A key line in "Africa" is "I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become," which is about drifting away from what you really want in life. Toto keyboard player David Paich, who wrote the song, felt his work was consuming him.
"She Loves You" by The Beatles was the song that convinced Ozzy Osbourne to make music his life. The Beatles were a big influence on him because they were also poor kids from a small town in England.
"We Will Become Silhouettes" by The Postal Service sounds happy and fun, but it's a very bleak song about a nuclear winter. Lead singer Ben Gibbard wrote the lyric while ruminating over 9/11.
"Yellow" by Coldplay is a deep, meaningful song, but the title has a rather prosaic origin: it came from the phone directory, known as "the yellow pages."
The Simpsons theme song was composed by Danny Elfman, who went on to write music for films like Edward Scissorhands and Men In Black. He had a band at the time called Oingo Boingo, which did the theme song to the 1985 movie Weird Science.
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.
One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.
He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.
The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."
Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.
Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.
