"Smells Like Teen Spirit"" on Cobain's apartment wall. Teen Spirit was the name of a deodorant Vail wore. Cobain, unaware of the deodorant's existence, interpreted the slogan as having a revolutionary meaning, and it inspired the title of the Nirvana song ""Smells Like Teen Spirit."" On his 14th birthday on February 20, 1981, Cobain's uncle offered him either a bike or a used guitar—Kurt chose the guitar. Soon, he was trying to copy Led Zeppelin's power ballad, ""Stairway to Heaven"". He also learned how to play ""Louie Louie,"" Queen's ""Another One Bites the Dust"", and The Cars' ""My Best Friend's"
"Smells Like Teen Spirit ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" is a song by American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, ""Nevermind"" (1991), released on DGC Records. ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" was Nirvana's biggest hit, placing high on music industry charts around the world in 1991 and 1992. The unexpected success propelled ""Nevermind"" to the top of the charts at the start of 1992, an event often marked as the point where grunge entered the mainstream. ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" received critical plaudits, including topping the ""Village Voice"" Pazz & Jop critics'"
"UK 7"" single UK 12"" single UK CD single UK picture disc 12"" single US 7"" single US CD single US cassette single !colspan=""3""|Digital sales !colspan=""3""|Streaming Smells Like Teen Spirit ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" is a song by American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, ""Nevermind"" (1991), released on DGC Records. ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" was Nirvana's biggest hit, placing high on music industry charts around the world in 1991 and 1992. The unexpected success propelled ""Nevermind"" to the top of the charts at the start of 1992, an event"
"playing 'Teen Spirit', but it's almost an embarrassment to play it ... Everyone has focused on that song so much."" In the years following Cobain's 1994 suicide and Nirvana's breakup, ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" has continued to garner critical acclaim, and is often listed as one of the greatest songs of all time. It was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of ""The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll"" in 1997. In 2000, VH1 rated the song at number forty-one on its ""100 Greatest Rock Songs"" list, while MTV and ""Rolling Stone"" ranked it third on"
"They developed a sound that relied on dynamic contrasts, often between quiet verses and loud, heavy choruses. After signing to major label DGC Records, Nirvana found unexpected worldwide success with ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"", the first single from the band's second album ""Nevermind"" (1991), which has now been ranked as one of the greatest songs in the history of rock music. ""Nevermind"" has also been called one of the greatest albums of all time and has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Nirvana's sudden success widely popularized alternative rock and grunge, and Cobain found himself referred to in the media"
"Smells Like Nirvana ""Smells Like Nirvana"" is a parody of Nirvana's song ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"", written and performed by ""Weird Al"" Yankovic; it was released both as a single and as part of Yankovic's ""Off the Deep End"" album in April 1992. ""Smells Like Nirvana"" was written during a three-year career low for Yankovic after the financial failure of his film ""UHF"", but captured the quickly-rising popularity of grunge and Nirvana's success. The song was written to poke fun at the fact that many people had a hard time understanding Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain's lyrics in the original song."
