Song Exploder
Hrishikesh Hirway
Musicians deconstruct their own songs, track by track, with the show's creator.
Why we picked this
We picked Song Exploder because it treats recorded music as something constructed rather than received. Each episode lets a single artist take apart a track piece by piece, isolating the rough demos and discarded vocal takes that precede the final master. The show avoids standard music journalism chatter and focuses entirely on mechanics, choices, and the specific friction of turning an idea into a finished piece of audio. The archive functions as a massive, growing catalog of how creative work actually happens in the room.
Recent episodes
Paula Cole - I Don't Want to Wait
Sep 9, 202629 min
Charli XCX - Camera
Aug 19, 202623 min
Mitski - Your Best American Girl
Aug 5, 202614 min
Suki Waterhouse - Back in Love
Jul 22, 202623 min
Key Change: Questlove on Prince
Jul 15, 202625 min
Metric - Victim of Luck
Jul 8, 202622 min
Hayley Kiyoko - Girls Like Girls
Jun 24, 202626 min
Key Change: Tatiana Maslany on "Faceshopping" by Sophie
Jun 17, 202619 min
Paul McCartney - Ripples in a Pond
Jun 10, 202624 min
Hot Chip - Boy From School
May 20, 202626 min
Key Change: Emma Straub
May 13, 202622 min
The xx - Crystalised
May 6, 202625 min
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