"Today" by Smashing Pumpkins is sarcastic in the line "today is the greatest day." Lead singer Billy Corgan wrote it about the crippling depression he was battling following the band's first big tour.
The Rick James song "Cold Blooded" is about Linda Blair from The Exorcist, his girlfriend at the time. In James' lingo, "cold blooded" means sexy, not cruel.
"I Fought The Law" was a hit for The Bobby Fuller Four in 1965. The Clash released their version in 1979, changing the lyrics "I left my baby" to "I killed my baby."
Ellie Goulding's hit song "Lights" is about her fear of the dark, which forces the singer to sleep with the lights on.
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.
Pink Floyd's "Talkin' Hawkin'" uses a sample of Stephen Hawking's synthesized voice taken from a speech he made for a 1994 British Telecom commercial.
Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.
When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
When a song describes a wedding, it's rarely something to celebrate - with one big exception.
The Christian rapper talks about where his trip to Haiti and his history of addiction fit into his songs.
Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.