Lou Reed's 11-minute "Street Hassle" features a spoken part by Bruce Springsteen.
"Closing Time" by Semisonic was written by the lead singer when his wife was pregnant. Some of the lyrics are about being born.
With a message of acceptance and inclusivity, "True Colors" became a gay rights anthem. Cyndi Lauper help form an organization called True Colors United to help support LGBTQ youth.
"Instant Karma" is one of John Lennon's most hopeful songs, written and recorded in one day at a time when he felt people were pulling together in a positive direction.
The first big hit by an X Factor winner was "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, who won the British version of the show in 2008. The song was intended for Jesse McCartney, who wrote it with Ryan Tedder.
Brad Pitt and Elvis both get mentions in the 1997 Shania Twain hit "That Don't Impress Me Much."
The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.
She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.
Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.
Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.
The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.
When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.