The song that broke every songwriting rule
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Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit was Kurt Cobain’s attempt to write the ultimate pop song, but the story behind the song is one of the greatest of all time.
@davidhartley94
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
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@S-T-E-V-E
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
I've always like in the video during the 2nd bridge in build up the 2nd chorus the the extras are going wild and surrounding him like a swirling hurricane then when they reach Kurt the 2nd chorus drops, it's such an amazing but subtle effect that really accentuates the chorus!
@markbaker8089
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
I was under the impression that teen spirit was an arm pit deodorant according to the journals book.
@S-T-E-V-E
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
You don't know how hard this album dropped in the early 90's, it was like a new genre of music, I know it wasn't but that's what it felt like!
@N0bull
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
0:58 “Aneurysm” perfect example
@Iris_and_or_George
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
7:15 I once had a discussion about a Dropkick murphys track. I really like how their voices sound together and a girl who studies classical music stated that it is incredibly bad technique. I replied something like: your study has made you lose the essential of music. Anything that makes you enjoy it. Something you like does not have to be good! Our motto is now: Go home if you want to listen to good music!! 😂😂
@Iris_and_or_George
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
I do love teen spirit however all I hear is Weird Al's lyrics😅😅😅
@Iris_and_or_George
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
(correct me if I'm wrong please) About creating the perfect pop song. I believe that (the terrible😅) Gangam style was literally an experiment to do this after researching what things, including dance moves people like. It ended up being the first song with a billion views on YT. Knowing this made me dislike the song less😊
@rosbrughj
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
As a classically trained musician and composer, I ought to be offended by the sentiment that "learning theory is a waste of time." The reason that I'm not is because I've learned how much of the greatest music has been written by folks who "don't know what they're doing." Knowing music theory helps me to learn other people's music faster, but when I'm creating my own, I try to forget the academic stuff and just go by what sounds good and feels good.
@CS-mo7xp
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
I'm sure there is one particular Pixies song where the teen spirit riff is played exactly, but just one time, about half way through it? can't remember which one it is…
@sebastianhandley8471
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
compare 'more than a feeling' with 'gigantic' by the pixies.
@ApolloVIIIYouAreGoForTLI
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
He cared… So, so much. He may not have known what he was making in regards to the theory but I promise you he meticulously obsessed over each & every note he wrote.
@JonathanMontuori-s8p
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
That's tori amos
@danielcarriere3454
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
no songwriting rules were broken in the making of this video
@JonathanMontuori-s8p
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
I remember that commercial
@JonathanMontuori-s8p
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
Aneurysm
@RB-bd5tz
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
When I first saw/heard it in 1991, I knew that both the song and video were something extraordinary, and would blow up. Only a few other times have I had that feeling that a song was an instant historic landmark, e.g., Enya, Orinoco Flow and NIN, Head Like a Hole.
@danielktdoranie
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
When that video came out, everything changed. I was 13 years old at the time, the perfect age
@NostromoFeratu
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
there was music long before there was music theory.
@microsoftice6498
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
9:04 i can hear cuts?!?! that´s surprising i thought the part was one complete take
@Wstarlights
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
Everytime I hear Nirvana playing More Than a Feeling 🤪🤪🤪
@workhorsemtb7075
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
My friend was one of the cheerleaders in that video. She had no idea who Nirvana was and just thought it would be nothing
@DesignRhythm
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
Its literally the same riff as "More Than A Feeling" by Boston. 🤦♂️😂
@SlobZombie
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
God made us all unique. There should be no repeats.
Have Fun
@920WASHBURN
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
I don't like young nerds trying to dissect my generations music😂😂😂 get your own music
@LeviBallou
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
I just click on account of I seen a Warwick bass
@vcupiano
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
Kurt couldn’t be more wrong about knowing music theory. In fact the more you know the more possibilities you will have. Sure every now and then someone who knows nothing about music will write a popular song but it’s exceedingly rare. But what do I know I’ve only been studying music for 30+ years.
@lupker
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
Fun thing: Grohl was inspired by disco for the drums on this track! https://youtu.be/dZCrdSC2-1I?si=XQlygjZUWMJiJwYu
@notyetskeletal4809
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
One listen a few years back gave me a zing quite unlike before. Realizing how unique and interesting it was. When I was 13 I reacted really primal to the riff. It was giving me that dopamine. I was into Guns n Roses before that. They took a holiday for a while.
@Nefville
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
This is a GREAT video right here. Wow nicely done.
@Whickedlee
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
Cobain is such a tool
@obedmaldonado6303
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
SONGWRITING RULE????
@GingerBass
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
They used cheaper guitars as he shows a picture of Krist using a Warwick dolphin. An $8000 bass
@toejamr1
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
14:37 kurt and the band were real at a time when hair bands were a thing still. It did matter what they looked like as it gave my generation a way to differentiate us from our parents and it sounded awesome too. I’ll never forget seeing that music video 15x a day when scrolling through the channels and hitting Mtv. We only had about 40 “free”!channels at that time 😂 Mtv was channel 43
@jschap712
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
When I saw the premiere of the video for Smells Like Teen Spirit on MuchMusic, I said to the other students "Cool. It sounds kind of like the Pixies". Good? Yes. Uncommon? Maybe. Unique? Broke the rules? I question that. I liked Nirvana, but traded in the CD I got that Christmas for, I think, MBV's Loveless.
@toejamr1
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
The beggining drum fill is so perfect.
@MONOFA-X
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
the song written by heroin
@lorax8172
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
man this brought me back to my childhood
@m.s.g1890
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
"It doesn't matter what you look like" Yeah, ok. Nirvana totally cultivated the grunge look.
@derekhammett8634
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
Nirvana played a gig at a small club where Im from in Edmonton, AB, Canada called The Bronx and tickets were $6, that was March of 1991.
@TimothyTimPSP
October 1, 2025 at 7:17 pm
If he didn't know where the graffiti came from, then how did he know to call her? That kinda ruined this for me. What else is incorrect in this video?
Comments are closed.