"has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums ever. Their most successful song, ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"", is among the best-selling singles of all time, having sold 8 million copies. Nirvana was announced in their first year of eligibility as being part of the 2014 class of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on December 17, 2013. The induction ceremony was held April 10, 2014, in Brooklyn, New York, at the Barclays Center. However, Channing, who was informed of his omission by SMS, was not included in the induction, as the"
"the next verse,"" he drops out for the next few lines, pretending to actually forget the lyrics. Smells Like Nirvana ""Smells Like Nirvana"" is a parody of Nirvana's song ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"", written and performed by ""Weird Al"" Yankovic; it was released both as a single and as part of Yankovic's ""Off the Deep End"" album in April 1992. ""Smells Like Nirvana"" was written during a three-year career low for Yankovic after the financial failure of his film ""UHF"", but captured the quickly-rising popularity of grunge and Nirvana's success. The song was written to poke fun at the fact"
"their joint list of the ""100 Greatest Pop Songs"".<ref name=""MTV/RS 2000""></ref> The Recording Industry Association of America placed ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" at number eighty on their 2001 ""Songs of the Century"" list. In 2002, ""NME"" awarded the song the number two spot on its list of ""100 Greatest Singles of All Time"", with ""Kerrang!"" ranking it at number one on its own list of the ""100 Greatest Singles of All Time"". VH1 placed ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" at number one on its list of ""100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years"" in 2003, while that same year, the"
"guitars and harmonies. Nirvana created a sound that blended the fury of grunge with a new feel for melody and the mass commercial appeal of R.E.M., leading to what would become alternative rock's anthem, ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"". There were some reservations about the song because it sounded like a Pixies rip-off, a band that had been playing exactly that dynamic mix of soft and loud music. Thanks to the success of Nirvana, R.E.M. and Mudhoney, Alternative Rock and Grunge went mainstream and record companies bought up as many of these small bands as possible, leading to the commercial success"
"poll and winning two MTV Video Music Awards for its music video, which was in heavy rotation on music television. The song was dubbed an ""anthem for apathetic kids"" of Generation X, but the band grew uncomfortable with the attention it brought them. In the years since Kurt Cobain's death, listeners and critics have continued to praise ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" as one of the greatest songs in the history of rock music. Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain said that ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" was an attempt to write a song in the style of the Pixies, a band he greatly"
"sound like former Smiths frontman Morrissey. When ""Top of the Pops"" was cancelled in 2006, ""The Observer"" listed Nirvana's performance of ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" as the third greatest in the show's history. This performance can be found on the 1994 home video ""Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!"". ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" has inspired a few parodies. ""Weird Al"" Yankovic parodied the song in 1992 with ""Smells Like Nirvana"", a song about Nirvana itself. Yankovic parodied the difficulty in understanding Cobain's singing as well as the lyrics and their meaning. Yankovic has said Cobain told him he realized that Nirvana had"
"sings the word ""Yay"" and performs a unison bend on his guitar. After the second chorus, Cobain plays a 16-bar guitar solo restating his vocal melody from the verse and pre-chorus. During the closing refrain, Cobain sings ""A denial"" repeatedly; his voice becomes strained from the force of yelling. ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" was released to radio on August 27, 1991. On September 10, it was released as the lead single from ""Nevermind"", Nirvana's major label debut on DGC Records. The song did not initially chart, and sold well only in regions of the United States with an established Nirvana"
"Smells Like Bleach: A Punk Tribute to Nirvana Smells Like Bleach: A Punk Tribute To Nirvana is a tribute album by various artists to the American grunge band Nirvana, released in 2001. The album's title came from the amalgamation of Nirvana's signature song ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" and their debut album ""Bleach"". It contains twelve Nirvana songs from different releases, mainly Nirvana's second studio album, ""Nevermind"", and despite the title only a single song comes from Bleach. The liner notes to ""Smells Like Bleach"" were written by Dave Thompson. In it, he describes ""Smells Like Bleach"" as Nirvana's ""first ever"
"Nevermind Nevermind is the second studio album by American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991 by DGC Records. Produced by Butch Vig, it was the band's first release on the label, as well as the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Despite low commercial expectations, the album became an unexpected breakout success, largely due to the popularity of its lead single ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"". By January 1992, it had replaced Michael Jackson's ""Dangerous"" at number one on the US ""Billboard"" 200, and also produced three other successful singles: ""Come as You Are"", ""Lithium"", and ""In Bloom"". ""Nevermind"""
