Fact Finder - Music

Fact
The 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' Title Origin
Category
Music
Subcategory
Hit Songs
Country
United States
Description
Nirvana’s 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is credited with bringing grunge to the mainstream and ending the era of 1980s hair metal. The song's title came from a funny misunderstanding. Kathleen Hanna, the lead singer of Bikini Kill, spray-painted 'Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit' on Kurt Cobain's bedroom wall. Cobain thought it was a profound, revolutionary slogan about his rebellious spirit. In reality, Hanna was making fun of him because he smelled like 'Teen Spirit,' a brand of deodorant his then-girlfriend Tobi Vail used. Cobain didn't find out about the deodorant brand until months after the song was released. The track became a global anthem for Generation X, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Its 'loud-quiet-loud' dynamic structure became the blueprint for 1990s alternative rock, influenced heavily by the Pixies.