catching heat. More on Bhi Bhiman

Interview with Billboard
"In 'Rhythm,' Bhi Bhiman's Music Isn't Limited By National Borders" (NPR)
Website | Twitter | Facebook

The Art of Sampling #1, James Brown's "In the Jungle Groove" (1984)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 4 Apr 2019 18:30:16 +0000

The Album: James Brown: In the Jungle Groove (1986) This is the first of what will eventually be four episodes, released quarterly, that focus on the art of sampling. As Morgan explains in this episode, sampling isn't simply a key aesthetic within pop music styles, especially hip-hop, it's also an important way through which the past becomes present, allowing us to rediscover artists of yore. No artist in the 1980s benefitted more from this than James Brown. By the end of the decade, Brown's long funk discography had seemingly been mined thousands of ways over but if you had to trace things back to a ground zero, you'd find In the Jungle Groove, the 1986 compilation from Polydor that practically felt designed for sampling, especially by highlighting some of Brown's fiercest and funkiest tracks, complete with new edits and remixes, none more far-reaching than "Funky Drummer," a former 45-only jam that the comp not only released in its full form but also took Clyde Stubblefield's iconic breakbeat and looped it into its own standalone track. For our inaugural Art of Sampling episode, we revisit In the Jungle Groove and talk about both our favorite songs off the comp as well as our favorite uses of those various tracks. Listen to how we give it up and turn it loose. More on In the Jungle Groove

Album reviews (Rolling Stone 500 and Pop Matters)
Sampling database (WhoSampled)
"The natural history of the 'Funky Drummer' break"

Show Tracklisting (all songs from In the Jungle Groove unless indicated otherwise):

Funky Drummer
Digable Planets: Where I'm From
N.W.A.: Fuck Tha Police
Public Enemy: Fight the Power
Funky Drummer
Nas: Get Down
The Incredible Bongo Band: Apache
Nas: Made You Look
Masta Ace Incorporated: Boom Bashin'
George Michael: Waiting For That Day
Skull Snaps: It's A New Day
The Winstons: Amen Brother
Public Enemy: Bring the Noise
Funky Drummer
Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose
Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Nothing
Keek and Qagee: Don't Say It, Sing It
Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved
Gang Starr: Gotch U
CeCe Peniston: Finally (Remix)
Full Force: Ain't My Type of Hype
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved
Hot Pants
I Got To Move
Showbiz and AG: Diggin' In The Crates
Cypress Hill: How I Can Just Kill A Man (Blunted Remix)
Funky Drummer

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Joey Dosik on Bill Withers's "+Justments" (1974)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 20:04:36 +0000

The Album: Bill Withers: +Justments (1974) Despite the massive success of Withers's first two albums, Just As I Am and Still Bill, label problems prevented +Justments (his fourth LP) from being released on CD until 2010. As such, it's been a sleeper of an album despite how good it is. Withers was never the most confessional of artists but this album, which came about during the dissolution of Withers's marriage to Denise Nicholas (amidst accusations of abuse), is about as close to he gets to talking about his personal life via song. Meanwhile, scoring all this were former members of the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band, as good a rhythm section that any artist in L.A. could hope to be hooked up with. +Justments was the pick by L.A. soulster Joey Dosik, who's recorded extensively with Vulfpeck but has recently branched into his solo career with his debut album from last year, Inside Voice, which includes a cover of "Stories" from Withers's album. Amongst other things, we discussed how Dosik discovered this slept-on album in his ex-girlfriend's crates, how he learned his own singing voice by studying Withers's, and how drumming great James Gadson is supernaturally clean in the pocket.

We are in the home stretch of the MaxFunDrive! If you like what we make, please head over to maximumfun.org/donate and become a member today! Your support means the world to us.

"Joey Dosik Talks NBA-Inspired 'Running Away' & Getting A Pep Talk From Quincy Jones" (Billboard)
Interview with Atwood Magazine
Twitter | Bandcamp | Website

Heartbreak Radio on the "Chungking Express" soundtrack (1994)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 20:24:44 +0000

The Album: Chungking Express Soundtrack (1994)

Legendary Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai has long been known for how he integrates pop songs into his films and soundtracks. Chungking Express, Wong's breakout international hit, was no exception as he worked in everything from '60s folk pop to '70s reggae to '90s alternative in the mix, alongside an original score by longtime composer partners Roel Garcia and Frankie Chan. To discuss the melding of sound, image and story in Wong's fanciful tale of two cops and the women who (may or may not) love them, we brought in the hosts of Heartbreak Radio, Lady Imix and DJ Phatrick. Heartbreak Radio which began as an internet show devoted to the sounds of "beautiful sadness" and now it broadcasts every two weeks on KQBH LP, 101.5 FM, a micro-transmitter station out of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. Imix (aka Sol) and Phatrick (aka Patrick) are now old hands at the sounds of love and longing and it was obvious why they'd want to muse on the music of Chungking Express. Together we talked about how Wong Kar Wai's movies use pop, how the right song can enhance a character and whether or not Oliver is bugging out when he says that he can't stand to hear "California Dreamin'" anymore.

The MaxFunDrive is in full swing! If you like what we do, please consider becoming a monthly supporter. We love making this show and we are able to make it because of your support! Head over to maximumfun.org/donate now!

Illa J on Prince's "Dirty Mind" (1980)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 21:22:30 +0000

The Album: Prince Dirty Mind (1980)

Dirty Mind, Prince's third album, arrived on the scene in the late fall of 1980, and brought with it a salaciousness we hadn't known heretofore. The album, a mix of punk, funk and disco allowed Prince to play with gender and genre as well as sexual innuendo and double entendre.

Beatmaker and producer Illa J sat down with us to talk about why Dirty Mind for him is an all time heatrock, what makes the album impossible to stop bumping and how Prince was on time and ahead of his time all at the same time. This episode was short and sweet - just like Dirty Mind. Check it. More on Illa J

Illa J's Wikipedia entry
Illa J Steps Away from J Dilla's Shadow on New Album (okayplayer)
Illa J Pays Homage To The Determined Spirit of Detroit (Fader)
Twitter | Instagram

Nick Waterhouse on Jackie Shane's Any Other Way (2017)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 20:45:50 +0000

Dear Heatrockers, On a recent episode, our deep dive into Jackie Shane's "Any Other Way", we unintentionally misgendered Ms. Shane and the late Wilmer Broadnax. Although some of this was addressed at the start of the episode, we'd like to take the opportunity to apologize to members of the transgender community and anyone who found our choice of words offensive and insensitive. We have re-cut the episode to remove the discussion of Broadnax and we pledge for the future to do a more thoughtful job in choosing our language in a respectful and accurate manner. Thanks to all of you who sent us feedback on this; we appreciate your input and support.

The Album: Jackie Shane Any Other Way (2017)

This week's episode focuses on the life, career and resurgence of soul singing trans pioneer Jackie Shane, who spent much of the 50's and 60's alongside Frank Motley and the Motley Crew band enthralling Toronto audiences with her voice, her presence and her realism.

We were thrilled to be joined by another old soul, singer Nick Waterhouse, a cool kid from the best coast whose sonic leanings hearken back to a time and type of rhythm and blues. He came to share the Jackie Shane's influence on him as a singer, the splendor that was her life and the songs that moved him from her seminal 2017 compilation album, Any Other Way.

This one's too good to miss!

And be sure to check out Nick Waterhouse's new self-titled record releasing 03/08.

Tall Black Guy on D'Angelo's "Voodoo" (2000)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 20:30:21 +0000

The Album: D'Angelo Voodoo (2000)

Garth Trinidad on the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band's "The Serpent's Mouth" (2018)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 19:23:10 +0000

The Album: The Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band: The Serpent's Mouth (2018)

Steel pan/drum music emerged out of Trinidad and Tobago over the course of the 1950s. Its tinny yet melodious timbre was unique and it soon became a signature style within the diverse soundscape of Afro-Caribbean music. The tourism industry compelled steel drum bands to adapt pop hits into their repertoire and by the late '60s and early '70s, it was common to hear soul and funk tunes being given a steel pan makeover. Even Morgan's stepfather, Bob Sharpe, got in the action as part of the Salt N' Pepper Steel Band, whose lone album includes covers of the Jackson 5 and Johnny Nash (and Oklahoma too!).

The Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band, formed by Germany's Bjorn Wagner after a few years living in Trinidad & Tobago, is directly influenced by that earlier era. Across their two albums, 55 (2016) and last year's The Serpent's Mouth, Bacao tackle any number of surprising hits, many of them drawn from hip-hop as well as soul/funk, plus their own original compositions. If you ever wanted to hear Gang Starr deep cuts get the steel pan makeover, you came to the right place.

The Serpent's Mouth was the album pick of DJ Garth Trinidad, whose been a radio fixture in Los Angeles since the mid-90s, when he first started at KCRW and rose to fame on his weeknight Chocolate City show. He continues to hold down a 8-10pm slot when he's not busy music supervising or hosting concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.

Tre'vell Anderson on the Dreamgirls soundtrack (2006)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 22:17:20 +0000

The Album: The Dreamgirls soundtrack (2006)

Former LA Times Editor and Out Magazine's Director of Culture and Entertainment Tre'vell Anderson, joined us to talk Jennifer Hudson and the Dreamgirls OST.

Dreamgirls won two Academy Awards - one for Best Sound Mixing, the other, Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Hudson's star-making portrayal of Effie White.

The single disc-version of the soundtrack spent two weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album. One of the songs, "Love You I Do" won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television. The soundtrack, a certified banger, and Tre'vell's personal heat rock, was certified platinum.

A fan of Jennifer Hudson's since American Idol Season 3 (his favorite), the film and soundtrack resonated with him because of the all too familiar narrative of the most talented person in the room having to contend with implicit bias preventing them from living their best life.

We talked about the glory of Jennifer's journey from losing American Idol to winning at the Oscars, the difference between singers and sangers, Detroit vs. Chicago as a backdrop for the film, and what it sounds like when a Cadillac commercial get's "Pat Booned" (an Oliver Wang original saying).

Why did the film propel Jennifer Hudson to the stardom possibly meant for Beyonce (AT THAT TIME). Who knew Eddie Murphy had this sort of vocal range? Who's version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was better: the original J.H. or the new J.H.?

