Song Exploder

Hurray for the Riff Raff - Alibi

08 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Alynda Segarra is a singer songwriter from the Bronx. They formed Hurray for the Riff Raff in 2007, and since then, they’ve released 8 albums. Their...

Jack Harlow - Say Hello

25 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Harlow is from Louisville, Kentucky, and started performing and releasing music in 2015, when he was in high school. In 2020, he released his fir...

Key Change: Baz Luhrmann on "Time After Time."

18 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today is Baz Luhrmann, the award-winning director whose films include Moulin Rouge!, Strictly Ballroom, The Great Gatsby, Elvis, and Romeo + ...

Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now

11 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Thompson Twins originally formed in 1977 in Sheffield, in the UK. “Hold Me Now,” their iconic hit, came out as a single in November 1983, and even...

Silvana Estrada - Como Un Pájaro

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Silvana Estrada is a singer, songwriter, and producer from Veracruz, Mexico. She won the Latin Grammy for Best New Artist in 2022, and she’s been no...

Iron & Wine - Flightless Bird, American Mouth

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This week, I wanted to go back and revisit the episode that I made with Iron & Wine in the fall of 2022 about the song "Flightless Bird, American ...

The Marías - No One Noticed

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Marías is a band from Los Angeles, made up of María Zardoya, Josh Conway, Jesse Perlman, and Edward James. They released their first EPs in 2017...

Leon Thomas - Mutt

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Leon Thomas is a singer, songwriter, producer, and actor. He’s nominated for six Grammys at this year’s Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, ...

Key Change: John Green on "You'll Never Walk Alone."

21 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today is John Green. John is the award-winning, #1 bestselling author of books including 'Looking for Alaska,' 'The Fault in Our Stars,' 'Tur...

Hit-Boy and Nipsey Hussle - Racks In the Middle (feat. Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy)

14 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Hit-Boy is an award-winning producer and rapper from LA. He’s one of my all-time favorite producers, from “Backseat Freestyle” by Kendrick Lamar...

Air - Playground Love (feat. Gordon Tracks)

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The band Air is a duo from Versailles, France. Their first EP came out in 1995, followed by their critically acclaimed debut album, ‘Moon Safari,' w...

Key Change: Rian Johnson on Wagner's 'Das Rheingold'

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today is director Rian Johnson, which is exciting for me, because I’ve been a huge fan of his ever since seeing his first feature film, ‘...

Jessie Reyez - Goliath

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jessie Reyez is a singer and songwriter originally from Toronto. She's won two of Canada's Juno awards, and she's been nominated for a Grammy. In addi...

Key Change: Demi Adejuyigbe on The Strokes

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today is Demi Adejuyigbe. One of the things that makes Demi so special is how hard it is to summarize him in an intro like this, because he h...

Clipse - The Birds Don't Sing

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clipse was formed in 1994 by two brothers: Gene Thornton Jr, aka Malice, and his younger brother Terrence Thornton, aka Pusha T. From the beginning, t...

Buckingham Nicks - Frozen Love

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On September 5, 1973, the first and only Buckingham Nicks album was released. It wasn’t a huge hit, but it was how the world was first introduced to...

Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Next week, I’m going to be publishing an episode with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham about the making of the song “Frozen Love,” from their...

A-ha - Take On Me

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Take On Me" by A-ha is an iconic hit of the 1980s. It came out in October 1985 with an equally iconic music video that helped define the age of MTV. ...

Lady Gaga - Abracadabra

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lady Gaga is a singer, songwriter, producer, and actress from New York. She’s one of the biggest artists in the world. She’s also won 14 Grammys, ...

Key Change: David Chang on "I See a Darkness"

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today is Chef David Chang. He founded Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2004. That was just the start of his incredible career – he’s opened several...

Ethel Cain - Nettles

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Sam Fender - People Watching

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 r...

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

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Jay Som - Tenderness

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 pr...

Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Goin Down

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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. Whe...

Gigi Perez - Sailor Song

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 sh...

