Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic In the 1990s, The Smashing Pumpkins showed that not every alternative rock song needed to be loud to be powerful.... read more
Rob Thomas on songwriting, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana
Songs with chipper music that conceals painfully depressing lyrics
How they came up with their signature sound, and the stories behind hits like "Hold On Loosely" and "Caught Up In You"
Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?
How our favorite songs taught us about Champagne Problems, Dirty Work, Freak Flags, Soft Options and other useful phrases
The first release of "The Sound Of Silence" was acoustic, and went nowhere. It became Simon & Garfunkel's first hit when a producer at their label overdubbed it with electric instruments.
More facts about The Sound of SilenceThe Lumineers crashed the nu-folk revival of the 2010s with their stomp-and-clap anthem "Ho Hey." The deceptively upbeat song about unrequited love introduced a winning formula of pairing melancholy lyrics with feel-good melodies. The hits "Ophelia" and "Cleopatra" followed.
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Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.
Read the Interview
This song starts in Boston with a tea party and takes us to the other end of the American Revolution.
Read the Story
Do you know who recorded the original versions of these ten hit songs?
Take the Quiz
Was Dr. Feelgood a dentist? Did the "Crüecifixion" really happen?
Try the Fact or Fiction
Moon (short for "Shoot the Moon") and 42 are domino games. Old folks and us "Sothrons" still play them....