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Song Stories

“Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”

Crosby, Stills and Nash | 1969

Appropriately, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” was the first song that appeared on Crosby, Stills and Nash’s first album, and was also the first song they performed at Woodstock. While not their biggest hit – perhaps because of its length (7:24) – the suite is a showcase for the group’s signature strong point: harmonies. “The three-part vocal blend was f---ing fantastic,” says Graham Nash. The song itself was written by Stephen Stills, who plays most of the instruments on the recorded version, as a broken-hearted love ballad for his ex-girlfriend, folk singer Judy Collins. Stills stitched different lyrics from different notebooks together, hence the “suite.”

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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.”

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