Song Exploder

Lucy Dacus takes apart her song "Thumbs." (Originally published September 22, 2021.)

Severance composer Theodore Shapiro breaks down the show's main title theme.

Key Change is a conversation series within Song Exploder, where I talk to fascinating people about the music that's transformed them.

Sasami tells the story behind her song "In Love With A Memory."

Kevin Barnes breaks down "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games."

Yola tells the story behind her song "Symphony."

Adrianne Lenker tells the story behind her song "Sadness As a Gift."

Sabrina Carpenter tells the story behind her song "Please Please Please."

Gracie Abrams breaks down her song "I Love You, I'm Sorry."

Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee takes apart the song "Fire." (Originally published July 29, 2020.)

Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman of Le Tigre tell the story behind "Deceptacon."

Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young breaks down "Our House."

Pharrell Williams breaks down the title track from "Piece by Piece," the Lego documentary about his life.

Revisiting Jon Batiste's episode about his song "We Are."

Troye Sivan tells the story behind his song "One of Your Girls."

Beabadoobee breaks down her song "Coming Home."

Remi Wolf tells the story behind her song "Soup."

Sam Smith tells the story behind their iconic song "Stay With Me."

Fenne Lily tells the story behind her song "Lights Light Up."

Revisiting Vagabon's episode from 2020 about her song "Water Me Down."

Neil Finn of Crowded House tells the story behind the song "Don't Dream It's Over."

Lizzy McAlpine tells the story behind her song "Staying."

Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips take apart the song "Do You Realize??"

Revisiting Arooj Aftab's episode about her song "Mohabbat."

Lonnie Jordan from War and producer Jerry Goldstein tell the story behind the iconic song "Low Rider."

Shania Twain breaks down her hit song "You're Still The One."

Danny Brown tells the story behind his song "Y.B.P."

Rhiannon Giddens breaks down her song "You Louisiana Man."

Revisiting the 2021 episode about the Arlo Parks song "Black Dog."

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day tells the story behind the song "Basket Case."

In this expanded, deluxe edition of the very first episode of Song Exploder – which came out ten years ago – Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard of The Postal Service tell the story of how they made “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.”

Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters tells the story behind the song "The Teacher."

Raye tells the story behind her song "Escapism."

Sampha tells the story behind his song "Spirit 2.0."

Paramore tells the story behind their song "Liar."

Kesha tells the story of how she made her song "Eat The Acid."

Molly Rankin and Alec O'Hanley from Alvvays tell the story of how they made "Archie, Marry Me."

Laufey tells the story of how she made "From The Start."

Revisiting Janelle Monáe's 2018 episode about her song "So Afraid."

Only Murders in the Building composer Siddhartha Khosla tells the story of making the show's theme music.

Local Natives tells the story behind their hit song "Dark Days."

Baker tells the story behind his hit song "Hell N Back."

Natalie Merchant tells the story behind her song "Sister Tilly."

Revisiting Julien Baker's 2018 episode about her song "Appointments."

Feist tells the story behind her song "In Lightning."

Madison McFerrin tells the story of her song "Run," featuring guest vocals from her father, Bobby McFerrin.

New Order tells the story of how they made their song "Blue Monday."

Revisiting Mobb Deep's 2020 episode about how they created the song "Shook Ones, Pt. II."

Yaeji tells the story of how she created her song "Passed Me By."

Seal breaks down his iconic song "Kiss from a Rose" alongside producer Trevor Horn.

Kenny Beats breaks down how he made his song "Still."

Revisiting Kimbra's 2018 episode about her song "Top of the World."

MUNA breaks down their song "What I Want."

Noah Kahan tells the story of how he created his hit song "Stick Season."

Sampa the Great, Angélique Kidjo, and producer Mag44 break down the making of "Let Me Be Great."

Ryan Lott of Son Lux breaks down "This Is a Life," the end credits song from the hit film ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once.’

Omah Lay breaks down his song, "Never Forget."

James McBride breaks down the opening passage of his 2020 novel Deacon King Kong.

Sam Beam of Iron & Wine breaks down "Flightless Bird, American Mouth."

George Saunders breaks down a passage from "Victory Lap," a short story from Tenth of December.

Santigold breaks down "Ushers of the New World."

Celeste Ng breaks down a passage from her best-selling novel, Little Fires Everywhere.

King Princess breaks down her song "Let Us Die," joined by her collaborators Ethan Gruska and Mark Ronson.

Tayari Jones breaks down a passage from An American Marriage.

Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco breaks down "Viva Las Vengeance."

Carmen Maria Machado breaks down a passage from her 2019 memoir, In the Dream House.

Björk breaks down her song Stonemilker.

Michael Cunningham breaks down a passage from the prologue of The Hours, his Pulitzer-winning novel.

Madonna breaks down her song "Hung Up," along with co-writer and co-producer Stuart Price.

Min Jin Lee discusses a passage from her novel Pachinko.

Kae Tempest and producer Dan Carey break down "Move."

Susan Orlean breaks down a passage from her best-seller, The Library Book.

Sudan Archives breaks down her song "Selfish Soul."

mxmtoon breaks down her song "Mona Lisa."

Monica Martin breaks down her song "Go Easy, Kid."

Maren Morris breaks down her song "Humble Quest."

Rick Astley tells the story of how "Never Gonna Give You Up" was made.

Kevin Morby breaks down his song "This Is a Photograph."

Arooj Aftab tells the story of making her song "Mohabbat."

