Big Sell 30 Day 17: Kate Tempest Featuring JoJCast

From the beginning of the #BigSell30, Jo and J, the hosts of the JoJCast, have been big supporters of our goal to experience one new piece of pop culture everyday throughout the month of October . Amita and I are super appreciative of all of the amazing big sell recommendations they’ve tweeted over the past couple of weeks. We’ve been big fans of their Screen Dump podcast since late last year so we are especially thrilled to have them join us for this Inside Pop Special International Edition!

JojCast’s Big Sell is British music artist, Kate Tempest’s new album, Let Them Eat Chaos. If you listen carefully to this podcast you’ll hear Amita and I become increasingly intrigued by their description of this musician/poet we’d never heard before. Jo shares the fact that she has “…an emotional epiphany,” every time she see’s Tempest perform. I love (and quite often depend on) music that elicits deep emotional responses so I was ready to immediately check out this #BigSell! In addition to the new album, Jo and J also recommended Kate Tempest’s appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series (link below). After watching the first song, “Ballad of a Hero,” I was floored!

After listening to our conversation we think you’ll also be inspired to check out Kate Tempest and listen to JoJCast (they’re also podcasting about music now and I guarantee there are many other great recommendations from them ahead).

Listen to: Kate Tempest’s new album: Let Them Eat Chaos

Watch her on:  Tiny Desk Concert

Be sure to follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30

Big Sell 30 Day 16: Your Favorite Super Short Song

As we move into the second half of our Big Sell 30 Day Challenge (wherein we all commit to experience one new piece of pop culture every day for 30 days) I want to try something different. In acknowledgement of the days when we don’t have a lot of time to devote to pop culture consumption, I want to Big Sell you YOUR favorite super short song.

Most rock, pop, and hip hop songs are typically 3 and a half to 5 minutes long. I’d like for you to think about a really short song you love (something under 2.5 minutes), listen to it and revel in the fact that the song is giving you everything you need in a pop song in less than half the time of a song of average length.

I have two favorite super shorties you’re welcome to claim as your own. Prince and the Revolution’s, “I Wonder U” from the album Parade. I think this may be the only Prince song that isn’t sung by Prince (please correct me if I’m wrong). Instead Wendy and Lisa’s ethereal vocals take center stage; their chant/mantra/prayer ( I Wonder U/What’s On Your Mind)  floats over heavy percussion and flutes and guitar for 1:39. I actually wish this song was a little longer.

And then there’s The Smiths’, “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.” At 1:52 it is without a doubt the shortest song with the longest title with the saddest effect in my music collection. It’s a perfect song. Morrissey’s Lyrics and Johnny Marr’s guitar pull you down into the depths of despair in under two minutes. If the song lasted any longer you might not be able to recover!

You can listen to the The Smiths’ track on Spotify HERE

So what’s your favorite super short song? Leave a comment below or tweet us @popinsiders and let us know. Be sure to follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30

Big Sell 30 Day 14: Your Childhood Hero Interviews a Supreme Court Justice

Sean David Johnson here to give you a new #BigSell and to celebrate the fact that The Big Sell 30 Day Challenge has reached the two week mark! I hope you’ve enjoyed the #BigSell30 as much as Amita and I have. We appreciate everyone who has shared their pop culture suggestions. And we have so much more to come in the next two weeks!

My Big Sell for today is another podcast. As you may know, Death, Sex & Money is one of my favorites (I ‘big sold’ the series to Amita earlier this year and she likes it too). The show’s host, Anna Sale, is a master interviewer. She speaks to guests, both the famous and the every day person, about those three very personal words in the show’s title; and gets them to open up and share their inner lives in a really illuminating way. Amita and I also gained such great information and inspiration from her presentation earlier this summer at Podcast Movement (PM16)  in Chicago.

