Stephen Colbert Celebrates Christmas With Elvis Costello, Feist, Willie Nelson

Stephen Colbert will spend the holidays with Elvis Costello, Feist, John Legend, Willie Nelson and Toby Keith on the host's Comedy Central special A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!. The one-hour special, scheduled to air on November 18th, has a plot about Colbert being snowed in in an upstate New York cabin, so he and his musical friends play tunes to pass the time. All the original songs were written by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and David Javerbaum, who also collaborated on the Broadway version of John Waters' Cry Baby. Jon Stewart will also be on hand, duetting with Colbert on "Hanukkah," while the entire ensemble will come together on "(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding." A DVD of the special will hit shelves a week later, with proceeds benefiting the charity Feeding America.

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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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