Key Change: Jason Schwartzman on the ‘Rushmore’ soundtrack

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jason Schwartzman, actor, songwriter, and musician, talks  about how the soundtrack to 'Rushmore'—his first film—changed his life. I met Jason br...

Goo Goo Dolls - Iris

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 relea...

Little Simz - Free

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Little Simz is a rapper from England who put out her first album in 2015. She’s won the Mercury Prize, a Brit Award, and three MOBO awards. She also...

Key Change: Shirley Manson on Siouxsie and the Banshees

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today is Shirley Manson. Since 1994, she’s been the lead singer of the band Garbage, and she is a bona fide rock icon. The two of us worked...

Anohni - 4 Degrees

11 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Anohni is a singer and songwriter originally from England, who started putting out music in 2000. She’s released 6 albums, and won the Mercury Prize...

Jeff Tweedy - How to Write One Song

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In June 2024, I got to go to the Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, Massachusetts, which is organized by the band Wilco. I performed some of my new ...

Lorde - Sober

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lorde is a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer. Her second album, Melodrama, debuted at number one on the charts in June 2017 – fi...

Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tears for Fears is a duo formed in 1981 in Bath, England by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. They’ve sold over 30 million albums, starting with their ...

Lizzo - Still Bad

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lizzo is a Grammy- and Emmy-winning singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress. She’s been putting out music since 2013, and her last two albums both w...

Key Change: Samin Nosrat on Ani DiFranco

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today is my friend Samin Nosrat, the author of the bestselling, award-winning cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat, and the host and executive produce...

MJ Lenderman - You Don't Know The Shape I'm In

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jake Lenderman plays and records under the name MJ Lenderman. He put out his first album in 2019. In addition to his solo work, he’s been a member o...

Key Change: James Acaster on OutKast

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today is James Acaster, a comedian, author, musician, and interviewer. He's filmed comedy specials for HBO and Netflix, which are hilarious a...

Lucy Dacus - Thumbs

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lucy Dacus is a singer and songwriter from Richmond, Virginia. She put out her first album in 2016, and in 2018 she formed the band Boygenius with Jul...

Theodore Shapiro - Severance (Main Title Theme)

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The TV show Severance debuted on Apple TV+ in February 2022. It was created by writer Dan Erickson, and developed into a series by director and execut...

Key Change: Hanif Abdurraqib on The Clash

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today is Hanif Abdurraqib, a poet, cultural critic, and New York Times bestselling author of books like They Can't Kill us Until They Kill Us...

Sasami - In Love With A Memory (feat. Clairo)

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sasami is a singer, songwriter and producer who grew up in Los Angeles. But now she’s based in Northern California, and as you’ll hear in this epi...

of Montreal - Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin Barnes started of Montreal in 1996 in Athens, Georgia. The Sunlandic Twins came out in 2005; it was their seventh album. And I remember when tha...

Key Change: Sophie Thatcher on Elliott Smith

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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

Yola - Symphony

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Yola is a singer/songwriter and actress. She released her solo debut album in 2019, which was nominated for 4 Grammys, including Best New Artist and B...

Adrianne Lenker - Sadness As a Gift

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Adrianne Lenker is a singer and songwriter. She’s the lead singer of the critically acclaimed and beloved band Big Thief, and her work as a solo art...

Sabrina Carpenter - Please Please Please

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sabrina Carpenter is a singer, songwriter, and actress. She had a huge year with her album Short N Sweet, which came out in August 2024. It debuted at...

Gracie Abrams - I Love You, I'm Sorry

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gracie Abrams is a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. She started putting out music in 2020, and in June 2024, she put out her second album, The ...

Waxahatchee - Fire

27 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Crutchfield is a singer and songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She’s been making music under the name Waxahatchee since 2010. Her fifth albu...

Le Tigre - Deceptacon

13 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Le Tigre originally formed in 1998. They released their self-titled debut album in October 1999. Spin Magazine called it one of the best albums of the...

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Our House

30 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1968, singer and songwriter Graham Nash joined David Crosby and Stephen Stills to form the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash. All of them had al...

Pharrell Williams - Piece By Piece

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pharrell Williams is—well, let me just say, he’s a big reason why Song Exploder exists. He’s a singer, songwriter and producer, and in the 90s, ...