Tre'vell helped us answer those questions and more!

Lyrics Born on Curtis Mayfield's "Back to the World" (1973)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 7 Feb 2019 19:11:36 +0000

The Album: Curtis Mayfield's Back to the World (1973) In 1973, Curtis Mayfield had already become one of the biggest soul stars in the world thanks to the success of his Superfly soundtrack. He could have doubled-down with another album of lurid and cautionary street tales but instead, he wrote an album that many think of as a soundtrack to a movie never made, chronicling a returning Vietnam War veteran who finds America to be a different kind of war zone. Back to the World showcased Mayfield at his best — as a musician, composer, arranger, singer, producer, guitarist and songwriter — and decades later, we can still hear some of its influence reverberating in the dozens of artists who sampled from this album's lush music. The Bay Area's Lyrics Born brought this album to us to talk about. As part of the Solesides/Quannum crew that dates back to the mid-90s, LB has represented a much admired indie hip-hop ethos and he's been embraced by fans around the world. In our conversation, we talked about Mayfield's commitment to social issues, his gifts as a songwriter and whether or not "Right On For the Darkness" is, in fact, about a blind person. More on Lyrics Born

"Lyrics Born Opens Up About His 10th Solo Album, 'Quite a Life'" (Prelude Press)
"Lyrics Born Gets Personal" (East Bay Express)
Website | Twitter

Lindsay Zoladz on Bryan Ferry's "These Foolish Things" (1973)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 19:26:15 +0000

The Album: Bryan Ferry, These Foolish Things (1973)

Bryan Ferry first came to notice in the early 1970s thanks to the art rock group, Roxy Music, that he helped form. Most other artists would have focused their energies on their budding, hit band but Ferry, throughout his career, has never been one to be like "most other artists." Even as Roxy Music was blowing up, Ferry used time between those albums to record his own solo works and though his voice might bridge the two, his solo debut album, These Foolish Things was unlikely to be confused for a Roxy Music project. Ferry, at heart, is a crooner and so it's only fitting that this album would inspired by his eclectic interpretations of different rock, pop and soul standards, including everything from Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart," to The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" to the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby." We talk about an artist trying to "make a song their own" whenever we discuss covers and it's hard to argue that when it comes to Ferry here, he's putting his own, distinct stamp on these hits.

These Foolish Things came to us by way of our guest, music critic Lindsay Zoladz, who's spent the last ten years stocking up clips for everyone from Pitchfork to New York Magazine to The Ringer, where she's been a staff writer for the last several years (alongside the likes of previous Heat Rocks' guests, Shea Serrano and Chris Ryan). Zoladz shared with us how she discovered this particular album (especially as someone who wasn't even born in the 1970s), what she hears in Ferry's interpretations and whether or not he lives up to the title of being a "bobby dazzler."

Jamie Stewart on Otis Redding's "The Very Best of Otis Redding" (1992)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 19:38:54 +0000

The Album: Otis Redding The Very Best of Otis Redding (1992)

Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart is the son of a record producer and session player who blessed him with the gift of The Very Best of Otis Redding, the 1992 compilation of sixteen of the best songs from the late Otis Redding's catalogue. His father gave him instructions for listening - the charge to learn all about feel.

We talked about the nuances of jabs and riffs and Otis Redding's pathos, his restraint, Otis' use of "uncool words" his penchant for the word "lovely", and his wonderfully nuanced cover of the Rolling Stones "Satisfaction".

We discussed the sound Memphis music - Stax/Volt, the musicianship, the organic country friend soul sound of the label, and how that sound benefitted Otis Redding.

What Jamie Stewart learned most from Otis Redding was awareness, how beats affect emotion, awareness of feel and how rhythm and emotion impact singing.

It was a great conversation about a career and a life interrupted.

Xiu Xiu's newest album Girl with Basket of Fruit, releases 02/08/2019 via Polyvinyl.

Check out the music video for their newest single Scisssssssors.

Editor's note: Xiu Xiu was formed in San Jose, but the band is now LA-based.

Open Mike Eagle on Ol Dirty Bastard's "Return to the 36 Chambers" (1995)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 19:44:12 +0000

The Album: Ol Dirty Bastard: Return to the 36 Chambers (1995)

"Ain't no father to his style." That's how Ol Dirty Bastard was introduced to the world on 1993's Enter the 36 Chambers by hip-hop's posse supreme, the Wu Tang Clan. At the time, we got an inkling of ODB's eccentricity but on that first Wu album, so overloaded with personalities, it was hard to pluck him out of the stream and think "he might be the Clan's most memorable talent" but two years later, sandwiched between a stream of solo efforts by Method Man, the GZA, Raekwon and Ghostface, ODB put the world on notice with Return to the 36 Chambers. Here was Big Baby Jesus aka Dirt McGirt in all his weird, wonderful glory, with a raspy, rumbling voice that was like no other, singing and rapping in a way that was either wholly unhinged, creatively brilliant or perhaps, both.

These are the part of the mysteries that we tried to unpack with the help of Open Mike Eagle. He's no stranger to Max Fun listeners as OME is half the team behind Tights and Fights, when he's not also helping host the Secret Skin or Conversation Parade podcasts. He also, of course, is a prolific MC himself, with well over a dozen EPs and LPs to his name including last year's What Happens When I Try to Relax. As you'll hear, Return to the 36 Chambers wasn't just OME's intro to Dirt Dog, it was how he discovered the Wu and he, and hip-hop, would forever be changed.

Chani Nicholas on Cyndi Lauper's "She's So Unusual" (1983)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 19:15:40 +0000

The Album: Cyndi Lauper She's So Unsual (1983)

She's So Unusual dropped October 14th, 1983, and introduced much of the world to Queens' pop punk tough girl Cyndi Lauper. She presented as a colorful character with colorful hair and colorful homies and charmed her way into pop culture with ten tracks recorded for CBS at the Record Plant, NYC.

The former front woman for rockabilly band Blue Angel took a demo written by Philly rocker Robert Hazard and retooled it to become an anthem for her and the Eighties. "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" was the hit single that launched She's So Unusual and Cyndi Lauper into fame and led the album to platinum success, with six singles, two Grammy Awards, and critical acclaim for days.

She's So Unusual was the pick of astrologer/activist Chani Nicholas, who joined us to break down the relevance and resonance of the album in her life, Cyndi's star appeal, the queer gaze present on the album, Cyndi's quirky Cancerian coolness, and the her impact on music and the masses.

Mayer Hawthorne on Parliament's "The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein" (1976)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 3 Jan 2019 19:43:54 +0000

The Album: Parliament: The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein (1976)

In the 1970s, no single artist was as influential in transforming the sound of funk as George Clinton. If the funk of the late '60s was embodied in the sparse, frenetic rhythms of James Brown, Clinton filled out and polished the sound across the '70s, with beefy banks of horns and raucous guitars. By the time The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein came out in the mid 1970s, the P-Funk sound was in full flower and that's when a young DJ from outside Detroit crossed paths with The P.

Mayer Hawthorne, back when, was still known as DJ Haircut but a move to Los Angeles in the 2000s lead to a transformation into the smooth crooner we know of him today. Besides the four solo studio albums he’s recorded, he’s also one-half of the retro boogie team known Tuxedo(alongside Jake One) as well as half of the post-punk n’ funk duo, Jaded Incorporated, (alongside 14KT). Fun fact: Jaded Inc’s 2014 album The Big Knock was released by Casablanca Records, long-long time home to Parliament’s recordings, including The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein.

Lynell George on David Bowie's "Young Americans" (1975)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 20:48:06 +0000

The Album: David Bowie Young Americans (1975)

Super cool Grammy winning writer and archivist Lynell George came to know David Bowie's music through celebrated Los Angeles radio station KGFJ. KGFJ blasted the sounds and she received them courtesy of a wrap around Panasonic radio. (Salute!)

She was attracted to the Philly soul sound ever present on David Bowie's Young Americans because Philly soul was in her DNA as she is the daughter of a Philadelphia Native. David Bowie's desire to pay homage to both the black soul music he was fond of and Aretha Franklin, was a shift that most critics weren't prepared for.

We talked about the title track as an ahead-of-its-time commentary on gentrification, UK artists and their love affair with R&B music and the thin line between festishization and fascination.

Sax solos, guitar solos, soulful arrangement galore, Young Americans was the sound of Philadelphia and the sounds of blackness.

Best quote EVER, "you feel like you're walking through humidity" (Lynell George)

She wooed us and schooled us. We'd expect nothing less from a historian and an OG member of David Bowie's fan club.

Holiday Music Special with Alonso Duralde

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 20:26:29 +0000

The Albums: Vince Guraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) Andy Williams' The Andy Williams Christmas Album (1963) Stax Records' Christmas in Soulsville (2007)

Alonso broke down the power of nostalgia as it relates to Christmas music and how our tastes in music are informed by tradition.

Don't be a grinch. Listen to this wintery wonderland of an episode about favorite Christmas tracks.

Macy Gray on Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (2010)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 19:08:12 +0000

The Album: Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

2018 has been a tough year for Kanye West and Kanye West fans. He's showed up in unlikely places and waxed problematic about virtually everything , earned the ire of some of the West Coast's most loyal representatives, inspired critical analysis, all the while releasing Ye, his eighth solo album, an album as part of a group, and executive producing albums for Teyana Taylor, Pusha T and Nas.

Sure, he's been booked and busy, but also the center of controversy and speculation.

In 2010, he embraced his controversy, on the thirteen track My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Macy Gray joined us to talk about her fanship and hardcore love of this album, why she bumped one song all the way to Vegas, what caused her to rock a "MAKE KANYE GREAT AGAIN" hat for the 'gram and Kanye's impressive production on the album. We talked about Kanye's choice of samples, what can be learned about Kanye via MBDTF and why this album is great, but not his greatest.

Ironically, we recorded this episode before Kanye's SNL appearance.

Eavesdrop. Please.

