Smells Like Teen Spirit
Flash Player is not loaded. Enable or get Flash to see this content.
Nirvana
Want to Learn How to Play Guitar? Learn to Play Easy Guitar Songs –Acoustic Lessons Here!
Runtime: 47:41 Teacher: Rob
- Ab5
- Bb5
- Db5
- F5
- F#5
Lesson Description
This guitar song lesson has 7 chapters. You’ll notice immediately in the first few seconds of the Performance that Rob is using all sorts of useful techniques, like power chords, palm mutes, scratches and "strumpets." In the Overview Rob tells you what we want you to know about the song and how to play it. We then have a special chapter on the Strum Pattern for the song. We then take you to the Intro where Rob shows you how the chord progression works before the singing starts. Rob then takes you to the Verses, which are easy once you’ve learned the Intro, although a new strum pattern comes in on Kurt’s “Hello.” After that, it’s the Chorus, which is the easiest guitar part of all to learn how to play. The fun gets most intense during the Break Riff chapter, which is the culmination of all you’re learned in previous chapters. Finally, Rob brings it all together with a slow jam. Overall, this is one of our intermediate guitar lessons. Check it out!
Song Information
Smells Like Teen Spirit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Smells Like Teen Spirit" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Single by Nirvana | |||||
| from the album Nevermind | |||||
| B-side | "Drain You"/"Even in His Youth"/"Aneurysm" | ||||
| Released | September 10, 1991 | ||||
| Format | CD, cassette, 7", 12" | ||||
| Recorded | May 1991 at Sound City, Van Nuys, California | ||||
| Genre | Grunge | ||||
| Length |
|
||||
| Label | DGC | ||||
| Writer(s) | Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic | ||||
| Producer | Butch Vig | ||||
| Certification | Platinum (RIAA) | ||||
| Nirvana singles chronology | |||||
|
|||||
| Nevermind track listing | |||||
|
|||||
"Smells Like Teen Spirit," by the alternative rock band, Nirvana, was written by Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl, and was produced by Butch Vig. It was Nirvana's first and biggest hit, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and placing high on music industry charts all around the world in 1991 and 1992.
The song was an attempt by Cobain to use the style of the Pixies, a band Kurt Cobain greatly admired. The Pixies used a technique of alternating between soft and quiet and loud and hard. Accordingly, Nirvana used their guitar riff only in the introduction and chorus and double-tracked it to make it even stronger.
The title of the song was the result of a discussion between Cobain and his friend Kathleen Hanna, who was at the time the lead singer of the punk band, Bikini Kill. They had been talking about anarchism, punk rock, etc. When Hanna spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his wall, Cobain interpreted the slogan as having a revolutionary meaning. What Hanna actually meant, was that Cobain smelled like the deodorant Teen Spirit, which his then-girlfriend Tobi Vail wore. Cobain later said he didn't know it was a brand of deodorant until months after the single was released.
The song has been called a teen anthem or the anthem of Generation X, but it was apparently never intended as such, written quickly so it could be included in the album.
The lyrics to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" were often hard to understand, partly because they had no particular meaning, and because of Cobain's singing, which sometimes became yelling. The Nevermind album liner did not include lyrics, except for some lyrical fragments. Citing this problem, some radio stations resisted adding the song to their playlists, and MTV resorted to a version of the video that included the lyrics running across the bottom of the screen. This ambiguity reminded many of "Louie, Louie," which was also hard to understand and therefore all the more intriguing.
"Teen Spirit" was released in September of 1991 as the lead single from the album, Nevermind, the band's debut on Geffen Records (DGC). It was not expected to be a hit, but only as an introduction to their alternative-rock style. "Come as You Are" was expected to be the song that could cross over to mainstream formats. However, campus radio and modern rock radio stations picked it up and placed it on heavy rotation. The video received its world premiere on MTV's late-night alternative rock program 120 Minutes, and was equally as successful there. As a result, Nevermind began to sell thousands of copies a week, replacing Michael Jackson's Dangerous album in the top spot on the Billboard charts in January 1992.
The song was a critical and commercial success. Listeners and critics alike have called it one of the greatest rock songs of all time. It topped the 1991 Village Voice "Pazz & Jop" and Melody Maker year-end polls, and reached number two on Rolling Stone's list of best singles of the year. The single peaked at number six on the Billboard singles chart the same week that Nevermind reached number one on the album charts. It was also successful in other countries. In the United Kingdom, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" reached number seven and charted for 184 weeks. It was nominated for two Grammy awards —Best Hard Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song."
"Teen Spirit" has garnered even more critical acclaim since Kurt Cobain's death in 1994. MTV, Rolling Stone, The Recording Industry Association of America, NME, and VH1 all placed the song in their top 100 lists, and Rolling Stone ranked it ninth in its 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song's legacy continues as it is adapted into other forms by other music groups and in other media. It continues to be parodied and sung by tribute groups. Other artists who have covered "Smells Like Teen Spirit" include:
- Tori Amos
- The Bad Plus
- The Melvins
- Xorcist
- The Moog Cookbook
- Dokaka (Japan)
- The Flying Pickets (Britain)
- Blanks 77
- Beki Bondage
- Paul Anka
- Flyleaf
- Patti Smith.
