I remember the first time I heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. I was in the 8th grade, and I pretty much had my little 13″ television blaring MTV non-stop. (You see, kids, back in the 90’s, MTV still played music. The Real World was still about a year away, so we weren’t yet saturated with “reality” tv. Anyway…)
I was blown away. I loved the lyrics, the sound of the guitar, the pounding of the drums, and that haunting, unmistakable bassline. My best friend and I quickly made a mall date. The instant we were dropped off (it was safe to let unsupervised kids roam large public places back then), we raced to Sam Goody, and I bought Nevermind on cassette.
Even now, whenever I catch this song on the radio, I can’t help but to crank up the volume almost to the point of rattling my speakers.
Hearing what this kid has done brings me back to 1991, and reignites the awe the original version inspired. Well done, young man!
