"Teardrop" by Massive Attack has vocals by Elizabeth Fraser of The Cocteau Twins, who wrote the lyric after learning that Jeff Buckley had died.
Dexys Midnight Runners' "Come on Eileen" is based on a real girl called Eileen that the band's Kevin Rowland had a relationship with in his early teenage years.
Angus Young created the distinctive opening guitar part for "Thuderstruck" by playing with all the strings taped up, except the B. He learned the studio trick from his older brother George Young, who was the rhythm guitarist for The Easybeats.
The song used in introductions by the Chicago Bulls and many other sports teams is "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons project, the opening track on the Eye In The Sky album.
Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" is a very inspiring song, but it's really about heartbreak: David Coverdale wrote it when his first marriage was falling apart.
Robert Smith doesn't license Cure songs for commercials, but he made an exception in 2004 when he let Hewlett-Packard use "Pictures Of You." He needed the money to buy the group's back catalogue.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.
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.
Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.
Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.
"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.