
Avril Lavigne's 2011 song "Darlin" was written much earlier; she says it's the second song she ever wrote, composed when she was an unsigned 15-year-old living in Napanee, Ontario. The song reflects those years when she was "trying to figure it all out."

David Bowie's "Heroes" is about his producer Tony Visconti and his girlfriend, but Bowie didn't admit this until the '00s, since Visconti was married at the time.

"Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve samples an obscure orchestral arrangement of the 1965 Rolling Stones song "The Last Time." The Verve had to sign away most of the royalties before they could release the song.

Billy Joel wrote "We Didn't Start The Fire" after a 21-year-old told him, "everyone knows that nothing happened in the '50s."

"Paper Planes" was inspired by M.I.A.'s hassles trying to get a visa to enter America.

"1979" by Smashing Pumpkins is about Billy Corgan entering adulthood. A more accurate year would be 1983, but 1979 was easier to rhyme.
Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.
Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.
A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.
One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.
JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.