Furthur Hit Manhattan: On the Bus With the Hippie Army

For the past two nights, a large, partially-washed army has descended on New York's Radio City Music Hall (directly across the street from the Rolling Stone offices) for a pair of Furthur shows. Our intrepid videographer Matthew Murphy questioned the masses about their life following the Dead and love of LSD, and boarded an awesome school bus for a Cribs-style tour (guess where they keep the bathroom?). He also met the vehicle's awesome driver Randy, a 40-year road vet who gets misty recalling his best years chasing live music across the country.

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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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