.

Song Stories

“Rule Breaker”

Ashlee Simpson | 2008

This song was Ashlee Simpson's sttempt to channel her inner bad girl. She explained that she wanted “to capture that bada-- feeling you get sometimes after watching a movie like True Romance. You think you can take on the world and you want to color outside the lines and get a tattoo or mouth off to someone way bigger than you,” she said. Simpson originally planned to call the album "Rule Breaker" is on Color Outside the Lines after a line in the song before deciding on Bittersweet World instead.

prev
Song Stories Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus

Song Stories

“Time to Pretend”

MGMT | 2008

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”

More Song Stories entries »