The Haven Opinion #6: Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

[Shireblogger]

It's time we assessed a rock song. Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is considered to be an anthem for a generation, and regularly appears on greatest songs of all-time lists. But its lyrics are unintelligible and meaningless. And some believe the riff rips off Boston's AOR smash "More Than A Feeling".

So, did "Smells Like Teen Spirit" change your life, or at least the music you listened to ? Or does it owe its acclaim solely to Kurt Cobain's premature death ?

Please give us your opinion, along with a score between 0 (very bad) and 10 (very good). You must write a minimum of 5 words and a maximum of 5 paragraphs for your score to count, and scores outside the range of 0-10 will not be included.



Scores:
5: Kingpin
10: Andy
10: daz
8: vya
10: Thorney
10: wonderwall
0: Last Dreamer
6: steveh31
7: raliverpool
7: meister
10: borneoman
8: vastariner
8: Shireblogger
6: smokeyb

7.5 AVERAGE from 14 judges

[Kingpin]

This passed me by a bit at the time, there was so much great dance music about and the charts were full of rave so I was a bit oblivious to the whole grunge thing.

This isn't really my thing and I've never understood what he's singing about. Overall, it's ok, listenable to a certain extent. I prefer subsequent singles Come As You Are and Lithium.

5/10

[o]

Absolute classic! Still sounds awesome after all this time, okay it's not lyrically brilliant, but it was the sound of grunge. I do like Weird Al's version though
10/10

[Razzle Dazzle]

I was about 7 or 8 when this came out so it passed me by for a while. This is real music, made in a basement by 3 guys with a love for music, no help from anyone, as natural as it comes. Whilst the lyrics might be jibberish it portrays the raw emotion.

10/10

[vya]

I was 16 when this came out, and the album was an essential part of the soundtrack to underage drunken, debauched parties in the suburbs where I went to school (but very much not so in the rather tougher, industrial, neighbourhood where I lived...).

Yes, it has energy, and a thrusting, very distinctive, powerful sound, I will give it that. On the plus side, too, it helped some of the Sub Pop artists, however briefly, get a wider audience - I'm thinking of Sonic Youth, in particular, here. But more negatively it really changed the whole tone of the indie music scene in Britain (or, I guess, college rock in the US): melody was replaced with volume, ambivalence with aggression, and sensitivity with self-obsessed whining (at least Morrissey had a sense of humour evident in his lyrics that enabled him to transcend accusations of the latter). I guess this was also a signpost down the road to the boozy hell of Britpop and laddish Oasis......none of which were good things. I really do think SMTS, specifically, was a genuinely revolutionary track that shaped and redirected the course of "alternative" music and culture....more so, even than "Fools Gold" or "WFL" had done, two years earlier.

But ignoring all that background context for a moment, there's no denying the appeal of the track, it's atmosphere, its energy. Both the musical and vocal parts are out of the ordinary too. And as an expression of youthful, masculine, sensitive-aggressive insecurity it hits the nail on the head.

So, somewhat reluctantly, I think this warrants 8/10. Might have gone higher had it not been for all the ensuing negative consequences. But Tori Amos makes the song work, in a completely different style, so there is some substance here.

[TheThorne]

I was aware of Nirvana as our indie night played a lot of Sub Pop bands like them Sonic Youth, Mudhoney and Dinosaur Jnr. But 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was such a step up production wise you just could not ignore it. Daz says it's the sound of just 3 guys I don't agree , the person who makes Nirvana and 'Nevermind' what it is was Butch Vig. Out went the weak production and muffled vocals although I will say that 'Sliver' was an exceptional early single.

It was brilliant in its time , but it was overplayed and the next two singles have stayed fresher and are possibly better but for sheer impact I have to give this

10/10

[wonderwall]

I was 15 when this was released I remember thinking wow this is different nirvana such a good band.I agree there are better songs on the album but this songs impact was amazing.it's funny when nervermind was released they hoped it would sell 5k that soon went out the window and it knocked Michael Jackson dangerous off number 1 in the billboard 200
10/10

[Deleted]

One from the most overrated 90s songs and aged very bad.
0 /10.

[Deleted]

I wasn't a grunge rocker but can see why this appeals, I think though it was more to do with Kurt than the song, a bit like Amy Winehouse.

It is a good singalong if you understand the words lol and wouldn't be something I would turn off straight away if it came on.

Has it aged well? Well it was of it's time and there are still plenty of grunge groups floating around I think it has held up well against it's grunge rivals.

6/10 - Come As You Are is probably their best song.

[raliverpool]

I resent the fact that this Pixies tribute act thanks to the backing and connections of music industry guru David Geffen (fresh after making the equally overrated Guns N'Roses) this band took off with all the marketing and major label hype that the far superior and influential band from Boston, Massachusetts on indie label 4AD never had.

Hence, the heartbreak of seeing a younger newer band who were more far successful caused the Pixies to split, because it destroyed that earlier band's moral. (See also Girls Aloud "The Promise" v The Pipettes).

I also resent seeing morons in Nirvana t-Shirts who think it is cool to inflict 11 grunge rock/90s US Punk pop tracks on my local jukebox including Sum 41; Nickelback; Blink 182; Creed. Thank goodness BritPop happened to save music in the 1990s.

Having said that, this is a great record, very well produced; and it inspired Tori Amos' great cover version; that seminal Top Of The Pops Morrissey vocal p*sstake performance .... But on the negative side it was also responsible for these acts of musical criminality:







7/10

[meister]

God that Take That version is something else. Gary singing "ello, ello, ello" certainly puts an English spin on things.

Anyway this only reached no 7 in the UK charts but I think it gained notoriety a bit later on perhaps. I always thought this was a 1993 hit and presumed it got to no1 too.

The verses are good but the chorus is a bit trashy for me. And all we ever talked about back then was him mentioning something about a "mosquito". I'm not sure we took it as seriously as we were meant to in hindsight. I think Kurt's looks played a big part in their popularity.

7/10 mainly for the verses.

[borneoman]

big fan of the song and Nirvana in general from day one, still remember getting the vinyl on release week. I do think it changed rock music for ever, for me it's a 10/10 even if the lyrics are a bit nonsensical

and of course the best cover of Teen Spirit is by Tori Amos, who should get extra credit cos she released it just a few months after the original came out in late 91/early 92, perfect slowed down piano version...

[vastar iner]

Quiet, then loud, had been the Pixies stock-in trade. But, "Velouria" aside, they had never come up with something so insanely ear-wormy. How on earth can you have a singalong song where you can't decipher the lyrics? Even the "hello" could be "how low". Or vice versa. Video looked like it was Basement Nerd Club, a sort of American take on outsider goth, the first rule about Nirvana Club is we don't talk about Nirvana Club, but how would they get such hot cheerleaders?

It is a great single and remains a great single. A solid 8/10.

[Shireblogger]

Nirvana are mythologised out of all proportion to their originality or creative output. If Kurt was still with us, they would be a single paragraph in the history of music.

But that paragraph would talk about Smells Like Teen Spirit. An anthemic heavy metal song which moves the genre some distance forward from the cartoonish peroxide perms which had risen to the top of metal in the late 80s. It is a great quiet-loud song, with, as previously mentioned, a chorus you can shout along to without nailing the actual lyrics.

8/10

[Deleted]

It's still a good song today

[smokeyb]

I quite liked this when it first came out,it was different to most music out at the time.

6/10