Smells Like Teen Spirit is a song by the American grunge band, Nirvana. It is the first track and first single from their 1991 album Nevermind, and is commonly regarded as the song that brought Nirvana and grunge music to the attention of teenagers around the world.
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The song reached #1 for many weeks on charts around the world in 1991. On the Billboard Hot 100, the song reached #6. It was voted best single of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll. Sales of the single and album in the United Kingdom decelerated due to an appearance on the BBC's Top of the Pops, during which frontman Kurt Cobain sang in a deliberately low, mournful tone, a protest against the show's requirement that bands must not play their instruments live, and changed the first two lines of the song to "Load up on drugs, kill your friends" (altered from "Load up on guns, bring your friends"). He would later claim it was a tribute to The Smiths frontman Morrissey. This performance can be found on the 1994 home video Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!.
"Oh well, whatever, nevermind"
Much of the song reflects Cobain's depleted views on life, although he maintained that he was a happier person than people thought.
In Heavier Than Heaven, Charles Cross' biography of Kurt Cobain, an argument is made that the song is a reference to Kurt's break-up with Tobi Vail.[1] This argument is backed up by lyrics which were present in earlier drafts, which can be seen in Kurt's Journals, such as "Why don't you cry when I'm away / Oh yeah we want what's best for you" and "Who will be the King & Queen of the outcasted teens".[2]
Nirvana's Nevermind album, on which "Smells Like Teen Spirit" appears, took its title from the name of an album by the Sex Pistols (whom Kurt was very fond of) - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. (Some sources also claim that it is a tribute to a 1987 song by the Replacements called "Nevermind".)
Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Smells Like Teen Spirit" the ninth best song of all time. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" won "Best New Artist" and "Best Alternative Group" at the MTV Video Music Awards 1992. In the year 2000 Guinness Book Of World Records - Most Played Video On MTV Europe: "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and in 2002 it was the featured song in an episode of the SBS documentary series, Impact: Songs That Changed The World.
Historical significance
Many consider Smells Like Teen Spirit to be the anthem of the nineties, even, indeed, the anthem of a generation. Released in 1991, the song found itself in a music scene caught in limbo between the theatrical acts of the 80s and an uncertain future, and the teenagers of this era held an attitude reflective of this, somewhere between apathy and rebellion. When Teen Spirit hit the charts during this period, teenagers all over the world, not just America, found in its anarchic energy a perfect rendering of their world views and self-views. The stunning success of the song gave this generation a voice and a message, one that is now idealized by the modern MTV culture. Teen Spirit is also widely considered the definitive Grunge song, and its raging popularity opened the gates for countless other bands of this genre (see also Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains).
Because of the massive success of the single, and its diversion from a mainstream 80s rock scene dominated by hair bands and retro, Smells Like Teen Spirit is also credited by many for reviving the popularity of rock and roll among those who had become alienated from it. The popularity of grunge stoked commercial radio's interest in alternative rock, which by the mid-90s became the radio format known as modern rock.
Musical qualities and influences
Smells Like Teen Spirit is in the musical key of F minor, and is based around a riff using four power chords (F5-Bb5-Ab5-Db5) with more than a passing similarity to a section of Boston's AOR classic "More Than a Feeling", as well as Blue Öyster Cult's "Godzilla".
While melodically and harmonically simple, it features a minimalistic, moody verse with stream of consciousness lyrics rising to a ferocious chorus, and Kurt Cobain's voice showing a range from tuneful melancholy to primal scream.
In a January, 1994 Rolling Stone magazine interview, Kurt, months away from his death, admitted that Smells Like Teen Spirit was an attempt to write a song like those of the Pixies: "I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it." He also talked about his dislike for the song, mostly because of its success, and how "Drain You", from the same album, was "definitely as good as 'Teen Spirit'."
Origin of name
"Teen Spirit" is a U.S. deodorant brand sold by Colgate-Palmolive. Cobain got the song name when friend Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the riot grrrl punk band Bikini Kill at the time, spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his wall. Since they had been talking about anarchy, punk rock and similar topics, Cobain took it to be a slogan in that vein. The meaning, however, was that Kurt smelled like the roll-on deodorant brand that Tobi Vail, Hanna's band mate, and Kurt's then-girlfriend, wore. Cobain claimed that he did not know it was a brand of deodorant, and in retrospect was unhappy that a commercial product was named in the song.
Music video
The music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, with its surreal high school setting was also notable. It was inspired by the 1979 film Over the Edge, of which Kurt Cobain was a fan.
The video featured the band playing at an assembly at a high school gym, surrounded by cheerleaders, wearing black dresses with the Circle-A anarchist symbol, instead of a school mascot. Meanwhile, the janitor starts dancing along to the music, and before long, the teenagers form a mosh pit.
The video opens with a shot of a worn, black Converse All Star high top sneaker. It is likely that the prominent position of the shoe was partially responsible for its resurgence during the grunge era.
It should perhaps be noted that in his teenage years, Kurt was a high-school dropout for whom the only employment available was as a janitor at his former school. The presence of the janitor in the music video may be a reference to this.
