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

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!

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 [email protected] 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!

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

• Official trailer
• Shocking Omissions: 'Waiting To Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album' (NPR)
• 100 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time: 'Waiting to Exhale' (Albumism)

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)

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 [email protected] 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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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

• Kierra and Karen Sheard singing "You Loved Me"
• Kierra on This Is Me back in 2006
• This is Me music video

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!

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

• A timely reminder that Lil Kim’s ‘Hard Core’ is still the greatest rap record of all time (NME)
• Biggie's reference track for Queen Bitch
• How Lil’ Kim’s ‘Hard Core’ Changed Rap (The Ringer)

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!

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

• Floating Along In Uncertainty With Vijay Iyer (NPR)
• Check out Uneasy
• Twitter | Instagram

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!