In the Studio: The Vines

The Vines caught their break with 2002's platinum Highly Evolved, but singer Craig Nicholls nearly killed their momentum with his freakouts, from trashing dressing rooms to berating fans. Since getting diagnosed in 2005 with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, Nicholls has been focusing with his band on their fourth disc, helmed by Evolved producer Rob Schnapf. "Nothing can hold us back now," says Nicholls. "Unless I die in a plane crash." The fourteen new cuts include the string-laden "True as the Night" and the heavy-pop tune "Merry Go Round." Says Nicholls of the Vines' return, "We're coming back, and it's gonna be madness."

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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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