Smells Like Teen Spirit

Cobain described it as an attempt to write the ultimate pop song and to rip off the Pixies. He brought the band only the main riff and the chorus melody. Novoselic called the riff ridiculous, so Cobain had them play it for an hour and a half. Novoselic slowed it down, which gave Grohl the drum beat, drawn from disco acts such as the Gap Band. It is the only song on Nevermind credited to all three.

The title comes from a phrase that Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill wrote, Kurt smells like Teen Spirit. It referred to a deodorant, and Cobain took it for a revolutionary slogan. The song was recorded at Sound City in May 1991. The basic track took three takes and the second was used. Cobain sang three vocal takes. Grohl said Cobain wrote lyrics minutes before first singing them, so he doubted the song had a lot to say. Cobain called it a song made of contradictory ideas that made fun of the thought of having a revolution, but he added that it was a nice thought.

Release

It went to radio on 27 August 1991 and was released as a single on 10 September. It reached 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same week Nevermind reached number one, topped Modern Rock Tracks, reached 7 in the UK, and was number one in Belgium, France, New Zealand and Spain. It has sold over 13 million copies worldwide.

Samuel Bayer directed the video. It was filmed on 17 August 1991 at GMT Studios in Culver City and shows a high school pep rally ending in chaos. It premiered on MTV's 120 Minutes on 29 September. Cobain oversaw a re-edit, and the video won two MTV Video Music Awards. Rolling Stone ranked the song fifth on its 2021 list of the 500 greatest songs, NME put it first on its 2014 list, and it entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017.

Live

Nirvana first played it on 17 April 1991 at the OK Hotel in Seattle. On the BBC's Top of the Pops in 1991 Cobain sang it an octave lower and changed words. That performance is on the video Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!. The band later grew uncomfortable with the song's success and often left it out. In 1994 Cobain said he still liked playing it but that it was almost an embarrassment. On 14 February 2025 Novoselic, Grohl and Smear played it with Post Malone for the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live.