Sea creatures mentioned in "Rock Lobster" by The B-52s include a jellyfish, piranha, bikini whale and narwhal. A "rock lobster" is better known as a crayfish.
All The Young Dudes "carry the news" in the Mott The Hoople song because it was intended for a David Bowie concept album where Ziggy Stardust spreads the news through songs in a world with no electricity.
Hugh Laurie, star of the TV show House, had a minor hit in 2011 with "Police Dog Blues," an old Blues song from 1929.
At the end of the Doors song "Touch Me," Jim Morrison chants, "Stronger than dirt!" The line is from an Ajax commercial where a white knight rides around destroying dirt.
The line in John Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb" that sounds like "that's when a smoke was a smoke" is actually "that's when a sport was a sport," according to the published lyric. In that sense, "sport" is an endearment for someone of good nature.
Bob Dylan helped popularize the concept of "burnout" in his 1975 song "Shelter From the Storm" when he sang: "I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail." That's how many Americans were feeling at the time as they worked harder for less pay.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
The Christian rapper talks about where his trip to Haiti and his history of addiction fit into his songs.
Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.
Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.
The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."
Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.