Cover versions
The song was covered by Tori Amos on the Crucify E.P. and by the jazz band The Bad Plus, as well as the industrial act Xorcist. In 2005 it was covered as a swing song by 1950s star Paul Anka. It was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "Smells Like Nirvana", a song about Nirvana itself. Weird Al's parody was about how nobody can understand Cobain's lyrics, which was appropriate as Kurt's vocal was mixed down in the song, rendering it unintelligible. According to both Kurt and Yankovic, when asked if he would be okay with Yankovic parodying the song, Kurt asked, "it's not going to be about food, is it?" (A reference to some of Yankovic's previous parodies, most notably "Eat It") Kurt admitted in interviews to being very fond of the parody. In a diary entry later published in Journals, Kurt described "Weird Al" as the closest thing America has to punk rock. Bandmate Krist Novoselic later said that the band realized that they had arrived as rock stars when Weird Al parodied them.
An instrumental cover version was also produced by World Championship Wrestling as the entrance music for wrestler Diamond Dallas Page, with clips of DDP's voice dubbed in from time to time.
Cover Versions as Avenue for Understanding Lyrics
Several of this song's cover versions, most notably Tori Amos' version, convey the correct lyrics to even the most casual listener; it may be difficult to suss Kurt's slurred diction, but Tori pronounces every word clearly.
Misheard lyrics
As Weird Al's parody emphasised, the lyrics as Cobain sang them were often difficult for listeners to decipher, both because of their nonsensicality and Cobain's guttural, slurred speech. A common mishearing of some of the lyrics includes "When the laughter hits the stages". Another common mishearing is from the line, "Our little group has always been," which is sometimes quoted as, "I'm in a group that's always been." This problem was compounded by the fact that the Nevermind album liner did not include lyrics, other than scattered phrases lifted at random from the songs. Lyrics for the album (some from earlier or alternate versions of the songs) were finally released on the liner of the Lithium single, but by then, the mis-heard lyrics were ingrained in people's minds.
See here for more.
Alternate versions
Nirvana was known for altering songs' lyrics and play speed for live performances. On almost all (if not all) live performances the line "our little group has always been" is changed to "our little tribe has always been". The song's lyrics were also changed a lot before it finally became the version on the album Nevermind. Early versions have completely different lyrics. Two early versions can be found on the CD/DVD boxset With the Lights Out, which features previously unreleased songs and alternate versions of songs.
First performance
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was first performed live on April 17, 1991 at the OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington. Parts of this performance can be found in three places: the Nevermind Classic Albums DVD, With the Lights Out and the documentary film Hype! Opening lyrics for this performance were, "Come out and play, make up the rules", while the first lyrics to the final version start out as "Load up on guns, bring your friends".
Track listing
The following tracks appeared on the single:
- "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Cobain, Grohl, Novoselic) - 4:39
- "Even in His Youth" (Cobain, Grohl, Novoselic) - 3:06
- "Aneurysm" (Cobain, Grohl, Novoselic) - 4:46
Note that the Single's label falsely lists the duration of "Even in His Youth" as 4:20. This was supposedly an inside joke within the band, as 420 refers to smoking marijuana. In the Cassete Single, the song was crudely edited, making the song sound different. In the cassete "Aneurysm" does not appear, because it is manufactured on a "CS" tape, which cannot hold a lot of tape.
Accolades
- Melody Maker magazine Single of The Year #1 (1991)
- Rolling Stone Critics Singles Pick #2 (1991)
- Kerrang! magazine Greatest 100 Rock Tracks Ever #1 (1999)
- Kerrang! magazine Greatest Singles of All Time #1 (2002)
- List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time #9 (2002)
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1991 | Official Belgium Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1991 | Official Irish Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1991 | Official Spanish Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Official French Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Official Norway Singles Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Official German Singles Chart | No. 2 |
| 1991 | Official Sweden Singles Chart | No. 3 |
| 1991 | Official Holland Singles Chart | No. 3 |
| 1992 | Official Italian Singles Chart | No. 3 |
| 1992 | Official Australian Singles Chart | No. 5 |
| 1992 | The Billboard Hot 100 (US) | No. 6 |
| 1992 | Official Switzerland Singles Chart | No. 6 |
| 1991 | Official UK Singles Chart | No. 7 |
| 1992 | Official Austrian Singles Chart | No. 8 |
| 1992 | Hot 100 Brasil | No. 9 |
| 1991 | Modern Rock Tracks (US) | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) | No. 7 |
| 1992 | Hot Dance Music/Club Play (US) | No. 14 |
| 1992 | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (US) | No. 27 |
| 1992 | French Airplay Chart | No. 1 |
| 1991 | Triple J Hottest 100 | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Poland Airplay Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Slovakian Airplay Chart | No. 9 |
| 1992 | Canadian National Airplay Chart | No. 17 |
| 1994 | Latvian Airplay Chart | No. 18 |
Samples
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Covered by
- ca.1992 by Pearl Jam
- 1992 by Tori Amos on Crucify (EP)
- 1992 by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "Smells Like Nirvana" on Off the Deep End.
- 1993 by Xorcist on Shut Up Kitty compilation
- 2000 by The Melvins (Vocals by guest star Leif Garrett) on The Crybaby.
- 2001 by Blanks 77 for the Nirvana punk tribute, Smells Like Bleach
- 2003 by Metallica, during the MTV Video Music Awards. Metallica played short instrumentals of this and other songs.
- 2003 by The Bad Plus on These Are The Vistas.
- 2004 by The Wounded on Atlantic.
- 2005 by Paul Anka, on Rock Swings.
References
External links
- Kurt Cobain: The Rolling Stone Interview
- Nirvana Forums — A popular Nirvana discussion community.
- Smells Like Teen Spirit ⚠ "
mbid" is missing! at MusicBrainz - Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics