"Sail" by Awolnation was the first hit to mention ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) in the chorus ("Blame it on my ADD"). Lead singer Aaron Bruno put that line in because his parents and teachers often told him he had that condition, which explained his poor grades.
One of the last hits with a track made up almost entirely of uncleared samples is "Groove Is In The Heart" by Deee-Lite in 1990. Soon after, courts ruled that samples needed to be cleared.
John Lennon's lead guitar work on Yoko Ono's "Walking On Thin Ice" proved to be his final creative act. It was upon their return home after completing laying down the track that Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman.
"Frankenstein" by Edgar Winter got its name because it was a monster to edit; they pieced it together like Frankenstein's monster.
At the end of AC/DC's "Night Prowler," you hear Bon Scott say, "Shazbot, Nanu Nunu." Those were Robin Williams' sayings on his TV show Mork & Mindy. Scott was a big fan.
When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.
The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.
On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."
In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.
John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?
What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.
