{"id":883303,"date":"2026-06-21T19:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T19:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/883303\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T19:22:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T19:22:17","slug":"the-1993-song-that-defined-nirvana-according-to-dave-grohl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/883303\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1993 song that defined Nirvana, according to Dave Grohl"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nirvana<\/p>\n

Credit: Alamy<\/p>\n

Sun 21 June 2026 18:36, UK <\/p>\n

There is no preparation that comes when a band like Nirvana<\/a> explodes on the scene. <\/p>\n

Every single industry head may have been racing to find \u201cthe next Nirvana\u201d as soon as \u2018Smells Like Teen Spirit\u2019 began making the rounds on the radio, but the only way that can happen again is when someone comes out of the blue and writes something that leaves the rest of the music scene absolutely delirious. Just ask Bruce Springsteen.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Guitar World<\/a> in 1995, the Boss explained the mammoth yet unlikely impact that the Seattle rockers had almost instantly. \u201cThat\u2019s a band that reset the rules of the game. They changed everything, they opened a vein of freedom that didn\u2019t exist previously,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The gruff \u2018Born to Run\u2019 singer added, \u201cThe singer [Kurt Cobain] did something very similar to what Dylan did in the \u201960s, which was to sound different and get on the radio. Your guitarist could sound different and get heard. So there are a lot of very fundamental rules that they reset, and that type of band is very few and far between.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given Springsteen\u2019s praise for Dylan over the years, that\u2019s about as lofty as adulation for the grunge outfit has ever gotten. Maybe the reason for that is because they were never entirely a \u2018grunge\u2019 band. Dave Grohl may not have been the writer he is today back then, but he knew that there was something a bit more feral going on with them than the rest of the Seattle scene.<\/p>\n

In Grohl\u2019s own words, there was no telling whether Nirvana were going to be one of the best rock and roll bands of all time or an absolute trainwreck from one gig to the next. They managed to sound transcendent more often than not, but it wasn\u2019t out of the question for them to unleash hell whenever they went onstage as well, whether that was Kurt Cobain leaping into the drum set or throwing himself into the crowd with no real sense of self-preservation. <\/p>\n

But when looking at every single band that came out of Seattle, do you notice how none of them defined themselves as \u201cgrunge\u201d bands? Oh, there were grunge fashions and people charging big bucks for a flannel shirt that could be found at a local thrift store, but when it came to the \u2018Big 4\u2019 of the genre, none of them really sound the same apart from being defined as \u201calternative music\u201d.<\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pearl Jam was a love letter to classic rock, and while Soundgarden was the one band that epitomised the genre of grunge the most, they were never content staying in one style for too long, always flirting with everything from prog to metal to alternative depending on how they felt. Alice in Chains would always be a better middle ground between alt-rock and hair-metal, but Nirvana\u2019s roots were always in punk.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt has a stripped down simple structure, it wasn\u2019t planned at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dave Grohl<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cobain has always cited punk bands as his major influences, and since Grohl had come from the DC punk scene that had birthed bands like Minor Threat, he was never afraid to wear those credentials on his sleeve. But since Nevermind<\/a> sounded too polished for Cobain\u2019s taste, he knew the next best thing for him to do was to take everything that sounded nice about his magnum opus and shred it up, which is probably why people didn\u2019t take to In Utero immediately.<\/p>\n

From Grohl\u2019s perspective, though, some of the album\u2019s more unhinged moments were a better example of what they were supposed to be, saying<\/a>, \u201cIf I had to pick one song that exemplifies the punk ethic or sound in our music, it\u2019d be \u2018Tourettes\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIt has a stripped-down, simple structure. It wasn\u2019t planned at all; it just kinda happened in rehearsal. Kurt started playing this riff, and Krist and I jumped in. I don\u2019t think there were any lyrics to it at all, to me it just sounds like a bunch of screaming and mumbling.\u201d In his view, that exemplified what the band were all about far more than \u2018Smells Like Teen Spirit\u2019 and their other big hits.<\/p>\n

The song itself is incredibly organic in that respect, but it\u2019s also not as easy on the ears as something like \u2018Come As You Are\u2019. There\u2019s a definite \u2018couldn\u2019t care less\u2019 attitude about the way the band is going for it, and given that Cobain\u2019s lines blur more towards gibberish towards the end of the song, it\u2019s clear that they are going more for capturing a feeling than worrying about whether every single word is completely audible.<\/p>\n

Then again, it\u2019s a little bit interesting seeing how well this tune epitomises what Nirvana was all about. It was a bit repulsive and in-your-face in many respects, but at the same time, not many people could make something as unhinged as this tune actually seem catchy in less than two minutes. Alas, when you look at Cobain\u2019s key influences and all the punk bands like Wipers therein, you can see where both the song and Nirvana truly come from.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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