
When Rihanna's "Umbrella" was a hit in the summer of 2007, it rained constantly in London, prompting their newspaper The Sun to suggest a "Rihanna Curse."

Sea creatures mentioned in "Rock Lobster" by The B-52's include a jellyfish, piranha, bikini whale and narwhal.

The Blues Traveler song "Hook" is a Peter Pan reference, but also about the catchy hook of the song, which is what "brings you back."

AC/DC's 1990 song "Mistress For Christmas" is about Donald Trump, who was in the news because of his affair with the model Marla Maples.

The first use of the term "bro-country" in print was used to describe "Cruise," the breezy hit from Florida Georgia Line that checks the boxes of girls, trucks and back roads.

"Magic" was the first word to serve as both the title of a #1 hit (Olivia Newton-John's 1980 tune "Magic") and the name of an artist behind a chart-topping song (Magic!'s 2014 hit "Rude").
When televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart took on rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, the rockers retaliated. Bono could even be seen mocking the preachers.
In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.
Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.
The "Midnight At The Oasis" singer is an Old Time gal. She talks about her jug band beginnings and shares a Dylan story.
Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.
A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.