Alternative rock was starting to come into its own in the mid-to-late
1980s and early 1990s as a genre of music. Inspired by punk and new wave bands
from the 1970s and 1980s, bands such as R.E.M., the Violent Femmes, Sonic Youth
and Pixies were beginning to hit the mainstream and others, like Fuguzi and
Rites of Spring, were dominating the underground scenes in their respective
states.
Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic started Nirvana in 1987 as
high school students in a small town in Washington State, with Dave Grohl
joining them in 1990 after their original drummer left the band. In 1989, the
band released their first album, ‘Bleach,’ to good reviews, but only moderate
success. That would change with their second album just two short years later.
Nirvana released ‘Nevermind’ in September of 1991. Unlike ‘Bleach,’
‘Nevermind’ caught on quickly, becoming the band’s ticket to mainstream
success. And leading the way was “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
“Smells Like Teen
Spirit,” which debuted on September 10 as the album’s lead single, became a
massive hit around the world. Slow, lightly melodic, and with a calculatedly manic
delivery, the song was just pop-y enough for radio stations to play it and for
the general public to pick up on it. The song peaked at number one on the
Alternative Songs chart in the United States, as well as in the top ten in other
countries around the world.
The success of the album and single led to an increased interest
in alternative rock. Major labels were shopping around for any band that
sounded like Nirvana. Bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Bush became
popular, even though they had been making music just as long as or longer than
them, a sound that became known as “grunge.” A shift in Top 40 radio occurred,
with alternative rock dominating pop on the airwaves for the first time ever.
By 1994, other styles of alternative rock were hitting the mainstream
as well. Green Day, The Offspring and Rancid brought a more melodic version of
punk to listeners’ ears while Weezer and Sunny Day Real Estate ushered in a third-wave
renaissance for “emo.”
Nirvana continued to have an effect on rock music long after
Cobain’s death in 1994. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” continues to make “best of”
lists and many music magazines consider it to be one of the greatest songs of the
1990s and of all time. In 2014, the band
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with newer artists Lorde and
St. Vincent paying tribute by playing on stage with Grohl and Novoselic.
In part, the success and impact of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
is due to the song being so relatable. The song speaks to any young adult who’s
bored in life and trying to figure things out. Its concepts are not
complicated, even if it is hard to tell what words are coming out of Cobain’s
mouth at times.
With one four-minute
song, Nirvana changed the way alternative rock was heard forever. “Smells Like
Teen Spirit” opened the door for other rock bands to play in the limelight and
reach more listeners than ever before. It helped make what started as a
regional sound into a major subgenre of music that we are still talking about
and listening to today. Nirvana’s music is still influencing young alternative
bands today, even those that don’t necessarily sound like Nirvana.
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