G Yamazawa on Kanye West's "The College Dropout" (2004)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 6 Dec 2018 19:07:03 +0000

The Album: Kanye West: College Dropout (2004)

Kanye has had a...not great year. From a public relations standpoint, it's been nothing short of a disaster. And yet...'Ye remains one of the most intriguing (if not also infuriating) pop acts we have, evinced to us by the fact that two different guests - rapper G Yamazawa and R&B legend Macy Gray - both asked to talk about Kanye West albums when they came on our show.

By further coincidence, they came on the same day to tape which also happened to be the day of West's now-infamous Saturday Night Live appearance. West was also supposed to drop a new album that evening, Yandhi (spoiler alert: he didn't). Sufficed to say, all things pointed West that day, so much so that we were a little worried about releasing these episodes lest our listeners were suffering from too much Kanye fatigue.

And yet...both conversations (the Macy Gray episode, about My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will drop next week) were so compelling that we couldn't help ourselves. This one, with Yamazawa, was especially great in revisiting the old Kanye, chop-up-the-soul Kanye of College Dropout, where the young producer-turned-rapper came firing out the gate, putting the hip-hop world on notice that "oh sh---, Kanye raps too?" For G Yamazawa, then a young'un growing up in Durham "North Cack," West made a huge impression with his humor, sly politics and of course, the beats. Yamazawa, now relocated to L.A., knows something about sliding between worlds as a former champion spoken word poet turned MC (peep his new Money Is Time album) and together, we discussed what it was like for all of us to discover West's new persona back then, his taste in samples, and what era of West we gravitate towards.

EP62: Iman Omari on J*DaVeY's The Beauty in Distortion (2008)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 19:26:22 +0000

The Album: J*DaVeY The Beauty in Distortion (2008)

Heat Rocks co-host Morgan Rhodes is a huge fan of J*Davey and a huge fan of Iman Omari. Naturally she was beyond thrilled when Iman accepted an invitation to come on Heat Rocks and chose J*Davey's 2008 brilliant debut album "The Beauty In Distortion" to discuss.

J*Davey's breakout project was one of the jewels in LA's emerging future soul scene a decade ago. Their sound, a fusion of soul, synth, funk and pop gained a million fans and caught the ear of tastemakers everywhere.

This album had a profound influence on his production choices pushing him in the direction of avant-garde soul.

Jeff Weiss on Drakeo the Ruler's "Cold Devil" (2017)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 19:20:12 +0000

The Album: Drakeo the Ruler: Cold Devil (2017)

When we invited L.A. music writer Jeff Weiss to join us, he was adamant that there was only one release he wanted to talk about: Cold Devil, the full-length, acclaimed mixtape that the upstart Los Angeles rapper, Drakeo the Ruler, dropped nearly a year ago. Drakeo is part of the Stinc Team and is helping lead a wave of emergent talents that also includes 03 Greedo, Ketchy the Great and Ralfy the Plug.

The longtime writer behind The Passion of the Weiss music blog, Jeff has been championing Drakeo for several years now and in particular, he's written extensively on the rapper's tumultuous legal challenges, including first interviewing Drakeo when he was locked up. Our conversation touched on Drakeo's legal situation, the rapper's gift of slanguistic gab and the current state of West Coast rap music.

Chris Molanphy on George Michael's "Faith" (1987)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 18:53:06 +0000

The Album: George Michael: Faith (1987)

In the fall of 1987, it wasn't a foregone conclusion that George Michael's solo debut, Faith, would be a hit. As successful as Michael had been as half of the Wham! duo, going solo was always going to be a risk but as it turns out, it was one worth taking. Faith turned out to be a runaway hit, not simply a #1 album but spawning four different #1 singles, including the lively title song which became the best-selling song of 1988 in the U.S.

It wasn't without controversy however, especially with conservative outcries against the song, "I Want Your Sex," and its video for being too racy or explicit, all the while Michael, as we learned later, was insinuating hints about his own changing sexual identity into different verses. These were all topics of discussion that came up with our guest, Chris Molanphy, creator and host of the Hit Parade podcast which analyzes chart histories to provide incredibly in-depth discussions about pop music. Chris takes on the sometimes arcane peculiarities of music charts and uses them as a way to jump into far broader discussions about pop trends, figures and transformations. Chris had previous taped an episode of Hit Parade devoted to the parallel careers of Michael and Elton John and he brought that wealth of knowledge to our conversation.

Women Behaving Boldly #6: Evelyn McDonnell on Janelle Monae's "Dirty Computer" (2018)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 8 Nov 2018 18:20:40 +0000

The Album: Janelle Monae: Dirty Computer (2018)

To close out our Women Behaving Boldly mini-series, we brought things all the way up to the present by tackling a 2018 album. Our guest, music writer and journalism professor Evelyn McDonnell wanted to talk about Atlanta's Janelle Monae and her recent LP, Dirty Computer.

Between her various alter egos and concept-driven albums, Monae's been a critic's darling since she first broke out ten years ago and the intervening decade hasn't dimmed her creative appeal a bit. Dirty Computer, and its accompany mini-movie of music videos, touches on many of Monae's favorite themes: sci-fi futures (some good, some not so good), fluid identities (including her own evolving sexuality), and some of the most soul/funk/rock/pop concoctions you can imagine.

If Monae's recent gem was a perfect capstone to our six weeks of Women Behaving Boldly, it was perfectly matched by the guest who chose it. McDonnell is one of the most accomplished music journalists of her generation, having previously written the books Queens of Noise, about the Runaways, Army of She, which is about Bjork, and Mamarama, which is about Evelyn herself. Her latest is the massive anthology, Women Who Rock, a 400 page edited anthology that focuses on over 100 of the most important women in pop music history, written by many of our favorite writers including both Lynnee Denise and Ann Powers, both of whom also contributed to our Women Behaving Boldly series.

Women Behaving Boldly #5: Joan Morgan on Lauryn Hill's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" (1998)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 1 Nov 2018 19:13:21 +0000

The Album: Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) On August 25, 1998, Lauryn Hill, the breakout rapping/singing star from The Fugees released her first (and only) solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. On August 25, 2018, exactly 20 years later, the Heat Rocks crew invited author Joan Morgan to join us to talk about that album and her new book about that album, She Begat This. Call it a happy coincidence, call it kismet but either way, call it an amazing conversation. It's difficult to overstate the singular importance of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. This was a generation before artists like Drake made singing + rapping into a popular form; Lauryn was wading into unknown waters when she put this together. As we discuss, her own label had to be pushed to even put the album out but once they did, it became an instant smash: multi-platinum sales, the first "Best Album" Grammy award for a hip-hop album, and it elevated, for better or for worse, Lauryn - still in her early 20s - to becoming one of hip-hop and R&B's most important figures. Of course, in the years since, controversy has dogged her, especially regarding her live shows and two decades later, her legacy is a complicated one, as we get into. Joan Morgan would have been an ideal guest even if she hadn't written a book about the album; her bonafides as one of the great cultural critics to emerge in the 1990s were already well-established, least of all in her 1999 collection of essays, When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost. Joan's based in New York, finishing up a PhD at NYU, but she happened to be in town on that fateful 20th anniversary day to come chat with us.

Women Behaving Boldly #4: Ann Powers on Madonna's "Like a Prayer" (1989)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 17:00:48 +0000

The album: Madonna: Like a Prayer (Sire, 1989)

For the fourth installment in our Women Behaving Boldly mini-series, we spin the clock back to an episode we first aired a year ago: Ann Powers, talking about Madonna’s Like a Prayer from 1989. From the beginning, we knew this episode in particular would make a perfect fit with the WBB series. After all, few pop artists, female or male, have done more to transform the pop landscape since the 1980s than Madonna, often times inviting scrutiny and criticism in the process for pushing the proverbial envelope on what people found acceptable by musical artists in that era. And to have Ann Powers, one of the country’s premier music critics, here to break down Madonna’s import was a gift unto itself. If you missed this the first time, we’re excited for you to hear it now. And if you heard it before, revisit this gem from our vaults.

This week, Morgan and Oliver are joined by Ann Powers of NPR Music and author of the new book, Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music. Together, the three dug into Like a Prayer, Madonna's critical breakout album form 1989. As Ann lays out, Madonna had already established herself as an MTV-era mega-star with her previous albums but Like a Prayer, with its then-controversial sexual politics and surprising personal candor, marked a new level of artistic ambition.

Women Behaving Boldly #3: Joi on Betty Davis' "They Say I'm Different" (1974)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 18:35:25 +0000

The album: Betty Davis: They Say I'm Different (1974)

As part of our "Women Behaving Boldly" series, we decided to re-air the episode that launched Heat Rocks: our interview with future soul trailblazer and architect Joi Gilliam.

This was one the pilot episodes we recorded in the spring of 2017 and when we left the taping, we turned to one another and knew this show had potential.

The pairing of artist and album came from Morgan and it was inspired: the undersung Betty Davis, one of the most original and fascinating figures of the 1970s, being feted by future soul artist and Dungeon Family-affiliate Joi, an artist very much cut from Betty's cloth but a generation later. We had a fantastic conversation about the importance and uniqueness of Betty and what she's meant, especially, to waves of Black women artists who've followed in her path in the 40+ years since.

On a personal note, this also meant a lot to Oliver because he's written three sets of liner notes on Betty Davis albums (including They Say I'm Different) and interviewed her extensively as part of that. He forever holds a torch for her.

Women Behaving Boldly #2: Aretha Franklin Retrospective feat. Lynnée Denise

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 19:11:14 +0000

The Albums:

Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted, and Black (1974)
Aretha Franklin: Jazz to Soul (1994)
Aretha Franklin: Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul (2007)

Heat Rocks had always planned to sit down with DJ Lynnée Denise, an LA-based DJ and music scholar, but when Aretha Franklin passed on August 16th, we invited her to come talk with us about the Queen's life and legacy as part two of our series Women Behaving Boldly.

What a fantastic decision!

Admittedly, Queen Aretha's discography is too vast and too fire to be discussed on just one show so we cherry picked our favorite heat rocks: Oliver (The Queen in Waiting - The Columbia Years), Morgan (Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul) and DJ Lynnée Denise (Young, Gifted and Black).

The three of us, brought together by a shared love and reverence for the Queen talked about her incredible voice and gift of interpretation and DJ Lynnée unpacked the Aretha's relationship with the church, with Detroit, with her instrument(s), with black folks and of course, her place in the canon of music.

