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Song Stories

“Big Pimpin'”

Jay-Z feat. UGK | 1999

"Big Pimpin'," as a track, is a concoction of cultures as Brooklyn-bred MC Jay-Z and his accelerated flow, teamed with Virginia's own Timbaland, for a track that sampled a Middle Eastern tune, "Khosara" (a lawsuit would follow), and featured Houston's UGK (RIP Pimp C). But, a decade later Jay admits that he's not proud of his ode to pimping. "Some [lyrics] become really profound when you see them in writing. Not "Big Pimpin." That's the exception. It was like, I can't believe I said that. And kept saying it," Jay confessed.

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Song Stories

“I Can See for Miles”

The Who | 1967

A foreboding accusation of lies and deception, "I Can See for Miles" was given a psychedelic hard-rock veneer by Pete Townshend's whiplash guitar riffs and Keith Moon's thundering drums. The song helped break the Who as stars in the United States, giving them a Top Ten hit in late 1967. "I swoon when I hear the sound," boasted Townshend in Rolling Stone. "The words, which aging senators have called 'drug oriented,' are about a jealous man with exceptionally good eyesight. Honest."

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