KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" was inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe's photograph of Patti Smith on the cover of her album Horses.
The 1979 song "Life During Wartime" by Talking Heads deals with how technology could be exploited to take down the framework of society and enable government surveillance.
2001 was when collaborations between rappers and singers became commonplace, leading to a new Grammy category: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The first winner was "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" by Eve and Gwen Stefani. This was before Stefani put out her first solo album.
The Mission: Impossible theme is in 5/4 time. Composer Lalo Schifrin joked that he did it so 5-legged aliens could dance to it.
Barry Manilow didn't write his #1 hit "I Write The Songs." Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys wrote it.
In 1979, Madonna was a dancer on Patrick Hernandez' tour, where she boogied to his hit "Born To Be Alive."
Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.
Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.
An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.
Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?
The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.
Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger tells the "Sister Christian" story and explains why he started sweating when he saw it in Boogie Nights.