The Books - Smells Like Content

FromSong Exploder

Start listening View podcast show

The Books - Smells Like Content

FromSong Exploder

ratings:

Length:

16 minutes

Released:

Nov 12, 2014

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Before The Books broke up, they released four albums that combined composed music and found sounds. In this episode, Nick Zammuto explains how he crafted the song Smells Like Content, off of their 2005 album Lost and Safe, out of unlikely sources, like geometry, chance encounters, and a corrugated PVC pipe.

Released:

Nov 12, 2014

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Song Exploder is a podcast where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made. Each episode features an artist discussing a song of theirs, breaking down the sounds and ideas that went into the writing and recording. Hosted and produced by Hrishikesh Hirway.

Skip carousel

Tycho - Awake: Tycho is the project of designer-turned-musician Scott Hansen, along with guitarist Zac Brown and drummer Rory O'Connor. For this episode, which was recorded in front of a live audience in San Francisco, Scott breaks down the title track from the... by Song Exploder
12 min listen
Converge - Dark Horse: The band Converge formed in 1990, when its members were teenagers. They've been making music that lives somewhere in the intersection of punk, hardcore, and metal for almost 25 years. Guitarist Kurt Ballou spoke to me from his studio GodCity, which is... by Song Exploder
13 min listen
Jeff Beal - House of Cards (Main Title Theme): Composer Jeff Beal deconstructs the main title theme music to the Netflix original series House of Cards. The show has been nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Original Main Title Theme and Outstanding Music Composition. The show... by Song Exploder
15 min listen
The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight: Our first guest on Song Exploder is Jimmy Tamborello, aka Dntel, aka one half of The Postal Service (the other half being Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie). Jimmy breaks down the song The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, and talks about his... by Song Exploder
12 min listen
Poliça - Smug: Ryan Olson is a member of the band Polica. Though he doesn't perform with them live, he put the band together, produces the songs, and co-writes them. I interviewed Ryan in his bedroom studio in Minneapolis. In this episode, he breaks down the song... by Song Exploder
13 min listen
Garbage - Felt: The band Garbage formed in 1994 when three guys from Madison Wisconsin — Butch Vig, Steve Marker, and Duke Erikson, met Scottish singer Shirley Manson. Twenty years later, they've sold over 17 million records worldwide. In this episode, we'll... by Song Exploder
19 min listen
Jeremy Zuckerman - The Legend of Korra: In 2005, Nickelodeon premiered an animated series called Avatar: The Last Airbender, about a young boy and his friends who have to keep peace and balance in the world. It combined fantasy and martial arts, and ran for four seasons, won an Emmy and a... by Song Exploder
13 min listen
Ghostface Killah - The Battlefield: In November 2014, Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan released his 11th album, called 36 Seasons. A lot of people worked on it: soul band The Revelations served as a kind of house backing band for the whole thing. Lil' Fame from M.O.P. and engineer... by Song Exploder
16 min listen
Daedelus - Experience: Alfred Darlington, better known as Daedelus, takes apart his song Experience. This early track of his is made with only acoustic sounds, but Alfred still considers it a piece of electronic music, and explains why. He also talks about the unexpected... by Song Exploder
11 min listen
Nite Jewel - One Second of Love: In this episode, we'll get a deconstructed view of the song One Second of Love by Nite Jewel. I spoke to Ramona Gonzalez of Nite Jewel and her partner and producer Cole MGN in their home studio in Los Angeles as they took a break from making a new... by Song Exploder
14 min listen
Valley Lodge - Go: Dave Hill is a comedian and host of his own podcast which, like Song Exploder, is on the Maximum Fun network. He's also the frontman of the band Valley Lodge. In this episode, Dave will deconstruct the Valley Lodge song Go, which you might recognize... by Song Exploder
13 min listen
Loren Bouchard - Bob's Burgers (Theme Song): Loren Bouchard is the creator of the animated television comedy Bob's Burgers, a series about a family and the restaurant they own and live above, currently in its fourth season on Fox. In addition to being the co-executive producer and showrunner,... by Song Exploder
14 min listen
The Books - Smells Like Content: Before The Books broke up, they released four albums that combined composed music and found sounds. In this episode, Nick Zammuto explains how he crafted the song Smells Like Content, off of their 2005 album Lost and Safe, out of unlikely... by Song Exploder
16 min listen
YACHT - Plastic Soul: Claire and Jona of the band YACHT deconstruct their brand new single Plastic Soul, a fun pop song about human suffering. They explain how technology inspired them musically as well as lyrically, and how they recycle bits of their old recordings to... by Song Exploder
