Unreleased Jimi Hendrix Material Nears Online Release

Unreleased material Jimi Hendrix wrote and recorded with twin brothers Arthur and Albert Allen — a.k.a. the Ghetto Fighters — may finally be released through software/multimedia company we-R-you. The Allen brothers, who now go under the names TaharQa and Tunde Ra Aleem, first met Jimi in the mid-60s and worked with Hendrix on recordings that would ultimately wind up on posthumous releases like Rainbow Bridge, War Heroes and Cry Of Love. Among the material the Aleem brothers have unearthed is previously unheard recordings, a feature screenplay and a cartoon drawing of Hendrix drawn by Hendrix himself. "Jimi was a true visionary whose creativity went far beyond music," says TaharQa Aleem. "He saw the future and while he may not have understood computers or known about digital technology and virtual worlds, he knew that things like this were coming and created material that would work in that world." The unearthed material will be released through we-R-you in segments, as "each element needs to be released in its own time and way," says the company's chief branding and marketing officer Allen DeWinter.

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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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