Author: insidepoppodcast

SAG and PGA Awards, Black Mirror, Loving, Missy Elliott, Nile Rodgers, MILCK – IP 61

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Awards season is in high gear and we have the latest winners from the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Producers Guild Awards!
We discuss the outspoken SAG winners who took the opportunity to speak out on current events in unique and inspirational ways and Sean gets on his soap box about appreciating films regardless of awards recognition.

 

 

Then, we bring back our Late to the Party segment and talk about our delayed appreciation of Black Mirror and the films Loving and Kubo and the Two Strings. Amita also shares why Hell or High Water was not worth her wait. 

Also, we celebrate our love for Missy Elliott and her new video, I’m Better.

And once again we return to Sean’s House Of Hyperbole and hear about his experience sitting front row at his musical hero, Nile Rodgers, recent concert.

Finally, Sean gives Amita his review of last week’s Big Sell, and introduces his Big Sell- jazz singer, Abbey Lincoln.

 

Follow Inside Pop in Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders

Links

Nile Rodgers makes a case for Chic’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction

Listen to Sean’s Best of Nile Rodgers’ playlist.

Check out Abbey Lincoln’s African Lady.

Oscar Nominations, TV Preview, Aziz Ansari on SNL, Women’s March, St. Beauty – IP 60

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Buckle up because we’ve got another exciting installment of Inside Pop- featuring the best of Film, Television and Music this week!

First up, we analyze the recently announced Oscar Nominations and discuss whether Oscar is still so white, how the love for La La Land will affect the Oscar telecast and the best way to predict who will win.

 

 

 

 

Then, we give you our Late Winter / Early Spring preview and share inside info on tons of  shows including Twin Peaks, 24: Legacy, This Is Us, Fargo, Star Trek Discovery, The Good Fight and many more!

 

Plus, Amita reports on the experience of participating in the NYC Women’s March and she and Sean rate Aziz Ansari’s hosting skills on Saturday Night Live.

  

Finally, Amita rates Sean’s Big Sell from last week, two new singles from St. Beauty – the duo who are reaching new heights on Janelle Monae’s Wondaland record label.

 

Links:

Amita’s Big Sell: Watch the moving song captured at the DC Women’s March “I Can’t Keep Quiet” here.

Movie Awards Season update, Amita returns from the Motherland – IP 59

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After a brief one week break, Inside Pop is back with a brand new episode! We have a comprehensive breakdown of the major awards nominations thus far leading up to the Oscar Noms that will be announced next week. We’ll discuss the PGA, DGA and SAG nominees for Best Picture and Best Actor/Actress and give you our thoughts on how the awards race is shaking out thus far.
PGA logo  DGASAG logo

 

 

 

AND Amita is finally back home from her 2 week vacation in India! She’s sharing all of the pop culture she experienced while overseas including a couple of shows she binge watched on her flights. Sean also shares his pop culture consumption over the last couple weeks and reveals how he really feels about the Sense 8 Christmas Special.

Plus, the Big Sell is back! Sean reviews and rates Amita’s last Big Sell, the Alicia Keys music video for “Blended Family” and then shares his next Big Sell.

Links:

Official Nominations lists:

PGA

DGA

SAG

Golden Globe Predictions, George Michael, Pop Culture Resolutions – IP 58

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Happy New Year! We’re super excited to share our first episode of 2017! And what better way to kick off the year than with our annual pop culture resolutions. As always, we’re striving to be the best pop culture consumers we can be.

We also take a moment to mourn the passing and celebrate the work of singer George Michael and hopefully turn you on to some of his greatest duets.

ggAnd before you fill out your Golden Globes office pool, make sure to listen to our 100% accurate predictions for Hollywood’s drunkest night! Will Lion beat Moonlight? Will Deadpool upset La La Land? Will the Hollywood Foreign Press embrace Donald Glover’s Atlanta? And will the best TV drama race come down to a fight between Strangers Things and Westworld? Listen for those answers and more!

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders

LINKS

Listen to Sean’s George Michael Playlist on Spotify.

Favorite Movie Moments of 2016 – IP 57

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In this special year-end episode we take a look at our favorite moments from some of our favorite movies of 2016. And we’re joined by film critic Dave Karger, who not only shares his top 3 movie moments, but also gives us a list of his favorite films of the year that fell under almost everyone else’s radar.

This is THE podcast episode to listen to if you’re a) looking for recommendations of new films to check out, and b) want to revisit a film you loved and see it in a new light!

We have a diverse roster of films for our discussion including:

  • Moonlight (hands down – Sean’s favorite film of the year)
  • Lion
  • Manchester By the Sea
  • Patriots Day
  • La La Land
  • Captain America: Civil War
  • Hidden Figures
  • The Witch
  • 13th
  • Nocturnal Animals
  • Julieta
  • Jackie

Those are the films  – but you’ll have to listen to see which moments gave us the feels, the chills, the laughter and the thrills.

moonlight  hidden-figures

la-la captain-america-civil-war-black-panther-poster

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders

Make sure to check out our other year-end episodes:

Top TV Shows of 2016

Essential Music of 2016

Links

This scene from Moonlight features Mahershala Ali and Alex Hibbert and depicts the main character, Little, learning how to swim.

