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 past 30 years, and Pitchfork called it one of the best albums of the 90s. I listened to that album a lot when it came out, and 25 years later, I still hear songs from it everywhere, on TV and in movies, and just out in the world – especially the song “Deceptacon.” For this episode, I talked to Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman from Le Tigre about how they wrote it, and how they put the track together.

You can buy or stream “Deceptacon” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Chris Stamey – producer
Bikini Kill
The Julie Ruin
The Go-Go’s
Slim Moon
Drumatix drum machine
Land of the Loops
Atari Teenage Riot
Ensoniq Mirage
Tascam 8-track tape recorder
Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” demo
Kim Gordon
Joan Jett
Kenny Laguna
Tommy James and the Shondells
The Shangri-Las
Alesis HR-16B
The dB’s
Diana Ross
“YMCA”
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”

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In 1968, singer and songwriter Graham Nash joined David Crosby and Stephen Stills to form the supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash. All of them had already been in successful bands: Graham Nash had been in The Hollies; David Crosby was in The Byrds; and Stephen Stills was in Buffalo Springfield. The next year, Neil Young joined them, to make Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The four of them released Deja Vu in 1970, and that album was a huge success. It sold over 8 million copies. It includes the song “Our House,” and for this episode, I spoke to Graham Nash about the making of that song, and the relationship that led to the song.

You can buy or stream “Our House” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Dallas Taylor – drums
Greg Reeves – bass
Joni Mitchell
Chateau Laurier
The Everly Brothers
“You Don’t Have to Cry”
Wally Heider Studios

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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, when I first heard the work he was doing with The Neptunes, which was his production duo with Chad Hugo, it blew my mind. It made me want to know where those sounds came from and where those ideas came from. Pharrell has won 13 Grammys. He’s been nominated for two Oscars. He’s produced iconic songs for Kendrick Lamar and Britney Spears and Clipse and Gwen Stefani, and so many others. And on his own, he’s made songs like “Happy,” the giant hit for Despicable Me that was the best-selling song of 2014. And now, there’s a movie about his life called Piece by Piece. But it’s an animated Lego film. For this episode, I talked to Pharrell about the title song from Piece By Piece. So coming up, you’ll hear how Pharrell built the song, including a first draft that never saw the light of day. You’ll hear how he first built “Piece by Piece” by programming it on his own with MIDI instruments, and then adding and replacing those parts with other musicians, including the high school marching band that he used to play in.

You can buy or stream “Piece by Piece” here.

For the Song Exploder episode with Run The Jewels about the song “JU$T,” which features backing vocals from Pharrell, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Brent Paschke – guitar
Princess Ann High School Fabulous Marching Cavaliers
“Beautiful” – Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Williams
The scorpion jacket that Ryan Gosling wears in the movie Drive
1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Logic Pro
Clavichord