The Wonders of Songwriting, Pt. Three (feat. Carly Rae Jepsen)

Carly Rae Jepsen is a writer’s writer. “I am very excited about the idea of writing it in all directions,” Carly says — and for the making of her latest album, The Loneliest Time, that meant writing literally hundreds of songs. On this episode of Object of Sound, Hanif and Carly Rae Jepsen talk about the unique collaborative process that went into narrowing that collection of songs down to the thirteen tracks on the album. Carly opens up about the challenges and opportunities of songwriting during the pandemic, and her drive to keep challenging the idea of what a pop song can be. Inspired by Carly’s recent experience at a James Taylor concert, Hanif closes the episode with a playlist of great songs to cry to. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode, head over to radio.sonos.com.

Music In This Week’s Episode:
Surrender My Heart - Carly Rae Jepsen
Northern Sky - Nick Drake
Someday We’ll All Be Free - Donny Hathaway
The Very Thought of You - Nat King Cole
I Don’t Smoke - Mitski
When The Sun Hits - Slowdive
Good Goodbye - Lianne La Havas
Long Ride Home - Patti Griffin


Show Notes:
Carly Rae Jepsen’s The Loneliest Time is out today, October 21.

Check out the full 8.5 hour version of Hanif’s Mega Sad Playlist, crowdsourced on Twitter and collected by Zineb Nour, here.

This episode is part of our mini series, “The Wonders of Songwriting,” three special episodes on Object of Sound devoted to the art of how songs become songs. Hanif talks to artists Ravyn Lenae, Nick Hakim, and Carly Rae Jepsen to understand where their love of language comes from, how words become images become music, where the ideas begin, and how they morph as they move from the page into the intangible space of melody and vibration.

If you’re a writer or maker in need of a creative refuel, check out Hanif’s recent interview on Creative Pep Talk, which also features lessons from artists we’ve interviewed here on Object of Sound.


Credits:
This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Rhiannon Corby, and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. Extra gratitude to Joe Dawson and Saidah Blount at Sonos.