"group called Browntempo (a phrase he coined to describe their music). Browntempo had one release on Rhythm & Culture Recordings. In 2007 Desmond collaborated with Morel of Deep Dish for the release of his cover version of the Nirvana classic, ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"". This version was included in the limited edition ""Heart Shaped Box"" Box set, which included unreleased Nirvana tracks, live tracks and notable cover versions of Nirvana songs. This is an excerpt from The Daily Swarm's article about the 5-CD box set - ""The music encased inside is 3 discs of 50 songs performed by Nirvana, plus"
"single was also successful in other countries. In the United Kingdom, ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" reached number seven and charted for 184 weeks. The song was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal and Best Rock Song. ""Entertainment Weekly"" would later name Nirvana's loss to Eric Clapton in the Best Rock Song category as one of the 10 biggest upsets in Grammy history. Outside the United States, the song topped the charts of Belgium, France, New Zealand, and Spain. It charted within the top five of several European countries and reached number five in Australia. It"
"in some of his live shows. Yankovic was one of several celebrities who appeared in the 1989 music video for Jackson's song ""Liberian Girl"". Dave Grohl of Nirvana said that the band felt they had ""made it"" after Yankovic recorded ""Smells Like Nirvana"", a parody of the grunge band's smash hit, ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"". On his ""Behind the Music"" special, Yankovic stated that when he called Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain to ask if he could parody the song, Cobain gave him permission, then paused and asked, ""Um... it's not gonna be about food, is it?"" Yankovic responded with, ""No,"
"took my time, I hurried up, the choice was mine, I didn't think enough."" Come as You Are (Nirvana song) ""Come as You Are"" is a song by American grunge band Nirvana, written by frontman Kurt Cobain and released as the second single from the band's second studio album ""Nevermind"" in March 1992. It was the band's second American top 40 hit, and second UK top 10 hit, reaching number 32 on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100, and number nine on the UK Singles Chart. The unexpected success of the album's lead single, ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" drew Nirvana to mainstream"
"appeared on several year-end charts, including number 10 in New Zealand, number 17 in Belgium and Germany, and number 32 on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 Year-End Chart. In the wake of Nirvana's success, Michael Azerrad wrote in a 1992 ""Rolling Stone"" article: ""'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is an anthem for (or is it against?) the 'Why Ask Why?' generation. Just don't call Cobain a spokesman for a generation."" Nevertheless, the music press awarded the song an ""anthem-of-a-generation"" status, placing Cobain as a reluctant spokesman for Generation X. ""The New York Times"" wrote that Smells Like Teen Spirit' could be this"
"with Eric Carr, before Carr's death that November. 1992: In the 1992 show, MTV requested Nirvana perform ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"", while the band itself had indicated it preferred to play new songs ""Rape Me"" and """". Network executives continued to push for ""Teen Spirit"" but finally offered the band a choice to play either ""Teen Spirit"" or ""Lithium"", which the band appeared to accept. At the performance, Nirvana began to play, and Kurt Cobain played the first few chords of the song, ""Rape Me"", much to the horror of MTV execs, before continuing their regular performance of ""Lithium"". Near"
"retrospect, a blessing; he felt that ""Snack All Night"" was not one of his better works. While he had compiled other original songs for a new album he feared the lack of a good parody song would doom the album to failure and held off from releasing anything until an idea presented itself. The band Nirvana started to become a name in the music scene at the time, creating ""big, seismic shifts in pop culture"" according to Yankovic. Yankovic felt that the band's 1991 album ""Nevermind"", which featured ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"", was ""really great"", but feared that at its"
"commercial singles in the United States. Several popular songs which were not released as commercial singles did not qualify for the Hot 100 before December 1998, but performed very well on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. In 1991, with the release of ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" by Nirvana (which reached No. 1 on November 23, 1991), grunge became a new form of alternative rock to chart. However, grunge did not have a dominating presence on the chart in its heyday; over time, grunge would grow into popularity as a representation of alternative rock in the mainstream. Iconic grunge songs fared"
"the band shopped for a deal, eventually signing with DGC Records. In the spring of 1991, the band entered Sound City Studios in Los Angeles to record ""Nevermind."" Novoselic helped write the song ""Polly"". Upon its release, ""Nevermind"" (1991) exceeded all expectations and became a worldwide commercial success.""Nevermind"" had launched the band as a worldwide phenomenon with their hit single ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"". In 1992, at the MTV music awards show, Nirvana would win awards for Best New Artist in a Video and Best Alternative Video for ""Smells Like Teen Spirit."" At the show, Nirvana performed ""Lithium"". When Novoselic"
