Janet Jackson Super Bowl Flash Fine Tossed

More than four years after a wardrobe malfunction allowed a Super Bowl audience of 90 million people to see Janet Jackson's breast, the $550,000 indecency fine levied against CBS for the incident has been thrown out, a court ruled today. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the FCC "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" when issuing the fine on CBS for what was an accidental, split-second flash of nudity. The "malfunction" was almost perfectly synchronized with Justin Timberlake singing the line "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song" ("this song" being "Rock Your Body") performed during the Super Bowl intermission. The incident led to an almost-censorship of live events, with tape delays becoming the norm to avoid future unscripted situations.

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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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