The Mission: Impossible theme is in 5/4 time. Composer Lalo Schifrin joked that he did it so 5-legged aliens could dance to it.
Blur's "There Are Too Many of Us" was inspired in part by a siege in an Australian chocolate café that Damon Albarn witnessed, which resulted in the death of the gunman and two hostages.
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.
Ronnie Van Zant wrote the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic "Gimme Three Steps" after making the mistake of dancing with a girl whose boyfriend was in the bar and probably had a gun. He asked for a 3-step head start.
Mariah Carey and P. Diddy show up in the Mary J. Blige "No More Drama" video, since they were going through Shakespeare-level drama.
Mariah Carey's "My All" is about her affair with New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.
Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.
He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.
David talks about videos he made for Prince, Alabama, Big & Rich, Sheryl Crow, DMB, Melissa Etheridge and Sisters of Mercy.
Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.
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.