Kings of Leon's "Fire" Battles the Rain at the "Today" Show

Kings of Leon brought their fiery sex to the Today show this morning, performing in a light rain that swiftly became an unfortunate downpour. Their brief set featured "Use Somebody," "Notion" and "Sex On Fire" from the Followills' latest album, Only By The Night. As it was live TV after all, the band wasn't beyond a little pre-air primping (RS spied Caleb using someone's makeup mirror to fix his hair; he pushed his bangs around, curling and re-straightening them for a few minutes until he shrugged at his friend and gave up).

The most impressive homemade sign was a two-sided poster on a stick that featured a large black-and-white picture of lead singer Caleb backed by the four bandmembers' faces on "king" playing cards, one for each suit. In a brief interview with host Meredith Vieira in between songs, the Kings were compared with monsters of rock U2, to which Caleb responded, "Oh, wow, that's pretty big shoes to fill... we're still young. We've only had four albums, and I think we have, hopefully have a ways, a ways to go. It's a great compliment." Another song, after the jump:

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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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