A Look Back at 1991 as New Guns N' Roses Single "Better" Premieres

It's T-minus six days until Guns n' Roses' Chinese Democracy hits Best Buy shelves, and the next taste is live online. "Better" is the second official single from the long-awaited album, and like it's predecessor "Chinese Democracy" it has been floating around in unfinished versions for years. Also like the first single, "Better" feels like classic Guns n' Roses — Rose's growling croon in the verses could have floated out of the Use Your Illusion sessions. While you're rocking out to "Better," think about what the world was like the last time Axl put out an original album, which was way back in September of 1991. Think about it: One of the Jonas Brothers hadn't been born yet, Bill Clinton was still just a guy from Arkansas who had no shot at winning a national election and it would be years before Jason Voorhees went to hell or space.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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