Lupe Fiasco Celebrates "Lupepalooza"

If you weren't aware that this was Lupe Fiasco's third Lollapalooza, he's happy to remind you, as an intro announced his history with the festival and welcomed the crowd to "Lupepalooza" before Lupe did push-ups and backflips to the theme from Rocky. It was the entrance of a superstar, and Fiasco played the role perfectly during his jumpy, effervescent Saturday evening set. Though he included some of the more lyrically complex entries in his catalog (like "Go Go Gadget Flow" and "Streets on Fire"), everything came across as a party anthem. Dressed all in white (save for shiny silver sneakers), Fiasco bounced about the stage and danced along with his backing group like the world's most manic band leader. Their joy was contagious, as by the time Fiasco put the finishing touches on "Superstar," the thousands presumably waiting for Rage Against the Machine were bouncing right along with him.

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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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