10 min listen
Open Mike Eagle - Dark Comedy Morning Show (feat. Toy Light): In this episode, rapper Open Mike Eagle talks about making the song Dark Comedy Morning Show, along with the track's producer, Walker Ashby, aka Toy Light. Mike breaks down how Toy Light's original instrumental version of this song inspired him, and... by Song Exploder
11 min listen
Stars - No One Is Lost: Stars is a band from Toronto, who have been making music together since 2000. Their seventh album was released in October 2014. For this episode, I spoke to several members of the band: singer Amy Millan over the phone, and to Evan and Patty in their... by Song Exploder
12 min listen
Harry Gregson-Williams - The Martian: In the film "The Martian," astronaut Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) is stranded on Mars, forced to rely on science and his ingenuity in order to survive. The film opened at #1 at the box office, and has earned critical praise as well. In this... by Song Exploder
14 min listen
Anamanaguchi - Prom Night: In addition to guitars, drums, and bass, the band Anamanaguchi makes their music with the 8-bit sounds that were built into Nintendo video game consoles made in the 1980s. They use software called a tracker to meticulously sequence and produce those... by Song Exploder
13 min listen
Brian Reitzell - Watch Dogs: In May 2014, the video game company Ubisoft released Watch Dogs, about a vigilante hacker in Chicago in the near future. Here's how the game is described on their website: "You play as Aiden Pearce, a brilliant hacker and former thug, whose criminal... by Song Exploder
17 min listen
RAC - Let Go (feat. Kele & MNDR): Andre Allen Anjos is better known as RAC, a musician who first found success by remixing other people's songs. His remixes for artists like Lana Del Rey have gotten millions of plays online. In 2013, RAC released Strangers, his first album of original... by Song Exploder
14 min listen
Sea Wolf - Kasper: Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf breaks down Kasper, a song from the album Old World Romance. He talks about his songwriting process, collaborating with his bandmates, and the evolution that comes with learning the difference between making something... by Song Exploder
12 min listen
Ramin Djawadi - Game of Thrones: Game of Thrones premiered on HBO in April 2011 and became the most watched show in HBO's history. The main title theme was written by Emmy-nominated composer Ramin Djawadi. In this episode, he'll break down the different elements in the piece, and how... by Song Exploder
11 min listen
The Thermals - No Culture Icons: The Thermals originally began as Hutch Harris's solo recording project. He sang and played all the instruments on the 2003 Thermals record More Parts Per Million. In this episode, Hutch breaks down his lo-fi recording of the song No Culture... by Song Exploder
14 min listen
Toro y Moi - Half Dome: Over the past five years, Chaz Bundick, aka Toro y Moi, has made music that's spanned a range of genres and styles. On his newest album, What For?, he shifted styles again. In this episode, Chaz explains why. He'll break down the song Half Dome, named... by Song Exploder
11 min listen
Youth Lagoon - The Knower: Youth Lagoon is the moniker of Trevor Powers, who has been releasing albums under the name since 2011. In this episode, Trevor breaks down “The Knower,” the lead single from his newest record, Savage Hills Ballroom. He talks about how... by Song Exploder
12 min listen
My Morning Jacket - Spring (Among the Living): Jim James is the lead singer of the Grammy-nominated band My Morning Jacket. Since starting in 1998, they've put out six albums, and in this episode, Jim breaks down the song Spring (Among The Living), from their soon-to-be released seventh album, The... by Song Exploder
13 min listen
Baths - Miasma Sky: Will Wiesenfeld of Baths breaks down his song Miasma Sky, which came out last year on his highly-praised sophomore album Obsidian. Will talks about using the computer to intentionally destroy sounds, trying to find a balance in his music between... by Song Exploder
12 min listen
The National - Sea of Love: The National formed in 1999. They've released six albums, and have been nominated for a grammy. Their music is everywhere from Game of Thrones, to Bob's Burgers, to Barack Obama's presidential campaign. In 2013 they released their sixth album, Trouble... by Song Exploder
17 min listen
Julia Holter - Horns Surrounding Me: Julia Holter studied composition, and in the song Horns Surrounding Me, she arranges not only acoustic and electronic instruments, but also layers of ambient field recordings and background noise. The song was released in 2013 on her acclaimed album... by Song Exploder
13 min listen
White Hinterland - Ring the Bell: Casey Dienel is a producer, singer, and songwriter who goes by the name White Hinterland. In this episode, she'll break down her song Ring the Bell. To make it, she had to break out of her comfort zone of working alone and reach to other people. She... by Song Exploder
14 min listen

