Heat Rocks - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Heat Rocks — Arts
Heat Rocks

Scorching guests and sizzling records: join music writer Oliver Wang and music supervisor Morgan Rhodes each week as they invite their favorite artists, critics and scholars for in-depth conversations about the albums that shape our lives. Each week our special guests will take you deep into their heat rocks from the world of hip-hop, soul, dance, jazz, funk and more. Get with us!

Latest Episodes:

Wendy & Lisa on Prince's "Around the World in a Day" (1985) Jan 09, 2020

Show notes

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.

More on Wendy & Lisa

Wendy and Lisa on Prince (Esquire)
Website | Twitter

More on Around the World in a Day

Prince's First Ever TV Interview (MTV)
Prince: In appreciation of a virtuoso, enduring genius (The Independent)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Around the World in a Day unless otherwise indicated):

Raspberry Beret
Around the World in a Day
Prince: Annie Christian
America
Pop Life
Paisley Park
Raspberry Beret
Condition of the Heart
The Ladder
Tamborine
America
Raspberry Beret
Around the World in a Day
Paisley Park
Condition of the Heart
Prince: Uptown
Wendy & Lisa: I Will
The Family: Screams of Passion

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!

Our Heat Rocks of the 2010s Jan 02, 2020

Show notes

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 Dec 26, 2019

Show notes

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.

More on Alonso Duralde

Show Tracklisting

Andy Williams: The Christmas Song
The Waitresses: Christmas Wrapping
The Shins: Wonderful Christmastime
Tracey Thorn: Snow
Yogi Yorgesson: I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas
Boyz II Men: Let It Snow
Band-Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas
Andy Williams: O Holy Night
Andy Williams: Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells
Andy Williams: It'as The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Andy Williams: Sweet Little Jesus Boy
Andy Williams: White Christmas
Vince Guraldi Trio: Christmas Time is Here (Vocal)
Vince Guraldi Trio: Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental)
Vince Guraldi Trio: My Little Drum
Vince Guraldi Trio: What Child Is This
Vince Guraldi Trio:Skating
Vince Guraldi Trio: Hark, The Herald Angels Ring
Otis Redding: Merry Christmas Baby take 1
The Staple Singers: Who Took The Merry Out of Christmas
Albert King: Santa Claus Wants Some Loving
The Emotions: Black Christmas
Isaac Hayes: The Mistletoe and Me
Booker T and the M.G.'s: Winter Wonderland take 2
Nate Dogg: Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto
Little Johnny Taylor: Please Come Home For Christmas
Juice Crew: Cold Chillin' Christmas
The Free Design: Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)
Kenny Bobien: O Come Let Us Adore Him

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!

Cristela Alonzo on A Tribe Called Quest's "We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service" (2016) Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

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.

More on Cristela Alonzo

Cristela's new book Music to My Years is out now
Laughing in Color: Cristela Alonzo on Finding Her Voice Through Comedy (WNYC)
Twitter | Instagram

More on We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service

Oliver's review of the album for NPR
A Tribe Called Quest's Soundtrack to the Resistance (The Village Voice)
Life Goes On With A Tribe Called Quest (The AV Club)

Show Tracklisting (All songs from We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service unless otherwise indicated):

The Donald
The Space Program
We The People...
Curtis Mayfield: We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue
Dis Generation
Kids...
Elton John: Bennie and the Jets
Solid Wall of Sound
Nairobi Sisters: Promised Land
Whateva Will Be
Dis Generation
Conrad Tokyo
We The People
Black Spasmodic
Melatonin
Lost Somebody
Conrad Tokyo
J Dilla: U-Love
Gang Starr: Bad Name
2pac: Changes

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!

Father Amde of The Watts Prophets on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" (1971) Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

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.

More on The Watts Prophets

"Watts Poetic" (TheLAand Magazine)
Biography on The Watts Prophets (Hip Hop Scriptures)
Website

More on What's Going On

The Story of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' (NPR)
Marvin Gaye's 1971 "What's Going On?" remains unanswered today (The Conversation)

Show Tracklisting (All songs from What's Going On unless indicated otherwise):

Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)
What's Happening Brother
What's Going On
Watts Prophets: Pain
BB King: Every Day I Have the Blues
Marvin Gaye: Soldier's Plea
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
Save the Children
Curtis Mayfield: We Got To Have Peace
Save The Children
Wholy Holy
Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)
James Brown: King Heroin
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
What's Going On

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!

Van Hunt on The Sensational Nightingales' "It's Gonna Rain Again" (1972) Dec 05, 2019

Show notes

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.