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss tell the story of their Grammy-winning partnership.

Peaches breaks down her song "Boys Wanna Be Her."

Steve Reich breaks down the first movement of "Different Trains."

Mike Hadreas breaks down his song "Slip Away."

Sarah Kinsley breaks down "The King."

Brandi Carlile breaks down her song "You and Me On The Rock."

Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand breaks down the song "Take Me Out."

Joy Oladokun tells the story of making her song "Look Up."

Danny Elfman breaks down “What's This?” from the stop-motion animated musical The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Halsey takes apart her song "You Asked for This."

Hans Zimmer breaks down his score from "Dune."

Adam Granduciel breaks down the War On Drugs song "I Don't Live Here Anymore (feat. Lucius)."

Willow breaks down her song "Transparent Soul feat. Travis Barker."

A TED Talk on how making Song Exploder changed the way I think about connecting with people.

Through archival interviews, John Lennon tells the story of making his song "God."

Lucy Dacus takes apart her song "Thumbs."

Mustafa breaks down his song "Air Forces."

Lykke Li and producer Björn Yttling break down the song, "I Follow Rivers."

James Mercer breaks down The Shins' song "New Slang."

Guitarist and songwriter, Rick Nielsen, breaks down Cheap Trick's hit song "Surrender."

Fousheé breaks down her song "Deep End."

Aurora breaks down the making of her hit song "Runaway."

Ron & Russel Mael break down their 1974 hit "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us."

Arlo Parks breaks down her song "Black Dog."

Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons breaks down their song "Follow You."

Marie Ulven from girl in red breaks down her song "Serotonin."

Porter Robinson breaks down "Get Your Wish."

Lianne La Havas takes apart her song "Can't Fight."

Jon Batiste breaks down how he made the song "We Are."

Dave Bayley of Glass Animals breaks down their song "Heat Waves."

Sahsa Sloan breaks down "Until It Happens To You," along with producer King Henry.

PJ Morton breaks down his Grammy-winning hit "Say So," with duet partner JoJo.

HAIM breaks down "Summer Girl" and the emotional backstory of the song.

Yusuf / Cat Stevens tells the story of creating and re-creating his song "Father and Son."

Common breaks down "A Riot In My Mind," with guest vocals from Lenny Kravitz and Chuck D.

Jewel breaks down her song "You Were Meant For Me."

Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell break down the song "Everything I Wanted."

Phoebe Bridgers and Marshall Vore break down "Scott Street," and Phoebe discusses writer's block.

Chino Moreno of Deftones breaks down their song "Ohms."

Run the Jewels break down their song "JU$T."

Dua Lipa and co-writer Stephen Kozmeniuk break down the song "Levitating."

Selena Gomez and co-writers Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter break down "Lose You to Love Me."

Revisiting the 2018 episode about Ludwig Göransson's Oscar-winning score.

Kelly Lee Owens breaks down her song "On."

Black Pumas break down their song "Colors."

Matty and George of The 1975 break down "The Birthday Party."

Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee breaks down her song "Fire."

Khruangbin break down their song "So We Won't Forget."

Sascha Ring of Apparat and Anja Plaschg of Soap&Skin tell the story of making "Goodbye."

Havoc of Mobb Deep breaks down the legendary duo's classic hit.

Michael Kiwanuka breaks down the making of his song "Black Man in a White World"

Laura Les and Dylan Brady break down their song "Money Machine."

Laura Marling breaks down "Song for Our Daughter."

Kevin Parker of Tame Impala breaks down the song "It Might Be Time."

FKA twigs details the making of "Mirrored Heart."

Nathaniel Rateliff breaks down the title track of his new solo record, a song he wrote about his late friend and collaborator Richard Swift.

Eric Nam and producer Rabitt break down their song "Love Die Young."

Sophie Allison, aka Soccer Mommy, breaks down her song "Circle the Drain."

Dan Snaith of Caribou breaks down the creation of his song "Home."

Laetitia Tamko aka Vagabon breaks down her song "Water Me Down" along with co-producer Eric Littman

Semisonic's song "Closing Time" isn't just a song about last call at a bar. Grammy-winning songwriter Dan Wilson explains how it turned into something deeply personal.

Ezra Koenig breaks down Vampire Weekend's Grammy-nominated song "Harmony Hall."

Thao signs off as guest host, and we break down the Song Exploder intro music from this year.

Meek Mill and producer Don Cannon break down the making of the song "Trauma."

Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes breaks down her song "Kids in the Dark."

Melina Duterte of Jay Som breaks down the creation of her song "Tenderness."

Slipknot guitarist Jim Root breaks down the making of the song "Unsainted."

Raphael Saadiq breaks down the song "Kings Fall" along with his nephew Dylan Wiggins.

Clairo breaks down her song "Alewife."

Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes breaks down her song "Stay High."

Robyn breaks down how she made the song "Honey."

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and producers Chris Messina and Brad Cook break down the song "Holyfields,"

Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein break down the Sleater-Kinney song “The Future Is Here.”

Denzel Curry and production duo FnZ break down their song “RICKY."

Jamila Woods and producer Slot-A break down their song "BALDWIN."

Adrianne Lenker and James Krivchenia of Big Thief break down their song "Cattails."

Sheryl Crow breaks down a new version of her song "Redemption Day," featuring vocals from the late Johnny Cash.

John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats breaks down the song "Cadaver Sniffing Dog" from their album "In League With Dragons."

