Why Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” became a hit that no one expected – UNCUT

This is a song that was never meant to be a hit. The band was a trio of scruffy unknowns, one band member found it “ridiculous”, no one could understand the words, the title made no sense, and the main riff sounded like “More Than A Feeling” from Boston. However, the sheer, intoxicating thrill of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was unstoppable, and as the song took MTV and then the mainstream pop charts by storm, it turned Nirvana into reluctant celebrities almost overnight, transforming the musical landscape. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was the sound of a dam breaking as alternative rock became fashionable and record companies were sweeping away every guitar-based band they could find.

First time Doesn’t matter producer Butch Vig heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on a cassette tape the band sent him before recording. Vig initially worked with the band on a set of demos for Sub Pop, which were widely taped and distributed, eventually making their way to Geffen executives through Sonic Youth. After considering several well-known producers, Nirvana decided to ask Vig to record the album and sent him the work-in-progress ahead of the sessions.

“This tape came in the mail,” Vig said. Uncircumcised in 2021. “It started with Kurt saying, ‘Hey Butch, we’re going to play you our new song,’ and then they started playing ‘Teen Spirit’. It was a boombox recording with scratchy guitar and Dave’s drum fill, then all distortion, and sometimes you could hear Kurt singing ‘hi, hi, hi’. The recording was terrible, but I could make out the choruses and I was excited.”

Kurt Cobain launched “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with the intention of writing “the best pop song.” When Cobain played the guitar part in front of the rest of the band, it sounded so similar to Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” to Krist Novoselic’s ears that the bassist called it “ridiculous,” but the band then spent hours perfecting the arrangement. Novoselic slowed everything down and drummer Dave Grohl introduced a disco beat. All three were eventually credited as co-authors. The band leaned heavily on the loud and quiet dynamics of The Pixies, but Cobain’s riff had a magic of its own, and Grohl’s delivery gave the song a monstrous energy.

It didn’t matter that Cobain’s lyrics were hard to understand, save for the furious chorus of “here we go, entertain us/I’m feeling stupid and infectious” and the catchy vocal riff of “hi, hi, hi, how low.” Instead, they added mystery. When the single was sent to radio stations, some DJs complained that it was unintelligible, but played it anyway. Weird Al Yankovic’s skit said it best: “It’s hard to babble zous / with all these balls in your mouth… We’re so loud and incoherent / boy, it must be worrying your parents.”

What are we talking about? The title gave a clue. Although the lyrics to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” did not appear in the song, they captured the scent of moody teenage rebellion that the song exuded. Cobain famously took his name from the graffiti “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” written by a drunken Kathleen Hanna on Cobain’s bedroom wall after the duo spent an evening vandalizing an anti-abortion clinic that was a counseling service for pregnant teenagers. Cobain had no idea that Teen Spirit was the name of a new brand of deodorant marketed to teenage girls, and that it had become a running joke among Hannah’s bandmates in Bikini Kill. But he liked the phrase and asked Hannah if he could use it. And although the words “Teen Spirit” never appeared in the lyrics, “whatever,” the album’s title, was very clear.

When Nirvana entered Sound City Studios in Los Angeles to record Doesn’t matter“Smells Like Teen Spirit” was one of the first tracks they recorded, helping to give the record a focused, melodic aggression.

“I was stunned,” Vig says. “I stood up and started walking around the room listening to the song. When they finished, Kurt asked what I thought. I said that’s amazing, play it again. I made a few notes to improve the arrangement, but it didn’t require much work, just a few parts that needed trimming. I was shocked at how tight they sounded and how hard Dave hit the drums.”

Vig became even more convinced of the song’s strengths at a concert at the Los Angeles club Jabberjaw, which took place in May 1991, a few days after recording was completed.

“It was like a 150-person coffee shop,” he says. “The room was packed. I asked Dave if I could sit behind him. Jennifer [Finch, L7] and I crawled behind Dave and sat there looking at the room of 150 people with their mouths open. They played “Teen Spirit” and the crowd had never heard the song, but they went crazy. It was the first time I really felt like this group was connecting with people in a way I hadn’t seen before. I had no idea about it coming from the studio. I knew it sounded good, but that didn’t mean it would resonate with anyone else.”

The last element was the video. It was directed by Samuel Bayer and cost between $30,000 and $50,000, which was cheap for the time. Filmed on location in Culver City, it showed the band performing the song in a musty, dusty school gymnasium in front of an audience of children, urging them to engage in some good old fashioned teenage rebellion. He debuted on 120 minutesMTV’s alternative music channel in September 1991, and entered regular rotation in October. At a time when alternative rock was still ghettoized, and when the video itself had relatively low production values, this was quite a statement. This brought MTV a new audience and propelled Nirvana onto the charts.

This was a shock to Geffen. The label thought “Smells Like Teen Spirit” would be an icebreaker before the album’s release. Doesn’t matterthe second single “Come As You Are”, which was considered a crossover. So when Teen Spirit hit No. 6 in the US, Nirvana weren’t even in the country, they were touring the UK. Fortunately, the song became a hit there too, reaching 7th place and bringing the group unforgettable performances on Wordwhich Cobain ended by shouting “Roger Taylor” instead of “denial”, and Top Popwhere Cobain, defending his voice before the concert, sang the song in a lower key as a parody of Morrissey.

At these moments, it seemed that Cobain was already tired of the song that he saw would change his life, but such performances only added to the group’s appeal. Later, the band played with the crowd or played “More Than A Feeling”, distancing themselves from the anthem that attracted a completely different audience than the losers and freaks with whom they identified.

Cobain complained that he was a better songwriter, but “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had tremendous magnetism. Few bands have captured the sound of youthful rage, frustration and boredom so captivatingly. Like My Generation or Thirteen, it captures a mood of generational angst, and these are themes common to teenagers throughout history, ensuring that it continues to attract young fans today.

“Even though you weren’t sure what exactly he was singing about, he touched a generation of people who also felt frustrated, confused and uncomfortable in their own skin,” Vig says. “It touched on something that you can’t define, but the audience understood right away.”