Exclusive Video: Ben Harper's "In The Colors"

Now that you've got the scoop on Ben Harper's upcoming album, see the singer-guitarist in action. Here's the video for "In the Colors," the first single from Lifeline, due August 28. This song finds the suddenly profilic Harper --just last year he released the double-CD Both Sides of the Gun -- back in "Steal My Kisses" form. Though the practice-room video motif has been done a thousand times, the bright natural lighting works well with the sunny, laid-back vibe of the track. Check it out.

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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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