"Closing Time" by Semisonic was written by the lead singer when his wife was pregnant. Some of the lyrics are about being born.
Radiohead's "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" is about the last surviving World War I veteran to fight in the trenches.
The Simpsons theme song was composed by Danny Elfman, who went on to write music for films like Edward Scissorhands and Men In Black. He had a band at the time called Oingo Boingo, which did the theme song to the 1985 movie Weird Science.
Sting wrote "Fields of Gold" after buying a house near a barley field and enjoying the majestic sunsets.
Katy Perry says her 2008 song "Ur So Gay" is about "guys who wear the guyliner, steal your jeans, and that whole almost hipster emo scene."
"Yellow" by Coldplay is a deep, meaningful song, but the title has a rather prosaic origin: it came from the phone directory, known as "the yellow pages."
The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.
Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?
What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.
Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.
You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?
The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.