Beck's "Where It's At" is a nod to the early years of hip-hop, when DJs would use two turntable to loop drum breaks, and a microphone to hype the crowd.
The movie The Breakfast Club opens with a passage from David Bowie's "Changes" ("And these children that you spit on...")
Billy Joel's song "Allentown" was written as "Levittown," which is the town in Long Island where he grew up. He got the idea to change it after taking a trip to Pennsylvania.
16-tear-old Lorde wrote the lyrics to "Royals" at home in just half an hour. She was inspired by the "ridiculous, unrelatable, unattainable opulence" that runs through such albums as Kanye West and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne and Lana Del Rey's Born To Die.
"We're An American Band" by Grand Funk describes real events on their 1972 tour, including an encounter with a legendary groupie called "Sweet Connie."
David Bowie's "Station to Station" is over 10 minutes long. Bowie was doing a lot of drugs at the time and later said, "I have only flashes of making it."
Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.
Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.
The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.
The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.
Since emerging from MySpace with her hit "Bubbly," Colbie has become a top songwriter, even crafting a hit with Taylor Swift.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.