Heat Rocks is thankful for an opportunity to spend an hour talking about the undisputed Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, with DJ Lynnée Denise who dropped some nuggets of wisdom on us.

Women Behaving Boldly #1: Oliver & Morgan on Millie Jackson's "Caught Up" (1974)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 4 Oct 2018 17:56:10 +0000

The Album: Millie Jackson: Caught Up (1974)

Some months ago, Oliver and Morgan kicked around the idea of celebrating women over the course of a few Heat Rocks episodes. We decided we'd package it as a series and Oliver came up with the name "Women Behaving Boldly". Gotta love it.

To kick off the series, we chose the incomparable, ahead-of-her-time, OG provocateur Mildred Virginia Jackson known professionally as MILLIE JACKSON.

Millie Jackson is the Queen of Raunchy Rap. She spent much of the seventies singing about relationships and situationships. Her lyrics and conversations in the interludes of songs talked about complicated adult dramas like infidelity and divorce. Her words were raw and honest but also grown and sexy.

1974's Caught Up, her fourth release was a concept album which dealt with the before during and aftermath of an affair told from varying perspectives. Oliver and Morgan sat down to talk about all the elements that make this album fire - a heat rock.

Chris Ryan on the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street" (1972)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 17:17:38 +0000

The Album: The Rolling Stones: Exile On Main Street (1972)

In 1972, The Rolling Stones were at the peak of their success...and excess. In order to flee British tax collectors, Keith, Mick and the crew fled to France where, over the course of many months - and a ton of drugs - the group pieced together what would become an epic double album. It would take Mick dragging the tapes to Hollywood to complete production but once finished, Exile On Main Street would become embrace as one of the group's greatest albums and for some, it marked the end of the group's "golden era," in terms of how it blended together rock, soul, and blues together in a mish-mash of styles that still invoke awe - and controversy - today.

The album pick came to us via Chris Ryan, executive editor at The Ringer, where he contributes or hosts a number of podcasts himself, including the pop culture show, The Watch, and the site's movie discussion show, The Rewatchables. Before that, Chris was a long-time music writer, based out of New York, and one of the funniest and smartest critics Oliver's ever met.

Aurora Guerrero on the "Mosquita Y Mari" soundtrack (2012)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 18:16:34 +0000

The Album: "Mosquita Y Mari" soundtrack (2012)

Aurora Guerrero is a Chicana filmmaker whose 2012 sweet coming-of-age story about two young Chicanas falling in love in Huntington Park was hit at Sundance that year. The Hollywood Reporter called it "...a robust work of self-discovery for two girls at the most awkward and confusing years of their young lives, and a testament to Aurora Guerrero's storytelling prowess." Traditions and emotions merge as the Yolanda and Mari's relationship grows intensely over time.

The narrative is underscored by a gorgeous soundtrack - the sound of East Los Angeles' eclectic underground music scene featuring indie artists across genres: ska, punk and hip hop with bands like Mexico 72, Pistolero, Viernes 13 and La Pobreska.

We sat with Aurora to talk about her curation process, the music vibe of Huntington Park, what falling in love sounds like when you're 15 and how Mosquita Y Mari put Southeast L.A. on the map in a new way.

James Spooner on Minor Threat's "Minor Threat" (1983)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 18:24:53 +0000

The Album: Minor Threat: Minor Threat (1984)

In 2003, James Spooner released Afropunk, a personal love letter/manifesto dedicated to people like him: punk fans of a different shade whose acceptance in the scene was often hard-fought and tenuous. That became a movement, with annual afropunk festivals becoming entities unto themselves, across the world. Spooner is now a tattoo artist and graphic novelist, living in Los Angeles.

For our episode, Spooner joined us to talk about Minor Threat's self-titled compilation of their early singles, one through which he discovered the ethos of straight-edge (no drugs, drinking, etc.) and a wider world of possibilities within punk rock. Minor Threat, the short-lived but heavily-influential group out of Washington D.C., fronted by Ian MacKaye is legendary and this compilation was one of the first ways in which listeners could discover the group, their sound and their philosophy. During our episode, we discussed how what about straight-edge appealed to him, the racial politics of punk and how a kid from the high desert of California came across this music and culture to begin with.

Sidibe on Joni Mitchell's "Court and Spark" (1974)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 6 Sep 2018 17:45:48 +0000

The Album: Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark (1973)

In 1973, Joni Mitchell was in the midst of one of the greatest pop music runs of the decade. By that time, the Canadian-turned-temporary-Angelino had already put out Ladies of the Canyon, Blue and For the Roses, establishing her as one of the very few women that the rock establishment of the era would deign to even recognize. But with Court & Spark, Mitchell showcased her abilities beyond just the folk-rock world by minting a pop album that would become a defining statement of the time and her most successful LP of all time.

To talk about Court & Spark, we had in another transplant to L.A.: singer/songwriter Sidibe. Since moving out here 10 years ago, she's steadily raised her profile, especially after the release of her 2014 EPs, Metaphysical and Soul Siren. Alongside the likes of Anita Baker and Sade, Joni has been a longtime influence and inspiration on Sidibe and during our convo, we discussed Mitchell's vocal gifts, her jazz-rock collaborations on Court & Spark plus a tangential discussions on how bagging groceries might help one get discovered.

serpentwithfeet on Björk's "Homogenic" (1997)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 17:22:14 +0000

The Album: Björk: Homegenic (1997)

Josiah Wise aka serpentwithfeet joined us to talk about one of his biggest influences: Björk and 1997 album, Homogenic. First introduced to her as a child, serpentwithfeet found a kindred spirit in the eclectic creativity of the Icelandic star. That especially extends to Homogenic, which, thanks to Björk and producer Mark Bell, would mark a hard turn from the more pop-friendly sounds of Post towards a new, baroque, electronic majesty. Our conversation touched on the mesmerizing nuances of Björk's voice, the album's heavy embrace of dance music, and what it's like to be a fan of an artist when you don't even know what they look like.

Tiffany Gouché on Destiny's Child's "The Writing's on the Wall" (1999)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 17:13:52 +0000

The Album: Destiny's Child "The Writing's on the Wall"

She sings about love and about longing. Hometown heroine and triple threat (singer/songwriter/producer) Tiffany Gouché (Inglewood, CA) sang her way into our playlists with silky smooth vocals and a production style that reminds us of R&B’s glory days in the 90s, mixed with the eclectic futuristic sound LA music has come to be known for.

She was therefore the perfect person to talk Destiny’s child platinum smash Heat Rock “The Writing’s On The Wall”.

We revisited an album that was full of anthems, an album that Tiffany experienced on cassette tape! Tiffany spoke to us about the layers of inspiration she got from this album as well as what made “Writing’s On The Wall” classic 90s R&B.

Summer Spectacular feat. Quetzal

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 17:00:19 +0000

The Albums:

Alé Kumá: Cantaoras (Alé Kumá, 2002)
Mary J. Blige: What's the 411? (Uptown, 1992)
The Smiths: Louder Than Bombs (Rough Trade, 1987)
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly (TDE, 2015)

We wanted to dedicate an episode to talking about the music of summer, easily the one season that people have the deepest sonic associations with. To that aim, we invited the two founding members of L.A.'s Quetzal, Martha Gonzalvez and Quetzal Flores. Since 1992, the group has melded the son jarocho tradition into all manners of other genres, resulting in seven albums (and counting), including last year's The Eternal Getdown. Together, each of our quartet got to pick an album that we associate with the summer and as you see above, we covered a whirlwind of styles and eras that bring up all manners of thoughts and feelings for us. Summer love may be fleeting but it lingers, always. More on Quetzal

Tiny Desk Concert (NPR's All Songs Considered)
"The Fiery Music of Quetzal" (KCET's Artbound)
Website | Facebook

Show Tracklisting:

Quetzal: Fig Pulp
Alé Kumá: Vola Pajarito
Alé Kumá: Por Que Me Pega
Alé Kumá: Oiaymelo
Mary J Blige: Love No Limit
Mary J Blige: Reminisce
Mary J Blige: Sweet Thing
Mary J Blige: What's the 411
Mary J Blige: I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By
The Smiths: Sheila Take a Bow
The Smiths: Shoplifters of the World Unite
The Smiths: Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Kendrick Lamar: Hood Politics
Kendrick Lamar: Alright
Kendrick Lamar: King Kunta
Kendrick Lamar: These Walls
Kendrick Lamar: i

Here's the Spotify playlist of as many of the songs above as we can find on there.

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Thomas Golubic on De La Soul's "Three Feet High and Rising" (1989)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 9 Aug 2018 17:00:06 +0000

The Album: De La Soul: Three Feet High and Rising (Tommy Boy, 1989) I (OW) mention this on the episode but this album changed my life. It wasn't my introduction to hip-hop but it was the album through which I fell in love with hip-hop and that set me down a path that shaped the rest of my professional (and even personal!) life: as a writer, scholar, DJ and of course, humble podcast host. It clearly had an impact on Thomas Golubic too. Our guest for this episode is one of the top music supervisors in the game (as Morgan jokes, he's not just a member, he's the president, literally). He worked on Six Feet Under Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and right now, Better Call Saul; those in L.A. may also remember him from his KCRW days. Thomas and us dug deep into everything that makes this album so special, not the least of which is how it shifted the perception of what hip-hop could sound and look like. It's may be hard to remember now, nearly 30 years later, but in 1989, hip-hop was dominated by larger-than-life, superhero MCs such as KRS-One, Chuck D, Rakim, etc. But here were these four guys from Long Island, with a wholly creative irreverence, embracing their inner nerdiness (and soul ya'll) and mining a treasure trove of samples beyond the James Brown catalog (the latter would get them in trouble, which we talk about as well). The album, and group, changed the proverbial game. No more no less. More on Thomas Golubic

Interview with Variety
Thomas on the "Crew Call" podcast.
Website | Twitter

Amber Navran on King's "We are King" (2016)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 2 Aug 2018 17:06:39 +0000

Los Angeles' underground soul scene is full of talent. The scene's unique blend of soul, jazz, lo-fi, and electronica has helped to bring LA into prominence. Amber Navran is part of the community, first as a member of soul jazz trio Moonchild, and now as a solo artist. Her debut project, Speak Up was released to critical acclaim in 2017 and showcases both her musicianship and her buttery vocals. She joined us to talk about KING, the Grammy-nominated trio whose EP The Story blew them all the way up and thrust them into the Twitterverse where they remain faves.

