Clik here to view.
The Story Behind “Barbara Ann” by The Beach Boys and How a Doo-Wop Classic...
In September 1965, Brian Wilson was in the studio working on Pet Sounds. While figuring out how to replicate the sounds he heard in his head, Capitol Records was pushing for a new album to be in stores...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Behind the Meaning of “Honky Tonk Women” by The Rolling Stones
“Honky Tonk Women” stands out in The Rolling Stones‘ discography. The Southern rock direction in this song plays wonderfully with Mick Jagger’s voice and the bluesy guitar riff is classic Stones...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The “Strange” Human Behaviors Behind Cake’s 2001 Single “Short Skirt/Long...
“Short Skirt / Long Jacket” brought the funk to Cake‘s fourth album Comfort Eagle in 2001. The song peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, and the music from “Short Skirt / Long...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story Behind “Please Please Me” by The Beatles and How a Snowstorm Helped...
A snowstorm and an unlikely combination of musical influences helped propel The Beatles’ “Please Please Me” to the top of the British charts, while its path in America took a much longer route. “Love...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Metaphorical Meaning Behind “I Want a New Drug” by Huey Lewis and the News
Back in the mid-1980s, Huey Lewis and the News was one of the biggest pop and rock bands around. Released in September 1983, their third album Sports produced four Top 10 hits, and one of the most...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Obsessive Meaning Behind “Hysteria” by Muse
Muse were at a pivotal moment with their third album Absolution. While their first two albums Showbiz and Origin Of Symmetry had fared well in Europe, their American label Maverick decided to drop them...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Sexy Meaning Behind “Suicide Blonde” by INXS
Following the phenomenal success of their sixth album Kick, Australian rockers INXS were on top of the world. The album had sold 4 million copies in America (eventually topping 6 million), spawned four...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Meaning Behind “Listen to What the Man Said” by Wings and the Personnel...
Momentum is everything in the music world. Coming off his biggest post-Beatles success with the smash album Band on the Run, Paul McCartney and Wings needed their next single to sustain that success....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Dystopian Inspiration Behind “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse
British power rock trio Muse broke through to the masses with their striking third album Absolution in 2003. Bolstered by the aggressive and dramatic tracks “Hysteria” and “Time is Running Out,” it was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Cautionary Meaning Behind “Gossip” by Måneskin
Italian rockers Måneskin formed their musical union in high school, and five years after they began busking, jamming, and appearing on TV music competitions, the group blew up with their cover of The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Meaning Behind Huntley’s Pre-‘Voice’ Debut Single “Holdin’ On”
Years before competing on The Voice, season 24 winner Huntley started releasing music on YouTube. Going by his full name, Michael Huntley, the singer and songwriter released two videos in 2015,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Behind the Meaning of “Too Good to Be True” by Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Musgraves‘ breakthrough album, Golden Hour, saw her revel in a blissful love. Her following album, Star-Crossed, saw her get a little jaded at the whole notion. Now, it seems, she’s taking a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story of Faith Behind “Red Eyes” by The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs uses sound as an excavation tool. The band’s leader and chief songwriter, Adam Granduciel, often points the tool inward, turning himself into an archeological dig site. He pours over...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story Behind “Hallelujah, I Love Her So” by Ray Charles and Why It Was...
Ray Charles hated labels. He avoided calling the music he created any certain genre. He was pulling from gospel, jazz, rhythm & blues, pop, blues, country and western, soul, and boogie-woogie....
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Tale from the Road: The Meaning Behind “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon
When you attend rock school, graduation depends on the required assignment to write a song about being on the road. The modish professor instructs young rock students that you cannot achieve towering...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Meaning Behind The Waterboys’“The Whole of the Moon” and Its Connections...
Do you think it’s hard to write a song? For most songwriters, it’s a craft that takes decades to refine. For Mike Scott of The Waterboys, it apparently doesn’t take much effort. He wrote his biggest...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Making of a Teenage Anthem: The Story Behind “Rock Around the Clock” by...
Bill Haley wasn’t the first person to sing rock ‘n’ roll, but he was one of the first white people to bring attention to the boogie-woogie hybrid where country and western met rhythm and blues. In a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Meaning Behind “Just Another Rainbow” by Liam Gallagher and John Squire...
Two Northerners and beloved Manchester legends Liam Gallagher and John Squire launched a new duo, and their first song is called “Just Another Rainbow.” Oasis is a musical descendant of The Stone...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Meaning Behind “Honesty” by Billy Joel and Why He Initially Struggled...
Billy Joel recently returned from a long recording hiatus with the stirring ballad “Turn the Lights Back On.” The man certainly possesses the touch for the slow ones, as he has demonstrated throughout...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Surprisingly Non-Risqué Meaning Behind One of Loretta Lynn’s Banned Songs...
Years before releasing her most controversial song, “The Pill,” an advocation for female reproductive rights, Loretta Lynn already had four of her songs banned. In 1966, Lynn’s “Don’t Come Home...
View Article