This summer, in June 2023, Janelle Monáe put out her fourth album, The Age of Pleasure. Listening to it made me want to revisit her Song Exploder episode, from 2018. One thing on Song Exploder that I personally love is when we get to hear an artist’s raw voice memo, from the moment when they’re first coming up with a song idea. This episode has one of my all-time favorites.
Janelle Monáe is an award-winning musician and actress who released her first record in 2007. She’s been nominated for multiple Grammys, and she starred in the Oscar films Moonlight and Hidden Figures. In April 2018, she released her third album, Dirty Computer, which includes this song, “So Afraid.” In this episode, Janelle Monáe takes “So Afraid” apart, to explain how she built it, step by step—beginning with a trip to the dentist.
For more, visit songexploder.net/janelle-monae.
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Stranger Things (Main Title Theme)
TOKiMONSTA - Bibimbap
The Killers - Rut
Lorde - Sober
Rostam - Bike Dream
Ibeyi - Deathless
Maggie Rogers - Alaska
St. Vincent - New York
Grizzly Bear - Four Cypresses
Phoenix - Ti Amo
Slowdive - Sugar for the Pill
Goapele - Stand
Fleet Foxes - Mearcstapa
Michelle Branch - Best You Ever
alt-J - In Cold Blood
Michael Kiwanuka - Black Man in a White World
Perfume Genius - Slip Away
Little Dragon - Sweet
Aimee Mann - Patient Zero
Gorillaz - Andromeda (feat. D.R.A.M.)
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