For the past few weeks Anna Sale has been on maternity leave and her hosting duties have been filled by a roster of former guests. I’d like to Big Sell the episode in which Sonia Manzano interviews US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.  If you’re an American child of the 70’s, 80’s, or 90’s (or the parent of that child) you may know Sonia Manzano better as Maria from Sesame Street.

These two women discuss their similar childhoods (growing up poor in the South Bronx), how their lives have been touched by family members with substance abuse problems, the current state of race and representation in this country and so much more.

Justice Sotomayor is incredibly open and Ms. Manzano creates such an easy rapport – the result is an inspiring, empowering and informative conversation.

You can listen to this amazing conversation HERE

Be sure to follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30

Big Sell 30 Day 13: Roman GianArthur’s OK Lady

Sean David Johnson here with lucky day 13 of our Big Sell 30 Day Challenge. We’re almost halfway into our project of trying one new pop culture experience everyday for 30 days in October. It’s never too late to join – follow #BigSell30 on Twitter for recommendations and please send us suggestions and updates on how the challenge is working out for you!

Today I’d like to #BigSell you Roman GianArthur’s EP, OK Lady.

I first discovered the singer-songwriter-guitar maestro Roman GianArthur on Wondaland Presents: The Eephus, a collection of songs by artists signed to Janelle Monae’s Wondaland music label. GianArthur’s contribution, “iKnow,” is one of the highlights of that EP. Soon after hearing that song I discovered his incredible single, “I-69.” The song’s sweet melody coupled with its playful, sexual lyrics result in a great tune and a very compelling Big Sell for a well known sexual practice.

There’s Only One Rule/Do Unto Me As I Do Unto You/You Know It’s True/The Best Love is Mutual

Preach! (Also, Sold!)

As I searched for more music from GianArthur, I came upon an EP on SoundCloud called OK Lady. The EP blends the songs of Radiohead and D’Angelo in a really interesting way. Not quite covers, more than mash-ups, he seamlessly blends the musical styles of two modern day musical giants and creates a sound that is uniquely his own.  Listen to it HERE.
I’m looking forward to more music from this talented artist (I saw him perform at AfroPunk this summer and he blew the entire crowd away with his set, which started with one of the best covers of Prince’s Let’s Go Crazy I have ever heard!).
Be sure to follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30.

 

 

Fall TV Review, Bruno Mars, Childish Gambino – IP 48

This week, Inside Pop helps you deal with increasing demands of Peak TV. We review the new Fall TV shows we’re sampling, the returning shows that are still solid and the programs that are either being saved on our DVR or on the cusp of being buried in the Pop Culture Graveyard. Some of the shows that make the list include: HBO’s Insecure, Hulu’s The Mindy Project and NBC’s The Good Place & This is Us.

 

We also discuss the new single from Bruno Mars, “24K Magic” and analyze his Vegas party themed video. Plus, Amita’s Big Sell features music from Atlanta star, Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino.

The multi-talented creator, writer and director of the hit series also sings and raps and Amita handpicks three singles from his last album Kauai, “Palisades”, “Sober” and “Pop Thieves” for #BigSell30. We also discuss his creative collective- Royalty, featured here in GQ Magazine as well as The Roots musical collective discussed here.

Listen. Share. Subscribe and follow us @Popinsiders on Twitter and Instagram. And don’t forget to join us in the Big Sell 30 Day Challenge!

Big Sell Day 11: Lake Street Dive

Amita here with your daily dose of pop culture for the Big Sell 30 Day Challenge! Join us and try one new piece of pop culture every day for 30 days.

Most of my Big Sells on Inside Pop and in the #BigSell30 are usually musical. I grew up playing the piano, violin and french horn and was in the orchestra, marching band and sang in choir all throughout school. Music is in my veins and I don’t think I can go a day without listening to something. So, when I started to put together a list for The Big Sell 30, it was no surprise that most of my choices were songs or music videos. #Predictable or #Reliable?

