Mary Hall Christine Olding ENG 200-15 16 April 2014 Smells like Teen Spirit The Grunge music

movement sparked a revolution. The music came out of Seattle, Washington in the early Nineties. Grunge music is a combination of punk and heavy metal music styles. In a time where punk and heavy metal bands were violently clashing, they came together in Seattle to create Grunge. The band Nirvana played an influential role in the growth of Grunge music in American society specifically through their hit song Smells like Teen Spirit. In his book Subculture: the meaning of style, Dick Hebdige says Punk thus represents a deliberately scrawled addendum to the text of glam rock- an addendum designed to puncture glam rockss extravagantly ornate style (Mazullo 1). Hebdige meant that glam was a gateway for future musicians to fully express themselves without having to conform to societal norms. Glam rock was a musical movement that allowed artists and listeners alike to explore their individuality, sexuality, and drug use. The artists that created the grunge movement grew up with the ideals that glam imparted on them. Grunge music is a punk-inspired youth subculture(Mazullo 1). The heavy metal aspect of grunge is what sets it apart from straight punk music. When grunge began to gain popularity it was able to bring both sides of the genre together in a happy middle. Grunge was born in Seattle, Washington, It seems like everywhere else punk and metal were such diametric opposites, and there were fights between metal heads and punk rockers. But in Seattle they kind of coexisted peacefully (Moore 121). Seattle became the Mecca for all grunge music just as Liverpool, England was the hub for British rock bands. The difference between the two places is that only true grunge came out of Seattle,

everywhere else the music was classified as alternative. The first bands to be associated with grunge were Mudhoney, the Melvins and Green River (Moore 122). They had a large following within Seattle but they were not able to bring grunge to a national scale. The band that can be credited with exploding the grunge music culture is Nirvana. Nirvana was formed in 1987 with the original members being Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and joining in 1990, drummer Dave Grohl (Moore). Nirvana had a sludgy and distorted sound with Cobains voice alternating between furious screams and lethargic mumbles (Moore). Their first album, Bleach, was created in a small Seattle recording studio for just over $600 (Moore). This helped with the bands authenticity because they could identify as a true Seattle grunge band. Their second album, Nevermind, was produced in 1991 and contained their break through song Smells like Teen Spirit on it. The third and final album that the band would produce was named In Utero. The album was intended to bring the band back to their original music. Cobain was troubled by their mass commercial success that they wanted something edgy to remind themselves who they were without the fame (Moore).The band only produced three albums because Cobain took his life in 1994. The remaining members disbanded after the death of Cobain because he was the face of the band and without him they were no longer Nirvana. Dave Grohl went on to form the band Foo Fighters, which has been independently successful and Krist Novoselic focused on political activism (Moore). Kurt Donald Cobain was born on February 20, 1967 in Hoquiam, Washington but he grew up in Aberdeen. Cobain was born to a working class family, his father was a car mechanic and his mother was a housewife. Kurts life took a major change when he was eight years old, his parents got a divorce. The separation of his parents had a massive influence on Kurts life.

He was shuttled between family members growing up and never had a solid home life. This instability would play a role in the music that he would create. Kurt first began to show his musical talent at the age of four when he learned how to play piano and would sing songs from the Beatles and the Ramones. Cobain bought his first guitar when he was 14 years old. He learned how to play classic rock and roll that would help him fall in love with music. While Cobain was in high school he was bullied because he loved the arts and went against the typical conformity of male, sports loving, high school students. The bullying lead Cobain to drop out of high school and commit his time to his music and watch the band the Melvins perform. His exposure to one of the earliest grunge bands helped to shape his own personal style as well as meet his friend and future bandmate, Krist Novosleic. The two together formed the band, Nirvana, in 1987 and played at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. (Rolling Stone) The band produced their first album, Bleach, with a small record label in Seattle with their drummer, Chad Channing. Shortly after their first albums release they replaced their drummer with their final member, Dave Grohl. The band then signed with a major record label company, DGC. Their second album became a massive hit and threw Kurt Cobain and Nirvana into the spotlight. Cobain quickly became vocal about how uncomfortable he was with stardom (History). He wished to create his music without the costs associated with being in the public image. Cobain did take advantage of his stardom to voice his opinions about political issues. He used his fame to advocate for the rights of women, gays and other minorities and teen misfits like himself, while pouring his personal anger and frustration into Nirvanas lyrics and album liner notes(Rolling Stones). He broke the stereotypes for typical activists of the time. He

was a heterosexual white male that fought for the rights of people completely different from him. Within Kurt Cobains life he struggled with a heroin addiction. He began using the drug in the late 1980s and intensified when he began a relationship with the singer of the ban d Hole, Courtney Love, in 1991(Rolling Stone). The couple became a major source of tabloid news because of their romance and Cobains success within Nirvana. Love became pregnant and the couple married February 22,1992 and their daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, was born on August 18, 1992 (Rolling Stone). Cobains drug use only began to intensify as the band continued to tour and record their music. Cobain admitted in a magazine interview that he and Love were still using drugs which led to an investigation by the Department of Children and Family Services that lead to custody issues. The police were also called to their home many times that year for incidents of drug and weapons use, Cobain was charged with domestic abuse at one point (Rolling Stone). His downfall was very swift. In March of 1994 Nirvana went on a European tour and Cobain overdosed on heroin and was in a coma for 20 hours, this lead to a series of detoxes and attempts at interventions. On March 20th he checked into the Exodus Recovery Center in Los Angeles, California but left the facility the next day. He went missing for one week in early April but was found on April 8 in Seattle, Washington with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. He was mourned by his family, wife, friends, and fans. His remains were scattered into the Wishkah River (Rolling Stone). With Kurt Cobains death, the Nirvana phenomenon instantly gained the status of myth (Mazullo). Before his death, Kurt Cobain and Nirvana became a symbol of Generation X. The band and the music they produced spoke to the generation of people who were growing up with a

