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 gr...
Aug 22, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 100
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. O...
Aug 15, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 99
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 M...
Aug 08, 2019•55 min•Ep. 98
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. 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...
Aug 01, 2019•52 min•Ep. 97
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...
Jul 26, 2019•58 min•Ep. 96
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 seemi...
Jul 18, 2019•54 min•Ep. 95
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 havi...
Jul 11, 2019•56 min•Ep. 94
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 ...
Jul 04, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 93
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 bu...
Jun 27, 2019•41 min•Ep. 92
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: Bre...
Jun 20, 2019•58 min•Ep. 91
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 pr...
Jun 13, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 90
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,...
Jun 06, 2019•53 min•Ep. 89
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 D...
May 30, 2019•44 min•Ep. 88
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 ...
May 23, 2019•59 min•Ep. 87
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 ...
May 16, 2019•52 min•Ep. 86
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 ...
May 09, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 85
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 Warr...
May 02, 2019•50 min•Ep. 84
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'...
Apr 25, 2019•52 min•Ep. 83
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 ...
Apr 18, 2019•55 min•Ep. 82
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 i...
Apr 11, 2019•55 min•Ep. 81
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 lon...
Apr 04, 2019•40 min•Ep. 80
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 t...
Mar 28, 2019•56 min•Ep. 79
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 ...
Mar 21, 2019•55 min•Ep. 78
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 a...
Mar 14, 2019•33 min•Ep. 77
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 jo...
Mar 07, 2019•49 min•Ep. 76
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 th...
Feb 28, 2019•48 min•Ep. 75
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 Mor...
Feb 21, 2019•44 min•Ep. 74
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 Com...
Feb 14, 2019•38 min•Ep. 73
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...
Feb 07, 2019•51 min•Ep. 72
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, T...
Jan 31, 2019•48 min•Ep. 71
