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A post shared by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Jul 10, 2019 at 10:05am PDT

Jamila Woods is a singer, songwriter, and poet from Chicago. She’s released two albums, and she’s collaborated with artists like Chance the Rapper, Noname, and Macklemore.

In May 2019, she put out her second album, LEGACY! LEGACY!, to critical acclaim. NME called it one of the albums of the year, Rolling Stone called it a “revelation,” and Pitchfork named it “Best New Music.”

In this episode, Jamila and her producer Slot-A break down a song from that album, called “Baldwin,” named after the late author and civil rights activist James Baldwin.

You can buy or stream “BALDWIN” here. Check out the album LEGACY! LEGACY! on vinyl here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
“A Letter To My Nephew” by James Baldwin
Young Chicago Authors
“I’m So Into You” – SWV
Rhodes piano
Akai MPC
Moog synthesizer
Chicago Children’s Choir
Nico Segal – horns

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A post shared by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Jun 26, 2019 at 10:06am PDT

Big Thief is a four piece folk-rock band from Brooklyn, New York. In May 2019, they released their third album, U.F.O.F., to critical acclaim. Pitchfork named it “Best New Music.” In this episode, singer Adrianne Lenker and drummer James Krivchenia break down a song from that album called “Cattails.”

You can buy or stream “Cattails” here. Check out the album U.F.O.F. on vinyl here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Bear Creek studio
Dom Monks – Engineer
Andrew Sarlo – Producer

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A post shared by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Jun 12, 2019 at 10:14am PDT

Sheryl Crow is a singer-songwriter from Missouri. She’s released ten studio albums, sold over 50 million records, and has won nine Grammys.

In April 2019, Sheryl Crow released a new version of her song “Redemption Day,” which was first released on her self-titled album in 1996. This new version features vocals from Johnny Cash, who recorded a cover of the song that was released posthumously in 2010. And in this episode, Sheryl Crow breaks down how it all came together.

You can buy or stream the new version of “Redemption Day” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Rwandan genocide
June Carter Cash
Davide Rossi – String player

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