"song came third in a ""Q"" poll of the ""1001 Best Songs Ever"". In 2004, ""Rolling Stone"" ranked ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" ninth on its list of ""The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"", and described its impact as ""a shock wave of big-amp purity"", noting that ""[it] wiped the lingering jive of the Eighties off the pop map overnight."" The song was placed at number six in ""NME""s ""Global Best Song Ever Poll"" in 2005. In the 2006 VH1 UK poll ""The Nation's Favourite Lyric"", the line ""I feel stupid and contagious / Here we are now, entertain us"""
"and Roll"". The museum also ranked ""Nevermind"" number 10 on its ""The Definitive 200 Albums of All Time"" list in 2007. In 2005, the Library of Congress added ""Nevermind"" to the National Recording Registry, which collects ""culturally, historically or aesthetically important"" sound recordings from the 20th century. In 2011, four of Nirvana's songs appeared on ""Rolling Stone""s updated list of ""The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"", with ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" ranking the highest at number 9. Three of the band's albums were ranked on the magazine's 2012 list of ""The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"", with ""Nevermind"""
"album ""Bleach"" in 1989. Nirvana got signed by Geffen Records in 1990. In September 1991, Nirvana released its major label debut, ""Nevermind"". The album was at best hoped to be a minor success on par with Sonic Youth's ""Goo"", which Geffen had released a year earlier. It was the release of the album's first single ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" that ""marked the instigation of the grunge music phenomenon"". Due to constant airplay of the song's music video on MTV, ""Nevermind"" was selling 400,000 copies a week by Christmas 1991. In January 1992, ""Nevermind"" replaced pop superstar Michael Jackson's ""Dangerous"" at"
"than what Nirvana actually sang,"" and added, ""Worst of all, I'm not sure that I know more about [the meaning of] 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' now than before I plunked down for the official version of the facts."" The book ""Teen Spirit: The Stories Behind Every Nirvana Song"" describes ""Teen Spirit"" as ""a typically murky Cobain exploration of meaning and meaninglessness"". Azerrad plays upon the juxtaposition of Cobain's contradictory lyrics (such as ""It's fun to lose and to pretend"") and states ""the point that emerges isn't just the conflict of two opposing ideas, but the confusion and anger that the"
"Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, 1998 The Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time was a music poll conducted in August 1998 amongst listeners of Australian youth radio network Triple J. Nirvana's ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" collected the highest number of votes to claim the top position. Voters could submit a list of up to ten different songs as well as nominating one of these as their ""all-time"" favourite song. It was the fourth such poll organised by Triple J, following similar polls in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Initially, all songs were eligible for the annual Triple J"
"Come as You Are (Nirvana song) ""Come as You Are"" is a song by American grunge band Nirvana, written by frontman Kurt Cobain and released as the second single from the band's second studio album ""Nevermind"" in March 1992. It was the band's second American top 40 hit, and second UK top 10 hit, reaching number 32 on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100, and number nine on the UK Singles Chart. The unexpected success of the album's lead single, ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" drew Nirvana to mainstream success, with ""Nevermind"" being released two weeks after the single's release. Following the album's"
"while not a lot of people bought their albums, everyone who did started a band. I think this is largely true about the Pixies as well. Charles' secret weapon turned out to be not so secret and, sooner or later, all sorts of bands were exploiting the same strategy of wide dynamics. It became a kind of new pop formula and, within a short while, ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"" was charging up the charts and even the members of Nirvana said later that it sounded for all the world like a Pixies song. Sonically, the Pixies are credited with popularizing"
"dark humor and parodies of commercial rock. Bands such as Green River, Soundgarden, Melvins and Skin Yard pioneered the genre, with Mudhoney becoming the most successful by the end of the decade. Grunge remained largely a local phenomenon until 1991, when Nirvana's album ""Nevermind"" became a huge success, containing the anthemic song ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"". ""Nevermind"" was more melodic than its predecessors, by signing to Geffen Records the band was one of the first to employ traditional corporate promotion and marketing mechanisms such as an MTV video, in store displays and the use of radio ""consultants"" who promoted airplay"
"at the Paramount"" DVD music videos Nirvana Additional musicians Technical staff and artwork Nevermind Nevermind is the second studio album by American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991 by DGC Records. Produced by Butch Vig, it was the band's first release on the label, as well as the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Despite low commercial expectations, the album became an unexpected breakout success, largely due to the popularity of its lead single ""Smells Like Teen Spirit"". By January 1992, it had replaced Michael Jackson's ""Dangerous"" at number one on the US ""Billboard"" 200, and also produced"