Noel Hogan of The Cranberries breaks down the song "All Over Now" from the band's final album.

Panda Bear breaks down his song "Dolphin" with co-producer Rusty Santos.

Sharon Van Etten breaks down her song "Seventeen" along with her producer John Congleton.

Nakhane breaks down his song "New Brighton," which features guest vocals from Anohni.

Marcus Mumford and Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons break down their song "Beloved."

Phoebe Bridgers and Marshall Vore break down their song "Scott Street."

Michael Barbaro and musical duo Wonderly break down the theme for The New York Times' podcast The Daily

Michelle Zauner and Craig Hendrix of Japanese Breakfast break down the song "Boyish."

Hozier breaks down his protest anthem "Nina Cried Power," which features legendary gospel singer Mavis Staples.

Yo-Yo Ma breaks down his recording of Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major: Prelude.

Thao Nguyen of Thao & The Get Down Stay Down breaks down her song "Astonished Man"

Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac breaks down "Go Your Own Way" from the band's seminal album "Rumours."

The theme music to Reply All gets taken apart by its composer, Breakmaster Cylinder.

Empress Of breaks down her song "When I'm With Him."

Big Boi of OutKast breaks down his song "Order of Operations"

Director and composer John Carpenter breaks down his iconic theme for "Halloween."

Janelle Monáe breaks down her song "So Afraid."

Chan Marshall of Cat Power breaks down her song "Woman," which features guest vocals from Lana Del Rey.

Devonté Hynes of Blood Orange breaks down his song "Saint."

Patrick and Ralph Carney break down the Main Title Theme for BoJack Horseman

Colin Meloy breaks down "Once In My Life" by The Decemberists.

Mitski and Patrick Hyland break down "Your Best American Girl."

Christine and the Queens is a singer, songwriter, and producer from France. Her debut album was first released in 2014 in French, and in 2015, she released an English version of it. It was critically acclaimed and she won the Victoire de le Musique—France’s equivalent of the Grammy—for Best Female Artist in 2015. In July 2018, she released this single, "Doesn’t Matter," in advance of her second album, "Chris." Like before, she made a French version and an English version, but this time she was writing both versions simultaneously. Coming up, she talks about what that translation process was like, and the possibilities it opened up, as she takes apart "Doesn’t Matter." The song and the story first began in Chris’s basement.

Neko Case is a singer and songwriter. She’s been nominated for multiple Grammys, and in addition to her own music, she’s a member of the band The New Pornographers. In June 2018, she put out her 7th album, "Hell-On," which she also co-produced. In this episode, Neko Case breaks down the song “Last Lion of Albion.” Albion’s one of the oldest names for island of Great Britain, and it was while she was in England that this song first began. This episode is guest hosted by Thao Nguyen of Thao and the Get Down Stay Down.

Earlier this year, in May 2018, Courtney Barnett released her second album, "Tell Me How You Really Feel." And last fall, she and Kurt Vile made an album together. So I thought this would be a good time to go back and listen to an episode she did in January 2016 about “Depreston,” my favorite song from her first album. Here it is.

Action Bronson is a rapper from Queens who’s been making records since 2011. He also stars as the host of two TV shows about food on Vice’s channel, "Viceland." His third album, "Blue Chips 7000," came out in 2017, and features this song – “The Chairman’s Intent.” It was produced by his longtime collaborator, producer Harry Fraud. In this episode, Action Bronson and Harry Fraud tell the story of how “The Chairman’s Intent” was made.

Jhené Aiko is a Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter. She’s released three albums so far. In addition to her own records, she’s been a featured guest vocalist on songs by Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Childish Gambino, and many, many others. In 2017, she released her third album, "Trip," which debuted at #5 on the Billboard Charts, and includes the song "Sativa." The song features guest vocals from Swae Lee, who’s one half of the band Rae Sremmurd. In this episode, Jhené tells the story of how “Sativa” was made, and how it got stuck, and then, how it got unstuck. She’s joined by producer Brian Warfield of the production duo Fisticuffs, who made the beat.

I interviewed the Scottish band CHVRCHES back in March 2016, in Austin, Texas. A few weeks ago, in May 2018, they released a new album called "Love is Dead." It features contributions from David Stewart of the Eurythmics, and another past Song Exploder guest, Matt Berninger of The National. So in honor of CHVRCHES new record, I wanted to go back and listen to their episode again. Here it is:

Yo La Tengo formed in 1984. The band is made up Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew. In March 2018, they released "There’s a Riot Going On," their 15th album. They made the record themselves—they recorded it entirely in their rehearsal studio with James handling the engineering duties. The album came together slowly, over a few years. In this episode, Georgia, James and Ira break down how they made the closing track from the record, the song "Here You Are."

Wolf Alice is a band from North London. Their second album, "Visions of a Life," was released in September 2017. In this episode, singer Ellie Rowsell and drummer Joel Amey tell the story of how they made the song “Don’t Delete the Kisses.” The album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and coming up later, you’ll hear some of his thoughts, as well. The song went through a lot of versions. A home demo that Ellie made, another demo with the full band, plus studio versions they recorded in LA with Justin. There were a lot of ideas that were created and then scrapped. In this episode, they trace the path through those ideas, as well how the song was influenced by Father John Misty, PJ Harvey, and the film "Frances Ha."