Dave Karger and Amita Patel want you to pack the kleenex and enjoy Lion’s heart tugging story and gorgeous cinematography. Check out the trailer.

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.

Favorite Television Shows of 2016 – IP 55

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We’re excited to share the first installment of our annual BEST OF lists- our Top 10 Television Shows of 2016! If you need some new shows to binge watch over the winter, look no further! In this era of Peak TV we had a plethora of options to choose from and after much thought, we each put together our 10 favorite TV shows of the year.

A few of the series that made the cut- Queen Sugar, Luke Cage, Insecure, This Is Us and Atlanta- are some of the most critically acclaimed new shows of the year.

luke-cage queen-sugar atlanta_oabpgv

We also have a few established shows on our lists that continually deliver incredible drama week after week like How To Get Away With Murder, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.

game-of-thrones htgawm the-walking-dead

Comedies and dramas, dragons and murderers, families and superheroes- there’s something for everyone!Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @PopInsiders and let us know what you think of our picks and share your top TV shows of the year.

If you like this episode you may want to check out:

  • Our interview with Marvel’s Luke Cage creator and EP, Cheo Hodari Coker, HERE: http://wp.me/p7Uq7E-8g

 

AMITA’S TOP 10 LIST

10. Speechless

9. How To Get Away With Murder

8. Insecure

7. This is Us

6. Luke Cage

5. Queen Sugar

4. Game of Thrones

3. The People V OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

2. Stranger Things

1. Atlanta

SEAN’S TOP 10 LIST

10. black-ish

9. O.J.: Made In America

8. The Walking Dead

7. Insecure

6. Luke Cage

5. Game of Thrones

4. Lemonade

3. Black Mirror

2. Stranger Things

1. Queen Sugar

 

Links

Sean thinks his number 4 pick, Lemonade, owes a debt to Janet Jackson’s Got Til It’s Gone and Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust.

Amita think Sarah Paulson should win an award for the Emmy Award acceptance speech she gave when she won Best Actress for The People V OJ Simpson.

If you’re trying to decide whether Sean’s Ralph Angel impression is a) great b) really great or c) fantastic – watch this dramatic scene from Queen Sugar featuring a remarkable performance from Kofi Siriboe.

An Interview with Cheo Hodari Coker, Creator of Marvel’s Luke Cage – IP 54

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We are very happy to finally share our next Producer to Producer interview with the creator and executive producer of Marvel’s Luke Cage, Cheo Hodari Coker. The interview was conducted at the Producers Guild Produced By Conference in New York City on October 29th.ip-with-cheo

Whether you’re a fan of Luke Cage or think that Misty Knight is a bad weather pattern – this is a MUST LISTEN.  Cheo has been in the game for years and has worked on a variety of popular and critically acclaimed shows including – Southland, Almost Human and Ray Donovan.

luke-cageHe has imbued Luke Cage with a creativity and thoughtfulness that has resulted in a ‘superhero’ show that sits firmly within our current golden age of television. Tune in to the show for the bulletproof Black man who can punch through walls, but you’ll also get an education on African American crime writers; a celebration of 90’s Hip Hop; some of the most layered female characters on television; Mahershala Ali’s star turn; a new definition of ‘getting coffee’; an Alfre Woodard master class in how to play a conflicted (but not really conflicted) villain; a love letter to Harlem; Mike Colter owning the title role; and one of the most gorgeously shot shows you’ll see all year.

Coker’s eloquent and insightful conversation touches on:

  • How Shonda Rhimes influences the way he writes female characters.
  • How being a showrunner is like being the captain of a Federation Starship.
  • The use of ‘the N word’ in Luke Cage.cheo

Plus, there’s nothing better than getting a pop culture suggestion from one of our great pop culture creators. Make sure you listen to the end of the episode to hear Cheo Hodari Coker Big Sell us three things he’s loving.

If you’re new to our podcast, visit our website where you can subscribe and listen to additional episodes. www.insidepoppodcast.com

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And on Instagram here.

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.

Alicia Keys, Common, Dr. Strange, The Exorcist, Inside Pop Turns 1 Year! – IP 52

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So…That happened.

But here at Inside Pop we’re going to take Luke Cage’s mentor, Pop’s advice, and move “FORWARD!” And believe it or not, we do have something to celebrate. Inside Pop turns 1 year old this week and we honor this momentous event in the best way we know how – with a super sized episode filled with the week’s top film, television & music.

alicia-keys-hereFirst, we review new albums by Alicia Keys (Here) and Common (Black America Again) and discuss how these works are two more examples of how 2016 is turning into one of the greatest years for music with a message.common-black-america-again

Next, Marvel proves thedr-strangemselves to be unstoppable with the release of Doctor Strange, another record breaking film in the MCU canon. But are the special effects and the great cast enough for us to recommend the film to you?

Then, we honor one year of Inside Pop by looking back at our very first episode and looking forward to our plans to take our podcast to the next level!

excorcist_fox_title_cardPlus – Sean tells you why The Exorcist is new Fall Television show you should definitely NOT be sleeping on!

 

And of course we conclude with the informative, inspiring, ‘reach one teach one’ segment – The Big Sell.

So – take a break from the reality of the election results and escape with us for an hour.

Links:

Download a free MP3 of “Seriously” here.

Watch the trailer for The Exorcist here.