My Gen X Playlist: Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana

There are a lot of things I’d like to tell my teenage self if I could. I’m not sure I’d want to change the trajectory too much. Both the good and the bad eventually lead to the me standing here today, and I’m OK with that. Even the bumpier parts of the road played their part.

I’d limit my advice to the small things and hope they create ripple effects. Let’s see if I can pencil out a few.

– Learn to dribble with your left hand. There are so many more opportunities when you are more than one dimensional.

– Practice parallel parking. Life is easier when you understand spacing and can learn to maneuver between obstacles.

– Rolling stops don’t count at stop signs. Learn this lesson after the first ticket, not the third. Don’t let certain things become Groundhog Day moments.

– Don’t settle for floating by in Spanish class. Think about how many more people you can engage with knowing a second language.

– Listen and learn in history class instead of just studying for an A. History tends to repeat itself. Why not save time and learn from other’s successes and failures.

– Eat your lima beans and peas. Even consuming the smallest of things everyday adds up unknowingly. And really, they aren’t that bad.

– When mom asks you to do something, take your eyes off the television, get up and do it without complaining. One day you’ll miss hearing the sound of her voice.

– Floss your teeth every night. Sometimes the things you need to rid yourself from the most are hidden between a shiny white smile.

– Wake up early every morning. There are only so many hours in the day. Make the most of time.

– Always say thank you. A life of appreciation instead of expectation is always a happier one.

Yeah, that’s not a bad start. I’m sure there are more things that would be nice to know. So how are we going to do this?

Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit was the first alternative song to become a huge it. The title is not even in the lyrics. Kurt Cobain had a little help from a friend.

Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the group Bikini Kill, gave Cobain the idea for the title when she spray painted “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” on his bedroom wall after a night of drinking and spraying graffiti around the Seattle area.

“We ended up in Kurt’s apartment and I smashed up a bunch of s–t. I took out a Sharpie marker and I wrote all over his bedroom wall – it was a rental so it was really kind of lame that I did that. I passed out with the marker in my hand, and woke up hung over.” Six months later she got a call from Cobain, asking her if he could use what she wrote on the wall for a lyric. Said Hanna, “I thought, how is he going to use ‘Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit as a lyric?”

Cobain didn’t know it when he wrote the song, but Teen Spirit is a brand of deodorant marketed to young girls. Kurt thought Hanna was complimenting him on his rebellious spirit, as someone who could inspire youth. Sales of Teen Spirit deodorant shot up when this became a hit, even though it is never mentioned in the lyrics.

– Wikipedia

I’m glad Cobain didn’t have a time machine to give himself any fair warning before coming up with the title. I can’t imagine any other for this song.

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

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Load up on guns, bring your friends
It's fun to lose and to pretend
She's over-bored and self-assured
Oh no, I know a dirty word

Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello

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
A mulatto, an albino
A mosquito, my libido

Yeah, hey, yay

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

Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello

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
A mulatto, an albino
A mosquito, my libido

Yeah, hey, yay

And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, it's hard to find
Oh well, whatever, never mind

Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello

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
A mulatto, an albino
A mosquito, my libido

A denial, a denial
A denial, a denial
A denial, a denial
A denial, a denial
A denial