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Song Stories

“Ziggy Stardust”

David Bowie | 1972

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is a concept album that made David Bowie not only a famous singer but also a cult figure. Its title track examines the story’s antihero, an alien rock star who’s come to save the human spirit in the face of Earth’s imminent destruction. But Ziggy got so sidetracked by fame and so blindsided by excess that it eventually led to his own destruction. “I couldn’t decide whether I was writing the characters, or whether the characters were writing me, or whether we were all one and the same,” says David Bowie, who embraced Ziggy as his alter ego at the time.

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Song Stories

“The Pretender”

Foo Fighters | 2007

This song wasn't part of the planned track listing for 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, and was put together in a day. "It happened after we recorded a lot of stuff," said Dave Grohl. Yet it ended up as the album opener and the lead single. Grohl called it "a stomping Foo Fighters uptempo song with a little bit of Chuck Berry in it." The singer hinted at the lyrics' political overtones: "Everyone's been f---ed over before and I think a lot of people feel f---ed over right now and they're not getting what they were promised."

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