Miguel

Best Music of 2017 – IP 104

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This year we’ve listened to countless hours of new albums and songs and attended dozens of concerts and are now ready to declare our favorite music of 2017! Listen to this very special year-end episode to hear us discuss the artists who delivered music that inspired us, informed us, entertained us, made us want to dance and put us in that special mood!

We also discuss our favorite singles of the year, our most memorable concerts and the new music we’re craving in 2018.

Our favorite albums list includes:

Kendrick Lamar – DAMN

Jay-Z – 4:44

Laura Mvula – The Dreaming Room

Jamila Woods – HEAVN (Check out her video for Blk Girl Soldier )

Khalid – American Teen (Check out his video for Location)

Gorillaz – Humanz

Miguel – War X Leisure (Check out his video for Told You So)

Mavis Staples –  If All I Was Was Black

Earl St. Clair – My Name Is Earl

Sampha – Process (Check out his video for (No One Knows Me) Like the Piano)

SZA – CTRL

Lorde – Melodrama (Listen to Liability)

Valerie June – Order of Time (Watch her live performance of Order of Time)

 

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Best New Music, Emmy Awards Recap, Big Sell 30 Announcement – IP 92

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We’re donning our imaginary capes to bring you the very best of a very busy Pop Culture week!

First, we chat new music from Sam Smith, Miguel and Mavis Staples.

Then, the Emmy Awards were awarded on Sunday night and we discuss how overwhelmed and overjoyed we were by how many of our favorite shows and actors won! Amita gives her Red Carpet Fashion Slay or Nay and we discuss all of the ‘firsts’ of the evening. Were we rooting for the Black and Brown people? Listen to find out!

Plus, we announce the return of The Big Sell 30 Day Challenge! Find out what #BigSell30 is all about, why we need you to be part of it and hear about some of our favorite Big Sells from last year’s challenge.

And in this week’s Big Sell, Sean reviews the Glamour article written by Reese Witherspoon about ambition and sells Amita on an interesting coming out video by actor Haaz Sleiman.

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You can also find us at MaximumFun.org

Game of Thrones Finale: The Dragon and the Wolf; Pop Culture in NYC, Miguel’s ‘Sky Walker’ – IP 89

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It’s all about our two favorite places on this week’s episode; New York City and . . .Westeros!

We recap the Game of Thrones season seven finale, “The Dragon and the Wolf,” and celebrate the Stark Siblings’ team work, analyze the Kings Landing Meet-Up Royale and question the ramifications of Jon and Dany’s union (and when we say ‘union’ we mean they SMASHED!) We also tell you where we think this season ranks compared to others and let you know how long you’ll have to wait for the 8th and final season of this epic series.

We also talk about the jam packed week of pop culture consumption we experienced in our hometown of NYC ( the greatest city in the world – just ask the Schuyler Sisters!). Our 7 days of being out and about include:

  • AfroPunk – where we saw live performances from Solange, Sampha, Soul II Soul, Raphael Saddiq, Michael Kiwanuka, Macy Gray, Nao, Blitz the Ambassador and hung out with hundreds of people representing Black Girl Magic and Black Boy Joy!
  • Dave Chappelle & Solange at the iconic Radio City Music Hall.
  • An exclusive screening of the new doc, A Suitable Girl, that explores arranged marriages in India.
  • Fellow Max Fun podcasters The Greatest Generation’s live Show (and after the live show there was the after party!).
  • Kendrick Lamar live!

And Amita Big Sells Sean something to help him – and you – deal with Game of Thrones withdrawal.

Plus – we review the new single and music video, “Sky Walker,” by singer, songwriter and mutual object of Pop Insiders’ affection -Miguel.

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You can also find us at MaximumFun.org

Links

Check out the Youtube channel of Nao, one of our favorite discoveries at AfroPunk.

Spiderman: Homecoming, Best Movies of 2017 (So Far), Summer Blockbusters, Miguel – IP 81

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The holiday weekend is over but the fun is just about to begin! Take a deep dive inside the world of pop culture and join Sean David Johnson and Amita Patel as they celebrate their debut episode on Maximum Fun!

  • Who are Amita and Sean? I mean who are they REALLY?: The co-hosts of Inside Pop (aka The Pop Insiders) give you a quick (re)introduction.
  • Inside Pop Quiz: Summer Blockbuster Movie Edition. Sean quizzes Amita on everything from which Spielberg summer flick has made the most money to which of Rihanna’s lines of dialogue from Battleship are the most memorable.
  • Best Movies of 2017 . . .  So Far: Special guest Mike Cecchini, editor-in-chief of Den of Geek joins Sean and Amita to discuss his favorite films of the first half of the year. Plus he shares an early review of Spiderman: Homecoming.
  • The Big Sell: Each week Sean and Amita take turns recommending something from the world of pop culture the other has yet to experience. Last week, Sean’s Big Sell to Amita was the Viceland episode of Earthworks featuring musician (and Inside Pop object of objectification) Miguel.  This week Amita big sells Sean music from British singer/songwriter, Bishop Briggs.

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On Max Fun

The Big Sick, Top LGBT TV Characters, TLC – IP 80

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This week, Amita discusses the new film, The Big Sick, written and starring Kumail Nanjiani. Will it be the sleeper hit of the summer?

Then, in honor of Pride Month, we revisit one of our favorite countdowns- our Top 3 LGBT Television Characters – with special guest Kevyn Fairchild.

