Wham’s 1984 contribution to the holiday cannon, “Last Christmas,” has surprising staying power. When Grammy-winning pianist Chilly Gonzales set out to record a holiday album, “A Very Chilly Christmas,” most of the selections were over a half century old. That’s because most of our favorite seasonal songs come from the 1960s and earlier. But in addition to Ma ... Show More
Today
Hrishikesh Hirway made an album “the old-fashioned way.” He nearly exploded.
Hrishikesh Hirway, host of Song Exploder, returns with his first album in fifteen years, In the Last Hour of Light, made under a premise that's almost contradictory for a podcaster built around isolated stems: session players who had never heard the songs, vocals tracked live in ... Show More
43m 12s
Apr 17
Maggie Rogers: going viral is a trap
Ten years ago, Maggie Rogers was a senior at NYU, scrambling to finish a song for a music production class she was close to failing. The guest critic that week happened to be Pharrell Williams. She played him "Alaska," a track she'd written in about fifteen minutes. It is a bit o ... Show More
37m 36s
Dec 2023
Best Music for the Holidays
<p>In this episode, we decided to recommend the best music to listen to for Christmas, New Year’s and the holiday season as a whole. We brought in holiday classics like ‘Feliz Navidad’ by Jose Feliciano, rap songs like ‘Christmas in Harlem’ by Kanye West & more.</p>
<p><br></ ... Show More
33 m