Love and Rockets Dial Up the Low End at Lollapalooza

When Perry Farrell introduced Love and Rockets on Saturday night, he announced them as one of his favorite bands of all time. It's easy to see why Farrell is enthusiastic about the group that formed out of the ashes of Bauhaus: they mix jagged, fringe sounds with deep grooves and huge pop hooks — exactly the type of music Farrell has been chasing his entire career. Frontman Daniel Ash — dressed in a Keith Richards pirate motif — cooed and moaned lyrics about obsession over hot slabs of roaring bass riffs ("No Big Deal") and pulsating goth rock ("Haunted When the Minutes Drag"). They even made some room for some heavy metal theatrics. It was a nice nod to Lollapalooza's past, as Love and Rockets are the sort of band that its founder wanted to spread to the masses with his festival in the first place.

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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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