In November 2015, I interviewed Kelela about her song “Rewind,” from her debut EP, Hallucinogen. Since that EP was released, she's gone on to collaborate on songs with Gorillaz and Solange, and released her first full-length, Take Me Apart, which was named one of the Top 10 albums of 2017 by Vulture, Pitchfork, Cosmo, and a bunch of others. So I wanted to go back and revisit Kelela’s episode, which originally came out in January 2016.

Jon Hopkins is an electronic music producer whose been nominated twice for the UK’s Mercury Prize. Along with his frequent collaborator, Brian Eno, he co-produced Coldplay's Grammy-award winning album, "Viva la Vida." In May 2018, Jon Hopkins released his fifth album, "Singularity." It was named Best New Music by Pitchfork. In this episode, Jon Hopkins takes apart the song "Luminous Beings," which was inspired in part by the mediative and therapeutic effects of psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms. Jon talks about his own experience with drug, and how it shaped this song. He also details the less magical moments where he hated the music was he making, and had to destroy it as part of the creative process.

In 1993, Liz Phair released her debut album, Exile in Guyville. It was an instant hit, critically and commercially. It sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Spin and The Village Voice named it album of the year. Soon after, Rolling Stone put her on the cover of their magazine. Now, twenty-five years later, Exile in Guyville is being reissued as a deluxe boxset with photos, essays, and Liz Phair's original four-track cassette recordings. In this episode, Liz and Exile in Guyville's producer, Brad Wood, look back to tell the story of the creation of one of the songs on the album, "Divorce Song."

Arcade Fire is a Grammy-winning six-piece band originally from Montreal. They’ve released five albums, and the last three have all debuted at number one on the charts. In this episode, singer Win Butler takes apart "Put Your Money On Me," from their 2017 album Everything Now. He breaks down how the influence of Marvin Gaye, Harry Nilsson, and ABBA all helped shape how the song eventually turned out. You’ll hear the original demo, and an alternate version of the song that was never finished. The story begins when Win and his wife and bandmate Régine Chassagne moved to New Orleans.

Kimbra is a singer from New Zealand. Her first album came out in 2011, and in 2013 she won two Grammys for her collaboration with Gotye, the multiplatinum hit song "Somebody That I Used to Know." In this episode, Kimbra breaks down a song from 2018 called "Top of the World," a song she also made in collaboration—this time with artists Skrillex and Diplo.

Jack Johnson is a grammy-nominated singer-songwriter from Hawaii. He's had four number one albums on the Billboard charts. In September 2017, he released his seventh album, "All the Light Above It Too," and in this episode, Jack Johnson breaks down one of the songs from that album. It’s about parenting, politics, and the ocean. It’s called "You Can't Control It."

Marvel’s Black Panther was released in theaters on February 16, 2018, and in just a few weeks, it made over a billion dollars worldwide. It’s already broken some box office records and it looks like it’s going to break some more. The score for the film was created by Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson. His film and tv credits include Creed and New Girl. He’s also Grammy-nominated producer, who’s worked most often with rapper Childish Gambino. In this episode, Ludwig takes apart one of his pieces from Black Panther. The track is called “Killmonger,” and it’s the theme for Erik Killmonger, a character played by Michael B. Jordan. Black Panther is set in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, and coming up, Ludwig tells the story of doing research and making recordings in Africa, and how he incorporated that into the score for the film.

Natalie Prass released her debut album in 2015. That year, Time Magazine called her an Artist to Watch, Pitchfork gave the album Best New Music, and Stereogum named it one of the Top Albums of the Year. In this episode, Natalie Prass takes apart a new song form 2018, called "Short Court Style," her first track to come out since that debut album.

Moses Sumney is a singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. His first album, Aromanticism, came out in September 2017, but before that, he’d already worked with an impressive and diverse list of collaborators, from Sufjan Stevens, to Solange, to Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, to Skrillex. That spirit continues with the song Moses takes apart in this episode, which has contributions from producers Cam O’bi and Paris Strother, and legendary bassist Thundercat.

Bleachers is the moniker of Jack Antonoff, a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He won two Grammy awards as a member of the band fun., and another for his production work on Taylor Swift’s album 1989. He’s also co­-written songs with St. Vincent, Carly Rae Jepsen, Lorde, Sia, and more. In June 2017, Antonoff released his second album as Bleachers, Gone Now. In this episode, he breaks down a song from that album, called “I Miss Those Days" and traces the process of making it—from the original demo, to a version he discarded, to the final song.

Julien Baker is from Memphis, Tennessee. She released her second album, Turn Out The Lights, in October 2017, on Matador Records. The New York Times called her music "devastating" and Pitchfork gave the album Best New Music. In this episode, Julien tells the story of her song "Appointments," and how writing it helped her work through her thoughts around addiction, depression, and relationships. Julien also takes apart the track "Over," which was written as part of Appointments, but then split off as a separate track.

Questlove breaks down The Roots' original song for the film Detroit.

R.E.M. was formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, bassist Mike Mills, guitarist Peter Buck, and drummer Bill Berry. They’ve won three Grammys, and have sold over 85 million records. In 1992, the band released their eighth album, Automatic for the People. In honor of the 25th anniversary of its release, in this episode, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills take apart the song, “Try Not to Breathe.”

Trent Reznor started Nine Inch Nails in 1988. He released eight albums, sold over 20 million records, won two Grammys and was nominated for 11 more. Then, in 2010, Trent Reznor and his longtime collaborator Atticus Ross scored the film The Social Network, and they won an Oscar for it. A few years later, in 2016, Atticus Ross joined Nine Inch Nails as an official member. The duo’s most recent release is Add Violence, an EP, and in this episode, Trent and Atticus break down a song from it called “The Lovers.”

