Johnny Depp Directing Doc About Rolling Stones' Keith Richards

A rep for Johnny Depp has confirmed that the actor will direct a documentary on Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, Variety reports. News of Depp working on a doc about the guitar god first surfaced in an interview with Russia's Politika, where Depp said his editor is in the process of going through miles of archival footage. "I'm very touched that Keith agreed to show up in front of my cameras," Depp said.

Depp has long credited Richards for inspiring his portrayal of Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, and Richards made a surprise cameo as Sparrow's pirate father in At World's End. Richards and Depp appeared together on the cover of Rolling Stone before the film's release, and the pair displayed an almost father-son relationship. "I was almost afraid to meet him for a long time, because there is always a fear that your heroes are going to be shitheads," Depp joked to RS.

According to Variety, in addition to the documentary, Richards' autobiography is due in fall 2010.

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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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