Song Exploder

Actor Tatiana Maslany on the impact the song "Faceshopping" had on her life.

Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard of Hot Chip tell the story behind their song "Boy from School".

Author and bookstore owner Emma Straub on the impact the Magnetic Fields album ‘69 Love Songs’ had on her life.

Romy Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie xx of The xx take apart their song "Crystalised."

Yusuf / Cat Stevens tells the story of creating and re-creating his song "Father and Son." (Originally published January 13, 2021.)

A story from The Memory Palace, and a story about its impact on me.

Alynda Segarra of Hurray For The Riff Raff tells the story behind their song "Alibi."

Jack Harlow tells the story behind his song "Say Hello."

Director Baz Luhrmann on the impact "Time After Time" had on his life.

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins tells the story behind the song "Hold Me Now."

Silvana Estrada tells the story behind her song "Como Un Pájaro."

Sam Beam of Iron & Wine breaks down "Flightless Bird, American Mouth." (Originally published November 2, 2022.)

María Zardoya of The Marías breaks down the song "No One Noticed."

Leon Thomas tells the story behind his song "Mutt."

Author and YouTuber John Green on the impact "You'll Never Walk Alone" had on his life.

Hit-Boy tells the story behind Nipsey Hussle's song "Racks In the Middle" (feat. Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy).

Nicolas Godin and JB Dunckel of Air tell the story behind their song "Playground Love."

Rian Johnson on the impact 'Das Rheingold' by Wagner had on his life.

Jessie Reyez tells the story behind her song "Goliath."

Demi Adejuyigbe on the impact "You Only Live Once" by The Strokes had on his life.

Malice and Pusha T of Clipse tell the story behind their song "The Birds Don't Sing."

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham tell the story behind their song "Frozen Love."

Lindsey Buckingham breaks down "Go Your Own Way" from Fleetwood Mac's seminal album "Rumours." (Originally published December 5, 2018.)

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy of A-ha tells the story behind the band's song "Take On Me."

Lady Gaga tells the story behind her song "Abracadabra."

David Chang on "I See a Darkness" by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and the impact it had on his life.

Ethel Cain tells the story of making her song "Nettles."

Sam Fender and Joe Atkinson tell the story of making the song "People Watching."

Jia Tolentino on the 1996 pop hit "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis, and the effect it had on her.

Melina Duterte of Jay Som breaks down the creation of her song "Tenderness." (Originally published November 13, 2019.)

Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy tells the story behind "Sugar, We're Goin Down."

Gigi Perez tells the story of how she made "Sailor Song."

Jason Schwartzman on the impact the 'Rushmore' soundtrack had on his life.

John Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls tells the story behind their song "Iris."

Little Simz and producer Miles James tell the story behind her song "Free."

Shirley Manson on the impact "Drop Dead/Celebration" by Siouxsie and the Banshees had on her life.

Anohni and producer Hudson Mohawke tell the story behind her song "4 Degrees."

A special episode about Jeff's influential songwriting book, recorded live at Solid Sound Festival

Lorde takes apart her song "Sober." (Originally published September 25, 2017.)

Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears tell the story behind "Everybody Wants to Rule the World."

Lizzo and her collaborator Ricky Reed take apart her song "Still Bad."

Samin Nosrat on the impact "Untouchable Face" by Ani DiFranco had on her.

MJ Lenderman tells the story behind his song "You Don't Know The Shape I'm In."

James Acaster on the impact "Hey Ya!" had on him.

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

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

Hanif Abdurraqib on the impact "Lost in the Supermarket" had on him.

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

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

Sophie Thatcher on the impact "Waltz #1" had on her.

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." (Originally published March 24, 2021.)

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 about her song "Water Me Down." (Originally published January 29, 2020.)

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??"

Arooj Aftab takes apart her song "Mohabbat." (Originally published May 4, 2022.)

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 Arlo Parks' episode about her song "Black Dog." (Originally published June 2, 2021.)

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 episode about her song "So Afraid." (Originally published October 15, 2018.)

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 episode about her song "Appointments." (Originally published January 17, 2018.)

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 episode about how they created the song "Shook Ones, Pt. II." (Originally published June 17, 2020.)

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 episode about her song "Top of the World." (Originally published April 11, 2018.)

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. (Originally published December 17, 2015.)

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." (Originally published May 11, 2017.)

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. (Originally published February 20, 2019.)

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. (Originally published March 14, 2018.)

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." (Originally published May 22, 2017.)

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.

Musician and actor Jacob Anderson, aka Raleigh Ritchie, breaks down his song "Time in a Tree," with producer Grades

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." (Originally published April 5, 2016.)

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. (Originally published August 4, 2016.)

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

Mitski and Patrick Hyland break down "Your Best American Girl." (Originally published September 7, 2016.)

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.

Courtney Barnett takes apart the song "Depreston." (Originally published January 7, 2016.)

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.

CHVRCHES take apart the song "Clearest Blue." (Originally published June 23, 2016.)

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."

Kelela takes apart her song "Rewind." (Originally published January 28, 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 breaks down her song "Sober."

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...