Dig deep into the lyrics of classic rock songs and the storytellers that created them in "Behind The Song," a podcast by The Drive's Janda Lane. Hear what was happening behind the scenes while some of the most iconic songs in rock history were being written.
Pink Floyd’s 1979 double album, The Wall, stands tall as a body of work. A true rock opera, it tells a tale of a war orphan who grew up to become a jaded rock star, growing increasingly isolated behind a mental wall…which closely mirrors Roger Waters’ own life experiences. This epic undertaking may very well never have happened without producer Bob Ezrin, who was brought in to help the band flesh out the concept, and he’s responsible for pushing for the release of “Another Brick In The Wall Part II” as a single, one of the few songs released outside of album form by Pink Floyd. Find out more about Ezrin’s part in building The Wall in this episode of Behind The Song.
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
When David Bowie wrote “Moonage Daydream,” he didn’t actually write it for himself. Yet, the song became the pivotal hinge on which the rest of his ingenious album, ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’ swung. A deep cut on the album, it is the title that director Brett Morgen took for the documentary film about Bowie’s kaleidoscopic career, and for good reason: when Bowie freaked out in a moonage daydream, we all did after his fashion. Find out why this song is an important star in Bowie’s constellation of music in the 100th episode of the Behind The Song podcast.
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
“All Apologies” by Nirvana is the last song on the band that rocked a generation’s third and last album, In Utero. If the last song on an album is an indication of what might come next in musical terms from a band, fans may have had many more textured, beautiful, dynamic songs like it to look forward to, had Kurt Cobain not died at age 27 just months after it was released. Like many of his songs, the lyrics are often misheard, and even those misheard lyrics seem to make sense when he sang them. Unravel the lyrics and story of this haunting and timeless song, forever a reminder of a once-in-a-lifetime talent gone too soon, in this episode of the Behind The Song podcast.
Host: Janda Lane
Music Producer: Christian Lane
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
The song “Angie,” released on The Rolling Stones’ Goats Head Soup album in 1973, has been the subject of much debate over the years. Is there an actual “Angie” and if so, who is she? Unravel the many rumors about the namesake of this classic tune in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast.
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
When the band Queen set out to make Sheer Heart Attack, their third album, much was at stake. They were embroiled in a battle over royalties with their management, and guitarist Brian May had become extremely ill while on tour as the supporting act for Mott The Hoople. Broke and finding themselves working under pressures that could have dashed their rock star dreams, Freddy Mercury somehow wrote “Killer Queen.” The whimsical song about a high-class call girl ended up being their first smash hit in the US, and its success finally helped propel the band to headliner status. Take a closer look at this killer song in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast.
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
When Men At Work wrote their 1982 hit, “Down Under,” little did they know that it would become a worldwide smash. They were the first Australian band to have a simultaneous number one song on both the Billboard album and singles charts in the US, and the enormous success of this song introduced the world to very Australian things…vegemite spread, what it is to “chunder,” and more. Unpack the meaning of this Aussie hit in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast.
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
When Bruce Springsteen decided to double up on songs for his 1980 album, The River, he also decided to keep its biggest hit for himself instead of giving it to the punk rock band he originally wrote it for. With a title inspired by a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, this song about the wanderlust of a traveling man resonated with fans so much that it became his first chart-topping hit, going all the way to number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Unpack the history of “Hungry Heart” in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast.
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
They’re not exactly as wholesome as apple pie, but they have been anointed “America’s Greatest Rock Band” for good reason. Aerosmith have sold more hard rock albums than any other American band, and they went from being an opening act to stadium headliners with the release of their third album, Toys In The Attic, released in 1975. The lead single from that album, “Sweet Emotion” marked important firsts: it was their first song to hit the Top 40 chart, and it was the first co-write credit that bassist Tom Hamilton got on the scoreboard. Steven Tyler’s lyrics are full of daggers aimed at Joe Perry’s then-girlfriend, and there is even a hidden message buried in the song. Dig in to the history of this classic tune in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast.
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
They’re not exactly as wholesome as apple pie, but they have been anointed “America’s Greatest Rock Band” for good reason. Aerosmith have sold more hard rock albums than any other American band, and they went from being an opening act to stadium headliners with the release of their third album, Toys In The Attic, released in 1975. The lead single from that album, “Sweet Emotion” marked important firsts: it was their first song to hit the Top 40 chart, and it was the first co-write credit that bassist Tom Hamilton got on the scoreboard. Steven Tyler’s lyrics are full of daggers aimed at Joe Perry’s then-girlfriend, and there is even a hidden message buried in the song. Dig in to the history of this classic tune in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast.
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
Bob Dylan wrote “All Along The Watchtower” for his 1967 album, John Wesley Harding, after realizing he was getting swindled by his own management and record label. Jimi Hendrix immediately covered the song for his final album, Electric Ladyland, and did such a mind-blowing job of interpreting it musically and lyrically that Bob Dylan has long admitted it to be the better version. Find out the history this classic in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast.
Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel:
https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ
Janda co-hosts afternoons with Seaver on The Drive.
Janda is an enthusiastic transplant to Chicago, having recently arrived from Los Angeles. She has hosted radio programs across the country, including at KCRW – Los Angeles, 91X – San Diego, Soundbreak.com – Los Angeles, KNDD – Seattle, WAVF – Charleston and WEND – Charlotte. Her experience also includes work behind the camera as a video director and producer and as a music curator.
Janda’s interests outside of radio and music include all kinds of film and TV shows, thriller fiction, food, her family and her cats Ollie and Liam. When she has any spare time, she studies traffic maps and practices saxophone and guitar. Her favorite artist of all time is David Bowie, and her favorite color is red.
Janda says, “I’m thrilled to be here in Chicago, the best city in the world, and at The Drive, the best station with the best fans in the world!”
