The Blues Traveler song "Hook" is a Peter Pan reference, but also about the catchy hook of the song, which is what "brings you back."
Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger In Paradise" has muenster (cheese), not mustard, as commonly misheard in the line "medium rare with muenster'd be nice."
"The Reason" by Hoobastank took off on TikTok in 2021 when it soundtracked confessional #NotAPerfectPerson videos about mistakes and regrets. The band made one of their own with the caption: "Realizing 20 years later that you named your band Hoobastank."
Two tears roll down Sinead O'Connor's face toward the end of the video for "Nothing Compares 2 U." They were shed because she associated the song's lyrics of love and loss with her mother, who was killed in a car accident in 1985.
"Closing Time" by Semisonic was written by the lead singer when his wife was pregnant. Some of the lyrics are about being born.
Before she was famous, Lady Gaga was a staff songwriter, and wrote the song "Quicksand," which Britney Spears recorded in 2008.
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.
How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?
"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.
Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.
The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.