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Song Stories

“Under the Westway”

Blur | 2012

Damon Albarn debuted what is only the second new Blur song in nine years at a fundraiser, but he said it could possibly be the final Blur track ever. "Initially I wrote it as a slightly wistful national anthem for my house," Albarn said. "I had this idea of getting it made into an old 78 record and making a flag and then just playing it -- just being really silly. But I had these chords and I ended up writing this tune around it. I don’t really do anything with Blur any more … Maybe this tune’s a last little coda to the whole story."

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“Heart's All Gone”
Blink-182 | 2011
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“Natural Mystic”
Bob Marley and the Wailers | 1977

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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