Song Exploder

Musicians break down the creation and composition of their songs AI summary

Hrishikesh Hirway Visit website › Music · EN · 382 episodes · latest 2026-11-11

Rank 2745

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What it is about

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.

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
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Latest episodes

Mastodon - Your Ghost Again E

2026-11-11 · 29 min · Episode 324

The band Mastodon formed in 2000 in Atlanta, Georgia. They’ve won a Grammy and been nominated for 5 others, and three of their albums have debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock charts. For most of their history, they…
Jason Mantzoukas & Hrishikesh Hirway on 'In the Last Hour of Light' E

2026-11-04 · 44 min

Listen to 'In the Last Hour of Light' here – lnk.to/inthelasthouroflight Listen to "Never Going Anywhere" here — lnk.to/nevergoinganywhere Dropbox archive of demos, photos, and more – hrishikesh.co/albumarchive I wanted…
Allison Russell - The Returner

2026-10-21 · 22 min · Episode 323

Allison Russell is a singer and songwriter originally from Montreal and now based in Nashville. She’s a Grammy-winner and an eight-time Grammy nominee. And she’s also won Canada’s Juno Award, an Americana award, and…
DJ Shadow - Mutual Slump

2026-10-14 · 16 min

30 years ago, DJ Shadow released his debut album, Entroducing… and it changed my life. I listened to it so much. And when I first started Song Exploder, he was on my list of dream guests. And then 10 years ago, that…
Elvis Costello - Alison

2026-10-07 · 27 min · Episode 322

Elvis Costello is a singer and songwriter whose career spans five decades and over 30 albums. He’s a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter Hall of Fame. He’s won Grammy Awards, Ivor Novello Awards,…
Olivia Rodrigo - The Cure E

2026-09-23 · 26 min · Episode 321

Olivia Rodrigo is a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter. In June 2026, she released her third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love. The day it came out, it broke streaming records on Spotify and Amazon…
Natalie Merchant - Sister Tilly

2026-09-16 · 25 min

Donate to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library here: https://donate.imaginationlibrary.com/ Donate to Women's Media Center, co-founded by Gloria Steinem, here: https://act.womensmediacenter.com/a/support-wmc - When I…
Paula Cole - I Don't Want to Wait E

2026-09-09 · 29 min · Episode 320

Paula Cole is a singer, songwriter and producer from Massachusetts. She put out her first solo album, Harbinger, in 1994. Her second album, This Fire, came out in 1996 and was a real breakthrough; she was nominated for…
Charli XCX - Camera E

2026-08-19 · 23 min · Episode 319

Charli XCX is a Grammy-winning artist who has been making music since she was a teenager. In July 2026, she released her eighth album, Music, Fashion, Film. It debuted at number 1 on the UK charts—her 4th album in a row…
Mitski - Your Best American Girl

2026-08-05 · 15 min · Episode 83

In 2016, Mitski did an episode of Song Exploder about her song “Your Best American Girl.” She had just released her second album, Puberty 2. Later, Pitchfork named “Your Best American Girl” one of the top 10 best songs…

Episode details from the publisher’s feed. Playback happens at the publisher.

Publisher details

Oldest episode in feed: 01/2014 · over 12 years
Typical length: 19 min
Format: Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone

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