R.E.M. got the title "Shiny Happy People" from a Chinese propaganda poster.
Freddie Mercury considered "We Are The Champions" his version of "My Way." "We have made it, and it certainly wasn't easy," he said.
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.
Alicia Keys, Elton John, Fergie, and Rihanna all sang on "All of the Lights" by Kanye West.
Often heard as a patriotic song celebrating their homeland of Australia, "Down Under" by Men At Work is really about the selling of that country, and it makes a strong political statement.
"The Night Chicago Died" was written and recorded by the British group Paper Lace. They talk about Al Capone in the song, but got a lot of details wrong - understandable since they wrote it based on gangster movies.
Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.
Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.
Pete produced Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked, Meat Puppets, and a very memorable track for Roy Orbison.
Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.
The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.
Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.