Jon Batiste - We Are

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Batiste is a pianist, songwriter, and composer from New Orleans. He’s been nominated for multiple Grammys, and just won the Golden Globe and got...

Troye Sivan - One of Your Girls

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Troye Sivan is a singer and songwriter from Australia. He’s been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Grammys, and he’s won four of Australia’s ARI...

Beabadoobee - Coming Home

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Beabadoobee is an award-winning singer and songwriter from England who’s been releasing music since 2017. Her third album is called This Is How Tomo...

Remi Wolf - Soup

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Remi Wolf is a singer and songwriter originally from Palo Alto, California. She’s been releasing music since 2019. She performed at Coachella in 202...

Sam Smith - Stay With Me

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Smith is a Grammy and Oscar-winning singer and songwriter from London, England. Their first album, In the Lonely Hour, came out in 2014. It went q...

Fenne Lily - Lights Light Up

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Fenne Lily is a singer and songwriter from Dorset, England. She released her first album in 2018, but I didn’t find her music until 2023, when she p...

Vagabon - Water Me Down

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, Vagabon released her third album, Sorry I Haven’t Called, which I’ve been listening to a lot. So I wanted to revisit an episode that I ...

Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over

12 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Crowded House formed in 1985 in Melbourne, Australia. They’ve released eight albums, including their most recent one, Gravity Stairs, which came out...

Lizzy McAlpine - Staying

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lizzy McAlpine released her first album in 2020, and her second album in 2022. And between the two, she’s had a lot of success. One of her songs, "C...

The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize??

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Flaming Lips formed in Oklahoma City in 1983. Over the last four decades, they’ve put out 16 albums. In 1999, they put out their album The Soft ...

Arooj Aftab - Mohabbat

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the songs I keep coming back to is “Mohabbat” by Arooj Aftab. It’s really special to me. I listen to it all the time. I’ve been listeni...

War - Low Rider

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The band War formed in 1969, in Long Beach, California. “Low Rider” is from their 1975 album Why Can’t We Be Friends? The song was a hit as soon...

Shania Twain - You're Still The One

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shania Twain is a singer and songwriter from Ontario, Canada. She’s the only female artist to have had three consecutive Diamond albums — albums t...

Danny Brown - Y.B.P. (feat. Bruiser Wolf)

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Danny Brown started his career in 2007 by handing out mixtapes in Detroit, where he’s from. In 2011, he put out his acclaimed second album, XXX. Sin...

Rhiannon Giddens - You Louisiana Man

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rhiannon Giddens has released five solo albums since 2015. Before that, she was a member of the Grammy-winning band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops. She...

Arlo Parks - Black Dog

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I wanted to revisit an episode about one of my favorite songs from 2021, “Black Dog” by Arlo Parks. A few months after this episode originally cam...

Green Day - Basket Case

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Green Day is a punk band from the East Bay in California. Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool have been playing music together since 1987. ...

The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Deluxe Anniversary Edition)

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The first episode of Song Exploder, about The Postal Service song "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight," came out 10 years ago, in January 2014. To cele...

Foo Fighters - The Teacher

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the last episode of the year, I got the chance to drive up to Northridge, California, and have a conversation with Dave Grohl. We talked about the...

Raye - Escapism (feat. 070 Shake)

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Raye is a singer, songwriter and producer from London. Besides being an artist in her own right, she’s also been a songwriter for other artists sinc...

Sampha - Spirit 2.0

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sampha is a singer, songwriter and producer from London. His first album, Process, won the Mercury Prize in 2017. He’s collaborated with artists lik...

Paramore - Liar

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

I think one of the hardest things there is to do in music is to write a love song that expresses something real. I read that the song "Liar" by Paramo...

Kesha - Eat The Acid

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kesha is a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. She put out her first song in 2009, and it was a huge #1 hit in the US and 13 other countries. She’...

Alvvays - Archie, Marry Me

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alvvays is from Toronto. Their first album came out in 2014, and they’ve put out two other albums since then. In Canada, they’ve won the Juno Awar...