Rachel Platten is a singer and songwriter who’s released four albums, including her 2016 album Wildfire, which went Gold. The lead single from that album, “Fight Song,” was used prominently by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. For a normally apolitical artist, the sudden proximity to the election had profound effects, both positive and negative. In this episode, Rachel breaks down her song “Broken Glass," which was inspired by that experience, and written just days before the 2016 election.

The show Stranger Things is a Netflix original series. It was first released in July 2016. Season Two’s release date: October 27, 2017. After the first season, the show was nominated for 18 Emmys, and won the Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music. The theme music, along with the rest of the show’s score, was composed by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon of the band SURVIVE. In this episode, they break down how they made the main title theme.

Los Angeles producer and beatmaker Jennifer Lee released her first album as TOKiMONSTA in 2010. She has released music on Flying Lotus's label Brainfeeder, and has collaborated with Kool Keith and Anderson .Paak, among others. Her newest album, Lune Rogue, was released in October 2017. In this episode, TOKiMONSTA breaks down her song "Bibimbap," which is named after a Korean dish.

The Killers formed in Las Vegas Nevada in 2001. Since then, they’ve released five records. Their newest album, Wonderful Wonderful, came out in September 2017. In this episode, singer Brandon Flowers and drummer Ronnie Vannucci break down the song "Rut" from that album.

Lorde is a Grammy-award winning singer, songwriter, and producer. Her second album, Melodrama, debuted at number one on the charts in June 2017 – five months before her 21st birthday. In this episode, Ella breaks down her song Sober. You’ll hear how it started, with the original demos she made with her co-producer Jack Antonoff, and how the song changed over the course of working on it for months and months.

Rostam Batmanglij is a songwriter, producer, and composer, who first rose to prominence in 2006 as one of the members of Vampire Weekend. He’s produced songs for Frank Ocean, Solange, Carly Rae Jepsen, and more. But his September 2017 album ‘Half-Light’ is his first as a solo artist. In this episode, Rostam breaks down his song “Bike Dream.” He explains how it was influenced in part by bands like T.Rex and Coldplay, but “Bike Dream” began very differently from how it ended up.

The band Ibeyi is made up of twin sisters Naomi Diaz, and Lisa-Kaindé Diaz. When they were only teenagers, they were signed to a record deal by Richard Russell, who had previously signed artists like Adele and Vampire Weekend to his label, XL. He...

Maggie Rogers had a breakthrough moment when she was a student at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute. Pharrell Williams visited to her class, and when he heard her song "Alaska," his reaction was dramatic, and caught on video. The video of Pharrell...

Annie Clark grew up in Texas, studied the guitar, and moved to New York in the mid-2000s. She started recording and performing under the name St Vincent in 2006. She’s released five albums, and won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2014....

Between 2004 and 2012, Grizzly Bear put out four critically-acclaimed albums. Their newest album is called Painted Ruins, and it features this song, Four Cypresses. In this episode, two members of the band, Chris Taylor and Daniel Rossen, tell...

Phoenix is a Grammy-winning band from Versailles, France. They started putting out music in 1999, and in June 2017, they released their sixth album, Ti Amo. In this episode, singer Thomas Mars and guitarist Laurent Brancowitz break down the song "Ti...

Slowdive formed in 1989 in Reading, England. They put out 3 albums between 1991 and 1995, and their sound helped define the shoegaze genre. In 2017, the band released a critically-acclaimed self-titled album, their first in over twenty years. In this...

Goapele is a singer/songwriter from the Bay Area. She released her first album in 2001. Since then, she’s released five more albums and collaborated with Snoop Dogg. In 2017, on her album DreamSeeker, she put out the song "Stand." It was written in...

Fleet Foxes formed in Seattle, Washington in 2006. In 2011, they put out their second record, which was nominated for a Grammy, and then, the band went on hiatus. The lead singer and songwriter, Robin Pecknold, moved to New York to go to Columbia...

Michelle Branch is a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter. She released two platinum albums when she was still a teenager. Because those records were such huge hits, for a long time they defined her as an artist—for better or worse. Over...

Alt-J formed in Leeds, England in 2007. Their debut album won a Mercury Prize and their second was nominated for a Grammy. Their third album, Relaxer, came out in June 2017. In this episode, they break down “In Cold Blood,” from their new album....

Michael Kiwanuka is a singer/songwriter from London. His second album, Love and Hate, came out in 2016, and was named one of the Best Albums of the Year from the BBC, NME, The Guardian, GQ, and more. One of the songs on the album was used as the theme...

Mike Hadreas has been making music under the name Perfume Genius since 2008. In May 2017, he put out his fourth album, No Shape to widespread critical acclaim. In this episode, Mike breaks down the song Slip Away. I also spoke with producer Blake...

Little Dragon is a Grammy-nominated band from Gothenburg, Sweden. They formed in 1996, and they released their fifth album Season High in April 2017. In this episode, Yukimi Nagano and Erik Bodin from the band break down the song “Sweet.”...

Aimee Mann is a Grammy- and Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter. In the 80s, she fronted the band Til Tuesday, and in 1993, she released her first solo album. In 2017, Aimee released her 9th album, Mental Illness, and in this episode, she tells the...

