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 t...
Mar 19, 2020•58 min•Ep. 130
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...
Mar 13, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 129
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 Who Shot Ya? on Maximum Fun The Bentonville Film Festival Twitter | In...
Mar 05, 2020•54 min•Ep. 128
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. More on April Wolfe Her film podcast Switchblade Sisters Her interview with Forbes Twitter | Instagram More on The Bodygua...
Feb 27, 2020•56 min•Ep. 127
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 More on Sean Sean's profile on The Ringer Twitter | Instagram More on Juice Yo! MTV Raps' Intervie...
Feb 20, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 126
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. More on Renée Renée's podcast Attack of the Queerwolf Instagram | Twitter More on Us Jord...
Feb 13, 2020•52 min•Ep. 125
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 ...
Feb 06, 2020•57 min•Ep. 124
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 tackle...
Jan 30, 2020•55 min•Ep. 123
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...
Jan 23, 2020•43 min•Ep. 122
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 enormou...
Jan 16, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 121
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 fun...
Jan 09, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 120
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 a...
Jan 02, 2020•57 min•Ep. 119
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 Christ...
Dec 26, 2019•40 min•Ep. 118
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...
Dec 20, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 117
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 a...
Dec 13, 2019•52 min•Ep. 116
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, b...
Dec 05, 2019•55 min•Ep. 115
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 ...
Nov 28, 2019•48 min•Ep. 114
“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 innoce...
Nov 21, 2019•46 min•Ep. 113
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 rig...
Nov 14, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 112
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...
Nov 07, 2019•50 min•Ep. 111
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 impr...
Oct 31, 2019•52 min•Ep. 110
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 ...
Oct 24, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 109
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 m...
Oct 17, 2019•56 min•Ep. 108
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...
Oct 10, 2019•57 min•Ep. 107
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 ...
Oct 03, 2019•52 min•Ep. 106
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...
Sep 26, 2019•57 min•Ep. 105
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 ...
Sep 19, 2019•55 min•Ep. 104
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 cr...
Sep 12, 2019•46 min•Ep. 103
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...
Sep 05, 2019•50 min•Ep. 102
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, h...
Aug 29, 2019•56 min•Ep. 101
