Song Exploder

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MÚSICA
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Song Exploder is a podcast where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made. Each episode features an artist discussing a song of theirs, breaking down the sounds and ideas that went into the writing and recording. Hosted and produced by Hrishikesh Hirway.

HÁ 23 H

Ethel Cain - Nettles

Hayden Anhedönia has been making music under the name Ethel Cain since 2019. But it’s not just a band name or a moniker; Ethel Cain is a fictional character, a sort of alter ego that Hayden’s been creating and world building around throughout her albums. The first Ethel Cain album, Preacher’s Daughter, came out in 2022. It ended up blowing up, and it made Hayden the first openly trans artist with an album in the top ten on the Billboard chart. In 2025, she put out the second Ethel Cain album, called Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You. For this episode, I talked to Hayden about how she made the song “Nettles.” As you’re about to hear, it took on a lot of different forms, over several years, before she got to the final version. For more info, visit songexploder.net/ethel-cain.

31min
3 DE SET.

Sam Fender - People Watching

Sam Fender is a singer and songwriter from the town of North Shields in England. He won the Brit Award for Best Rock/Alternative Act twice. His most recent album is called People Watching, and just like his first two albums, it went to #1 on the UK album charts. To help produce the album, Sam enlisted Adam Granduciel, the singer and frontman of the band The War on Drugs. For this episode, I talked to Sam, and his bandmate Joe Atkinson, about the title track from People Watching, and the long journey that it took to get made, from Sam’s kitchen, to the Hollywood Hills, to Abbey Road.

33min
27 DE AGO.

Key Change: Jia Tolentino on "I Love You Always Forever"

My guest today is Jia Tolentino. Jia is the author of the essay collection Trick Mirror, which was named one of the best books of 2019 by The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The Paris Review, and more. She won a National Magazine Award for her work at the New Yorker, where she’s been a staff writer since 2016. Her writing covers so many different topics, from Roe V. Wade to the internet to pop culture and music. And today, we’re going to talk about the 1996 pop hit “I Love You Always Forever” by Donna Lewis. For more, visit songexploder.net/jia-tolentino.

17min
20 DE AGO.

Jay Som - Tenderness

Melina Duterte goes by the name Jay Som. She’s a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She’s released three albums as Jay Som, and has produced, engineered, and mixed each one. Her third album, Anak Ko, came out in August 2019. And in this episode, Melina breaks down a song from it called “Tenderness.” To learn more, visit songexploder.net/jay-som.

18min
6 DE AGO.

Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Goin Down

Fall Out Boy is a band from Chicago that formed in 2001. Their first album, Take This To Your Grave, was a hit, especially in the punk rock world. When they put out their second album, though, in 2005, that was on a whole other scale. That album is called From Under the Cork Tree, and it went double platinum, and they were nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist. For this episode, I talked to the band’s singer, Patrick Stump, about how they made their breakout hit from that album, the song “Sugar, We’re Goin Down.” For more info, visit songexploder.net/fall-out-boy.

31min
23 DE JUL.

Gigi Perez - Sailor Song

Gigi Perez is a singer and songwriter from Florida, and at 25 years old, she’s already had so many ups and downs in her music career. She started sharing her songs on TikTok, where they got enough attention that she got signed to a major label deal, but that ultimately didn’t pan out. Soon after that, as an independent artist again, she had her biggest breakout hit, with “Sailor Song.” She released it in July 2024, and it went viral on TikTok. Now, it has over a billion streams on Spotify alone, and it’s a part of her new album, which came out in April 2025. In this episode, you’ll hear how the song evolved, from her first voice memo to the final version, which she recorded in her childhood bedroom. I talked to Gigi about how “Sailor Song” came about, and about all the different parts of herself that she put into it—her faith, grief, desire, and more. For more info, visit songexploder.net/gigi-perez.

25min
16 DE JUL.

Key Change: Jason Schwartzman on the ‘Rushmore’ soundtrack

Jason Schwartzman, actor, songwriter, and musician, talks about how the soundtrack to 'Rushmore'—his first film—changed his life. I met Jason briefly in 2017, as he was leaving the room where I was supposed to interview the band Phoenix. I was shocked when he stopped on his way out to tell me he loved Song Exploder. Eight years later, I reached out to him to see if he’d want to be a guest on Key Change, and we ended up talking for almost two hours, just on the phone. By the time he came over to record, I felt like I’d met a kindred spirit who’d also been cataloguing his whole life through the songs he’d encountered along the way. The fact that we got to talk about one of my favorite movies, 'Rushmore,' made the experience even more meaningful and thrilling for me. For more, visit songexploder.net/jason-schwartzman.

