MTV and Mark Burnett Casting "Rock Band" Competition Show

With the release of Rock Band 2 quickly approaching, MTV and reality television producer Mark Burnett are banking that there's a TV audience interested in watching bands faux-rock out on a competition show. According to a job posting on Craigslist, Burnett and MTV (whose gaming division produces Rock Band) are seeking "four people to form their own band and show us their stuff live on stage for the chance to win the Ultimate Rock Band Experience." No other details of the show were revealed, but figure it'll be like America's Best Dance Crew but with plastic instruments and karaoke. Actual musical experience isn't required, but contestants must be at least 18 years old, reside in the Southern California area and be "prepared to rock."

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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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