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Madonna is the best-selling female recording artist of all time. She has 12 albums that have gone multi-platinum. She’s won seven Grammys, and has had fifty songs reach number 1 on the Billboard Dance chart. That’s more number 1s than anyone in any category, ever. In this episode, she talks about one of those number 1 hits: “Hung Up,” from her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor. The song and that album were co-produced by Stuart Price, an electronic musician, producer, and DJ from the UK. “Hung Up” began in part because Madonna was working on a film with director Luc Besson (whose films include The Fifth Element and Taken). But the song also grew out of Stuart’s DJ sets.

Madonna has a new career-spanning album out, called Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, and in honor of its release, Madonna and Stuart Price told me the story of how their collaboration and partnership led to one of Madonna’s biggest hits.

You can buy or stream “Hung Up” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” by ABBA
Studio 54

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Kae Tempest is a songwriter, rapper, an award-winning poet, and best-selling novelist. They’ve been nominated for the UK’s Mercury Prize and Brit Award. Their most recent album is The Line is a Curve, which came out earlier this year. It was executive produced by legendary producer Rick Rubin. Kae made the album alongside their longtime collaborator, producer Dan Carey. I talked to Kae and Dan about the song “Move.” You’ll hear the first demo they made, which sounds basically nothing like the final version. In this episode, they talk about how it evolved. Kae’s own life changed a lot during that period. They came out as trans and non-binary in 2020, and this song, in part, helps tell the story of what they were going through.

You can buy or stream “Move” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Swarmatron
Grian Chatten
Confucius MC
Bridget Minamore

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Sudan Archives is a singer, songwriter, producer, and violinist. She grew up in Cincinnati before moving to LA. Her music has been called “viscerally gorgeous” by The Guardian, and “stunning” by Pitchfork, who gave her in ‘Best New Music.’ This year, she’s releasing her second album, and one of the tracks on it is “Selfish Soul.” She told me the idea for this song started when she asked her boyfriend, James (who is the rapper Nocando) to shave her head. Cutting off her hair made her reflect on her whole hair story, from experiences she had as a kid, to the cultural and racial issues that have historically surrounded Black women’s hair.

You can buy or stream “Selfish Soul” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Ween Ya Habaayeb by Aisha Al-Falatiya
Nocando
Lafemmebear
Ben Dickey, manager and co-producer
Dexter Story