Nirvana was a budding
+
budding:
incipiente
grunge band from Seattle in 1991. Kurt Cobain was the singer and guitarist, Dave Grohl was the drummer
+
drummer:
batería
and Krist Novoselic was the bassist. They had already made one album, called ‘Bleach
+
bleach:
lejía
’. On 17 April, they played at a local venue
+
venue:
local
, the OK Hotel, alongside
+
alongside:
junto a
Fitz of Depression and Bikini Kill. About forty-five minutes into
+
into:
después de comenzar
their set, they played a new song for the first time. According to Grohl, the crowd
+
crowd:
multitud
went bananas
+
to go bananas:
volverse loco
. He told USA Today: “I just knew sonically, this is going to make people move. And it did.”
generation x
The song was Smells Like Teen Spirit. It was officially released
+
to release:
publicar
in September, ahead of
+
ahead of:
como adelanto
their second album, ‘Nevermind
+
never mind:
no importa
’. The single did not do very well at first, reaching
+
to reach:
alcanzar
number 144 on the Billboard 200 chart
+
chart:
lista de éxitos
. However, it quickly became popular by word of mouth
+
by word of mouth:
por el boca-oreja
. Two months later, it topped
+
to top:
llegar a la cima
Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart and it was number one in Belgium, France, New Zealand and Spain. Eventually
+
eventually:
finalmente
, it would become the song that defined a generation, selling more than thirty million copies worldwide
+
worldwide:
en todo el mundo
.
Smells Like Teen Spirit was an anthem
+
anthem:
himno
for Generation X. This was a ‘lost’ generation, sandwiched
+
to sandwich:
atrapar entre
between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials. There was nothing special about them. If anything distinguished them, it was apathy. Nirvana’s lyrics resonated with Gen Xers. Lines such as “I’m worse
+
worse:
peor
at what I do best
+
to do best:
darse bien
” and “Oh well, whatever
+
whatever:
tanto da
, never mind” connected with a nihilistic mindset
+
mindset:
mentalidad
.
just a pop song
At the same time, the lyrics were difficult to understand. The words were confusing and contradictory. At the end of the chorus, Cobain sings, “A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido.” They seem to be random
+
random:
aleatorias
words that rhyme. For many young people, such randomness and confusion reflected exactly how they felt.
The song was interpreted as a call
+
call:
llamamiento
for teenage rebellion – a message to the world that said, “I don’t care
+
I don’t care:
no me importa
.” It was a surprise to the band members. They had never intended it to be a declaration of non-conformity. Cobain said: “I was trying to write the ultimate
+
ultimate:
definitiva
pop song. I was basically trying to rip off
+
to rip off:
plagiar, copiar
the Pixies. I have to admit it... We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud
+
loud:
a mucho volumen
and hard.” They recorded the song in just three takes
+
takes:
tomas
. Cobain thought the riff was clichéd. Novoselic said it was ridiculous. Fans loved it.
too popular
The music video of the song was just as popular. It shows Nirvana playing in a high school gym
+
high school gym:
gimnasio de instituto
. Cheerleaders are dressed in black outfits
+
outfits:
vestimentas
with anarchy symbols. Apathetic students watch from the bleachers
+
bleachers:
gradas
. Chaos breaks out
+
to break out:
estallar
and the students destroy the set. The video captured the spirit of grunge. It was broadcast
+
to broadcast:
transmitir
constantly on MTV and received two MTV awards
+
awards:
premios
in 1992.
Smells Like Teen Spirit put grunge on the map. Nirvana became the star of the Seattle grunge scene, together with bands like Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. The album ‘Nevermind’ was a big success. But Smells Like Teen Spirit was so popular that Nirvana tired
+
to tire:
cansarse
of it. Cobain did not think it was their best work. The band tried to avoid
+
to avoid:
evitar
playing it at concerts, but fans would not let them. Instead
+
instead:
en su lugar
, they played it differently.
a sad end
Nirvana played the song live for the last time in Milan, in February 1994. Shortly after, Cobain tragically took his own life
+
to take one’s life:
quitarse la vida
and Nirvana disbanded
+
to disband:
disolverse
. Now, on its 30th anniversary, Smells Like Teen Spirit is still the most iconic song of the 1990s. It is number nine on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It is honoured in the Grammy Hall of Fame. And it remains in the hearts and minds of an entire generation.
fragrance teen spirit
Like Bohemian Rhapsody and Space Oddity
+
oddity:
rareza
, Smells Like Teen Spirit is one of those songs that do not mention the title in the lyrics
+
lyrics:
letras
. It appears to refer to teenage rebellion. However, it is named after
+
to name after:
bautizar en honor a
a deodorant. Teen Spirit was launched by Mennen Corporation in the late 1980s. Aimed at
+
to aim at:
dirigir a
teenage girls, it became very popular in the US.
Kurt Cobain did not know it was a deodorant when he wrote the song. He was dating
+
to date:
salir (como pareja)
Tobi Vail, the drummer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill who used the deodorant. One night, as a joke
+
joke:
broma
, his friend and Bikini Kill singer Katherine Hanna graffitied
+
to graffiti:
hacer una pintada
his living room wall with the message “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit.” He liked the sound of it. He was later surprised to discover that it was a deodorant.
You can still buy it today. Teen Spirit Stick is available in two fragrances: Pink Crush
+
crush:
enamoramiento
and Sweet Strawberry.
