Lady Gaga's New Monster Ball: Photos of Her Big Electro Opera

Lady Gaga promised to retool her Monster Ball show for its European launch, and she delivered in Manchester, England, last night. According to the BBC, the new electro opera featured a loose narrative (Gaga and her pals race to a party), a 40-foot animatronic sea monster (for the fleeting three minutes she performed "Paparazzi") and more than a dozen costume changes.

Get a look at the show in our gallery from last night's gig, plus check out some of Lady Gaga's most outrageous outfits:
• Lady Gaga's New Monster Ball: The Electro Opera Begins in England
• Lady Gaga's Wild Looks: The New Princess of Pop's Craziest Wardrobe Moments

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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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