Lady Gaga is a big fan of horror movies; listen for the names of these three Alfred Hitchcock films in the lyrics to "Bad Romance": Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window.
The 1984 Anthrax song "Metal Thrashing Mad" popularized the phrase "thrash metal," a faster version of heavy metal. "Thrash" dates back to 1982 though, when Metallica put the lyric "thrashing all around" in their song "Whiplash."
"Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man deals with lead singer John Gourley becoming a "rebel just for kicks" after having a daughter and settling down. "It's hard to be a punk when you're thinking about your baby daughter at home," he says.
Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.
When the Elvis stamps came out in 1993, lots of folks used them to mail letters with bad addresses so they would be Returned To Sender.
Sting wrote "Every Breath You Take" at the same desk in Jamaica where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels.
The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.
With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."
A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.
Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.