What television appearance changed the history of modern music? Which rock and roll song did NASA send to aliens? Which disaster inspired the most recognizable guitar riff in rock music? For which song did the FBI conduct research for a whole 31 months? Which song references an unprecedented event that occurred on Christmas Day during World War I? Which song did Madonna wish she had written? Was "Common People" by Pulp ultimately written for a Greek woman? Which legendary post-punk singer performed live in a town in Thessaloniki a few months before committing suicide?

The stories that unfold in the pages of this book not only aim to answer the above questions but mainly to serve as small journeys through time, cities, events, and people, driven by the creations of artists such as Billie Holiday, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Doors, Bob Marley, the Ramones, the Cure, Nick Cave, Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, and more.

These are unexpected, melancholic, strange, funny, tragic, optimistic tales that will make us listen to well-known songs as if it were the first time.