Laufey - From The Start

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Laufey is a singer and songwriter originally from Iceland. She studied piano and cello as a kid. When she was 15, she was a guest soloist with the Ice...

Janelle Monáe - So Afraid

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This summer, in June 2023, Janelle Monáe put out her fourth album, The Age of Pleasure. Listening to it made me want to revisit her Song Exploder epi...

Siddhartha Khosla - Only Murders in the Building (Main Title Theme)

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The "Skip Intro" button first got introduced to us through Netflix in 2017, and, I know, a lot of people use it – including me. But, if I can get ...

Local Natives - Dark Days

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It can be hard to be in a band, or really, in any kind of group where there’s creative collaboration, and you’re supposed to act like it's a democ...

Bakar - Hell N Back

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bakar is a singer and songwriter from London. In 2018 he put out his first release, Badkid. A year later, he put out the EP, Will You Be My Yellow?, a...

Natalie Merchant - Sister Tilly

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Natalie Merchant is an award-winning singer and songwriter from upstate New York. She was the lead singer of the band 10,000 Maniacs until she left in...

Julien Baker - Appointments

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 c...

Feist - In Lightning

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Feist is a singer/songwriter from Canada. She put out her first solo album in 1999. She’s won 11 Juno awards, including two for Artist of the Year, ...

Madison McFerrin - Run (feat. Bobby McFerrin)

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Madison McFerrin is a singer, songwriter, and producer from New York. She’s sung with legends like Aretha Franklin, George Clinton, and De La Soul &...

New Order - Blue Monday

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In May 1980, the band Joy Division was devastated by the death of lead singer Ian Curtis. The three remaining band members, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook...

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones, Pt. II

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s usually hard to pin down when a genre of music starts. But people point to this one party in August 1973 in the Bronx as the moment where hip-h...

Yaeji - Passed Me By

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Yaeji is a singer, songwriter, and producer from New York. During her childhood she moved between Queens, Atlanta, and Seoul. While she was at college...

Seal - Kiss from a Rose

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Seal is a multi-Grammy-winning singer and songwriter from England. His song “Kiss from a Rose” was first released in 1994, on his second album. It...

Kenny Beats - Still

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kenny Beats is a hip-hop producer who’s been making beats and producing songs for other artists since 2010. He’s got a long list of collaborations...

Kimbra - Top of the World

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kimbra is an artist from New Zealand. Her first album came out in 2011, and in 2013 she won two Grammys for her collaboration with Gotye, the multipla...

MUNA - What I Want

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

MUNA is a trio from Los Angeles, made up of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson. They’ve been making music together since 2013, when th...

Noah Kahan - Stick Season

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Noah Kahan is a singer and songwriter from Strafford, Vermont. Last year, in 2022, he released Stick Season, his third record. The title track from th...

Sampa the Great - Let Me Be Great (feat. Angélique Kidjo)

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sampa The Great is a songwriter, rapper, and singer from Zambia. She was based in Australia for years, but came back to Zambia in 2020, shortly before...

Son Lux - This is a Life (from 'Everything Everywhere All at Once')

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a sci-fi comedy independent film that came out in the spring of 2022. It’s a huge hit that made over $100 milli...

Omah Lay - Never Forget

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Omah Lay is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer. He’s one of the young stars of Afrobeats, the West African genre that's become a global phe...

Book Exploder: James McBride - Deacon King Kong

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The final episode of Book Exploder is with author James McBride. He was born in New York City and raised in Brooklyn’s Red Hook Houses housing proje...

Iron & Wine - Flightless Bird, American Mouth

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 2002, Sam Beam’s first album as Iron & Wine was released on Sub Pop Records. He’d given them a bunch of demos, and rather than have him re-...

Book Exploder: George Saunders - Victory Lap

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

George Saunders has won the Booker Prize, and he’s the recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant. He won the Folio Prize for his collection of short sto...

Santigold - Ushers of the New World

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Santigold is a singer, songwriter, and producer. She’s put out 4 albums since 2008, and she’s been featured as a collaborator on songs with Jay-Z,...