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Solange Knowles released her first album in 2002, at the age of 16. Her third album, A Seat at the Table, came out in September 2016, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. It’s gotten widespread critical acclaim, including being named best album of the year by Pitchfork and by Vibe. In this episode, Solange takes apart the song “Cranes in the Sky.”

Buy “Cranes in the Sky” on iTunes.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Alice Coltrane – Transcendence
Taz Arnold

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Metallica formed in 1981. They were teenagers. Since then, they’ve gone on to become one of the most successful bands of all time, selling over 110 million records worldwide. In November 2016, they released their tenth album, Hardwired…to Self-Destruct. In this episode, the song “Moth into Flame” gets taken apart by singer and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich.

Buy “Moth Into Flame” on iTunes.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Metallica – Disposable Heroes (1986)
Mastodon – The Motherload

In studio with Hrishikesh for a future episode of @songexploder down here in LA!

A post shared by Metallica (@metallica) on Dec 13, 2016 at 3:57pm PST

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The film La La Land tells the story of Mia, an aspiring actress played by Emma Stone, and Sebastian, a jazz pianist played by Ryan Gosling, both of them struggling artists in Los Angeles. The musical was written and directed by Damien Chazelle in collaboration with composer Justin Hurwitz. It’s the third film they’ve made together, and the follow-up to the Oscar-winning film Whiplash. In this episode, Justin Hurwitz breaks down a song from the film sung by Emma Stone; it’s called “Audition (The Fools Who Dream).” Plus, some thoughts from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who wrote the lyrics.

This episode is part of a series I’m doing over the next few months, highlighting awards-worthy film music. These awards episodes are presented in partnership with New York Magazine’s site Vulture. For more, go to vulture.com/awards.

Buy “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” or the entire official soundtrack on iTunes.

La La Land trailer

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

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