When Laetitia Tamko started making the second Vagabon album, she really wanted to produce the entire thing on her own. It would be a new sound, and producing was still a relatively new skill to her, but she wanted to tackle it head on, and do it all herself. On this song, though, “Water Me Down,” Laetitia actually has a co-producer, Eric Littmann. It’s the one exception to her otherwise entirely self-produced album. In this episode, she breaks down how she and Eric made the song, and why it was worth making that exception.

You can buy or stream “Water Me Down” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Korg MS-20 synth
Korg Minilogue synth

The song “Closing Time” by the American rock band Semisonic came out in March 1998. It hit #1 on the Alternative charts, and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Song. It gets played in stadiums, Weird Al covered it, and it’s the last song of the night in countless bars.

Since then, Dan Wilson, the lead singer and songwriter of Semisonic, has become a powerhouse songwriter who has written or co-written for artists like John Legend and Taylor Swift. And he’s won Grammys for his songwriting with the Dixie Chicks and Adele. But over two decades ago, Dan and his bandmates John Munson and Jacob Slichter were in Minneapolis, getting ready to start work on their second album, Feeling Strangely Fine. In this episode of Song Exploder, Dan breaks down how that process led to “Closing Time.”

You can buy or stream “Closing Time” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Nick Launay, producer
Elizabeth Bishop
Robert Frost
ZVEX Effects Fuzz Factory guitar pedal

The band Vampire Weekend started in 2006, in New York. Their third album came out in 2013 and it was named one of the best albums of the year all over the place, and it won a Grammy. But then, it took six years for their next album, Father of the Bride, to come out. This album’s also been nominated for a Grammy, for album of the year. And the lead single from it, “Harmony Hall,” was nominated for Best Rock Song.

In this episode, Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend takes “Harmony Hall” apart. I spoke to him along with producer Ariel Rechtshaid, and the two of them detailed winding path the song went down, over several years, before it finally took shape.

You can buy or stream “Harmony Hall” here.

Right now, Radiotopia is holding its annual fundraiser. You can help support Song Exploder and the network that makes it possible. Make your mark. Go to Radiotopia.fm to donate today.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Origin of the Alice Cooper quote
Mark Ronson
Rostam Batmangliij, additional production
Danielle Haim, backing vocals
Dave Longstreth, backing vocals