So, it’s no surprise that today’s Big Sell is another music choice! I’m selling a really fantastic Jazz/Pop/Country quartet called Lake Street Dive. About 2 years ago I found them while I was doing some online research for something music related and I was hooked. I watched their great jazzy cover of The Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back” that was recorded on a sidewalk in Boston (They met while attending The New England Conservatory of Music). You can watch that awesome video here. The lead singer, Rachael Price has an incredible voice and the group has really strong and smart harmonies that I just eat up.

Their EP, Fun Machine features that cover along with a few others like George Michael’s “Faith” and Hall & Oates “Rich Girl”- but that’s not my Big Sell! (Fooled ya- but you should check that out)

They’ve released 2 albums of original music since the Fun Machine EP and their most recent album, Side Pony was released earlier this year. (Still not my Big Sell…keep waiting!)

As soon as I discovered Lake Street Dive, I listened to their self-titled debut album on repeat and this song just spoke to me. It has so much soul and I will always turn it up and sing along. No more fake sells- THIS is my Big Sell! The single “Don’t Make Me Hold Your Hand” by Lake Street Dive- You can listen to it here on Spotify.

Check it out and let me know you think!

Follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30!

 

 

Big Sell 30 Day 10: Ben Folds featuring The Tone Podcast

We’re welcoming you back to the work week with a special #BigSell30 edition of Inside Pop. We’re continuing our goal to experience one new piece of pop culture every day during the month of October with guests Wendell Britt and Nate Zablan, the hosts of The Tone Podcast.

benfoldsWendell and Nate’s Big Sell is the singer/songwriter Ben Folds. And whether you’ve followed Ben Folds’ career for decades or are only slightly acquainted with his music; after listening to this Big Sell you are guaranteed to have a greater appreciation for the musician. It’s Everything You Wanted to Know About Ben Folds But Were Afraid to Ask!

We had such a great time talking to Nate and Wendell and hope you check out The Tone Podcast as well!

Be sure to follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30!

Big Sell 30 Day 9: ABC’s Speechless

Hey everyone- @ProducingAmita here! We are in full swing with #BigSell30 and I’m excited to bring you my next Big Sell: the pilot episode of the new ABC comedy, Speechless. It’s Fall TV season and I am attempting to check out a bunch of new shows (This is Us, Queen Sugar, Insecure, Westworld) along with some established series that I already enjoy (How To Get Away With Murder, Younger, Jane The Virgin). Peak TV ya’ll! (I have somehow also maintained having a personal life outside of watching all of this TV, going to movie screenings, recording and blogging about the podcast and working a full time job- I promise!)

SPEECHLESS- "Pilot" - Maya DiMeo moves her family to a new, upscale school district when she finds the perfect situation for her eldest son, JJ, who has cerebral palsy. While JJ and daughter Dylan are thrilled with the move, middle son Ray is frustrated by the family's tendencies to constantly move, since he feels his needs are second to JJ Soon, Maya realizes it is not the right situation for JJ and attempts to uproot the family again. But JJ connects with Kenneth, the school's groundskeeper, and asks him to step in as a his caregiver, and Ray manages to convince Maya to give the school another chance, on the series premiere "Speechless" WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (8:30-9:00 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Adam Taylor) JOHN ROSS BOWIE, MINNIE DRIVER, MASON COOK, KYLA KENEDY, MICAH FOWLER, DINA SPYBEY-WATERS I saw promos for this series starring Minnie Driver and I was intrigued by it’s premise. A family with 3 children, Dylan, Ray and J.J. – who has cerebral palsy, is nonverbal and confined to a wheelchair but has normal intelligence and uses a light and a keyboard to express what he’s saying to everyone. Minnie Driver is great as Maya, the unapologetic mother of a child with special needs who only wants the best environment for her son and has uprooted her family from school to school to school to school (seriously- they list like 5 or 6). Even if it means that they have to live in a dilapidated house right next to a train track because it’s in the right school district and sometimes at the expense of her other children who have to continually make new friends.

