Load up on guns
Bring your friends
Its fun to lose
And to pretend
Shes overboard
Myself assured
I know I know
A dirty word

Hello (x 16)

With the lights out its 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
Yea

Im 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 (x 16)

With the lights out its 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
Yea

And I forget
Just what it takes
And yet I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard
Its hard to find
Oh well, whatever, nevermind

Hello (x 16)

With the lights out its 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
Yea



I was on a music fast in the '90s when this song came out. So tell me, what is it about? What is its history? How do you feel about it?

Does the words meaning mean that much? As far as uptil today I didn't know what the words truly were, I don't think I'm the only one, but it was the feelings within my statements that made that song a powerful hook.

It's a metaphorical call to arms for a certain section of young society... it was inspired by some graffiti Kathleen Hanna wrote on a wall which said, "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit", Teen Spirit being a brand of deodorant, but Kurt took it elsewhere, of course.

As with a lot of his lyrics, they are intended to set a mood more than anything else... to suggest rather than be as literal as with some other songwriters.

It is still a great song.

Those who don't get it, no big deal, but don't resort to labelling Nirvana's music as simply depressive because at least when I got into them - before Kurt died - it was more about reckless abandon than anything else.




.

.
[Edited 9/26/06 2:33am]
[Edited 9/26/06 8:45am]

That's all I have to say about that for now.

tobi vail wrote that graffiti? i thought it was kathleen hanna. you're probably right, and i probably read hanna take the credit for it somewhere.

Anx said:

Kathleen did indeed write the graffiti.

Nirvana was more like the straw that broke the camels back rather than the second coming of christ to the music scene. They're a great band, but they aren't the sole reason music took a shift in the early 90's, as they sometimes seem to get credited.

I loved when they performed on the MTV music awards though (with the guitar accident) LOL. That was a really modest set considering how huge they were at the time.

Militant said:

Yep! Sorry... was just off the top of my head...

Tom said:

Great point Tom.
Nirvana was just one of many great groups that brought about a shift in a Style of music, not an outright change in rock.
Pearl Jam was in the mix too.

Definitely Nirvana was only part of the 90's thing, but this song particularly represents the decade in rock.

The quiet sections to loud sections, clean to distorted, 4 chord repetition & druggy, clever, cynical lyrics all sum up the early 90's perfectly. The style of hair, clothing in the video. The woe is me attitude. Everything just screamed "GRUNGE!"

Pearl Jam was huge, obviously, but Nirvana was more direct, simpler, yet more artsy, more raw, and more of a singular vision because of Kurt's leadership role in the band--writing music & lyrics, singing & playing guitar. That artistry combined with Dave's incredible drumming and Kurt's celebrity made Nirvana truly an incredible & trendy band.

Other bands like Soundgarden & Pearl Jam were great, but they weren't so specifically "grunge" and as Nirvana. Smashing Pumkins is comparable to Nirvana, but they suffered historically from gaining popularity just after Nirvana and not being from Seattle (not to mention Billy is pretty annoying).

People say Nirvana is overrated, but Nevermind is one of the most flawless rock albums ever IMO, along with being one of the most defining of the times.

The song still sounds great to me.
[Edited 9/26/06 11:55am]

My favorite rockers off of Nevermind are "Come As You Are" and "Breed", personally, but this remains a classic.

I've heard In Utero is just as great, if not better.

squiddyren said:

In Utero is more personal, more raw, and it meant more to me at the time, but I think Nevermind is a better album in the end.

But yes In Utero is great.

Nirvana = Overrated crapfest.
End of discussion.
[Edited 9/26/06 12:17pm]

well that ends it. I guess we were wrong

NDRU said:

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Agree

FuNkeNsteiN said:

If Funkenstein doesn't have the definitive answers for hard rock, I don't know who does.

NDRU said:

squiddyren said:

Breed & Lounge Act sum up the name Nirvana to me. I haven't heard any other band that could take hard rock to a higher plane like this. They may have come from pain, but the end result is a frenzy of joy, a positive energy.

mrdespues said:

graffiti? or just scribbles on a wall?

FuNkeNsteiN said:

So why bother commenting? I'm curious - do you like hard rock at all? Go pee on somebody else's cornflakes.

TommyRoss said:

[Edited 9/26/06 13:00pm]

mrdespues said:

I never knew this



like Lennon "yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog's eye" Cobain "meat eating orchids forgive no one just yet/ cut myself on angel's hair & baby's breath"

The lyrics were something you'd never heard before and might not have made sense, but they painted a picture nonetheless



totally agree, that's what the band name meant to me

FuNkeNsteiN said:

I forgive you only because you like The Isley Brothers and pretty much every other band I like in that genre.


...
[Edited 9/26/06 13:05pm]

FuNkeNsteiN said:

why post on a thread about something you know you don't like? that would be like me going around to all the clay aiken and fergie fan forums and talking about how sucktrocious i think they are. i mean, okay, that's my opinion, but among people who like them, who gives a dead dog's cock other than to consider what an ass i am? i wish i had your kind of spare time, funkenstein...and aren't you the one who said you were tired of weird album titles by white bands? meanwhile, you like FUNKADELIC?!?! WTF????

heartbeatocean said:

It's the song that launched a thousand ridiculous "Spokesman for a Generation" articles.

Essentially, some writer thought "Here we are now, entertain us" encapsulated the jaded attitude of Generation X, a bunch of other hacks dittoed it and suddenly a guy with a really good sense of melody, a Pixies fixation and a bunch of jibberish lyrics was "speaking" for his peers.

"Rock journalism". Ya gotta love it.

Anx said:

Y'all shouldn't take my bitchin' that seriously
Oh and, Funkadelic album titles are cool. Average white wnb rock band album titles are artsy-fartsy

Anx said:

Funkenstein's really Axl Rose
[Edited 9/26/06 13:24pm]

Nirvana = One of the greatest bands ever. Kurt = Genius. Fuck you if you disagree

Have a nice day.

FuNkeNsteiN said:

how could i possibly take your bitching seriously?

i just make the mistaken assumption that you have some sense and i short circuit a bit when i realize that's not a language you speak.