We talked about the harmonies that make KING's music so swoon-worthy, the arrangements that have dazzled listeners since 2011, and the many reasons "We Are KING" is a heat rock.

Phil Yu on Boyz II Men's "II" (1994)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 18:05:08 +0000

Guest: Phil Yu

The Album: Boyz II Men: II (1994)

Jesse Thorn on The Coup's "Steal This Album" (1998)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 17:11:03 +0000

The Album: The Coup: Steal This Album (1998)

Jesse Thorn, host of Bullseye and the MaximumFun podfather, has long been one of our biggest fans and we were delighted to have him come in to talk about one of his favorite albums: The Coup's stellar 1998 Steal This Album.

The Coup, by then made up of Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funkstress, had already established a reputation as one of hip-hop's most outspoken and unapologetically radical groups out there. Their 1993 debut, Kill My Landlord was a revelation. 1994's Genocide and Juice catapulted them onto the national stage. But by 1998, hip-hop's political era seemed distant in light of the era of jiggy rap yet in strode The Coup, resplendent in socialist ideas and that Oaktown funk, to mint a masterpiece devoted to defending the underdog and shedding light on the struggles of working class peoples.

Meshell Ndgeocello on Prince's "Purple Rain" (1984)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 23:55:17 +0000

The Album: Prince: Purple Rain (1984)

I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray. But when I woke up this morning and realized that Oliver and I spent an hour or so talking with Meshell N'degecello about Prince's seminal "Purple Rain" album, I was beside myself with hype.

We spoke about the album's forward thinking musicianship and arrangements, Prince as a visionary, his Messiah-like presence and the extended version of Computer Blue. She told us about keeping "I Would Die 4 U" on elevated decibels and repeat and the pure dopeness of "When Doves Cry".

We all revisited the moment we first experience Purple Rain.

Simply put, we talked to one genius guitar hero about another. It gets no better than that. Throw on your best purple garments and get up on this.

"Hey, take a listen. Tell me do you like what you hear..." -Prince

Star Spangled Banner Special

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 5 Jul 2018 17:00:36 +0000

The Song: Francis Scott Key's "Star-Spangled Banner" (1814)

For this July 4th week, Morgan and I wanted to do something special and tackle the Great American Heat Rock aka "The Star-Spangled Banner." As Oliver notes during the episode, this is both the oldest song that most Americans know (partly) by heart and the one that we'll hear the most versions of across our lifetimes. Some versions are transcendent. Some are historically groundbreaking. Some are by Fergie. Choose accordingly.

More about "The Star-Spangled Banner":

The Anacreon Song
Smithsonian's history of the anthem
"The National Anthem Is Racist, and We Made a Video in Case You Forgot" (The Root)
The story behind Whitney Houston's performance (Yahoo)
"The players’ anthem: when Marvin Gaye sang ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at the 1983 All-Star Game" (The Undefeated)

Show Tracklisting (all songs are renditions of The Star Spangled Banner unless indicated otherwise):

The Anacreontic Song
Lady Gaga
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston: I Will Always Love You
Whitney Houston
Marvin Gaye
Jose Feliciano
Jimi Hendrix
Mississippi Mass Choir
Bleeding Gum Murphy from The Simpsons
Daryl Coley: When Sunday Comes
Fergie
Kim Weston: Lift Every Voice and Sing
Committed: Lift Every Voice and Sing
Maze: Before I Let Go
New Order: Bizarre Love Triangle
New Order: Blue Monday
New Order: Bizarre Love Triangle
Whitney Houston

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Benjamin Booker on William Onyeabor's "Who is William Onyeabor?"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 00:54:36 +0000

The Album: William Onyeabor: Who Is William Onyeabor? (2013)

Benjamin Booker rocks.

His soulful blend of blues, rock soul and punk, together with hella honest lyrics and an inimitable voice has moved folks across his self titled debut and latest album Witness.

He joined us to talk about his discovery of Luaka Bop’s World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? It was love at first listen. He loved the moog and the drums, the minimalism and the disco elements.

He loved the message.

We talked about William Onyeabor's reclusiveness, foreshadowing in lyrics, African music across many genres and the coolness of a white cowboy hat.

More on William Onyeabor and Who is William Onyeabor :

"Review: William Onyeabor: Who is William Onyeabor? (NPR)
"Who the Hell is William Onyeabor?" (Noisey)

Eliza Skinner on the "Pretty in Pink" soundtrack (1986)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 16:54:51 +0000

Show: Heat Rocks

Guest: Eliza Skinner

The Album: Pretty in Pink Soundtrack (1986)

Actress and comedian Eliza Skinner is part of the brand new Maximum Fun scripted comedy show, Bubble, and hosts her own music podcast, Cool Playlist. For her guest spot on Heat Rocks, she wanted to revisit one of the iconic soundtracks of the 1980s: Pretty in Pink. The film is a key part of the John Hughes pantheon, alongside The Breakfast Club, 16 Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off and arguably boasts the most storied soundtrack of all of them, including now-classics that were written expressly for the film such as OMD's "If You Leave" and Echo and Bunnymen's "Bring On the Dancing Horses," and of course, the reworked, sax-ified version of the Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty In Pink."

Eliza and us discussed how soundtracks can create an invented nostalgia for a time we never knew, what lesser known tracks off this album still bump, and why Ducky really didn't deserve to belong with Andie.

(That said, Ducky did kill it during his "Try a Little Tenderness" scene)

More on the Pretty In Pink soundtrack:

"Neon Nostalgia: The Pretty In Pink Soundtrack 30 Years Later" (Stereogum)
"30 Years Ago: Pretty In Pink Gives an Official Soundtrack to Teen Angst" (Diffuser)

Marcus Moore on Mos Def's "Black on Both Sides" (1999)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 19:44:58 +0000

Show: Heat Rocks Guest: Marcus Moore

The Album: Mos Def's Black on Both Sides (1999)

Writer Marcus Moore, currently a senior editor at Bandcamp, happened to be coming through to Los Angeles for his first time ever and we took advantage by inviting him to join us to talk about Mos Def's debut album, Black on Both Sides. Coming out just a year after Mos and Talib Kweli created a new generation of conscious hip-hop fans with their Black Star collaboration, Black on Both Sides was also the culmination of a coming-out party for the Brooklyn rapper/actor that began earlier in the decade as he began racking up all manners of outstanding cameo spots.

During our convo with Marcus, we got into Mos' portrait of Brooklyn, how his singing took everyone for a (pleasant) surprise, why "Ms. Fat Booty" wasn't necessarily representative of the album as a whole and whether or not Mos ever was able to exceed the excellence of his debut.

More on Mos Def and Black on Both Sides:

"If Mos Def’s “Black On Both Sides” Came Out Today, It Might Be Considered The Blackest Album of All Time" (Very Smart Brothas)
Original 1999 review for The AV Club

Adrian Younge on Jeru's "The Sun Rises In the East" (1994)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 7 Jun 2018 16:44:05 +0000

Show: Heat Rocks Guests: Adrian Younge

The Album: Jeru the Damaja's The Sun Rises In the East (1994)

Since he started putting numbers on the board with the soundtrack to Black Dynamite, artist/composer Adrian Younge has become the hip-hop maestro for creative collaborations. Through the years, he's worked with Souls of Mischief, Ghostface Killah and DJ Premier/Royce the 5'9" as well as continuing to release his own solo work. For our episode, Younge reached back to the golden era of hip-hop for us to talk about one of the most "impervious" MCs around: Brooklyn's Jeru the Damaja and his 1994 debut album, The Sun Rises in the East. We tackled everything from the contradictions of rappers talking about both consciousness and doing dirt to the brilliance of DJ Premier's production to the intricacies of Jeru's freaky freaky freaky flow.

More on Jeru and The Sun Rises in the East:

Taura Stinson on Minnie Riperton's "Adventures in Paradise"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 31 May 2018 17:33:37 +0000

Guest: Taura Stinson

The Album: Minnie Riperton's Adventures in Paradise (1975)

2018 has been a breakout year for this weeks guest, Taura Stinson. "Mighty River", the song she co-wrote with Raphael Saadiq for Dee Rees' critically acclaimed film Mudbound was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. She is a singer's singer who understands the nuances of song creation, production and arrangement. We couldn't have asked for a better guest and a better album to discuss and were thrilled to have her wax poetic about Minnie Riperton's 1975 Adventures In Paradise.

We dug deep on this one - discussing both Minnie's supreme vocal prowess and the sonic and lyrical legacy she left us when she left us just four years after this album was released. With production help from The Crusaders, Stewart Levine and Leon Ware, this peek into Minnie's world is quite the adventure. Get thoroughly into our chat with Taura Stinson and then revisit Adventures in Paradise for the culture.