The pilot episode shows their experience at a new mainstream school that says they embrace “inclusivity.” Maya chooses this school because they provided J.J. with an aide that will speak for him. But when they arrive on their first day, she notices that they don’t have a wheelchair ramp in front, he has to use the service entrance in the back where they take out the trash and of course, Maya will not settle for that. Then, when J.J. enters his first class, the teacher tells the class to give him a standing ovation. He then thinks they might be offending him and tells the class to stop. The show makes you feel awkward but also laugh and doesn’t force you to empathize with this family or this teenager, they just give the audience humorous moments in many different scenarios like love, family and also ignorance.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Be sure to follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30!

Big Sell 30 Day 8: Bruno Mars’ new single- “24K Magic”

Hey y’all! Amita here with today’s #BigSell30! Join us and experience one new piece of pop culture every day for 30 days!

I had a whole other idea for what I was going to sell today but I scrapped it as soon as the new Bruno Mars single “24K Magic” filled my ears on Friday! This funk/dance/pop/soul instant hit is giving me the throwback feels!! This single feels like the love child of his 2013 hit “Treasure” and 2015 smash single “Uptown Funk” with Mark Ronson. And if you were living under a rock and haven’t heard one of these- let me break it down for you- 1 fun party dance song + 1 even more fun party dance song= new get on the dance floor single!

bruno-mars-24k-magic I woke up to this fun party song as it was playing on the radio when my alarm went off and then had the pleasure of hearing it again in my Spotify Release Radar playlist and I was hooked.

I’m a huge fan of Bruno Mars’ first two albums and think he is an incredible musician and songwriter, but his live performances are what really impressed me- remember when he and Beyoncé had a dance off at the Super Bowl earlier this year?! Or when he brought down the house during the 2014 Super Bowl halftime show?

He is definitely on my list of people to see in concert and when his album drops on November 18th, you can guarantee it will be on repeat in my house and I’ll be on the watch to see when he starts a new tour!

When Bruno announced the single release on Instagram he said “You can call it my first single, but I call it the invitation to the party.” Thanks for the invitation Mr. Mars. Consider this my RSVP.

You can listen to single and watch the Vegas party themed video here.

How do you even make a video to this song without just having a party for hours?!

As always, let us know if you have a Big Sell for us for #BigSell30 on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and leave a comment below to let us know what you think of our Big Sells so far!

Big Sell 30 Day 7: A.O. Scott reviews The Birth of a Nation

#BigSell30 is one week old! Say it with me – one new piece of pop culture, once a day for 30 days!
Sean David Johnson aka @therealseanjohn here with our Day 7 Big Sell.
birthEarlier this week Amita and I saw a screening of The Birth of a Nation. After the screening and the cast & crew Q &A she and I stood outside the theater and wrestled with our feelings about the film. My conclusion – the film was solid, but not great. Well made, but not extraordinary. Moving and glorious in parts, but also flawed throughout.
If I’m going to sit through a film that assaults me with scenes of emotional and physical horror, that film better be transcendent (like 12 Years a Slave, for example). Unfortunately, The Birth of a Nation does not transcend its limitations or the news surrounding the former sexual assault trial of director Nate Parker.
My big sell for today is the A.O. Scott review of the film. It’s a superb essay on the considerations we make before we see a film and the baggage we bring into the theater.
You can read the his NY Times review: here
Finally, even though I’m not recommending The Birth of a Nation,  I have to say this is still a great weekend to support Black Creators and subject matter. Ava DuVernay’s documentary, 13th, is essential viewing. Issa Rae’s Insecure premieres on HBO this Sunday and contains some of the biggest laugh out loud moments I’ve experienced all Fall.  And if you haven’t binged the entire season yet – Luke Cage on Netflix provides you the opportunity to revel in the fantasy of a bullet proof Black man who fights crime and reads Walter Mosley novels.

Follow Inside Pop on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30!