Motley Crue Have Their Day in Los Angeles

The Mayor of Los Angeles has declared today, July 31st, "Mötley Crüe Saints of Los Angeles Day" in the California city. The band will mark the occasion by joining a partnership with the Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd. to give back to local artists. So why are Motley Crue getting their own day? Anyone who's read about the band's debauch exploits in their biography The Dirt — which the band drew from for their new album Saints of Los Angeles — can attest to how much the band has contributed to the City of Angels. Tommy Lee and the gang better not enjoy Crüe Day that much, however, as the band is scheduled to play a concert in Phoenix, Arizona tonight.

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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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