About Taura:

Taura's book

Taura's Oscar & Golden Globe Nominated song "Mighty River"

Taura's single "Gossypium Thorns"

Show Tracklist (all songs from "Adventures in Paradise" unless indicated otherwise):

"Baby, This Love I Have"
Taura Stinson: Gossypium Thorns (Freedom) "Gossypium Thorns (Freedom)"
The Gospel Clouds: "Let Us Pray"
"Inside My Love"
"Inside My Love"
Minnie Riperton: Perfect Angel "Lovin' You"
Rotary Connection: Aladdin "Life Could"
Mariah Carey: Emotions "Emotions"
Rotary Connection: Hey, Love "I Am the Blackgold of the Sun"
"Adventures in Paradise"
"Inside My Love"
A Tribe Called Quest: Midnight Marauders "Lyrics to Go"
The Pointer Sisters: Steppin' "How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)"
Gwen McCrae: Lady Soul "Rockin' Chair"
Natalie Cole: Inseparable "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)"
Labelle: Nightbirds "Lady Marmalade"
"Feelin' that the Feeling's Good"
Minnie Riperton: Perfect Angel "Take a Little Trip"
Minnie Riperton: The Best of Minnie Riperton "Woman of Heart and Mind"
Quincy Jones: Body Heat "If I Ever Lose This Heaven"
"Love and It's Glory"
"Adventures in Paradise"
"When It Comes Down to It"
"Alone in Brewster Bay"
"Baby, This Love I Have"
"Simple Things"
Minnie Riperton: Le Fleur "Young Willing and Able"
"Feelin' that the Feeling's Good"
"Simple Things"
"Minnie's Lament"
Prince: Parade-Music from the Motion Picture "Under the Cherry Moon" "Sometimes It Snows in April"
Emage: "Inside My Love"
"Don't Let Anyone Bring You Down"

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Cut Chemist on Cymande's "Cymande" (1972)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 24 May 2018 16:48:34 +0000

Show: Heat Rocks Guests: Cut Chemist

"Say go DJ, cause that's my DJ..." - Weezy

Cut Chemist is nice with the wax, nice with the loops, nice on the decks. A central figure in West Coast hip hop (Jurassic 5, Ozomotli) and the art of turntablism, both he and his record collection are legendary. While he joined us to talk about British funk pioneer Cymande's 1972 self-titled debut, our conversation covered a myriad of topics including Cut's journey as a crate digger, a record he may or may not have pilfered in 1987, the influence of Chuck Chillout and DJ Red Alert on his development as a DJ, Cymande's seamless genre-fusing and the band's relationship to hip-hop. Needless to say, we went in.

About Cut Chemist: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8225523/cut-chemist-i...

About Cut's latest album, Die Cut https://daily.bandcamp.com/2018/03/13/cut-chemist-die-cut-interview/

Oliver's Rolling Stone interview with Cymande: http://rol.st/1U3YpYS

Cymande website: http://www.cymandeofficial.com

Show Tracklist (all songs from Cymande unless indicated otherwise):

"One More"
Cut Chemist: The Audience's Listening "The Garden"
Harlem Underground Band: Harlem Underground Band "Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba"
"Bra"
"The Message"
"Dove"
DJ Chuck Chillout: clip from 98.7 Kiss FM show from 1986
Clip from the 1983 film "Wild Style"
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magik "Give It Away"
"Getting it Back"
"The Message"
Assagai: Assagai "Telephone Girl"
"Dove"
"Listen"
"Getting it Back"
"Zion I"
"Rickshaw"
Hielo Ardiente: El Original Ritmo Ardiente "Mensaje"
The Meters: The Meters "Cissy Strut"
"Rastafarian Folk Song"
The Fugees: The Score "The Score"
De La Soul: 3 Feet High and Rising "Change in Speak"
The Doors: L.A. Woman "Riders on the Storm"
Tune-Yards: Nikki Nack "Water Fountain"
Alice in Chains: Facelift "Man in the Box"
Cymande: Second Time Round "Bird"
Kaidi Tathem: Feed the Cat "Armz R Deh"

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Cole Cuchna on Kanye West's "Yeezus"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 17 May 2018 16:57:19 +0000

Comprehensive analysis. Two words that describe Cole Cuchna's extraordinary podcast, DISSECT, which dedicates a season to unpacking one album, one song (per episode) at a time. His subterranean exploration of Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one of the reasons we were thrilled to have him join us to discuss Kanye West's 6th album, Yeezus. We covered Yeezy the persona vs. Kanye the person, problematic lyrics, ego reckoning, and the 2009 VMA's - a turning point in his career and a moment that will forever be a part of pop culture history. We also spent some time delving into the mindset of Yeezy, but full disclaimer: we taped this episode before Kanye's infamous twitter torrent and TMZ brouhaha.

About Cole Kuchna:

Cole Cuchna, Prince of the podcast

Cole's socials: IG: turangalila_ TW: @dissectpodcast

About Dissect:

This Podcast Host Is Spending Hundreds of Hours to Dissect the Genius of Kanye West

Fredara Hadley on Anita Baker's "Compositions"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 10 May 2018 20:51:22 +0000

Ethnomusicologist Fredara Hadley had been on our wish list for a while and as luck would have it, she came to Los Angeles earlier this spring and things lined up nicely. For our episode, Fredara wanted to get into the queen of the quiet storm from the 1980s and early ‘90s: Anita Baker and her platinum-selling 1990 album, Compositions. During our conversation, we got into the nuances of Baker’s voice and how she compelled your full attention, how she fit (or didn’t) with the sound of R&B in the early ‘90s and how, as successful as she was, she could have thrived even better in an era where jazz and R&B overlap is better embraced.

Justin Simien on Michael Jackson's "HIStory"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 3 May 2018 21:55:54 +0000

Justin Simien, whose Dear White People is just beginning its second season on Netflix, came through to join us live for another Voyager Institute collaboration. By sheer coincidence, our last VI event took on Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation and here we are again, working our way through another Jackson family LP. (Can LaToya be too far behind?)

HIStory, as our crew points out, is an odd duck in the vaunted Jackson discography. Though it was enormously successful – the best selling double album of all time (especially since disc one was a "Greatest Hits" anthology) – it tends to have been overlooked given all the controversy swirling around MJ in that era. He had already been tried and acquitted on child molestation charges but his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley was still tabloid catnip and all this resulted in him recording, to quote Morgan: his most "pissed" off album, ever. This, and more, was all fodder for our conversation. But before you even listen, you have to watch the trailer for HIStory:

Meanwhile, don't forget to listen to last week's episode, about Michael Jackson's Off the Wall, featuring Martin Perna!

Martín Perna on Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 22:33:27 +0000

Martín Perna of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra wanted to revisit one of the formative albums of his childhood: Michael Jackson's Off The Wall. For many MJ fans, this is the king of pop's greatest work, a clear statement that he was now fully out of the shadow of the Jackson 5 and, along with super-producer Quincy Jones, ready to remake American pop music as we know it.

Perna not only brought his memories of growing up, mesmerized by the cover of the album, but his multi-instrumentalist also broke down some of the secrets behind the production on the album. Even for deep fans, there's something to learn, and for everyone else, you get to hear from one of the great pop albums of all time. (And if you haven't heard it before, check out this incredible demo version of "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough")

Next week's episode is also about Michael Jackson as director Justin Simien (Dear White People) joins us to talk about MJ's HIStory (1995).

And look for a bonus beats episode to post soon that features Perna and us talking about the never-ending "Off the Wall vs. Thriller" debate.

Egyptian Lover on Cameo's "Cameosis"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 17:41:51 +0000

Guests: Egyptian Lover

The album: Cameo: Cameosis (1980)

Egyptian Lover is one of the pivotal figures in shaping the sound of Los Angeles funk and hip-hop beginning in the 1980s. As a teen, he became a core member of the all-powerful Uncle Jamm's Army party crew and by the mid-80s, he was an artist in his own right, releasing a series of key electro albums that would help pave the way for the emergence of other L.A. groups like the Dream Team and N.W.A.

For our episode, Egyptian Lover wanted to take us back to the formative moment before all that had happened, when he was still in high school, hustling pause tapes of the latest funk jams to his classmates. Cameo's Cameosis was the group's fourth album in three years, the first to finally hit #1 on the charts, and the source of the monster hit, "Shake Your Pants."

During our discussion, we got into everything from the genius of Cameo's Larry Blackmon to what made the group different from other funk outfits (hint: the horns) to how one properly programs a slow jam within a mix of party funk songs.

Nite Jewel on Kraftwerk's "Computer World"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 18:56:52 +0000

Guest: Nite Jewel

The album: Kraftwerk: Computer World (1981)

When we invited L.A.'s own Nite Jewel to join us, it probably shouldn't have been a surprise that she picked Kraftwerk's Computer World; after all, she's toured the world performing the album. In sitting down with us, NJ (aka Ramona Gonzalez) broke down how she first became obsessed with the album, walking the streets of Berkeley, thinking about German philosophy (no, really!) and why the LP is such a masterpiece of fusing a variety of musical elements all colliding in the early 1980s.

Brother Ali on Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 5 Apr 2018 19:29:56 +0000

Guest: Brother Ali

The album: Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (1976)

As part of the two week MaxFun Drive, we wanted to save two of our best shows to share with you. This first week, it's rapper Brother Ali, a long time MaxFun favorite, and he picked one of the greatest albums of all time: Stevie Wonder's majestic Songs in the Key of Life, recorded when the artist was still in his 20s(!). Brother Ali, of course, has his own string of modern classics, including Shadows on the Sun (2003), The Undisputed Truth (2007) and most recently, last year's All the Beauty In This Whole Life. In choosing Stevie's masterpiece, Brother Ali took us back to his childhood, growing up with listening to Stevie in the house, and then later, as a teenager, buying Stevie albums to bring home and study. During our conversation with him, we got into the musical, social and cultural threads that Songs In the Key of Life has helped unwind over the years. More on Songs In the Key of Life

Jordan Runtagh's revisit of the album for Rolling Stone.
Alan Light's review of the album for Pitchfork.
The original 1976 Newsweek feature on the album.

P.J. Morton on Brandy's "Full Moon"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 17:23:36 +0000

Guest: P.J. Morton

The album: Brandy's Full Moon (2002)

Grammy winning singer/songwriter and producer PJ Morton knows production. A keyboardist and vocalist for Maroon 5, PJ Morton also knows lyrics. And vocals. PJ Morton joined us to share what he knows about Brandy's 2002 Full Moon and why it is for him, a certifiable heat rock.

We talked about the brilliance of producer Rodney Jerkins and what he created on this project, Brandy's prodigious talent as a child actress and singer, the evolution of her voice over time and the respect she rightfully deserves and has earned as a premiere vocalist. PJ Morton, knows a good album when he hears one. Check out this week's episode to find out more and also check out Gumbo Unplugged, his latest album.

Jack Davey on Digable Planets' "Reachin'"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 20:40:34 +0000

Miss Jack Davey's contribution to LA's alternative soul scene began over a decade ago with her work as one half of the group J*Davey. Their debut project, "The Beauty In Distortion" a mix of punk, funk, synth and soul, was a must have for tastemakers and made a splash both in Los Angeles and around the world. When she's not writing songs and producing, she can be found at a myriad of cool spots around the city, spreading the good news of good music as a DJ and selector.