More Episodes from Song Exploder

Skip carousel

War - Low Rider: Lonnie Jordan from War and producer Jerry Goldstein tell the story behind the iconic song "Low Rider." by Song Exploder
18 min listen
Shania Twain - You're Still The One: Shania Twain breaks down her hit song "You're Still The One." by Song Exploder
18 min listen
Danny Brown - Y.B.P. (feat. Bruiser Wolf): Danny Brown tells the story behind his song "Y.B.P." by Song Exploder
18 min listen
Rhiannon Giddens - You Louisiana Man: Rhiannon Giddens breaks down her song "You Louisiana Man." by Song Exploder
20 min listen
Re-issue: Arlo Parks - Black Dog: Revisiting the 2021 episode about the Arlo Parks song "Black Dog." by Song Exploder
20 min listen
Green Day - Basket Case: Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day tells the story behind the song "Basket Case." by Song Exploder
21 min listen
The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Deluxe Anniversary Edition): In this expanded, deluxe edition of the very first episode of Song Exploder – which came out ten years ago – Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard of The Postal Service tell the story of how they made “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.” by Song Exploder
27 min listen
Foo Fighters - The Teacher: Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters tells the story behind the song "The Teacher." by Song Exploder
33 min listen
Raye - Escapism (feat. 070 Shake): Raye tells the story behind her song "Escapism." by Song Exploder
21 min listen
Sampha - Spirit 2.0: Sampha tells the story behind his song "Spirit 2.0." by Song Exploder
20 min listen
Paramore - Liar: Paramore tells the story behind their song "Liar." by Song Exploder
21 min listen
Kesha - Eat The Acid: Kesha tells the story of how she made her song "Eat The Acid." by Song Exploder
21 min listen
Alvvays - Archie, Marry Me: Molly Rankin and Alec O'Hanley from Alvvays tell the story of how they made "Archie, Marry Me." by Song Exploder
22 min listen
Laufey - From The Start: Laufey tells the story of how she made "From The Start." by Song Exploder
18 min listen
Re-issue: Janelle Monáe - So Afraid: Revisiting Janelle Monáe's 2018 episode about her song "So Afraid." by Song Exploder
19 min listen
Siddhartha Khosla - Only Murders in the Building (Main Title Theme): Only Murders in the Building composer Siddhartha Khosla tells the story of making the show's theme music. by Song Exploder
16 min listen
Local Natives - Dark Days: Local Natives tells the story behind their hit song "Dark Days." by Song Exploder
24 min listen
Bakar - Hell N Back: Baker tells the story behind his hit song "Hell N Back." by Song Exploder
22 min listen
Natalie Merchant - Sister Tilly: Natalie Merchant tells the story behind her song "Sister Tilly." by Song Exploder
25 min listen
Re-issue: Julien Baker - Appointments: Revisiting Julien Baker's 2018 episode about her song "Appointments." by Song Exploder
21 min listen
Feist - In Lightning: Feist tells the story behind her song "In Lightning." by Song Exploder
20 min listen
Madison McFerrin - Run (feat. Bobby McFerrin): Madison McFerrin tells the story of her song "Run," featuring guest vocals from her father, Bobby McFerrin. by Song Exploder
19 min listen
New Order - Blue Monday by Song Exploder
23 min listen
Re-issue: Mobb Deep - Shook Ones, Pt. II by Song Exploder
21 min listen
Yaeji - Passed Me By: Yaeji tells the story of how she created her song "Passed Me By." by Song Exploder
21 min listen
Seal - Kiss from a Rose: Seal breaks down his iconic song "Kiss from a Rose" alongside producer Trevor Horn. by Song Exploder
23 min listen
Kenny Beats - Still: Kenny Beats breaks down how he made his song "Still." by Song Exploder
19 min listen
Re-issue: Kimbra - Top of the World: Revisiting Kimbra's 2018 episode about her song "Top of the World." by Song Exploder
20 min listen
MUNA - What I Want: MUNA breaks down their song "What I Want." by Song Exploder
19 min listen
Noah Kahan - Stick Season: Noah Kahan tells the story of how he created his hit song "Stick Season." by Song Exploder
19 min listen

