Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" turns 25

by Tyler Munro

September 10, 2016

0

0

0

0

0

Email this article to a friend

Nirvana released their biggest hit on September 10, 1991 and music hasn't been the same since.

On September 10th, 1991, Nirvana officially released “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the crossover smash hit that eventually helped turn the iconic grunge rockers into a t-shirt empire. But while it’s easy to joke now, it’s impossible to deny the song’s impact.

At this point, Nevermind’s lead single is older than Kurt Cobain was when he wrote it, and has been co-opted and covered by everyone from Miley Cyrus and Paul Anka to a bunch of obsolete floppy disc drives.

Let’s dwell on that last bit for a minute: The covers.

There have been some great ones over the years, like this one from Tori Amos:

And there have been some not so great ones, like whatever this is:

There have been iconic parodies of it, like Weird Al’s classic “Smells Like Nirvana,”

And there have been cringeworthy parodies of it, like this “Stupid Mario Brothers” rendition:

But through the good and the bad, one thing remains: that fucking riff. Regardless of what you think of him, or the song, Kurt crafted one of the most iconic guitar lines of… well… ever.

Sure, we’ve heard it a billion times. Guitar store employees might hate it more than “Smoke on the Water” and “Stairway to Heaven,” and even Nirvana grew tired of it by the end.

But just try to deny that riff. You can’t. Believe me, I’ve tried.

Tags: Music, News, Nirvana

0

0

0

0

0

Email this article to a friend