Davey wanted to get into Digable Planets' debut album, now celebrating its 25th anniversary: Reachin' (a new refutation of time and space). Coming out at the height of hip-hop's love affair with jazz, Reachin' has been lauded as "an album about freedom—from convention, from oppression, from the limits imposed by the space-time continuum."

We had a chance to talk with Davey about Digable Planets' "Rebirth of Slick" and its cool factor, Brooklyn and its relationship to the album, Ladybug Mecca's butter voice, and what's it's like to be cool and not know it. More on Reachin'

Sheldon Pearce's 25th anniversary revisit/review for Pitchfork.
Oliver and Joseph Schloss' "After Further Review" revisit of the album from 2013.
Chris Read's 25th anniversary mixtape.

Denaun "Mr." Porter on A Tribe Called Quest's "Low End Theory"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 20:49:20 +0000

Producer/MC Denaun Porter aka Mr. Porter is one of the founding members of the Detroit crew, D12. It was none other than ATCQ's "Bonita Applebaum" that inspired him to get into hip-hop and not surprisingly, when we invited him to the show, he wanted to talk about one of the all-time great hip-hop albums: ATCQ's sophomore effort, Low End Theory.

During our convo, we discussed the production techniques and sample choices, how good the album's sequencing was, and why Q-Tip and the late Phife Dawg went together like peanut butter and jelly. We also got into the fight-provoking question of: Low End Theory or Midnight Marauders?

More on A Tribe Called Quest and Low End Theory

Vibe's "20 Facts about Low End Theory"
Angus Batey looks back on the album for its 25th anniversary for The Quietus.
The Source's original 5 mic review from 1991.

Brian "B+" Cross on Freestyle Fellowship's "To Whom It May Concern"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 8 Mar 2018 20:03:38 +0000

Brian Cross, better known to most as B+, is one of the most important photographers of the hip-hop generation to ever emerge out of the West Coast. A transplant from Ireland to California, Cross began documenting the L.A. rap community throughout the late '80s and early '90s, producing one of the great books about the region's hip-hop scene, It's Not About a Salary. He's also a founding partner of the music/events organization Mochilla. Just this year, Cross finally published his first book reflecting on his career in photography, Ghost Notes: Music of the Unplayed. For his episode with Heat Rocks, Cross took us back to 1991 and the release of To Whom It May Concern, one of the greatest West Coast hip-hop albums of all time...and one that most people never got to hear back in the day because of its limited distribution at the time. Better late than never; don't keep sleeping.

More on Freestyle Fellowship and To Whom It May Concern

Kevin Beacham's review of the album for Fifth Element.
Patrick Taylor's review of the album for Rap Reviews.

DJ Monalisa on D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 1 Mar 2018 21:52:21 +0000

DJ Monalisa Murray is an O.G. on the L.A. scene, having made the transition from working in marketing and promotion for record labels to working for herself as one of the Southland's premier selectors, down with everyone from Umoja Hi-Fi Soundsystem, to Footlong Development, to the KPL All-Stars. For her album choice, she wanted to spin us back to the emergence of D'Angelo and his debut album, Brown Sugar. We talked about how D'Angelo struck a different note than R&B in that era, how his style played to and against hip-hop, and just what exactly "brown sugar" refers to. Spicy.

Ishmael Butler on Lightnin' Rod's "Hustlers Convention"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 23 Feb 2018 00:31:36 +0000

Ishmael Butler aka Butterfly of Digable Planets aka one-half of Shabazz Palaces joined us to take us on a trip back to the blaxploitation era and one of the greatest soundtracks-in-search-of-a-movie: Hustlers Convention, the spoken word/funk album by Jalal Nuriddin of The Last Poets. Backed up musicians that included Kool and the Gang, Eric Gale and others, Hustlers Conventiontook listeners on a trip into the world of pimps, players, police and other street characters in a vivid, cinematic story that would go onto inspire rappers the world over.

More on Lightnin' Rod and Hustlers Convention

Documentary about the album and other street poets of the early '70s.
Graeme Thompson's story about the album for The Guardian
Red Bull Music Academy's feature on the album.

Pharoahe Monch on Main Source's "Breaking Atoms"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 19:15:29 +0000

MC extraordinaire Pharoahe Monch was no stranger to the trio known as Main Source (Large Professor + DJs K-Cut and Sir Scratch) back in the early '90s: Monch and Large Professor came up under the tutelage of the same mentor: producer Paul C. Though C was tragically murdered in 1989, both his proteges would go onto have banner years in '91 as Large Professor saw Main Source's Breaking Atoms released to critical fanfare while Monch enjoyed the same just a couple of months later when he and Prince Po released their debut, self-titled LP as Organized Konfusion.

Pharoahe Monch sat down with us to talk about his experience of buying Breaking Atoms on tape from Hot Waxx in Queens and having it blow his mind on that first listen as well as what he's learned from the album in the 25+ years since. Listen to this episode live at your BBQ...

More on Main Source and Breaking Atoms

Stephanie Smith-Strickland's interview with the group on the occasion of the LP's 25th anniversary, for HighSnobiety.
Andrew Winistorfer's breakdown of the album's samples for VinylMePlease.
The original 4.5 mic review of the album in The Source.

King on Outkast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Wed, 7 Feb 2018 00:40:36 +0000

The Grammy-nominated ladies of King are Anita Bias alongside sisters Amber and Paris Strother and it seems only right to have a super-sized guest talk about a super-sized album: Outkast's massive double LP from 2003: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Amongst other topics, we talked about how each of the three women first crossed paths with Outkast, what the group meant for the rise of the South in the 1990s, and revisited the endless debate over whether this as an Outkast album or a pair of Big Boi/Andre 3000 solo albums packaged together.

More on Outkast and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

MTV"s "making of" story of the album.
Jon Caramanica's original review of the album for Rolling Stone.
Oliver's original review of the album for the San Jose Metro

Bardo Martinez on Eugene McDaniels' "Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 23:53:30 +0000

When we approached Bardo Martinez of Chicano Batman, we figured he'd go with a left-field album choice and he did not disappoint. Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse was a cult LPs for years, one of the most overtly political albums of the entire '70s (least of all on Atlantic Records!) and might have been wholly forgotten if not for '90s hip-hop producers rediscovering it and using it as sample fodder. However, all groovy groove aside, Headless Heroes is also an astonishing album in regards to McDaniels' explicit politics regarding everything from the U.S. treatment of Native Americans to blue eyed minstrels to Watergate. It was supposedly blacklisted by no less than the Vice President of the U.S. (Spiro Agnew). As Chicano Batman are no strangers to merging message and music, it was the perfect LP for Bardo and us to dig into, least of all in this current political moment.

More on Eugene McDaniels and Headless Heroes

The late McDaniels website
Mark Anthony Neal on McDaniels' legacy
Testimonials about Headless Heroes

More on Bardo Martinez and Chicano Batman

Alex Piveysky's interview with Bardo
Oliver's review of Chicano Batman's Freedom is Free
Band Website | Twitter | Bardo's Instagram

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Headless Heroes unless indicated otherwise):

“Jagger The Dagger”
Chicano Batman: “Freedom is Free” Freedom Is Free
“The Parasite”
“Supermarket Blues”
“Lovin Man”
John Lennon: “Instant Karma”
Gene McDaniels: “Tower of Strength” Tower of Strength
Eddie Harris & Les McCann: “Compared to What” Swiss Movement
Eugene McDaniels: “Cherrystones” Outlaw
“Susan Jane”
“Freedom Death Dance”
Eddie Harris: “Freedom Jazz Dance” The In Sound
“The Lord Is Back”

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Frannie Kelley on TLC's "CrazySexyCool"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 19:34:52 +0000

Frannie Kelley, alongside Ali Shaheed Muhammed, hosts the Microphone Check podcast and when we invited her onto our show, she wanted to talk about one of her formative musical experiences as a teenager: TLC's sophomore album, CrazySexyCool. The three of us talked about how TLC shaped adolescent ideas about sexuality and femininity, how the group repped the hip-hop South at a time when that was just becoming to be recognized nationally, and how the group had one of the more underrated liner notes font game going on.

Vernon Reid on Jimi Hendrix's "Band of Gypsys"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:52:52 +0000

Vernon Reid is one of rock's greatest guitarists, having rising to stardom in the 1980s as a member of Living Colour. It's not surprising, therefore, that he'd choose an album by one of rock's othergreat guitarists: Jimi Hendrix and his final album, Band of Gypsys, recorded live at the Fillmore East and released in the spring of 1970. Reid gave us an amazing lesson into what exactly made Hendrix so brilliant, least of all on this album.

Bahamadia on The Kay-Gee's "Keep On Bumpin' & Masterplan"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 9 Jan 2018 20:17:49 +0000

We invited Philly hip-hop star Bahamadia to join us and she kept things tri-state by picking the 1974 debut album by New Jersey's The Kay-Gee's, originally an off-shoot of Kool and the Gang. The Kay-Gee's may not be household names in the same manner as Kool and the Gang or the Ohio Players but especially on this debut, they cooked up an impressively diverse and surprisingly eclectic set of tracks that defy simple expectation. What other band ends their album with their own "greatest hits montage"?

More on the Kay-Gee's Keep On Bumpin' & Masterplan

John Bush's review for AllMusic.com.
The Kay-Gee's page on All Things Deep.

Kris Bowers on Kendrick Lamar's "Section.80"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 2 Jan 2018 18:30:43 +0000

To talk about Kendrick Lamar's studio LP debut, we wanted to find someone of K-Dot's generation, another L.A. young gun, and who better than pianist and composer, Kris Bowers? Like Kendrick, Kris grew up in L.A. and just as Kendrick has ascended the hip-hop ladder, so has Kris in jazz, as he won the prestigious Theolonious . But more than that, the web of Los Angeles musical ties was bound to bring the two into orbit in different ways - something we discuss in the episode - not the least of which is the fact that Kris covered one of the biggest tracks in Kendrick's early career: "Rigamortis."

