Unbelievable it's been that long. I was in college, and one day my friend said "hey MTV is playing this reeally great video alot today," when a friend and I went over to his place. We played some foosball for a while until it came on again, and we watched it.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Sorry, that's not the video, just the song. YouTube won't allow the video.
I was stunned. It was dark and sarcastic (made for only around $50k), black and white, and the song of course was amazing. The poor TV speaker wouldn't go up loud enough for us. That was my first memory of the phenomenon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_CobainSoon after Marander separated from him, Cobain began dating Tobi Vail, an influential DIY punk zinester of the riot grrrl band Bikini Kill. After meeting Vail, Cobain vomited as he was so completely overwhelmed with anxiety regarding his infatuation with her. This event would inspire the lyric: "Love you so much it makes me sick," which would appear in the song "Aneurysm".[41] While Cobain would regard Vail as his female counterpart, his relationship with her waned. Cobain desired the maternal comfort of a traditional relationship, which Vail regarded as sexist within a countercultural punk rock community. Those who dated Vail would be described by her friend Alice Wheeler as "fashion accessories."[42] Kurt and Tobi spent most of their time together as a couple discussing political and philosophical issues. Cobain's relationship with Vail would inspire the lyrical content of many of the songs on Nevermind. Once, while discussing anarchism and punk rock with friend Kathleen Hanna, Hanna spray-painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on Kurt's apartment wall. Teen Spirit was the name of a deodorant Vail wore; Hanna joked that Cobain smelled like it. Cobain, unaware of this, initially interpreted the slogan as having a revolutionary meaning. The slogan inspired the title to the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
The song/album/band drove a stake into the heart of hair metal, which I had always disliked with gusto.
In 2007 or so I visited Curt Cobain's house in Seattle. Not his house exactly, but the park next to it. It's in a very posh neighborhood overlooking Lake Washington with old mansions, old trees and old money. The park is small, and there's a bench with carvings all over it, messages to Kurt. His house has a large wall around it, maybe 8 feet high, which prevents the curiosity-seekers from peering in.
I went to the point at the wall where on the other side the greenhouse once stood. It was very quiet, very peaceful. The new house owners had it torn down, naturally, it being the place where Cobain shot himself on April 5, 1994.
We were there about 25 minutes and really didn't see anyone else, either onlooker or resident of the neighborhood.
