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Song Stories

“Don't Get Me Wrong”

The Pretenders | 1986

A lively, throbbing, insistent beat paced Chrissie Hynde's declaration of the thrilling sensations she felt when in someone's proximity, glowing interwoven guitar and keyboard riffs mirroring her mood. While it seemed on the surface to be a love song, if a somewhat indirect one, Hynde said that she had tennis star John McEnroe in mind when she wrote it. "He was always getting in trouble in those days, but was such a nice guy when you got to know him," she reflected. "I imagined him singing it."

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“Footloose”
Kenny Loggins | 1984
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“Love Child”
Diana Ross and the Supremes | 1968

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Song Stories

“Youth Knows No Pain”

Lykke Li | 2011

“Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' — we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it,” Likke Li said. “We can pierce ourselves, take Ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonald's jobs.” Despite the hedonistic sentiment in the song, the Swedish singer also admitted in hindsight her youth had repercussions. “I remember when I was 18-19 and feeling that I know it all,” Li said. “I always feel that I know it all. But that song is about realizing you don’t, and reflecting, ‘Boy, if I only knew what would follow.’”

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