Katy Perry's breakout hit, "I Kissed A Girl," was surprising to those familiar with her past: Her parents were pastors and she started off singing Christian music.
Eminem sampled Dido's "Thank You" for his song "Stan," and Dido appeared in his video as Stan's unfortunate wife.
The 1984 Anthrax song "Metal Thrashing Mad" popularized the phrase "thrash metal," a faster version of heavy metal. "Thrash" dates back to 1982 though, when Metallica put the lyric "thrashing all around" in their song "Whiplash."
The James Blunt song "You're Beautiful" is not romantic: it's a about a creepy subway encounter with an ex.
"Burning Down The House" by Talking Heads was inspired by chant band members heard at a P-Funk show where the crowd yelled, "burn down the house... burn down the house."
David Byrne says "Road To Nowhere" is about "how there's no order and no plan and no scheme to life and death and it doesn't mean anything, but it's all right."
The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.
The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.
The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."
Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."
Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.
