The Replacements Drummer Steve Foley Dead at 49

Drummer Steve Foley, who played drums on the Replacements' final All Shook Down tour, died last weekend in Minneapolis after accidentally overdosing on prescription medicine. He was 49. Foley was recruited to join the Replacements after original drummer Chris Mars left following the All Shook Down sessions. Foley joined the band after meeting Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson in a bar and offered them a ride. When they got in the car, they noticed a copy of All Shook Down, prompting both members to declare Foley as their new drummer. Foley sat behind the kit for what was the group's final tour, including their last ever concert on July 4th, 1991 in Chicago's Grant Park. In his post-Replacements days, Foley played in Stinson's band Bash & Pop and also worked as a car salesman.

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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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