Episode 284: Sabrina Carpenter

“Please Please Please”


Sabrina Carpenter is a singer, songwriter and actress. She had a huge year with her album Short n’ Sweet, which came out in August 2024. It debuted at #1, and went platinum within a month. At the upcoming Grammys, she’s nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, and more. One of her big hits is “Please Please Please,” which she wrote with Amy Allen and producer Jack Antonoff. He’s won Producer of the Year at the Grammys for the last three years in a row. For this episode, I talked to Sabrina and Jack about everything that went into making “Please Please Please.”

You can buy or stream “Please, Please, Please” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Radio City Music Hall
“Lie To Girls” and “Slim Pickins”
Dolly Parton
LinnDrum – drum machine
Jupiter and Juno – synths
Electric Light Orchestra
The Beatles

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Episode 283: Gracie Abrams

“I Love You, I’m Sorry”


Gracie Abrams is a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. She started putting out music in 2020, and in June 2024, she put out her second album, The Secret of Us. She was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist, and this year she’s up for another Grammy, for Best Duo Performance, for her collaboration with Taylor Swift. But for this episode, I talked to Gracie about her song “I Love You, I’m Sorry.” It was produced by Aaron Dessner, at Long Pond Studio in upstate New York, and it was co-written with Audrey Hobert.

Coming up, you’ll hear the isolated tracks from the studio recording, but you’ll also get to hear a lot of the voice memos that Gracie recorded during the writing process. I think it’s so nice to have these raw moments documented because, as you’ll hear, they give you an insight not just into the song, but into the relationship that Gracie and her co-writer, Audrey, have as friends.

You can buy or stream “I Love You, I’m Sorry” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Rob Moose – strings
Bella Blasko – engineer
The National
“I miss you, I’m sorry”

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Episode 282: Le Tigre

“Deceptacon”


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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