Related podcast episodes

Skip carousel

#210: Thriller (Michael Jackson album) by KnockBack: The Retro and Nostalgia Podcast
109 min listen
The Making of LET GO by Nada Surf - featuring Matthew Caws by Life of the Record
72 min listen
Steely Dan - Aja (w/ guest Ed Pratico): Let's get ready for some weird and cool music because gun for hire and highly skilled bassist Ed Pratico (Jesse Eliot and His Band) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Steely Dan's Aja (1997, ABC). With their sixth studio album, Steely Dan finally... by The Great Albums
92 min listen
NEM#88: Lincoln Barr’s Off-Center Vulnerability: Lincoln established the Seattle-based singer/songwriter vehicle Red Jacket Mine in 2003, made three albums and an EP with them, and in 2017 released his first solo album, the jazzy, live-in-studio Trembling Frames. - by Nakedly Examined Music Podcast
65 min listen
38. New Adventures in Hi-Fi by U Talkin’ U2 To Me?
150 min listen
Album Breakdown: Thankful by Miss Indepodcast
78 min listen
Ep. 39 - Sonic Youth - Goo: An unforgettable cover with a New York City slacker cool, Sonic Youth's sixth studio album 'Goo' arrived just in time to make things noisy in 1990. A band defined by alternate tunings and experimental art rock, Sonic Youth had been releasing albums f... by Waterproof Records with Jacob Givens
39 min listen
Vince Clarke by Synthetic Dreams Podcast
41 min listen
Episode 189: R.E.M.'s 'Up' at 25 (with Josh Modell): Logistically and artistically, R.E.M.'s 1998 album Up marked a fork in the road for their trajectory: Prior to its recording, drummer and founding member Bill Berry had amicably left the band, having suffered a brain aneurysm while on stage three... by Vinyl Emergency
64 min listen
Yeasayer by Live on KEXP
29 min listen
Classic Album Clash: Nitro – The Best/Worst and Ever: Nitro was a short-lived, over-the-top metal band from Hollywood, California fronted by singer Jim Gillette and guitarist Michael Angelo Batio. They formed in 1988 and broke up in 1993, but in that five years they managed to release two albums – 1989’s “O.F.R.” and 1992’s “Nitro II: Hot, Wet, Drippin’ With Sweat.” And those are the albums being put to the test in the Classic Album Clash! Andy, Nick, and the mysterious Chris L. from the “Pod of Thunder” podcast return to share Nitro stories, trivia, production notes, and a do a detailed deep-dive track-by-track breakdown as they pit the two albums against each other to determine a best and favorite! by Talk Is Jericho
93 min listen
The Art of Longevity Season 8, Episode 1: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark by The Art of Longevity
52 min listen
#433: Everclear by American Music Club: By the time of their fifth album Everclear from 1991, American Music Club was anything but a household name. If you caught their single "Rise" on late on night on MTV, or by chance on an adventurous radio station, you are among a lucky few. Considering t... by Dig Me Out: 90s Rock
42 min listen
The Making of MOUNT EERIE by the Microphones - featuring Phil Elverum by Life of the Record
63 min listen
NEM#196: Michael Gira (Swans) Is Not Done: Swans started in the early '80s with a brutal sound gradually became more subtle and textured. The band broke up in 1995 after ten albums (and three other releases under the name World of Skin), then Michael released a couple of solo albums and six alt... by Nakedly Examined Music Podcast
112 min listen
Zakk Wylde His Own Mt. Riffmore, Ridiculous Music Videos, and Ozzy’s No More Tears by Kyle Meredith With...
27 min listen
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT original Eric Bloom talks GHOST STORIES and more! by The Jeremy White Show
33 min listen
Drop Nineteens - A Hitch by In Our Headphones
3 min listen
Otis McDonald by Eric Krasno Plus One
108 min listen
Can - Future Days: Matthew Sweet and guests take a deep dive into the influential German group's 1973 album. by Arts & Ideas
44 min listen
The 450‘s- Carl Canedy of The Rods introduces his new band.: Good evening, everybody. Its Thursday and time for another edition of Metal Mayhem ROC! Tonight-- show host Jon “The Vernomatic’ Verno has a fun informative interview to share. Carl Canedy, veteran of over 40 years in the Hard rock and metal communit... by Metal Mayhem ROC: Your go to source for everything metal.
37 min listen
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell by The Metal Pit Podcast
64 min listen
34. Out of Time by U Talkin’ U2 To Me?
121 min listen
MGMT - Time to Pretend: MGMT was formed by Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden in 2001. The song Time to Pretend was one they wrote early in their career. It first came out on their debut: the Time to Pretend EP in 2005. And three years after that, they put out a new... by Song Exploder
15 min listen
42. Reveal by U Talkin’ U2 To Me?
143 min listen
George Michael's "Faith" (1987): Track by Track! by Surely You Can't Be Serious Podcast
73 min listen
Widowspeak - Everything Is Simple by In Our Headphones
4 min listen
Epi 143: Elegantly Wasted Reviews REVIEWED!: As we wrap up our 5-episode deep dive on Elegantly Wasted, we take the unique step of going back to 1997 and beyond and assess the album reviews. Often critical and commercial success are mutually exclusive; however, we place a lens on which review... by INXS: Access All Areas
62 min listen
#378: Laid by James: By 1993, James were already established with a string of successful UK singles on their four previous album. But with the release of Laid, they managed to crack wide open United States college and mainstream radio playlists with the quirky and catchy tit... by Dig Me Out: 90s Rock
51 min listen
Widowspeak [Performance & Interview Only] by Live on KEXP
31 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

The Books - Smells Like Content

The Books - Smells Like Content

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Song Exploder

Related podcast episodes