Generation X is the demographic outfit following the baby boomers and preceding the Millennial. In the late 1980s, upon the introduction of MTV this generation was feeling very remoted and misstated by popular culture. Generation Xers were children of divorce, sarcastic, isolated, doubtful, and living in a world of consequence. They became disappointed with the dominant values of American Society and did not have any form of music to represent them. On that very time, Nirvana released their second album, Nevermind in September 1991. The album's first single and music video, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," contained lyrics of alienation and anguish, represented the alienated American Youth.
Nirvana as a band might not have been so successful if not overlooked by such a troubled and spiritual man as Kurt Cobain. His lyrics were based on significant themes of alienation, depression, mistrust, anger, confusion and others that represented generation X. The personal history of Kurt Cobain is somehow parallel to those in Generation X. Kurt Cobain’s lyrics represented the similar thoughts of self-examination, egocentric and uncertainty. As American media sends more messages of providing buoyancy for people, depression in young people of Generation X and Kurt Cobain grew excessively. From the song Pennyroyal Tea, he fabricates a homology of termination in a drink that put an end to everything inside him, “Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea, distil the life that’s inside of me.” Unfortunately, common to Cobain’s life as well as others of his generation, suicide became the only viable solution when drugs were inadequate, in the chorus of Milk It; he informs the audience “Look on the bright side is suicide”.
Smells Like Teen Spirit was the acclimation of that generation; the song ushered a new era. This epoch-making song was from the first single and first music video released off of Nirvana’s second album. Four features which contributed to its vast impact are its lyrics, music video, sound, and the exact time the song was presented. The title of the song itself is a classic capture of Generation X. It contained lyrics of isolation and hopelessness “Here we are now, entertain us, I feel stupid and contagious…”, narrates Cobain’s soul. Although unwillingly, he spoke to others in his generation, Cobain clearly says repeatedly, “Here we are now.” A countless young people seen themselves in the word “we” and felt they were able to release their feelings of isolation, and “Entertain us” ironically points at the disaffectionate world they were living in. In Music video we seen a band staging the song wearing dirty, filthy cloth and ripped jeans as well as the audience- young teenagers with long, unclean hair, banging their heads to this very loud, obnoxious music, wearing the same outfit as the band members. Pointing at the title “Teen Spirit,” cheerleaders are represented in the video looking very unglamorous and unattractive. The sound was harsh but innovative, absolutely new sounded never before its release. Kurt Cobain himself describes the sound himself; “I was looking for something a lot heavier, yet melodic at the same time…something different from heavy metal, a different attitude,”. The time Smells Like Teen Spirit was released was immeasurable, it represented the American Youth of Generation X, more concerned with self-problems and Kurt Cobain's lyrics were expressions of personal anxieties from his life, and physical images in which every young American identified with.
“With the lights out, it’s less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us”
(Smells like teen spirit/Kurt Cobain)
Not willingly, Kurt Cobain was the spokesperson for Generation X. He was not directly speaking to anyone; he only conveyed his own angst, which spreaded into the ears of many young people. Although Cobain thought he was “not like them,” (Dumb), his personal concerns were shared by millions of people in his generation, little did he realize he was speaking for an entire generation.
----Zavizah.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334534161_Smells_Like_Teen_Spirit_Kurt_Cobain_Voice _of_Generation_X_and_creator_of_Grunge
https://www.nirvana-teen-spirit.com/downloads/NTS-bandinfo-ENG.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336286595_Punk_and_museum_notes_about_the_expo sition_'Nirvana_Taking_Punk_to_the_Masses'
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