The Album: Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark (1973)

In 1973, Joni Mitchell was in the midst of one of the greatest pop music runs of the decade. By that time, the Canadian-turned-temporary-Angelino had already put out Ladies of the Canyon, Blue and For the Roses, establishing her as one of the very few women that the rock establishment of the era would deign to even recognize. But with Court & Spark, Mitchell showcased her abilities beyond just the folk-rock world by minting a pop album that would become a defining statement of the time and her most successful LP of all time.

To talk about Court & Spark, we had in another transplant to L.A.: singer/songwriter Sidibe. Since moving out here 10 years ago, she's steadily raised her profile, especially after the release of her 2014 EPs, Metaphysical and Soul Siren. Alongside the likes of Anita Baker and Sade, Joni has been a longtime influence and inspiration on Sidibe and during our convo, we discussed Mitchell's vocal gifts, her jazz-rock collaborations on Court & Spark plus a tangential discussions on how bagging groceries might help one get discovered.

More on Sidibe

• "Meet Sidibe" (Galore Magazine)

• "Soul starlet Sidibe talks being an independent artist" (Rolling Out)

• Website | Instagram | Twitter

More on Court & Spark

• Counterbalance discussion of the album (Popmatters)

• "The story of Joni Mitchell's jazz-inflected, career-turning Court and Spark" (Ultimate Classic Rock)

• Original 1974 Rolling Stone review

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Court and Spark unless indicated otherwise):

• Help Me
• Sidibe: Unreachable
• People's Parties
• The Same Situation
• Just Like This Train
• Help Me
• Joni Mitchell: Sweet Sucker Dance
• Twisted
• Raised on Robbery
• Help Me
• Sidibe: Love is Stronger Than Pride

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

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The Album: Destiny's Child: The Writing's on The Wall (1999)

She sings about love and about longing. Hometown heroine and triple threat (singer/songwriter/producer) Tiffany Gouché (Inglewood, CA) sang her way into our playlists with silky smooth vocals and a production style that reminds us of R&B’s glory days in the 90s, mixed with the eclectic futuristic sound LA music has come to be known for.

She was, therefore, the perfect person to talk Destiny’s child platinum smash heatrock “The Writing’s On The Wall”.

We revisited an album that was full of anthems, an album that Tiffany experienced on cassette tape! Tiffany spoke to us about the layers of inspiration she got from this album as well as what made “Writing’s On The Wall” classic 90s R&B.

More on Tiffany Gouche

• Interview with Billboard
• Tiffany @ The Boiler Room
• Instagram | Twitter

More on The Writing's on the Wall

• Wikipedia entry on The Writing's on the Wall
• The 10 Commandments of Love Within Destiny's Child's "The Writing's on the Wall"" (Billboard)

• "The Writing's on the Wall: Review" (Pitchfork)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from The Writing's on the Wall unless indicated otherwise):

• Say My Name
• Bug A Boo
• Tiffany Gouché: Dive
• Commisioned and Fred Hammond: So Good to Know (The Savior)
• Kim Burrell: Holy Ghost
• Outro (Amazing Grace Dedicated to Andretta Tillman) 
• Bills, Bills, Bills
• Hey Ladies
• Jumpin, Jumpin 
• Beyonce: Love Drought 
• Say My Name
• Bills, Bills, Bills 
• Usher: I Don't Know 
• P!nk: There You Go
• Confessions (feat. Missy Elliott)
• Now That She's Gone
• Bug A Boo
• If You Leave (feat. Next)
• Aretha Franklin: At Last - Let Me In Your Life Outtake
• Aretha Franklin: Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I) 

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The Album: De La Soul: Three Feet High and Rising (Tommy Boy, 1989)
I (OW) mention this on the episode but this album changed my life. It wasn't my introduction to hip-hop but it was the album through which I fell in love with hip-hop and that set me down a path that shaped the rest of my professional (and even personal!) life: as a writer, scholar, DJ and of course, humble podcast host. 
It clearly had an impact on Thomas Golubic too. Our guest for this episode is one of the top music supervisors in the game (as Morgan jokes, he's not just a member, he's the president, literally). He worked on Six Feet Under Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and right now, Better Call Saul; those in L.A. may also remember him from his KCRW days. 
Thomas and us dug deep into everything that makes this album so special, not the least of which is how it shifted the perception of what hip-hop could sound and look like. It's may be hard to remember now, nearly 30 years later, but in 1989, hip-hop was dominated by larger-than-life, superhero MCs such as KRS-One, Chuck D, Rakim, etc. But here were these four guys from Long Island, with a wholly creative irreverence, embracing their inner nerdiness (and soul ya'll) and mining a treasure trove of samples beyond the James Brown catalog (the latter would get them in trouble, which we talk about as well). The album, and group, changed the proverbial game. No more no less.  
More on Thomas Golubic

• Interview with Variety
• Thomas on the "Crew Call" podcast.
• Website | Twitter

More on Three Feet High and Rising

• "How we made 3 Feet High and Rising" (Guardian)
• "Classic Track-by-Track Review" (Billboard)
• "Three Feet High and Missing: Why De La Soul's albums aren't available online" (BBC)

Show Tracklisting (all songs fromThree Feet High and Rising unless indicated otherwise):

• Say No Go 
• Sia: Breathe Me 
• Nat King Cole: Pick Yourself Up 
• Little Richard: Hurry Sundown 
• The Magic Number 
• The Turtles - You Showed Me 
• Transmitting Live From Mars 
• Steely Dan: Black Cow 
• Peter Gunz: Deja Vu (Uptown Baby) 
• Say No Go 
• The Invitations: Written on the Wall
• Plug Tunin 
• Bob Dorough: Three is a Magic Number 
• The Magic Number 
• Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)
• Kool G Rap and DJ Polo: Road to the Riches 
• Say No Go 
• Intro 
• Eye Know 
• Me Myself and I 
• Tread Water 
• D.A.I.S.Y. Age 
• Double Huey Skit
• Cool Breeze on the Rocks
• I Can Do Anything

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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. And if anyone knows the identity of the woman in the video, get @ us about it!).

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 II unless indicated otherwise):

• Thank You
• I’ll Make Love To You
• Damar Jackson: No Protection
• Thank You
• Boyz II Men: Motownphilly
• LL Cool J: Hey Lover
• Khalil
• Yesterday
• Water Runs Dry
• On Bended Knee
• I’ll Make Love to You
• Sisqo: Thong Song

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