Kid Rock Goes Digital: Full Albums Now Available on Rhapsody

Kid Rock has issued a temporary ceasefire in his war against digital music services: the Detroit rocker has signed an exclusive deal with Rhapsody. Starting today, Kid's entire discography will be available for both streaming and downloading at both Rhapsody and their MP3 store. Rock, along with the Beatles and AC/DC, is one of the last artists not to allow his music onto iTunes. So why did Rock lay down his arms? Unlike iTunes and Amazon, who both offer a la carte song purchases, Rhapsody will only sell Rock's albums in their entirety, keeping with the Rock N' Roll Jesus' adage that he makes albums, not songs. Plus, "[iTunes is] an old system, where iTunes takes the money, the record company takes the money, and they don't give it to the artists," Rock said back in June. The deal lasts four months, after which time Kid may sell his tunes on other digital-music services. As it happens Rolling Stone and Rhapsody are partners (full disclosure!), which means you can get your Kid Rock music right here.

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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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