In our conversation with Kris, we got deep into how he put together both the song and video for his version of "Rigamortis," whether or not Kendrick has a jazz sensibility in his style, and what it's like to see a hometown kid become the Greatest Rapper Alive.

Bosco on Erykah Badu's "Mama's Gun"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 20:39:27 +0000

Bosco was an artist that Morgan knew, from jump, she wanted to get on the show. A Savannah native who's now an L.A. transplant (by way of Atlanta), Bosco's been steady climbing the ranks in the music game and has had a breakout year in 2017, especially wiht the release of her full-length, b.

For her pick, Bosco wanted to revisit one of the formative albums that shaped her imagination as a kid: Erykah Badu's sophomore album: Mama's Gun. If Baduizm helped put Badu on the map, Mama's Gun - which was produced by the same Soulquarian team also working on D'Angelo's Voodoo and Common's Like Water For Chocolate - firmly established her as the preeminent queen of what was then called neo-soul and these days seems better described as future soul. Our conversation touched on many aspects of how Badu and her sound landed on people's ears back at the turn of the century and how it continues to reverberate today.

Jay Smooth on Run DMC's "Raising Hell"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 18:35:03 +0000

Jay Smooth was always on our list of "people who we gotta get for Heat Rocks." His cultural and political commentary, much of which he does through his pioneering Ill Doctrine videos, have positioned him as one of the hip-hop generation's leading pundits and he's also hosted one of the longest running rap shows in the world: The Underground Railroad on WBAI.

For this show, Jay wanted to revisit Raising Hell a paradigm-shifting rap album that, as we discuss, has seemingly become underrated through the passage of time though it is unquestionably one of the most important hip-hop releases, ever. We get into the moment in which Run DMC first arrived, how they changed the game for rap artists (for better and for worse) and of course, all our fire track and sleeper jam picks off this LP.

"The Prequel Episode" Loren Kajikawa on Dr. Dre's "The Chronic"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 17:24:18 +0000

This is a special "prequel" episode, originally taped in December of 2016. Back then, Heat Rocks was just a mere glint in the eye Morgan and Oliver. All we had was a basic concept: how about a podcast devoted to doing deep dives into an album? We invited Univ. of Oregon musicologist Loren Kajikawa, author of Sounding Race In Rap Songs, to help us tackle one of the most important albums of the last 25 years: Dr. Dre's The Chronic, which just so happens to celebrate its 25th release anniversary today (hence why we timed to put it out now).

For our listeners, you'll notice that while this episode shares some familiar aspects with our regular Heat Rocks shows, there are some differences. For one, we hadn't come up with our format yet, especially in having our guests pick a hot track, sleeper jam, etc. We had also toyed with a little "Context" section - complete with its own jingle! - that we eventually abandoned because it was superfluous (Oliver did have fun making the jingle though). But overall, we think you can easily see the seed of Heat Rocks even in this very early attempt. Hope you all enjoy it and we're so happy to finally share this, one year later.

Suzi Analogue on Missy Elliott's "Da Real World"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 18:43:23 +0000

Artist and producer Suzi Analogue originally hails from Missy Elliott's native state of Virginia though these days, she's rooted in Los Angeles, having come up within the city's beat scene. Suzi wanted to talk about what she described as the "underdog" album, Missy's enormously successful yet somewhat forgotten sophomore album, Da Real World, one in a string of five back-to-back platinum LPs for Missy and her production partner, Timbaland. We talked about Missy's creative genius and what that meant for a young girl, growing up in VA.

More on Missy Elliott and Da Real World:

Missy on Da Real World, for Vibe.com
David Brown's review of the album in Entertainment Weekly.
Missy's live recreation of the "She's a Bitch" video at this year's Hip Hop Honors show.

B.Slade on Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation 1814" (Recorded Live!)

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 5 Dec 2017 19:54:59 +0000

This episode is the edited version of our special live launch party we held on Nov. 11 in Los Angeles, as part of the Voyager Institute. We were joined by Grammy-nominated soul artist B.Slade, a self-described "Rhythm Nation-pedia" who, indeed, brought incredible insight and knowledge to our discussion of this seminal Jackson LP. How many people can name every single dancer in Janet's "Miss You Much" video? Exactly.

It was a delightful conversation and having the live audience was great. It was our first time taping in front of an audience but hopefully won't be our last. Thanks to all those who came out and to those who couldn't, we're happy you finally get to listen to this.

More on Janet Jackson and Rhythm Nation 1814:

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' track-by-track breakdown of the album in Billboard.
Jimmy Jam on the "making of" Rhythm Nation 1814 in Billboard.
Joseph Vogel's "The Nation That Janet Built" for The Atlantic

The Shacks on The Sapphires' "Best Of"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 17:44:29 +0000

This week, we are joined by The Shacks, the NYC-based duo of singer Shannon Wise and producer Max Shrager. Maybe you heard their cool cover of The Kinks' "This Strange Effect" on that Apple adthis fall? Or maybe you were already up on them from their EP, released by Big Crown? Either way, Max and Shannon threw us a curveball with their choice: a 1994 compilation of nearly two dozen sides recorded in the mid-1960s by The Sapphires, the obscure-ish R&B trio of Carol Jackson, George Gainer and Joe Livingston that recorded with Swan and ABC-Paramount before dissolving circa 1966. We talked about the unique sound of The Sapphires, the roots of Philly soul, and what it's like to dig through the crates to figure out your own sound.

This episode was both the first time we had a group in the studio, which was fun, and the first time we tackled an album from the 1960s. Hopefully, it won't be the last, for either.

More on The Sapphpires and their Best Of anthology:

Soulwalking's page about The Sapphires
Bruce Eder's review of the anthology for AllMusic.com

Ernest Hardy on Sade's "Love Deluxe"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 21:11:49 +0000

This week, we are joined by cultural critic Ernest Hardy. Oliver first got to know Ernest through his remarkable writing in the LA Weekly and other outlets, some of which has been compiled into his Blood Beats Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 collections. For this episode, he chose Sade's Love Deluxe, which came out 25 years ago this fall. Ernest's deep love and appreciation for Sade was readily apparent to both Morgan and Oliver and it produced what we think is one of the most insightful episodes we've taped thus yet. We really loved this episode, we hope you do too.

Check out bonus content from this episode exclusively at heatrockspod.com!

Anil Dash on Prince's "1999"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 19:03:35 +0000

This week, we are joined by Anil Dash, the tech entrepreneur and activist whose love for The Purple One is legendary. He takes us into the Heat Rocks deep dive for Prince's 1999, the album that marked his new wave turn. All three of us share tales of our older family members being scandalized by the sexy-sexiness on the album. Mmmmmm...spicy.

Ill Camille on Common's "Like Water for Chocolate"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 7 Nov 2017 18:02:42 +0000

This week, we are joined by Los Angeles rapper, Ill Camille. She picked Common's Like Water For Chocolate from 2000, a moment that marked the Chicago's turn towards becoming a hip-hop elder statesman, backed by the production might of the Soulquarians crew. Camille's love for the album runs deep and during the course of our taping, she'd bust out Common's rhymes, line for line.

More on Common and Like Water For Chocolate:

Oliver's original 2000 review of the album for the LA Weekly
Mensah Demary's "liner notes" of the album for The Toast.

Dam-Funk on Change's "Miracles"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 18:00:56 +0000

This week, we are joined by Dam-Funk, Stones Throw recording artist, resident DJ for the legendary Funkmosphere parties and all-around apostle of the boogie. He was one of the very first artists we invited to tape Heat Rocks, back in its pilot stage, and we're very pleased to finally shared the episode in which he took us on a deep trip into Change's Miracles.

Along the way, we talked about the post-disco, Chic-era of funk and R&B, how Italian and New York musical communities collided on this album, and how a young kid, growing up in Pasadena, would drive up to Mt. Wilson, bumping this on cassette.

Shea Serrano on DMX's "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 18:00:18 +0000

This week, we are joined by Shea Serrano, contributor at TheRinger.com, author of both The Rap Yearbook and the brand new Basketball (And Other Things). For his heat rock, he choose DMX's smash debut LP, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. *woof*

During our conversation, we learned how it was Shea's grandmother, of all people, who introduced him to DMX and how that album became the formative soundtrack for him as a teenager. Shea drops wisdom nuggets on the nature of pain in DMX's persona and how this album marked a repudiation of the direction hip-hop was headed in during the jiggy era.

Ann Powers on Madonna's "Like A Prayer"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 16:40:42 +0000

Phonte on Intro's 1993 Self-Titled Album

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 06:44:58 +0000

This week rapper, producer, and songwriter Phonte (Foreign Exchange, Little Brother) joins Oliver and Morgan to talk about the R&B group Intro's 1993 self-titled debut album. The trio's release was part of the changing tide of R&B music, when slow jams were giving way to more uptempo hits and singers were exchanging suits for Timbs and jeans.

Phonte shares about what Intro's brand of new jack swing meant to him as a teenager growing up in Greensboro, North Carolina. Don't get him wrong: he was a hardcore hip-hop head, but he grew up in an R&B household and in church where singing became a big part of his musical formation. Phonte breaks down the group's influence on his understanding of songwriting, lyrics, and the balance between uptempo and down-tempo songs. He also discusses the album's mature themes, crediting them for helping a young brother's macking game.

Joi on Betty Davis's "They Say I'm Different"

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Mon, 2 Oct 2017 19:12:12 +0000

On the premiere episode of Heat Rocks, future soul artist Joi Gilliam joins Morgan and Oliver to talk about They Say I'm Different, the 1974 album by the unsung queen of funk, Betty Davis! It's really an obvious pairing: Betty Davis was one of the most original and fascinating figures of the 1970s, and Joi is an artist very much cut from Betty's cloth, but a generation later. We had a super fun conversation about the importance and uniqueness of Betty and what she's meant, especially, to waves of Black women artists who've followed in her path in the 40+ years since. Watch for Joi's new album, Rebekkah HolyLove Salvation Symphony, this fall!

Subscribe now to Heat Rocks, starting October 3rd!

shows@maximumfun.org (MaximumFun.org) — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 17:34:36 +0000

What's a heat rock? Oliver Wang and Morgan Rhodes explain in this sneak preview of their new show, coming to you October 3rd. New episodes every Tuesday!