Talk:Smells Like Teen Spirit

Pixies quote
The quote about copying the Pixies is attributed to a Rolling Stone interview, but the link for it is broken, and looking up the article, it doesn't mention the Pixies at all: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kurt-cobain-the-rolling-stone-interview-success-doesnt-suck-97194/ I can't find any source that independently confirms he said this without citing either Wikipedia or the same broken RS link. I don't know if he said it, it's possible he did, but the existing citation feels insufficient to prove that was the case. 172.119.55.225 (talk) 22:21, 6 February 2023 (UTC)


 * Wait, no, ignore me. I didn't realize the article had multiple pages. 172.119.55.225 (talk) 22:26, 6 February 2023 (UTC)

Covers
I just listened to a version by Paul Anka on Spotify, off the "Rock Swings" album. Not sure what to make of it, but it probably should be added to the "Parodies and Covers" section. 108.49.233.184 (talk) 19:12, 7 June 2023 (UTC)


 * Why? Wikipedia doesn't need to document everything that exists. CAVincent (talk) 06:50, 8 June 2023 (UTC)

Lyrics section needs work. There is no mystery to the lyrics. We need to improve this.
I have been dumbfounded, twice successively, at the apparent level of ignorance and hostility towards poetry. First of all, who are these so call analysts of this song who claim that the lyric is so cryptic and a mystery? Trash pop culture writers? biographers? Frankly, anyone with pretty fundamental education in poetry and literature could decipher this song. To deny what its about is to deny the english language. Are we getting to the point that poetry is no longer decipherable without citations and experts? The song is deciphered in the following...

The song is clearly about adolescent themes and scenes. "dirty word" the teenage fixation and often excessive use of swearing, "With lights out its less dangerous" could be two teens having sex or drinking at a party. "here we are now entertain us, i feel stupid and contagious" again is double meaning as in a party or sexual attraction, lust being an animal desire and stupid and contagious as the attraction between two lovers, "albino, a mosquito my libodo" a mosquito is a phallic symbol, albino is white which sympbolizes innocence, "our little groups has always been and always will until then end" refers to the youthful of illusion that the friends you have in high school will last forever, "nevermind" teenage apathy...

Its not even cryptic. Its something that an intelligent 17 year old could write who has maybe read some Burroughs and Ginsberg. Like Kurt clearly has. Excuse the irritability but it blows my mind that not only published writers can be this stupid as to not understand simple poetry, and for my two sentence edit to describe the song as "adolescent themes and scenes like lust, self-hatred, arrogance..." deleted for original research. Original research? You mean reading comprehension?

The poem isn't even ambiguous. Its called "smells like teen spirit". TEEN. SMELLS LIKE. Kurt like most poets and song writers didn't want to explain the meaning of songs in interviews. Myth making and mystery is a tradition for artists, as well as to leave room for interpretation.

I suppose someone can find sources for discussing the very simple and obvious meaning of the song cause I don't have time too. Again, my reading is not unique. If you get a thousand english majors to decipher the song, 99.99% would say virtually the same thing. Any child that enjoys reading would say the same. Its the average citizen that neither reads nor is trained in reading literature and poetry, that the lyric remains a mystery for. The average citizen is not a measure for math pages on wiki either, most people are just as bad at math as reading poetry. 71.95.161.14 (talk) 15:22, 18 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Nah, it's a song about deodorant. CAVincent (talk) 15:33, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

A staple of the craft of poetry is stacking as many meanings as possible to things, the same line or word. Yes its deodorant that inspired the song title which may have nothing to do with the meaning but it also could, as it was a deodorant marketed to teens. It can imply the invention of the teenager which is as superficial as deodorants manufactured for teens (as opposed to adults). Even in your apparent jest you are proving my point. I never offered specific examples, only the general themes which are as clear as the sky is blue. I wrote this:

"The lyrics depict adolescent themes and scenes like lust, self-hatred, parties, friendship, boredom, innocence, and arrogance. Relying almost exclusively on metaphor, symbolism, poetical devices, and its lack of more explicit narratives and messages typical of popular songwirting, has led to lots of confusion among pop culture analysis."

It was deleted for lack of sources. I guess we need sources for 1+1=2 and the fact that music is sound because what if music is visual without sound we need sources sources sources we can't know anything this isn't an encyclopedia but epistemic humility extremism. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.95.161.14 (talk) 05:58, 19 August 2023 (UTC)


 * ...But seriously? 88.28.19.185 (talk) 09:51, 20 August 2023 (UTC)