Willa Ford came up with her hit "I Wanna Be Bad" when her record company told her to tone down her music in a effort to differentiate her from Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who were in their "bad girl" eras.
Stevie Nicks wrote "Landslide" before she joined Fleetwood Mac. She was considering going back to school when she and her boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham were asked to join the group.
Sarah McLachlan wrote "Angel" about the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin, who overdosed on heroin and died in 1996.
Sting wrote "Every Breath You Take" at the same desk in Jamaica where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels.
"Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz is a satire on the corporate music industry that cranks out "feel-good" music simply for profit.
Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" was inspired by how she'd learned to deal with all the false rumors that circulated about her. She realized she could either let it get to her or "just shake it off."
When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.
Justin wrote the classic "Nights In White Satin," but his fondest musical memories are from a different decade.
The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.
The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.
The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.
Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.