Gorillaz is the creation of musician Damon Albarn and comic book artist Jamie Hewlett. They’re a virtual band made up four animated characters. Their songs are written by Damon Albarn and a roster of collaborators. Since the first album was released...

Since her debut in 2002, Norah Jones has sold over 50 million albums, and won 8 Grammys. She released Day Breaks, her sixth album, in 2016. In this episode, she takes apart the title track and details how all the pieces unexpectedly came...

Dave Longstreth started making music under the name Dirty Projectors in 2002, while he was in college. Since then, he’s released seven albums and collaborated with Bjork, Solange, and Kanye West, Paul McCartney, and Rihanna. And Dirty Projectors...

Sleigh Bells formed in 2008. They released their fourth album, Jessica Rabbit, in 2016. In this episode, Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller break down their song "I Can Only Stare." I interviewed the two of them in front of a live audience at the Kaufman...

Simon Green is a producer and DJ who’s been making music under the name Bonobo since 2000. In January 2017 he released his sixth studio album, Migration. For the song “Break Apart," he enlisted Rhye to add vocals, and in this episode, the two of...

Sara Watkins began her music career when she was only 8 years old, as one of the founding members of the Grammy-award winning band Nickel Creek. In 2016, she released her third solo album, Young in all the Wrong Ways. In this episode, Sara breaks down...

The band Dropkick Murphys formed in Boston in 1996. For over twenty years, they’ve made music that’s reflected the culture and community they’ve come from, including their platinum single "Shipping Up to Boston." In January 2017, they released...

The film Moonlight tells the story of its main character, Chiron, in three chapters: when Chiron is a young boy, nicknamed Little, when he's a teenager, and when he's an adult, nicknamed Black. For each chapter of the film, composer Nicholas Britell...

Solange Knowles released her first album in 2002, at the age of 16. Her third album, A Seat at the Table, came out in September 2016, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. It’s gotten widespread critical acclaim, including being named album of...

Metallica formed in 1981. They were teenagers. Since then, they’ve gone on to become one of the most successful bands of all time, selling over 110 million records worldwide. In November 2016, they released their tenth album, Hardwired…to...

The film LA LA LAND tells the story of Mia, an aspiring actress played by Emma Stone, and Sebastian, a jazz pianist played by Ryan Gosling, both of them struggling artists in Los Angeles. The musical was written and directed by Damien Chazelle in...

In 1996, Josh Davis, aka DJ Shadow, released his first album, Endtroducing. It’s been hailed pretty much universally as one of the best albums of the 90s, and Time Magazine included in its top 100 Albums of all time. It changed hip-hop and...

Angel Olsen released her third album, My Woman, in September 2016. It’s been critically acclaimed, including Pitchfork’s Best New Music and NME’s best albums of the year. In this episode, Angel Olsen takes apart the song "Shut Up Kiss Me." She...

In the film Arrival, Amy Adams plays a linguist trying to decode an alien language. The score was composed by Johann Johannsson, his third film collaborating with director Denis Villeneuve. In this episode, Johann breaks down a piece from the score...

Flatbush Zombies are a hip hop trio from Brooklyn. They formed in 2010. Their album 3001: A Laced Odyssey came out in 2016, and debuted in the top ten on the Billboard charts. Erick the Architect is one of the three MCs in the band (along with Meechy...

The band Oathbreaker formed in 2008 in Belgium. In this episode, Caro and Gilles from the band break down the two-part song that opens their third album, Rheia. These two tracks, 10:56 and Second Son of R., were written and performed as one song....

James Vincent McMorrow is a singer/songwriter whose first albums fell somewhere on the folk music side of things. But his sound has changed over the years, incorporating elements of R&B and electronic music. On the album We Move, James worked with...

Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter started Phantogram in 2007. They’ve worked on crafting a particular sound and they’ve had a particular way of making their dense productions since the beginning. But for their new record, Three, things changed. The...

In 2006, Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John released their third album, Writer’s Block. For months and months after that, it felt like you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the first single from that album, "Young Folks." It was on top 10 lists...

Mitski has been making records since 2012. Her third record, Puberty 2, came out in June 2016 and was critically acclaimed Pitchfork gave it Best New Music status. Her music has been featured in the tv show Adventure Time. In this episode, Mitski...

Tom Fec, aka Tobacco, has released four albums since 2008. He's also the frontman of the band Black Moth Super Rainbow, and he created the theme music for the HBO show Silicon Valley. In this episode, Tom breaks down his song "Gods in Heat" from his...

Singer/songwriter Andra Day put out her first record in August 2015. Since then, she’s been invited by the Obamas to perform at the White House on multiple occasions, and the record was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B album. In this episode,...

BoJack Horseman is a Netflix original series, an animated comedy about a washed up 90s sitcom star who's trying to figure out his life and career without drowning in self-loathing and existential despair. It won the 2016 Critics Choice award for best...

Band of Horses released their 5th album in June 2016. In this episode, the band’s frontman, Ben Bridwell breaks down the song Solemn Oath, and how in the process of writing it, he confronted writer’s block, and balancing his life in the band and...

Grimes is the project of Claire Boucher. In 2015, she released Art Angels, her 4th  album. In this episode, she breaks down her song Kill V. Maim, her feelings about singing, and how the experience of writing songs for other artists opened up the...

Andrew Bird is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, maybe known best for his violin playing and his whistling. In this episode, Andrew breaks down his song Roma Fade, from the 2016 album Are You Serious?

