Lala Launches New Purchasing Options, Widget

Music streaming/purchasing hub Lala has relaunched with a new "virtual ownership" model that allows the site to operate without the support of ads or monthly fees. The new version allows Lala users to stream any song or album once for free, after which the consumer will have the option of unlimited streams of the song for 10 cents or to purchase a DRM-free MP3 of the track for 89 cents. If you opt for a stream purchase but later decide to buy the MP3, the 10 cents will be credited to the purchase and the song will only cost 79 cents. Lala, which launched in 2006 as a CD trading site before segueing into online music distribution, has the support of all four majors and a boatload of indie labels. On the site, users upload their music libraries into Lala's own six million-song catalog, allowing for universal access to their own collections. The site also boasts a widget called Forecast, which allows users to put four songs on their blogs or Facebook pages, as well as share songs and play lists with other users.

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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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