"It has revolutionary themes, but I don't really mean it in a militant ," he said in a fall 1991 interview. Often asked to explain the meaning of the song that made him a household name, Cobain generally acknowledged that it was meant to be a call to arms. By January 1992, Nevermind had displaced Michael Jackson's Dangerous at the top of the Billboard 200, heralding a seismic change in the industry. Following a quiet release on September 10, 1991, the song caught fire after a memorable video landed it in MTV's regular rotation. A few weeks later, as the band recorded the tracks for the album Nevermind, producer Butch Vig could barely contain his excitement upon hearing the explosive song in the studio.Ĭobain later described the song as a call to armsīut the voices pushing for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" won out, and the rest is history. As noted in Come as You Are, Nirvana's public debut of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at Seattle's OK Hotel on April 17, 1991, generated a distinct buzz. Still, the music came off as powerful and novel, particularly when infused with Cobain's semi-cryptic lyrics and full-throttle wailing.Īnd audiences agreed. The song soon sounded less like Boston and more like something by the Pixies, the proto-grunge group that Cobain idolized and was known for its interchanging soft-loud dynamic. Novoselic suggested slowing things down and laid the groundwork for the verse, providing space for drummer Dave Grohl to jump in with the beat.
![smells like teen spirit smells like teen spirit](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dpGGhOgGBpE/maxresdefault.jpg)
Bassist Krist Novoselic seemingly glossed over the lyrics, and when they began rehearsing the song, initially consisting of the guitar riff and chorus, he deemed it "ridiculous."Ĭobain himself felt the riff was "clichéd," similar to the one from Boston's "More Than a Feeling," though the pieces fell into place as they continued to rehearse. His bandmates originally considered the song derivative and clichédĪlthough Cobain was aiming high, the early feedback from his bandmates wasn't encouraging.