CHVRCHES is a trio from Glasgow, Scotland. In this episode, they break down the song "Clearest Blue," from their sophomore album Every Open Eye. You'll hear the band's original demo as well as why they start songs with a set of rules, but then quickly...

In September 2014, Odesza put out their album In Return. It debuted at #1 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic charts, and spent 13 weeks in the top 10. But the song Kusanagi isn't a dance track. It slows down the pace of the album, and in this episode,...

Old Crow Medicine Show is a six-piece band from Tennessee, who have been around since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2013, and they won the Grammy for Best Folk Album in 2015, for their record Remedy. In this episode, bandleader...

Busdriver is a rapper from Los Angeles, and since 2001, he's been releasing albums with a signature hyperliterate, intellectual style. But over a decade later, Busdriver has found himself reaching for something more intimate and personal. In this...

Carly Rae Jepsen released her third album, Emotion, in 2015. The closing track on the record is When I Needed You. In this episode, Carly tells the story of how the song was made. You'll hear the first demo for the song, a version she co-wrote with...

The Lumineers released their second album on April 8, 2016. Their first album went platinum, and they spent months touring relentlessly in support of it. That schedule took a toll on their relationship, but they ended up putting it into their...

Weezer's 10th album, the self-titled "White" album, came out April 1, 2016. In this episode, Rivers Cuomo breaks down the meticulous process of making the song "Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori," through the different demo versions that the track went...

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down released the album A Man Alive in March 2016. In this episode, Thao Nguyen breaks down the song "Astonished Man." Thao talks about working with Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards, who produced the album, and she speaks...

Iggy Pop is a pioneer of punk rock, whose legendary career began over fifty years ago. In 2015, he began collaborating on music with Joshua Homme, of Queens of the Stone Age. The result was Iggy Pop’s 23rd album, Post Pop Depression. In this...

Daniel Lopatin has been making experimental electronic music as Oneohtrix Point Never since 2007. In this episode, he takes apart the song "Sticky Drama," from his 2015 album Garden of Delete. He breaks down how he created artificial voices using...

Singer/songwriter KT Tunstall released her debut album in 2004. It was nominated for a Mercury Prize. The song "Suddenly I See" from that record was a hit on the radio and it’s been used in the soundtracks of big movies and television shows. But...

Clipping is a trio made up of producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, and rapper Daveed Diggs. You might be familiar with Daveed’s voice from his roles as Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette in the hit Broadway musical Hamilton....

The New Pornographers are kind of a supergroup, with seven members in the band, including Neko Case and Dan Bejar, who are both acclaimed songwriters with their own successful solo careers. But the band is led by Carl Newman, and in this episode, he...

Kelela is a singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. In 2015, she released Hallucinogen, and landed on critics' lists in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Pitchfork, and more. In this episode, Kelela takes apart her song Rewind. To make the...

MGMT was formed by Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden in 2001. The song Time to Pretend was one they wrote early in their career. It first came out on their debut: the Time to Pretend EP in 2005. And three years after that, they put out a new...

Courtney Barnett released her debut album in March 2015. By the end of the year, she had been nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist, Spin named her the Songwriter of the Year, and she won four ARIA Music Awards in her native Australia. In this...

In January 2015, Björk released Vulnicura. She described it as "a complete heartbreak album." And in November, she released Vulnicura Strings, a companion album that stripped away the electronics. In this episode, Björk breaks down the...

Transparent is an Amazon original series, created by Jill Soloway. The story centers on a family where the father, played by Jeffrey Tambor, comes out to his children and the to world at large as transgender. The first season was released in September...

Wilco formed in 1994, and 21 years later, they released their 9th album, Star Wars. In this episode, Jeff Tweedy, the band’s singer and principal songwriter, breaks down the song Magnetized. In addition to collaborating with his five bandmates,...

Natalia Lafourcade has won eight Latin Grammys, including three for the song Hasta la Raíz, which won the 2015 Song of the Year and Record of the Year, as well as Best Alternative Song. In this episode, Natalia breaks down the writing and...

Youth Lagoon is the moniker of Trevor Powers, who has been releasing albums under the name since 2011. In this episode, Trevor breaks down “The Knower,” the lead single from his newest record, Savage Hills Ballroom. He talks about how...

The Arcs is a new project from Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. He started the band with some of the musicians and producers he's worked with over the years. For this episode, Dan and his bandmates Richard Swift and Leon Michels break down how they...

Chet Faker is the stage name of Australian singer and songwriter Nick Murphy. His debut album, Built on Glass, won five ARIA Awards, Australia’s version of the Grammys, including Best Male Artist, Producer of the Year, and Best Independent...

In the film "The Martian," astronaut Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) is stranded on Mars, forced to rely on science and his ingenuity in order to survive. The film opened at #1 at the box office, and has earned critical praise as well. In this...

Angel Deradoorian has been a member of the bands Dirty Projectors and Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks, and has contributed to albums by Vampire Weekend, Flying Lotus, and Brandon Flowers. This year she released her first full-length album as Deradoorian,...

Stephin Merritt has fronted the band The Magnetic Fields for over twenty-five years. In this episode, he breaks down the song "Andrew in Drag" from the band’s latest album, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, even though he doesn't actually remember...

Joey Bada$$ released his debut album on January 20, 2015: his 20th birthday. It hit the Top 5 on the Billboard charts. For the track "Hazeus View," he worked with Kirk Knight, another member of the Pro Era hip-hop collective. In this episode, the two...

The band American Football formed in 1997, and released only one album and an EP before breaking up about three years later. Their critically acclaimed debut went on to achieve cult status as one of the most influential records of the '90s, and was...

In this episode, Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno of the band Best Coast take apart their song "Feeling Ok," from the 2015 album California Nights. They trace their process and their influences, from the movie "10 Things I Hate About You" to the video...

The band HEALTH formed in Los Angeles in 2005. Their newest record, Death Magic, came out in 2015. They spent four years trying to make it. They describe themselves as a noise band, but for this record, they reinvented their palette and their process....

Multi-Love is the title track from the 2015 album by Unknown Mortal Orchestra. In this episode, Ruban Nielson tells the story of how he made the song with help from his brother Kody Nielson, and how it was influenced by Romeo and Juliet, Questlove,...

Thundercat is the alter-ego of bassist and singer-songwriter Stephen Bruner. He’s played bass for both Suicidal Tendencies and Erykah Badu and went on to help shape Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly.' In this episode, Thundercat will break...

Death Cab for Cutie released Kintsugi, their 8th album, on March 31, 2015. The song El Dorado, like other songs on the record, was written in the wake of the divorce between the band's lead singer Ben Gibbard and actress Zooey Deschanel. In this...

Sylvan Esso - Coffee

10 Cedarwood Road is the address of Bono’s childhood home in Dublin. For the U2 song "Cedarwood Road," Bono looked back to his life there as a teenager, when skinhead culture seeped into his neighborhood via the Seven Towers, housing projects...

Will Butler is a member of the band Arcade Fire, and he co-wrote the score for the film Her, which earned him an Oscar nomination. In March 2015, he put out his first solo album, Policy, and in this episode, he breaks down the song "Anna" from that...

Game of Thrones premiered on HBO in April 2011 and became the most watched show in HBO's history. The main title theme was written by Emmy-nominated composer Ramin Djawadi. In this episode, he'll break down the different elements in the piece, and how...

The title card for Avengers: Age of Ultron comes up twelve minutes into the movie. Against a black background, the Avengers logo takes up almost the entire screen. You might expect a triumphant, heroic piece of music, but the film called for something...

In this episode, Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs breaks down "Water Fountain." It's a song that draws inspiration from the politics of drought and dancehall reggae, and you'll hear how (and why) she tried to make this song less catchy. Despite that...

Jim James is the lead singer of the Grammy-nominated band My Morning Jacket. Since starting in 1998, they've put out six albums, and in this episode, Jim breaks down the song Spring (Among The Living), from their soon-to-be released seventh album, The...

Over the past five years, Chaz Bundick, aka Toro y Moi, has made music that's spanned a range of genres and styles. On his newest album, What For?, he shifted styles again. In this episode, Chaz explains why. He'll break down the song Half Dome, named...

RJD2 has been making music since 2002. His song "A Beautiful Mine" was turned into the opening credits music for Mad Men. He's a producer and beatmaker, but also a singer and songwriter. But for the vocals on the song "Games You Can Win," he tapped...

In an interview with Belgian filmmakers the Dardenne brothers, talking about the kinds of stories they tell, Luc Dardenne says, "Human suffering; that interests us very much." It also interests Tom Krell, a songwriter and producer who goes by the name...

Casey Dienel is a producer, singer, and songwriter who goes by the name White Hinterland. In this episode, she'll break down her song Ring the Bell. To make it, she had to break out of her comfort zone of working alone and reach to other people. She...

In 2013, Warpaint starting working on their sophomore album. They retreated away from their home in Los Angeles to the nearby desert oasis of Joshua Tree, California. There, they wrote the song "Love Is to Die," and it was decided that it would be the...

In 2005, Nickelodeon premiered an animated series called Avatar: The Last Airbender, about a young boy and his friends who have to keep peace and balance in the world. It combined fantasy and martial arts, and ran for four seasons, won an Emmy and a...

On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart while reentering the earth's atmosphere. John Roderick, singer and songwriter of The Long Winters, wrote "The Commander Thinks Aloud" about that fateful moment. This episode was made from an...

The band Blonde Redhead formed in 1993. Twenty-one years later, in 2014, the trio released their 9th album, and in this episode, they deconstruct Penultimo, a song from that record that caused some dissent between the band members. At the heart of the...

In November 2014, Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan released his 11th album, called 36 Seasons. A lot of people worked on it: soul band The Revelations served as a kind of house backing band for the whole thing. Lil' Fame from M.O.P. and engineer...

The National formed in 1999. They've released six albums, and have been nominated for a grammy. Their music is everywhere from Game of Thrones, to Bob's Burgers, to Barack Obama's presidential campaign. In 2013 they released their sixth album, Trouble...

Tycho is the project of designer-turned-musician Scott Hansen, along with guitarist Zac Brown and drummer Rory O'Connor. For this episode, which was recorded in front of a live audience in San Francisco, Scott breaks down the title track from the...

Stars is a band from Toronto, who have been making music together since 2000. Their seventh album was released in October 2014. For this episode, I spoke to several members of the band: singer Amy Millan over the phone, and to Evan and Patty in their...

Before The Books broke up, they released four albums that combined composed music and found sounds. In this episode, Nick Zammuto explains how he crafted the song Smells Like Content, off of their 2005 album Lost and Safe, out of unlikely...