Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit- A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction
100,315
Published 2023-08-23
A good solid Rock style piece of music, and I really “got it”! I can say, “Yeah, smells like teen spirit!”. “Oh well, whatever, never mind”, it sounds great!
Here’s the link to the original song by Nirvana:
• Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Of...
Here's the link to Schubert's An Der Musik:
• An die Musik, D. 547
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.
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Credits: Music written and performed by Nirvana
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All Comments (21)
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Funnily enough, Schubert's "An die Musik" was chosen as my singing assignment when I studied vocal at Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music. While studying it I noticed the (almost) similarities in the opening vocal lines of this and "Teen Spirit" that, when I performed it live at the student recital, I sang some of Kurt's lyrics to fit over the Schubert melody, much to the chagrin and delight of various teachers and faculty in the audience that night. Seeing Ms. Shafer realize this Schubert/Cobain connection reinforced my feeling that I'm not alone in this observation. Godspeed, Amy, Vlad, and little Liesel...
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In 1991 I was 39 years old, and I wore out my cassette of Nevermind (only cassette I ever wore out). Now in 2023 I'm 71 and this song still literally sends shivers up my spine. So it is not SOLELY teen music.
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Tom Petty noted that this song was like a scythe across the music scene, cutting down old tropes and opening the field again.
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If you were a part of Gen X then this song changed your world. We went from hair metal and GnR on constant radio airplay to alternative music taking over in a moment. This song changed the culture completely and gave Gen X a voice and an anthem. Just what we needed! This song changed the music, fashion and attitude of the 90s completely.
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The song is generally seen as an anthem of the alienation, disaffection, and frustration felt by teenagers in a cynical commercial world built by conscienceless adults. Not fun, but tortured. It is specifically a protest against the commercialization of rock music. Tori Amos sings a provocative, respectful cover of the song that shows it in a different light. I like the live version - just Tori and her piano and those lyrics. Live at Montreaux in 1992.
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Nobody EVER played the Harp along to Smells like Teen Spirit .... UNTIL NOW! 😂😂😂
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Now I have heard Nirvana with harp accompaniment - my life is complete!
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Nirvana changed western culture with one song. And I’m thrilled I was there for it.
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It's amazing how you managed to discuss this song so accurately without using the term "angst" a single time. Greetings from Germany
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i love her very vanilla innocence. definitely embracing purity outside of her comfort zone. her reactions upon hearing TS for the first time, priceless. then her breakdown of the song in her own language resinates with what many many others have said about Teen Spirit, which is a goid thing. Cause it's such a simple song, but its how it grabs you and takes you on that journey is testimony to it's brilliance. well done harp lady 😊
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Rick Beato in one of his videos explained how Kurt Cobain would write these super rich melodies and he would also play lots of diminished chords, leaving out the notes he would sing on top of the mix to really get that vocal through!
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I was 30 when Nevermind was released, and it felt like a great release, a return to my teenage years in the ‘70s. The raw energy was so welcome after the hair bands of the ‘80s. Now in my early 60’s I can still feel it. I loved your take on this! Thank you!
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For many teens in the 90's this song had a seismic effect. I had a friend who got into Nirvana early on, when the album Bleach came out, so when Nevermind was released we were eagerly waiting. 'Teen Spirit' was the obvious hit on the album but it was full of great songs with energy, rage and disaffection. It gave a voice to a generation of people who were unhappy with their lives but struggled to express it.
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Thank-you for this review. I was 14 years old when this dropped... And it changed everything.. Myself, my friends,...we all changed. 🙏 thank you Kurt.
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It should be a crime that they shortened the solo on this music video. Someone needs to go to prison for this.
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For me, its the melody writing of Kurt Cobain, its very underated in my opinion. Everytime I hear this song played on piano, it makes my eyes water with a mix of emotions. Its hauntingly beautiful.
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You just have to remember what it was like to be a teen… Introspective, unsure, feigning apathy, and then- releasing all that potential power you don’t really know how to channel. Like Punk, Grunge is less about composition and musicality and more about attitude. Something in the quality of Kurt’s voice was instantly relatable to the misfits of that generation.
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This song single handedly ended 80s hair metal.
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As a former teenager, I feel for them, it’s not their fault that so many are stupid, ignorant, and uninformed. We need better public schools to adjust the emotional derangement they are in. We need national healthcare for all, consumer protections, and cyber security and privacy. We need government for people more than corporate greed.
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Nirvana is arguably the most influential band of the whole of the 1990s. They completely changed the face of popular music. Nirvana influenced every genre of popular music and ultimately popularized alternate rock, pop rock, and even associated metal groups. Their influence has been felt in the entirety of the "bad boy" eras of Pop, Rock, and even leaking into moody Rap and Hip Hop pieces time and again.
