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The Beatles’ “I’m Looking Through You” and the “Shattering” Fight That...
The best songwriters evoke emotions and experiences even if they haven’t lived through it themselves, but in the case of the Beatles’ “I’m Looking Through You,” the song’s meaning hit close to home....
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Remember When: The Kate Pierson Duet “Candy” Put the “Pop” in Iggy Pop
In early 1991, Janet Jackson, Madonna, C+C Music Factory, Damn Yankees, and Surface were riding high on the singles chart. A little further down the Billboard Hot 100 was a punk icon who didn’t have...
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The Story Behind “From Me to You” by The Beatles and How It Was Inspired by a...
While The Beatles were beginning to cause pandemonium in British theaters, their presence in the U.S. was barely felt. The first appearance of a Lennon-McCartney composition on the Billboard chart came...
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Behind the Meaning of Miranda Lambert’s “Little Red Wagon”
Miranda Lambert‘s catalog is full of feisty-self-empowered songs. From “Gunpowder & Lead” to “Mama’s Broken Heart,” Lambert isn’t afraid to assert her dominance and ability to throw caution to the...
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The Story Behind Electronic’s “Getting Away with It” and How It Parodies a...
In the latter half of the 1980s, two of the decade’s most influential English bands were heading in different directions. New Order were beginning to enjoy mainstream success in the U.S., and their...
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The Beatles Track That Let Paul McCartney Revisit the First Instrument He...
The Beatles’ extensive discography allowed Paul McCartney’s prowess on the guitar, bass, piano, and vocals to truly shine, but one track in particular allowed him to revisit his first musical...
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The Meaning Behind “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” by The Beatles and How...
Because they were together for a relatively short time compared to artists with bigger bodies of work, and because they were so beloved, it’s hard to believe that any Beatles songs can be somewhat...
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How Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting” Went from B-Side to Monumental Hit
In the mid-’70s, everybody wasn’t kung fu fighting. It only seemed that way. Enter the Dragon—the last movie martial arts icon Bruce Lee completed prior to his death—was one of the highest-grossing...
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The Story Behind “I Will Dare” by The Replacements and How It Was a Reaction...
When The Replacements released Let It Be in 1984, it caused people to ask their local record stores for other albums with a similar sound. As the decade continued, it led to alternative rock becoming...
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Behind the Possible Catholic Meaning of “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel delivered many timeless songs across their tenure. Among their most celebrated works is “Cecilia.” While many listeners consider this track to be a love song, others have...
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The Meaning Behind “Nobody Told Me” by John Lennon, the Hit Single off His...
Four years after his death, John Lennon popped up on radios all over the world once again, sounding fresh and energized. “Nobody Told Me” was originally intended to represent the next chapter in...
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The Meaning Behind “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” by Traveling Wilburys and How...
Traveling Wilburys featured some of the finest musicians of the ‘60s and ‘70s getting together to form an ‘80s supergroup. But it was a fellow legend not in the band who was indirectly responsible for...
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Toby Keith Swore to Never Smoke With Willie Nelson Again in “Weed With Willie”
Toby Keith had the night off in Las Vegas and was invited to his friend Charles Barkley’s birthday party, which started at midnight. Before the party, Keith stopped over to the now-defunct Hacienda...
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From the Green Pastures of Harvard University: The Story Behind “Baby, Let Me...
Columbia Records released Bob Dylan’s eponymous debut album with little fanfare. Record producer John Hammond discovered the folk singer at a rehearsal session for singer/songwriter Carolyn Hester in...
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Behind the Meaning of Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell’s Domestic Love Story,...
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young‘s “Our House” perfectly encapsulates feeling at home. It’s a singular effort in the folk/rock space. Not many artists would think to pen a song about something so small...
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The Meaning Behind “Borderline” by Madonna and the Writer/Producer Who Helped...
We tend to think of Madonna as an unfailingly autonomous artist because of her decisiveness about the moves she’s made throughout her career. But she received some help on “Borderline,” her first...
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The Meaning Behind “Arrow Through Me” by Paul McCartney and Wings and Why It...
Paul McCartney‘s “other” band Wings enjoyed some dizzying highs throughout the ’70s, but seemed to run its course as the decade petered out. They enjoyed one final flurry of activity surrounding the...
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Post-Millennial Classics: “Fred Jones, Pt. 2” by Ben Folds, a Touching Ode to...
Ben Folds stepped away from the comfort zone of a late-’90s buzz band to make his solo debut Rockin’ the Suburbs in 2001. At the time, it seemed like a risky move. All these years down the line,...
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The Story Behind “Dream Police” by Cheap Trick and Why Production of the...
Cheap Trick’s third album Heaven Tonight was released on April 24, 1978. Four days later, the band were onstage at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, playing in front of 12,000 screaming fans. They recorded two...
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The Story Behind “Smooth” by Santana and the Superstar Rob Thomas Originally...
When Santana released their 1999 album Supernatural, the band had not had a Top-40 hit or a Gold or Platinum album in 17 years. The album broke that commercial slump in a big way, and in no small part...
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