Dave Grohl credits MTV airing Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video for kickstarting the phenomenon surrounding the band’s 1991 Nevermind album.
While promoting his new memoir, The Storyteller – Tales Of Life And Music on PBS’ Amanpour And Company, Dave Grohl recalled, “When that video came out, all of a sudden the 300 capacity clubs had 300 more people outside, and then 500 capacity had 500 more people outside. It came down to the point where I would sit down on my drum stool and the first thing I would do is look around for an exit. ‘OK, there’s gonna be a riot, how am I going to get out?'”
He went on to say, “But it was the video, and I think that not only the song was great — Kurt (Cobain’s) lyrics, his voice. . . Kurt was the greatest songwriter of our generation, but that video. . . I always say, ‘You wanna sell half a million records? Make a video where you’re burning down your high school.'”
Starting on November 12th, the 30th anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind will be celebrated with several multi-format reissues.
A total of 94 audio and video tracks — 70 previously unreleased — will be made available across configurations ranging from Super Deluxe Editions to standard digital/CD and single disc vinyl with a bonus 7-inch single.
DID YOU KNOW???
- “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was the lead track and first single from Nirvana‘s second album, Nevermind, and made its radio debut on August 27th, 1991.
- To date, Nevermind has sold over 30 million albums, globally.
FAST FACTS
- 30 years after its release, Nirvana‘s era-defining track, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” has surpassed two billion plays on Spotify, as posted by Chart Data.
- The recording, which was featured on the band’s chart-topping Nevermind collection, marks the first of the group’s songs to pass the milestone number.
SIDE NOTES
- Nirvana topped a new list of the “Top 30 Grunge Albums,” selected by the editors of Ultimate Classic Rock. Not surprisingly, the band also scored the Number Two and Nine slots.
Ultimate Classic Rock’s “Top 10 Grunge Albums”:
1. Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)
2. Nirvana – In Utero (1993)
3. Pearl Jam – Ten (1991)
4. Soundgarden – Superunknown (1994)
5. Alice In Chains – Dirt (1992)
6. Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger (1991)
7. Pearl Jam – Vs. (1993)
8. Temple Of The Dog – Temple Of The Dog (1991)
9. Nirvana – Bleach (1989)
10. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream (1993)
CHECK IT OUT: Nirvana’s video for 1991’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: