This week's episode features songwriters reflecting on their feelings and experiences with America.
- Sam Beam, who performs under the name Iron & Wine, shares the story behind “Flightless Bird, American Mouth,” which he started writing not long after 9/11.
- Punk rock pioneer Iggy Pop, who released his 23rd album Post Pop Depression in 2016, talks about the making of“American Valhalla” written in collaboration with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. The song draws heavily on military influences and is written from the perspective of a veteran.
- Our final deep dive comes from Justin Vernon, who performs as Bon Iver. The song “Holyfields” is from his 2019 album i,i. Recording for this song began at his April Base Studios in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and was completed in Tornillo, Texas, right on the border between the US and Mexico.