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.
David Bowie's "Station to Station" is over 10 minutes long. Bowie was doing a lot of drugs at the time and later said, "I have only flashes of making it."
R.E.M. got the title "Shiny Happy People" from a Chinese propaganda poster.
In The Band song "The Weight," Nazareth ("Went down to Nazareth") refers to a town in Pennsylvania where the Martin Guitar company was located.
David Bowie was in a mystical state when he wrote "The Man Who Sold The World," which he said happened during his "15 minutes of Buddhism."
"Rhiannon" is a Welch goddess. Stevie Nicks wrote the song, and it was a huge influence on her image, inspiring her flowing shawls and black outfits she began wearing on stage.
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.
Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.
Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.
Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.
One of the most successful songwriters in the business, Desmond co-wrote "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Livin' On A Prayer."