And Sean gives his review of TLC’s new single “Way Back” in the Big Sell and suggests a Viceland show featuring IP favorite, Miguel.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders

Top Fashionable Females on TV, March Madness Bracket Winner, The White Helmets – IP 69

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We conclude our pop culture themed Women’s History Month segments with an interview with Esta Fiesta, host of the Poised N Polished podcast! We talk to Esta about her top 3 fashionable female characters on TV and discuss fashion and feminism.

Next, the conclusion of our inaugural March Madness bracket dedicated to Amita’s celebrity husbands contains a surprising finale. Wait until you hear who she chooses to be her ultimate celeb husband.

And we discuss Sean’s Big Sell from last week, the Oscar winning documentary short, The White Helmets.

Tweet us who you would have picked to win the March Madness bracket @Popinsiders and let us know your favorite fashionable female on TV.

Links:

Poised N Polished on iTunes

Esta Fiesta’s Blog – Living Fiesta

 

Inside Pop Quiz, Amita’s Celebrity Husbands Bracket, Jorja Smith – IP 68

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This week, we continue our special Women’s History Month segments with a female themed Inside Pop Quiz and Amita starts to narrow down her celebrity husbands in the Inaugural Inside Pop March Madness Bracket! You won’t believe who she picked. (And neither does Sean!)

And Sean gives his review of last week’s Big Sell, British singer/songwriter Jorja Smith.

Tweet us your thoughts on Amita’s Celebrity Husband choices and quiz our pop culture knowledge @PopInsiders

Essential Music of 2016 – IP 56

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We’re back with another installment of our Best of the year episodes with our Essential Music of 2016 picks!

So why was this music Essential? These albums and songs acted as the soundtrack of our lives this year and brought us joy, helped us through pain, gave us life, empowered us and sometimes even made us cry. This is the music that fed our souls and we are thrilled to share it with you.

There’s no question that artists we’ve loved for years, like A Tribe Called Quest, Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani, Sia and David Bowie continued to provide music that is as relevant and vital in 2016 as it was decades earlier. But our minds were also blown (and our hearts tugged) by a younger generation of music artists — from Solange’s honest and inspiring A Seat at the Table, to Frank Ocean’s heady and heartfelt Endless and Blonde, to Blood Orange’s introspective opus, Freetown Sounds.

We also shine a light on some of the great songs of the year including works by Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, Rationale, Kamasi Washington, James Blake, One Republic and Miguel.

And this list would not be complete without Sean rejoicing one more time for the Hamilton original cast album.
gallery-sia-this-is-acting-1atcq-coverbeyonce_-_lemonade_official_album_cover  blackstar_front_coversolange

 

 

 

Links:

Amita recommends reading this behind the scenes article on the making of Sia’s This is Acting album.

Here is the emotional Gwen Stefani video for Used to Love You that Amita connected with.

Sean loves this duet between legends Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand and would love to see Beyonce and Adele recreate this incredible collaboration.

Amita and Sean both believe Solange created two of the most gorgeous videos of the year: Cranes in the Sky and Don’t Touch My Hair.

Post Election Pop Culture, A Tribe Called Quest, SNL, Years of Living Dangerously, Hamilton Mixtape – IP 53

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File this episode under “Life Goes On”. Yes brothers and sisters, we’re still coming to terms with last week’s election, so we begin this week’s show with a discussion of the pop culture we consumed over the past week as a means of escape, comfort and inspiration. We watched everything from Westworld to Moana; listened to Nina Simone and attended the Maxwell and Mary J. Blige show at MSG in an effort to soothe our hearts and minds.

atcqThen, we discuss the album that was a tiny light amidst the gloom – A Tribe Called Quest’s new release, We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service. We review the album, talk about Tribe’s place in the Hip Hop canon, rate favorite tracks and celebrate their triumphant performance on Saturday Night Live. We also talk about highlights from what we think will go down as one of the most important episodes in SNL history thanks to Kate McKinnon’s incredible cold open performance and Dave Chappelle’s brilliant turn as host.

hamilton-mixtape-artist-lineupWe also preview the highly anticipated Hamilton Mixtape, a collection of re-recordings of the songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical, Hamilton. Sean is a Hamilton obsessive (remember the House of Hyperbole?) and Amita has yet to see the musical or listen to the cast album. Listen to hear their reviews from two very different perspectives.

yearsWe’re also excited to bring you the first in our Producer to Producer series in which we interview a producer about their latest work. We launch the series with Joel Bach, co-creator of the Emmy Award-winning series, Years of Living Dangerously. The show explores the effects of climate change in the world through the eyes of high-profile celebrities. We find out how producers sent Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Middle East, Gisele Bundchen to the Amazon and also learn what YOU can do to join the battle to save our planet.

And we cap the show off with The Big Sell. Find out what Amita thinks of Sean’s Valerie June Big Sell. And discover the new music video Amita has to share with Sean.

LINKS

  • Actor Riz Ahmed ( The Night Of, Rogue One) appears on the Hamilton Mixtape as Riz MC. Here is a clip that features his flow with none other than Childish Gambino! Check out this dynamic duet right HERE!
  • Post election, Sean traveled back to the early 90’s. A time where a Clinton won the presidency! Enjoy this clip of Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant performing To Sir, With Love to celebrate a new era.
  • Kate McKinnon’s stunning performance on SNL as Hillary Clinton singing “Hallelujah.”
  • Head to the Years of Living Dangerously Action page to get more information on how you can contribute to the climate change movement.