completely different culture then the one that their parents did. The decline of the American middle class has been particularly acute among its young people, whose experience of relative deprivation has been fueled by the discrepancy between increasing expectations and constricting opportunities (Moore 117). Nirvana became a voice the 90s generation that felt isolated from past generations that were given more opportunities then they were. Kurt Cobain became the symbol of Generation X, not because he was anything extremely special but because he was relatable to the masses. With divorce rates and drug use on the incline Cobain appealed to the misfits. Moore also states in his book that grunge is the antithesis of the Eighties excess and greed (Moore 117). This is another way that grunge is a derivative of Glam Rock. Glam Rock was very much a materialistic genre. It focused heavily on how the public perceived it through the use of theatrics and costume. Grunge is different from Glam in that the artists that were defined by it were by all other accounts average looking people. Most notably, grunge conjures an image of the clothing of the Pacific Northwest: the "ripped jeans and faded flannel" that one finds not only in media-driven characterizations of grunge, but also in the title of a recent discussion of grunge in the academic press. The disheveled look is closely tied to Seattle's street culture, a culture of heavy drug use and a cheerless assortment of "vegan anarchists," forgotten white trash(Mazullo) The look that was associated with grunge quickly became a nineties signature look. This helped with Kurt Cobains rise as the leader of Generation X. His early death also helped with the idolization. He became something very similar to a John Lennon-like myth. He was misunderstood and taken from the world too soon. Also like Lennon, he produced music that

changed the way the world perceived a culture and generation and for that he will be held in the highest regard. Despite his very public personal issues, such as drug addiction and assault charges, he is remembered for being a voice for the underrepresented. The song that helped Kurt Cobain achieve stardom while simultaneously becoming the voice of a generation and launching a new brand of music was Nirvanas song Smells Like Teen Spirit. The song was written it was 1991 by Kurt Cobain and was featured on their self-titled second album (All Music). The song was written with a very classic verse-chorus form. The song has the classic grunge characteristics, there are heavy drums and guitar riffs. The lyrics at times can be very difficult to understand because of Cobains style of singing. Cobain shifts the way that he sounds many different times within the song. He could make his voice sound extremely raspy and then turn it into a full-on heavy metal scream effect. This is what helps to give the song a very unique sound that is true to Nirvana. The lyrics of this song speak to the nineties generation. I'm worse at what I do best; And for this gift I feel blessed; Our little group has always been; And always will until the end (Cobain). This is the second verse of the song. It is the best representation of community of people that Nirvana and Cobain belonged to. Cobain was able to have a lot of authority with this topic because he experienced the troubles that plagued the children growing up in his generation. Sarah Ferguson makes the connection between children of divorce and Nirvanas appeal. Nirvana made abuse this generation's defining metaphor. The hit "Smells like Teen Spirit" was an anthem of powerless rage and betrayal. It was a resounding fuck you to the Boomers and all the false expectations they saddled us with about the rock 'n' roll

revolution. And it made psychological damage-with all its concurrent themes of child abuse, drug addiction, suicide, and neglect-a basis for social identity(Mazullo) Smells Like Teen Spirit was another example of how psychological issues were beginning to be taken seriously and recognized as illnesses. That is another defining difference between the Baby Boomers and Generation X. Generation Xers are not ashamed to be honest about their psychological battles. They are the reason that to this day, mental disorders are still being brought to light and not being shamed any more. There is a deep sense of camaraderie within Generation X and people who listen to Smells Like Teen Spirit as seen in the verse about sticking together until the end. The chorus of Smells Like Teen Spirit is the culmination of confusing lyrics within the song. With the lights out, it's less dangerous Here we are now; entertain us I feel stupid and contagious; Here we are now; entertain us; A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido (Cobain) When this song is heard it could be interpreted as a rebellion song with the amount of angst within the song. But the chorus shows just how unorganized the lyrics are. Each phrase in the chorus is followed by the contradiction of the phrase. This song, at best, could be seen as a daydream of what revolution could happen. But aside from what the song actually says, the effect the song had on America was somewhat of a revolution. Nirvana was the first band to make an alternative song popular on a national scale. It gave courage to the people who listened to this song who were misfits and seeking a group to fit into. Nirvana gave them that in the form of Grunge Rock.

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana changed the way the world viewed alternative music. They brought to light the underground issues that clouded Generation X. The band broadcast their own personal troubles to show how they could relate to the youth of the time that had no outlet for the frustration they felt within society. Their song Smells like Teen Spirit became an anthem for those misfits. Even 23 years after its release, the song and Grunge Rock will live on forever.

Works Cited "History of 90's Grunge Music." 90's 411. Denning E-Solutions, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. <http://www.90s411.com/history-of-90s-grunge.html>.

Mazullo, M. "'The Man Whom The World Sold': Kurt Cobain, Rock's Progressive Aesthetic, and the Challenges of Authenticity." The Musical Quarterly 84.4 (2000): 713-49. Print.

Moore, Ryan. "Nirvana." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. <http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2257719>.

Moore, Ryan. Sells like Teen Spirit: Music, Youth Culture, and Social Crisis. New York: New York UP, 2010. Print.

Rolling Stone. "Kurt Cobain Biography." Rolling Stone. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/kurt-cobain/biography>.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. <http://www.allmusic.com/album/smells-like-teen-spirit-mw0000939714/credits>