Straight out of Detroit Rock City, The Romantics made their first entry into the Billboard chart with a high-energy tune sung by their drummer. That song, “What I Like About You,” later became the subject of a high-profile lawsuit when it was used in a TV commercial…which made the band even more popular than when the song first was released in 1980. Get into ... Show More
Apr 15
David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”: The Reinvention That Changed Everything
In the early 1980s, David Bowie was an artist’s artist, but he wasn’t yet a blockbuster hitmaker in America. Fresh off the experimental depths of his Berlin Trilogy, Bowie decided it was time to step out of the shadows and onto the dance floor. In this episode of Behind The Song, ... Show More
12m 36s
Jun 2024
I'm In Love With That Song: The Cars - "It's All I Can Do"
The Cars debut album was a commercial and critical success. The pressure was on for a follow-up, and the band delivered big time with their 2nd album, "Candy-O". The album was packed with more Cars classics, including the subject of this episode, "It's All I Can Do", a song that ... Show More
17m 29s
Aug 2024
Celebrating MTV’s Anniversary with the Real Story of MTV
In honor of the 43rd anniversary of MTV, we’re rereleasing a classic episode: the real story of MTV, as told by the founders. Today MTV is a cultural institution, but people forget what a long shot it was to get the channel off the ground. Bob Pittman led the team that created MT ... Show More
52m 59s
Apr 2022
Alt-J on The Dream, Chauvinistic Classic Rock, and Writing Songs About Death
Alt-J’s Gus Unger-Hamilton catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about The Dream, the band’s fourth album. The English artist discusses how using more voices in their songs adds deeper dimensions, and why the tracks' characters seem to thrive on dramatic monologues. Unger-Hamilto ... Show More
30m 42s
Mar 2022
Joan Jett on Her All Acoustic Album, Making Light of Day with Michael J Fox, & Upcoming Tour with Def Leppard, Motley Crue, and Poison
Joan Jett catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about Changeup, her very first acoustic album that finds classics and deep cuts stripped down to their roots. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend takes us into what prompted the project, turning down MTV when they asked her to do ... Show More
52m 52s
Feb 2021
Jon Bon Jovi Revisits His Roles on Sex and the City, 30 Rock, and The West Wing
Jon Bon Jovi hangs out with Kyle Meredith to talk about his new album, 2020, and writing topical as a witness to history. The frontman compares his latest songs to his '80s and '90s output, and shares how they revolve around school shootings, the pandemic, and his work with JBJ S ... Show More
38m 11s
Apr 2025
d4vd Talks New Album 'Withered,' "Feel It," and the success of "Romantic Homicide"
<p>Unless you’ve been living without an internet connection, you know d4vd — the Texas-teen-turned-newly-20 whose 2022 track ‘Romantic Homicide’ now has 1.5 billion streams and counting. It’s a song that he made on his phone, in his sister’s closet, in just 30 minutes and it chan ... Show More
1h 27m