More on Van Hunt

The re-imagined first album, TRIM
Seconds of Pleasure (Live at WFUV)
Website | Twitter

More on The Sensational Nightingales

The group's take on the gospel classic Hold On
Profile by the National Museum of African American Music

Show Tracklisting (All songs from It's Gonna Rain Again unless indicated otherwise):

The Last Mile
Dionne Farris: Hopeless
Van Hunt: Seconds of Pleasure
Hold to God's Hand
At the Meeting
A Heart Like Thine
Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers: Be With Me Jesus (Live)
Van Hunt: Hello, Goodbye
Anthony Hamilton and the Hamiltones: Hotline Bling
DeWayne Crocker Jr, Kelontae Gavin, Keyla Richardson, and Mikel Simmons: Hold On
At the Meeting
The Old Account
Carlton Pierson: Old School Medley
It's Gonna Rain Again
At Calvary
A Heart Like Thine
Sly Stone: Walking in Jesus Name
It's Gonna Rain Again
The Davis Sisters: Twelve Gates to the City
Silvergate Quartet: I'm Going Down in Jesus Name
The Daytonians: Let Jesus Work it Out
Dr Charles Hayes and Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer Choir: Jesus Can Work it Out
Karizma: Work it Out
Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers: Jesus Gave Me Water

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!

Phil Yu on Boyz II Men's "II" (1994) redux Nov 28, 2019

Show notes

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.)

More on Phil Yu

Interview with KoreAm Magazine.
"Becoming Angry Asian Man" (Profile on NBC Asian America)
They Call Us Bruce podcast
Website | Twitter

More on II

"Boyz II Men at the Head of the Class" (New York Times, 1994)
"Boyz II Men Talk Incredible 1994 Run" (Billboard, 2014)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from IIunless indicated otherwise):

Thank You
I'll Make Love To You
Damar Jackson: No Protection
Thank You
Boyz II Men: End of the Road
I Sit Away
LL Cool J: Hey Lover
Khalil - Interlude
Yesterday
Water Runs Dry
On Bended Knee
I'll Make Love To You
On Bended Knee
Boyz II Men: A Song For Mama
Jezzebel
Jazmine Sullivan: Round Midnight
Water Runs Dry

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

Shana Redmond on Jodeci's "Forever My Lady" (1991) Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

“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

More on Forever My Lady

“Jodeci “Forever My Lady”: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective” (Dart Adams)
“How Jodeci’s ‘Forever My Lady’ Influenced Generations of Male Singers” (The Boombox)
“Jodeci’s Forever My Lady Was Revolutionary for Me, a Church Boy From Okla.” (The Root)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Forever My Lady unless indicated otherwise):

Forever My Lady
Stay
Pebbles: Love Makes Things Happen
MC Hammer: Addams Groove
Come and Talk to Me
112: Cupid
It's Alright
Interlude (553 - Nasty)
Stay
U and I
Come And Talk To Me
Jodeci: Feenin (Remix)
The Association: Cherish
Cherish
X's We Share
Forever My Lady

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!

Saul Williams on Portishead's "Dummy" (1994) Nov 14, 2019

Show notes

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

More on Dummy

Pitchfork's review of Portishead
Portishead's Dummy is 25. The Band Asks That You Play it Loud (The New York Times)
Portishead's first TV appearance

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

Sour Times
Saul Williams: Fight Everything
Mysterons
Gang Starr: No Shame In My Game
Young Disciples: As We Come (To Be)
Cleveland Watkiss: Project 23
Omar: Need You Bad
Mysterons
Numb
Glory Box
Tricky: Hell is Round the Corner
Glory Box
It Could Be Sweet
Sade: No Ordinary Love
It Could Be Sweet
Sour Times
Lalo Schifrim: Danube Incident
Isaac Hayes: Ike's Rap II
Glory Box
Strangers
It's A Fire
Pedestal
It Could Be Sweet
Esthero: Superheroes
Isaac Hayes: Walk On By
Nearly God: Poems
Goldie: Mother
Soho: Hot Music
Fela Kuti: Lady

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!

Tisa Bryant on The Emotions' "Rejoice" (1977) Nov 07, 2019

Show notes

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.

More on Tisa

Tisa's book, Unexplained Presence
The Hybridized Writings of Tisa Bryant (KCET)
Twitter

More on The Emotions

The Emotions on Stax Records
Wattstax trailer
An 'Emotional' Success Story (The New York Times)

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

Best of My Love
The Emotions: Peace Be Still
The Emotions: Flowers
A Long Way to Go
Bebe and Cece Winans: Heaven
Blessed
Deniece Williams: Free
Blessed
Key to My Heart
Don't Ask My Neighbors
A Feeling Is
Best of My Love
Don't Ask My Neighbors
Best of My Love
Don't Ask My Neighbors
A Long Way to Go
Rejoice
The Emotions: Blind Alley
The Emotions: Show Me How
The Emotions: Peace Be Still (Live at Wattstax)
The Emotions: We Go Through Changes
Love Unlimited: If You Want Me, Say It

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!

Related Podcasts