The Cure Debut Entire New Album At Free Concert in Rome

Even though their new album 4:13 Dream isn't due out until October 28th, the Cure played the entirety of their 13th album live during a free concert at Rome's Piazza San Giovanni over the weekend. The performance was also broadcast on MTV. In addition to the four songs the band released as anticipatory singles, Robert Smith and company unveiled new songs like the poppy "The Real Snow White," "Underneath the Stars" and "The Hungry." Still, our favorite remains "The Perfect Boy," as evidenced by the above video. To check out videos for all 13 4:13 tracks — plus their classic "Lovesong" — click here.

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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.

More Song Stories entries »

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