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

I've never understood all the credit given to Nirvana.

I'll give them "interesting." And their lyrics and contructions were even pretty thoughtful. (The whole quiet-loud-quiet succession was MAD energizing! And All Apologies, in fact, remains one of my all-time favorite songs.) But I wonder if they were simply "the lucky ones" amid countless kids that were fairly identical, just as talented... and just as internally bored out of their friggin' minds.

That whole "grunge" scene was the weirdest thing I think I've seen as an adult. It was like a '90s Beat Generation redux: A bunch of largely middleclass, suburban kids suffering the futility of being raised not quite desolate enough to access any deeper personal soul, but perhaps not quite privileged and perfect enough that they could access the spoils of mindless mall culture. (Joni Mitchell called 'em "whiny white kids.") Suddenly, "fitting in" and actually being happy with things became somehow unsatisfactory. ...especially if those things were enjoyed by too many other people. And God forbid those other people not be as melancholy and cynical as you!

So no more glam. No more pop music or pop icons. No more allegiance to '80s-style capitalism and mass marketing (even though secretly that's exactly what every would-be-recognized grunge band craved.) And it was cool as hell to claim anything esoteric and/or underdog among your peers and inspirations: So suddenly 120 Minute-type no-name acts over, say, U2 or R.E.M. (both of whom were heralded as awesome in their own "alternative" days, but rendered somehow less cool simply because they'd become too appreciated); suddenly the heroin of yesteryear over the more contemporary cocaine as the "chic drug"; suddenly the clinically depressed homeless look over... well... personal hygiene.

And the nihilist reactionism didn't end there: As soon as people began respecting the very real merits of the scene's aesthetic, the purveyors thereof effectively turned their backs even on themselves! Bands broke up. Grungers started publicly dissing grunge. Other started ODing and/or killing themselves. The sh*t was crazy! (Apparently the logic of the scene was/is: People acknowledging something is worth existing = that thing isn't worth existing.)

There are bands I like that were grouped with this scene, but self-loathing and self-pity en masse has just never appealed that much to me.

...No offense to all y'all Nirvana/grunge fans, by the way. Just stating my opinion.
[Edited 9/26/06 22:04pm]

Nirvana was a polarizing force in the music industry. Yeah, you're right, there WERE a lot of suburban kids who wound up picking up guitars (hell I lived in the country and Nirvana inspired ME to want to play guitar) and making crap music as a result of it. But you can't fault Nirvana for that, just like you can't fault 2Pac for hacks like Cassidy or Fabulous.

Much like hip hop (at least in its earlier incarnations) Nirvana brought forth emotions in their music that a LOT of people felt but that weren't on the surface of American society. Anger, confusion,etc. and did it in a literate way. Here was a celebrated group with a writer/singer who had actually read a fucking book, and could put words together in an interesting an ironic way. And Kurt was HONEST. How many pop stars these days acknowledge their drug use as more than just a way to make people think they're cool, or actively diss the press and record companies that are supposed to be feeding them? God, if an artist did that kind of thing today, their career would be over. Nirvana wasn't an asskissing, opportunistic, pandering act like so many bands and artists today are. They were honest to a fault, which was part of what got them so much press (and not always good press.)

And the music. Kurt was talented as a writer, easily as talented as John Lennon was. Yes lennon came years before, but Kurt is easily a match for him and would have proved it had he lived longer. And Krist and Dave's bass and drum riffs were just as important to the music as Kurt's guitar riffs. Imagine "In Bloom" without Dave's drum fills between chords! It'd be a much different song!

In all, Nirvana is one of those things that you either get it or you don't. If you don't, there's no shame in that. Part of it was being there and being a certain age at the time they hit, and seeing the phenominon first hand. If another band of this ilk came out today, they'd be heralded as much, but needless to say, the industry, and the artists themselves don't allow for things like that to happen.
[Edited 9/29/06 10:35am]

Lol I feel you! I can only imagine what it must have been like working in a record store when that album came out! I dont' imagine I'd ever want to hear it again!

I think In Utero is their best record by far because there really aren't any other records (that I've heard anyway) that have that sound and vibe to them. It scared me the first time I heard it, and I wasn't sure I wanted to listen to it again. I dont' think i have ever had that reaction before or since!

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

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.

I guess it's a slightly different flavor, but didn't the punk scene already capture nihilism for the teen population? Or they needed grunge because the punk scene was dead?

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

Actually, I find Kurt's lyrics far more concrete and to-the-point than John Lennon's hallucinatory ones. They're quite transparent, actually.

actually...

I found an interview of the band on youtube. I won't link it because it's stupid but they talk about this song:

Chris: The song's about lazy teenager and apathy or just...nobody cares about anything anymore.

Dave: It's the feeling of getting on stage and playing to the people...

Kurt: Kinda like that Bette Midler and The Rose vibe...

There's a clip of Kurt being wheeled to to the mic, where he stands & sings a few bars of "The Rose" before collapsing on the stage (an act, of course)

Interesting opinions. Strange that some people can think so highly of Smells like... and others can think it's "the worst fucking song in history!"

I'd love to see that clip if you have a link. I tried doing a search on youtube and it didn't come up with anything.
[Edited 10/4/06 10:52am]

I saw it on their live video, I think it's called "Nirvana! Live! Tonight! Sold Out!"

I seem to remember it was right at the beginning.