Paper Topic:

Critical Analysis of ` Smells Like Teen Spirit` by `Nirvana`

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

NIRVANA

Kurt Cobain was 24 years old in the spring of 1991 and at his creative best to produce the album Nevermind . Kurt was the spine of the band Nirvana . Soon after the release of this album , Nirvana 's popularity reached dizzy heights especially riding on the terrific waves of the song Smells like teen spirit . The fiery class of this song effectively overshadowed the rest of the songs of the album . This five minute two second song conquered the music charts worldwide

Smells like teen spirit

is categorized under the music genre popularly called grunge . Though this obscure genre was popularized by the groups like The Fartz , The U-Men and Pearl Jam but it had to Cobain 's genius that immortalized it . Grunge is typically characterized by the chaotic blend of extreme frequencies . The tone of music , vocals and bass undergoes frequent unexpected fluctuations . Loud and high frequency flow of a song is mixed with slow tempo of dissonant harmonies . Primarily this quality differentiates grunge from closely related genres like punk rock , heavy metal and hard rock . The dirty ' sound from rock guitar often emanating from the edge of the strings , is a common feature of this genre . Another unique feature of grunge is the lyrics . Lyrics from most of the grunge bands keep the fans involved in interesting mysteries . The words may express anxiety , fear , depression and even raging anger . Most of the first-time listeners would find it hard to derive any meaning . Due to the imposition of high pitch guitar play even figuring out the lyrics becomes a challenge . Do not be surprised to locate several

versions for smells like teen spirit

Kurt had a sharp intellect and impressively huge vocabulary that he used generously in his lyrics . Many people have tried to make sense of these lyrics since the time of its release . Though , the words were clarified in the cover for their album Lithium , the meaning that they hold still pose many puzzles . The music video depicts the band performing on a basketball court , surrounded by delirious fans . The boundary between the performers and the audience is blurred , portraying the non-conformity associated with teenagers . Nirvana and the contemporary bands captured the fantasies of their fans by showing their grit to challenge conventions . The seemingly meaningless lyrics typify that you have to frame your mind as a teenager 's in to understand them Rebellion and ecstasy is the life and blood of this song

The lyrics have been debated quite a few times . In his own words , while discussing the song in Michael Azerrad 's Come As You Are : The Story of Nirvana , Cobain said "I felt a duty to describe what I felt about my surroundings and my generation and people my age . There is a prominent concurrence of contradiction in the lyrics

A seemingly popular belief is that Cobain named this song as an aftereffect of going out with Tobi Wail , a singer who used to wear a perfume...

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