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Song Stories

“Friends of P”

The Rentals | 1995

It turns out that when the members of Weezer struck up a friendship with Ric Ocasek (who produced their self-titled debut album), they also hit it off with the Cars frontman's supermodel wife, Paulina Porizkova — the proof being this song by this Weezer offshoot group. As Ocasek explained, "I found out later that [the Rentals' Matt Sharp] had written that song about my wife. I thought the song was OK, although I thought it was a bit silly. The truth was that Rivers [Cuomo] and P were actually the ones that got along really well."

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“Die With Your Boots On”
Iron Maiden | 1983
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“Crosstown Traffic”
The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 1968

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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