23min
9 DE JUL.

Goo Goo Dolls - Iris

Goo Goo Dolls formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, and by the time 1998 rolled around, they’d already had a pretty successful career. They’d released five albums, and one of their songs, “Name,” from 1995, had become a Top 10 hit. But things really changed for them when they made the song “Iris.” It originally came out on the soundtrack for the movie City of Angels, which came out in 1998 and starred Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. “Iris” spent a record-breaking 18 weeks at number one on the radio, and became one of the best selling songs of all time, with over 14 million copies sold, and over 4.5 billion streams. So for this episode, John Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls came over to my place, and he told me about how he wrote the song. He told me how the Grammy-winning producer Rob Cavallo helped them expand their vision, and how the version of the song in the movie isn’t actually the version that everybody knows. For more info, visit songexploder.net/goo-goo-dolls.

27min

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Normal Gossip delivers juicy, strange, funny, and utterly banal gossip about people you’ll never know and never meet. Host Rachelle Hampton discusses reader-submitted comedic gossip with guests, diving into the lives and decisions of complete strangers. The second-hand truth really is stranger than fiction. Produced by Se'era Spragley Ricks and Jae Towle Vieira. Created by Kelsey McKinney and Alex Sujong Laughlin. Show art by Tara Jacoby. https://normalgossip.komi.io/

4,6 (5545)

COMÉDIA
From Samin Nosrat (chef and author of Good Things and Salt Fat Acid Heat) and Hrishikesh Hirway (creator and host of the podcast Song Exploder), Home Cooking is back with a brand new season. If you need help in the kitchen, or just want some creative inspiration, we’ve got you covered.

4,7 (4746)

CULINÁRIA
An episode-by-episode discussion of The West Wing, one of television’s most beloved shows, co-hosted by one of its stars, Joshua Malina, along with Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder.

4,9 (10389)

FILME E TV
Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear. Produced and Hosted by Avery Trufelman

4,9 (3340)

MODA E BELEZA
It’s the knot you can’t untangle - a problem so unique, it makes you feel alone. But what if you could talk to someone who gets it? On Proxy, we find just the person you were looking for, the person who can help you get a little less stuck. It’s not therapy - it’s emotional investigative journalism™️. Yowei Shaw, former host of Invisibilia, at your service. New cases every other Tuesday. ---------- Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely on listeners. To support emotional investigative journalism™️ and help the show keep going, consider joining our Patreon. You’ll get ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus interviews. Sign up for our free newsletter Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

4,8 (528)

CIÊNCIAS SOCIAIS
the memory palace

4,8 (6799)

HISTÓRIA

Ver as perguntas frequentes sobre assinaturas

Hrishikesh Hirway

Apresentação
Gigi Perez

Participação
Jason Schwartzman

Participação
Goo Goo Dolls

Participação

4,8

de 5

5.851 avaliações

Why you wanna make me cry?

11 de set.

Omac247

I’m not sure why I’ve waited so long to leave a review for your podcast, especially considering how much I love it. I appreciate your willingness to explode songs from every genre and from artists of every ilk. I cannot express how much I enjoy this podcast. I learned of its existence through your podcast with Joshua Molina, The West Wing Weekly. The West Wing being my favorite TV show of all time. So, it seems I was destined to be a fan one way or another. Music has played a huge role in my life, from my father always being in a band to me singing in a choir or my oldest friends being amazing musicians. Music is a part of my everyday life and your podcast has led me to discover new music from new artists, but beyond that, your podcast episodes give the music a deeper meaning and expands its soul. I’m writing this after having listened to the Sam Fender People Watching episode and cried most of the way to work this morning listening to Sam process his grief as I work through mine with the loss of my brother. The show means a lot to many people I imagine, but I wanted to let you know just how much it does to me. Thank you for all that you do! God Bless!!
Talk to much

há 3 dias

Natural history museum

I like it but it’s to talkative. I don’t really like talk talk talk talk talk talk talk.
Love!

5 de set.

parsleysage28

My go-to way to find new music!
Original

30 de ago.

celkn89

So unique, so well produced. The perfect host to probe everything you want to know about the nuances of a particular song.

Song Exploder is a podcast where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made. Each episode features an artist discussing a song of theirs, breaking down the sounds and ideas that went into the writing and recording. Hosted and produced by Hrishikesh Hirway.