Written, and with a Photograph, by Kenn Sava
I’ll never forget the first time I heard Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in full effect. I was with a date on the (uncharacteristically) not-packed-for-a-moment dance floor of the legendary NYC club, Area, in 1991 when its opening guitar chords were suddenly overwhelmed by Dave Grohl’s drums bringing the band in hit us like howitzer shells exploding from the speakers over our heads. I’d heard it before, but under this mega-system, it literally lifted me out of my skin.
Screencap of the opening scene of the “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Music video, 1991, Directed by Samuel Bayer, includes cheerleader with pom poms in a school gym.
“Hello, hello, hello, how low”*
Though Nirvana had been making great Music on record since their debut Lp, Bleach, in 1989, that was the opening “Hello” of the biggest movement in Rock since Punk. It exploded countless millions of times everywhere on planet earth that year, and Rock was never the same after…
The Music video, also appearing in heavy rotation, was a work of Art every bit on the level with the song, and just as revolutionary, paving the way for “Grunge,” Music & fashion. Recently, Nirvana dummer, now Foo Fighters leader, Dave Grohl, credited the video with having a bigger impact than the record1. The video adds a bit of another dimension to the lyrics and helps center them.
Besides love & sex, Rock has been about nothing if not teen angst, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, and depression, alongside a yearning to rebel or break free, these past 70 years. “Teen Spirit” felt like the ultimate Musical expression of teen angst.
“I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us”*
In 1994, Kurt told Rolling Stone that he was “trying to write the ultimate pop song,” saying he was strongly influenced by the Pixies in writing “Teen Spirit2.” On more than one level, he succeeded, in my opinion. On other levels, like everything else involving Kurt Cobain, it’s pretty complicated. “Pop” Music is supposed to be light and disposable, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” who’s title may a possible reference to a popular woman’s deodorant of the time that a one time Kurt girlfriend may have worn3, is anything but. For some, it was a call for a revolution- a rejection of what had become staid, overly processed and boring- in Music and beyond, and one that certainly happened in Rock Music and fashion over the rest of the decade in its wake.
I only got this ticket thanks to a friend who worked at Geffen, the band’s label. Enduring thanks, that is!
When I saw Nirvana in what turned out to be their final NYC show at Roseland on July 23, 1993, they didn’t play it, by far their biggest hit, during their set, unheard of for just about any other band. I found out later that Kurt was growing tired of playing it, and the expectation that they would play it. They played it as the encore, to the relief of everyone in the sold out house. I grew up playing in garage bands, and Nirvana was certainly the ultimate garage band. Seeing them was not just about their raw power. The nuance of their performance and the power of their lyrics took them to an entirely other level, one that very few bands have ever matched. Of the thousands of shows I’ve seen in my life, I count myself extremely lucky to have seen them that night.
Fast forward 30 years from 1991…to 2021. I couldn’t help having much of the same reaction watching another remarkable Music video- that for Olivia Rodrigo’s “Brutal,” directed by the ground-breaking Photographer Petra Collins, even though I’m far from my teenage years, and not female. Though so much has changed in those intervening 30 years since “Teen Spirit”, the things young people go through and how they feel about them, hasn’t changed at all. If anything, it’s only gotten more complicated.
As I thought about it, I couldn’t escape thinking about the parallels between both songs, and their videos, on a number of levels.
First, some basic stats-
Kurt Cobain, B. 2/20/1967 (D. 4/5/1994- 8 months after I saw Nirvana at Roseland). “Teen Spirit” released in 1991, when Kurt was about 24.
Olivia Rodrigo, B. 2/20/2003. “Brutal” released in May, 2021, when Olivia was 17 or 18.
Breaking out! Screencap from the 8 1/2-ish final scene of “Brutal.” I can’t help wondering if the ballet dancers are autobiographical on the part of Director Petra Collins, who started out to be a ballet dancer.
“They say these are the golden years
But I wish I could disappear
Ego crush is so severe
God, it’s brutal out here.”^
“Brutal” begins with a video game player selection screen over a repeated power synth line that could have been straight out of a 1990s video game, that in some ways is a 2021 equivalent of Kurt’s immortal opening power guitar riff on “Teen Spirit,” and serves much the same purpose. The scenes quickly change from showing her insecurities in ballet class and collapsing to the floor grabbing her ankle4, to a pseudo news broadcast, before taking us to a school classroom and corridor. Both songs feature the soft/loud dynamic, that Kurt Cobain said he took from The Pixies, to aural, lyric and visual dramatic effect. The whole things ends up on a freeway parking lot and a pretty cool “homage” to the beginning of Fellini’s 8 1/2 that ends the “Brutal” video! We see Olivia “breaking out” by getting out of her car and walking over the cars in front of her, a bit like 8 1/2′s hero who flies above the parked traffic in front of him in that classic opening scene that announces a masterpiece to follow. Nirvana’s video famously takes place in a gym auditorium, and features cheerleaders in pleated skirts with pom poms. In “Brutal,” Olvia wears a pleated plaid pleated skirt for much of it. Then, in the video for “Good 4 u,” which is also Directed by Petra Collins, she wears a full cheerleader’s outfit and much of it takes place in a school gym!
Screencap of “Good 4 u,’ also Directed by Petra Collins in 2021. A cheerleader’s outfit in a school gym and pom poms…Hmmm….
Kirt Cobain, Nirvana, and Frederico Fellini? Pretty heady company for any 17 or 18 year old.
Then, I took a closer at the lyrics to both songs. I decided to mash them up. The results are below.
“Brutal,” by Olivia Rodrigo & “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Kurt Cobain/Nirvana
A Mashup By Kenn Sava
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” on this margin-
“Brutal” on this margin-
[Chorus]
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
[Verse 1]
I’m so insecure, I think
That I’ll die before I drink
[Verse 2]
I’m worse at what I do best
And for this gift, I feel blessed
And I’m so caught up in the news
Of who likes me and who hates you
And I’m so tired that I might
Quit my job, start a new life
And they’d all be so disappointed
‘Cause who am I if not exploited?
And I’m so sick of seventeen
Where’s my fucking teenage dream?
If someone tells me one more time
“Enjoy your youth,” I’m gonna cry
[Pre-Chorus]
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
[Chorus]
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
And I don’t stick up for myself
I’m anxious, and nothing can help
And I wish I’d done this before
And I wish people liked me more
[Chorus]
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
All I did was try my best
This the kinda thanks I get?
Unrelentlessly upset (Ah-ah-ah)
They say these are the golden years
But I wish I could disappear
Ego crush is so severe
God, it’s brutal out here
[Outro]
A denial, a denial
A denial, a denial
A denial, a denial
A denial, a denial
A denial
And lately, I’m a nervous wreck
‘Cause I love people I don’t like
And I hate every song I write
And I’m not cool, and I’m not smart
And I can’t even parallel park
“Got a broken ego, broken heart
And God, I don’t even know where to start”^
*- Soundtracks for this Post are *”Smells Like Teen Spirit,” by Kurt Cobain from Nevermind by Nirvana and ^”Brutal,” by Olivia Rodrigo from the album Sour.
NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded and ad-free for over 6 years, during which over 250 full length pieces have been published. If you’ve found it worthwhile, you can donate to keep it going & ad-free below. Thank you!
Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited.
To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here.
Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them.
For “short takes” and additional pictures, follow @nighthawk_nyc on Instagram.
Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.