Key Change: Demi Adejuyigbe on The Strokes

Song Exploder

Hrishikesh Hirway

Music

4.8 • 6.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My guest today is Demi Adejuyigbe. One of the things that makes Demi so special is how hard it is to summarize him in an intro like this, because he has so many talents and applies them in so many different ways. He is a standup comedian, with a brand new one-hour special out on Dropout TV. He co-hosted the podcasts Gilmore Guys and Punch Up the Jam. He’s a screenwriter, who wrote on TV shows like The Good Place. He’s famous on the internet for his parody songs, spoofing artists like Will Smith and Lana Del Rey; and for his September videos, where, for years, he made increasingly elaborate videos of himself, dancing to the Earth, Wind & Fire song. And he used the popularity of those videos to raise over a million dollars for charity. He’s also directed several music videos, including one that he made for one of my songs, back in 2022. And for this episode, we’re talking as much about a music video as the song within it. And that song is "You Only Live Once" by The Strokes.

Demi's new special, Demi Adejuyigbe is Going to do One (1) Backflip, is on Dropout TV.

For more info, visit songexploder.net/demi-adejuyigbe.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Song Exploder, where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made. I'm Rishi Kesh Hirwe. Before we get into the episode, I want to say thanks so much for listening to Song Exploder. This might be your first episode, or maybe it's your 300th. It's crazy to me to think that the podcast has even been around this long. But I will say that unfortunately over the last couple of years, it's your 300th. It's crazy to me to think that the podcast has even been around this long.
0:21.5	But I will say that, unfortunately, over the last couple of years, it's been getting harder and
0:25.8	harder to see what the future might look like for the show, or if there even is a future.
0:29.9	Part of that is because while the number of podcasts out there in the world keeps growing,
0:34.0	the sort of middle class of podcasts where Song Exploder lives, is getting hollowed
0:38.3	out.
0:39.3	The one thing that can keep shows like this afloat these days is if enough people out there
0:44.0	are passionate enough about it that they're willing to put a few dollars every month towards
0:47.9	the work.
0:48.9	I've learned the hard way that ads come and go unpredictably, but the support of individual listeners is real and
0:55.8	much more dependable. So I'm here asking if Song Exploder is a meaningful show for you, would
1:01.3	you consider supporting us and donating to the Radiotopia fundraiser that's happening right now?
1:05.9	We're looking for 1,500 new donors who believe in the kind of podcasts that we make, intimate stories made with
1:12.1	careful production and sensitive editing. It's a lot of work, but I really believe in making
1:16.9	something that feels like every second is worth paying attention to. And I hope you believe
1:21.4	in that too, and that's why you're listening right now. If that's the case, please visit
1:25.6	songexploader.net slash donate.
1:28.8	And know that whatever amount you're able to chip in, it's making a huge difference over here.
1:33.8	It can kind of feel like a very lonely vacuum sometimes.
1:36.7	And even just knowing that there are people out there who care is huge.
1:40.5	The link again is songexploder.net slash donate.
1:45.0	And sincerely, thank you.
	...

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