In January 2015, Björk released Vulnicura. She described it as “a complete heartbreak album.” And in November, she released Vulnicura Strings, a companion album that stripped away the electronics. In this episode, Björk breaks down the making of both the original version of the song “Stonemilker,” as well as the strings version. She traces her writing and recording process for the track, her collaboration with the electronic producer Arca, and why she wanted to make a second version.

You can find Björk’s podcast, Sonic Symbolism, here.

Watch the music video for Stonemilker:

You can buy Vulnicura and Vulnicura Strings from Björk’s webstore, or on iTunes.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

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Transparent is an Amazon original series, created by Jill Soloway. The story centers on a family where the father, played by actor Jeffrey Tambor, comes out to his children and the to world at large as transgender. The first season was released in September 2014. It was critically acclaimed and won a lot of awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. In this episode, composer Dustin O’Halloran breaks down how he made the Transparent theme, using an 80-year old piano and channeling his own family nostalgia.

Watch the opening title sequence:

You can get the original music from Transparent on Amazon.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Dustin’s song from Piano Solos, Volume 2 that plays in the episode is Opus 22. You can buy the album on vinyl or the song on iTunes.

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Wilco formed in 1994, and 21 years later, they released their 9th album, Star Wars. In this episode, Jeff Tweedy, the band’s singer and principal songwriter, breaks down the song Magnetized. In addition to collaborating with his five bandmates, John Stirratt, Pat Sansone, Mike Jorgensen, Nels Cline, and Glenn Kotche, it turns out Jeff Tweedy makes an active effort to remove his own ego from the process of songwriting. Here, you’ll hear why.

Buy “Magnetized” on iTunes.

I spoke with Jeff Tweedy at The Loft, @wilco’s recording studio in Chicago. New episode out now. songexploder.net/wilco

A photo posted by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Dec 2, 2015 at 7:09pm PST

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

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