Beck's "Where It's At" is a nod to the early years of hip-hop when DJs would use two turntables to loop drum breaks, and a microphone to hype the crowd ("two turntables and a microphone...").
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.
Elton John's classic "Levon" runs 5:22, and Elton wouldn't let his record company edit it down for the single. His next single was "Tiny Dancer," which is even longer, running 6:12.
The title of the Metallica song "Ride The Lightning" came from a line in the Stephen King book The Stand where a guy is about to be executed.
Taio Cruz throws his hands up "sometimes" in "Dynamite" because the song was originally written about surrender.
"Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)" by The Stranglers was written about the then Premier of Queensland, Joh Bjelke-Petersen. His political shenanigans were observed by the band during their first tour of Australia.
Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.
Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.
Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.
Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.
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.
An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.