Throwback Thursday: Andrew Dost discusses Fun.’s “We Are Young”

Chris DeMakes A Podcast

Chris DeMakes

Music Interviews, Music, Music Commentary, Music History

4.9 • 923 Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 74 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week’s Throwback Thursday episode takes a walk back in time to exactly two years ago today, when Andrew Dost sat in to discuss the writing, recording, release, and massive success of Fun.’s smash hit 2012 single “We Are Young.” The song went on to become one of the biggest songs of the 2010s after an astounding eight-week run at #1 on the Hot 100, and in this conversation, Andrew details the unique songwriting process that resulted in this timeless classic. As an added treat, he even shares some never-before-heard demos of the song’s early stages. Whether you’re listening to this episode for the first time or revisiting it, it’s a fascinating look inside the mind and process of a truly one-of-a-kind artist. Chris DeMakes A Podcast is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next level. Get 30% off your first YEAR with DistroKid by signing up at ⁠http://distrokid.com/vip/demakes For bonus episode of The After Party podcast, an extensive back catalog of past After Party episodes, early ad-free releases of new episodes of Chris DeMakes A Podcast, full video versions of episodes, and MUCH more, head to the Patreon at ⁠http://www.ChrisDeMakes.com Follow Chris DeMakes A Podcast on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/chrisdemakesapodcast/⁠ Join the Chris DeMakes A Podcast community on Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/2643961642526928/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, hey, have you heard?
0:02.0	I'm going back to Las Vegas and the Punk Rock Museum to give guided tours.
0:06.0	This happens to coincide with the When We Were Young Festival.
0:09.0	I'll be there over the course of four days, October 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th.
0:15.0	Two tours a day, one at 1.30 p.m. and 1 at 4.30 p.m.
0:19.0	These tours will sell out. Space is limited, so grab your
0:23.3	tickets now at the punkrockmuseum.com. I got stories for days, and I can't wait to share them with you.
0:30.1	So don't miss your chance to walk the halls of the museum and share punk rock memories with me.
0:35.4	Head over to the punkrockmuseum.com and get your tickets now.
0:38.8	See you soon.
0:40.7	This episode is brought to you by Distro Kid.
0:44.7	Just the goal of control.
0:48.8	It is a eurosophy.
0:53.6	Hey, everybody. Krista Makes a podcast producer, Fafalius here once again to give you all a little context for our throwback Thursday episode.
1:02.8	This week, we're taking it back to August of 2023 when Andrew Dost sat in to discuss the writing and recording of one of the biggest songs of the
1:11.5	2010s, or teens, I guess? What do you call the decade from 2010 to 2019? At this point, we need a
1:19.9	good name for it. I guess it's the 2010s. Anyway, that song is Fun's We Are Young. So before we get into the episode, I wanted to take you back to St. Patrick's Day of 2012
1:32.3	when We Are Young began its epic eight-week run at number one on the Hot 100.
1:38.8	That's crazy.
1:40.1	So around that time, Putin had just won the Russian presidential election amid allegations of voter fraud.
1:46.2	Bruce Springsteen had just released his 17th album Wrecking Ball, and The Hunger Games had just hit
1:52.1	theaters.
	...

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