Radiohead To Play Another London Free Show

Radiohead will perform another free concert on April 1st, this time within the more spacious confines of London's BBC Radio Theatre. Unlike the band's last first-come/first-served show in January — when thousands of fans mobbed the streets trying to get wristbands that would grant them access to a venue that was ultimately deemed too tiny by police, forcing it to a larger location — the BBC will give out tickets either by applying by phone or winning them over the airwaves. "You'd be a fool to miss the concert," said Radio 2 head of music Jeff Smith, making reference to the concert's scheduling on April Fools Day. The gig will serve as a warm-up for Radiohead before they begin the first leg of their U.S. tour in May.

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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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