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One Song

Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

4/16/202652 min

We’re taking you back to one of our very first episodes, talking mosquitos and libidos. That’s right, Diallo and LUXXURY are off on a sonic adventure with Nirvana’s 1991 grunge rock juggernaut, Smells Like Teen Spirit. Hear why Diallo thinks it’s one of the most important songs in pop culture, and strap in for some rarely heard Kurt Cobain vocal stems. There’s also a lot of talk about blap-um-blap-um drum patterns.

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Clips

Reclaiming a loaded lyric
Blood imagery interpretation
From music videos to snippets
‘This is ridiculous’ origin
Courtney love’s early imprint
Indie to instant mainstream
Butch Vig’s overlooked role

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Diallo Riddle· Host0:00

    Hey, One Song Nation. We're off this week, but for now we're revisiting one of our favorite early episodes of the pod, our episode on Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.

  2. Blake "LUXXURY" Robin· Host0:07

    That's right, Diallo. This is one of my favorite episodes from the early era.

  3. Diallo Riddle· Host0:10

    Yeah.

  4. Blake "LUXXURY" Robin· Host0:10

    Like, we were really hitting our stride at this point- [laughs] ... figuring out what the show was.

  5. Diallo Riddle· Host0:13

    Yep.

  6. Blake "LUXXURY" Robin· Host0:14

    Listen, I'll just say this one thing about our own show, is that after we tape it and a year goes by, it's fresh to my ears to listen to it again. So if you missed it the first time, but even if you haven't, check it out again. It's our One Song episode on Smells Like Teen Spirit.

  7. Diallo Riddle· Host0:25

    [upbeat music] I'm actor, writer, director, and sometimes DJ, Diallo Riddle.

  8. Blake "LUXXURY" Robin· Host0:37

    And I'm producer, DJ, and songwriter Luxury, also known as the guy who says, "Interpolation," on TikTok.

  9. Diallo Riddle· Host0:43

    [laughs] And this is One Song. Man, I am so excited for this one. Smells Like Teen Spirit is a mainstay at the top of all those 100 greatest songs of all time lists. It's got over a billion streams on Spotify, and personally for me, it represents a crucial moment in the history of pop music.

  10. Blake "LUXXURY" Robin· Host0:58

    We're gonna be getting into all of that, including the flannel, the grunge, and all the mosquitoes, albinos, and even our libidos.

  11. Diallo Riddle· Host1:05

    [laughs] This is One Song.

  12. Blake "LUXXURY" Robin· Host1:06

    So Diallo, do you remember the first time you heard Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit?

  13. Diallo Riddle· Host1:11

    Yeah, man, I was of the age where, like, after school I would go home and I would watch MTV to find [laughs] out, like, what music I should be buying on cassette. [laughs] And, uh- [laughs] You were a cassette guy? I was a cassette guy.

  14. Blake "LUXXURY" Robin· Host1:23

    Yeah.

  15. Diallo Riddle· Host1:23

    'Cause, you know, I, I liked- I lived in Atlanta, driving community. I would drive around, I had my cassette deck in my '84 Honda

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