Rise Against on Mixing Politics and Mosh Pits at Lollapalooza

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Rise Against's fiery Saturday afternoon set at Lollapalooza looked like it could have gone down during one of the great Lollas of the '90s — mosh pit and all. Frontman Tim McIlrath tells Rolling Stone the show had special significance for the band, not only because it was their first hometown gig in a while (they skipped Chicago on tour with Rancid), but because Grant Park has so much historical weight: "To play the same place where Obama gave his speech, the same place where the riots of 1968 were, during the Democratic National Convention — this park has a lot of history to it." Catch some of the band's killer set and the rest of the interview, above.

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Song Stories

“He Will Break Your Heart”

Jerry Butler | 1960

A lightly swinging Latin-influenced, almost cha-cha groove and close harmonies decorated Jerry Butler's early soul hit "He Will Break Your Heart," delivering a stately warning that his rival would never love his girl like he did. The melody came to Butler as he was driving on the highway from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Philadelphia with Curtis Mayfield, and as Butler told Rolling Stone, "I just sang the melody and Curtis put the chords to it." The song's premise, Butler added, "was something that I'd lived ...The lyric was an experience rather than a revelation. Whereas music is usually a revelation."

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