Smells Like Nirvana

"Smells Like Nirvana"
Song

Smells Like Nirvana is a parody of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" written and performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It helped to reenergize Yankovic's career, and Nirvana considered it a sign that they had "made it" as a band.[1]

Track listing

1. "Smells Like Nirvana" – 3:42
2. "Waffle King" – 4:26

The negotiation

Yankovic wanted to contact the band to ensure he had authorization to record a parody of their hit, but initially had a difficult time in reaching the members. Technically permission is not required to record a parody under fair use laws, but as a rule, Yankovic asks the band or artist for permission anyway to maintain good relationships with the musical industry.

Finally, an opportunity opened up on the night Nirvana was scheduled to perform two songs on NBC's sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live. Yankovic's ex-girlfriend, Victoria Jackson, was a cast member of SNL at the time. She got Kurt Cobain on the phone with Yankovic. Yankovic spoke with Kurt Cobain, Nirvana's lead singer and guitarist, over the phone while Cobain was in the NBC building. Cobain had just one stipulation. "It's not going to be about food, is it?" he asked, referring to such Yankovic's songs "Eat It", "I Love Rocky Road", and "My Bologna". Yankovic reassured Cobain it would not be about food, but rather about the difficulty that many listeners had understanding the lyrics in the original song.

Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic later admitted that he was at first concerned that this song would humiliate the band, but once he heard it, he thought it was hilarious.

The song

The lyrics are basically a spoof on the bizarre and bleak lyrics of "Smells Like Teen Spirit", with verses like:

What is this song all about?

Can't figure any lyrics out

How do the words to it go?

I wish you'd tell me, I don't know

Other parts point to the unintelligibility of Cobain's lyrics and vocal delivery:

It's unintelligible

I just can't get it through my skull

It's hard to bargle nawdle zouss(???)

With all these marbles in my mouth

There is also a reference to another artist:

Well we don't sound

like Madonna,

here we are now,

we're Nirvana

— a reference to the band's hometown:

a garage band

from Seattle,

well it sure beats

raising cattle.

— and a reference to Nevermind, the album which includes the original, as well as to the fact that the Nirvana album does not include a complete set of lyrics in the liner notes, but rather just the words 'nevermind'.

The lyric sheet's so hard to find

What are the words? Oh, never mind.

— which also serves as a reference to the lyrics of the original song:

I found it hard, It's hard to find

Oh well, whatever, nevermind

The music is almost the same as "Smells Like Teen Spirit", although the guitar solo is replaced by Yankovic's gargling, the entire audience humming through kazoos, and a tuba. The arrangement of "Smells Like Nirvana" is based on the radio edit of the original. In recent years it seems shorter, due to the fact that most radio stations play the full version of the original these days, but at the time, it sounded more like what was being played on the radio. Hence the shortened intro, the bridge (the hello/how low part) and the solo.

Music video

The music video, directed by Yankovic's manager Jay Levey, is very similar to the original video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit", even using many of the same actors. However, various elements have been parodied:

• The craze of the mosh pit. One character is even set on fire.
• Yankovic and his band are all wearing long-haired wigs to imitate the hairstyles of Nirvana.
• When Yankovic is doing the "Bargle Nawdle Zouss" verse, marbles fall out of his mouth.
• Near the end, Yankovic cuts off a bit of his hair.
• At 1:05 in the video, someone's head falls off.
• Instead of "CHAKA", the drummer's bass drum has "DRUM" written in white-out. His shirt reads "Drummer" rather than "Scream".
• The cheerleaders are different in this video. One is a drag queen, another hasn't shaved her armpits, and one other has Alfred E. Neuman's face tattooed on her arm. At one point, they do the Chicken Dance.
• Between 2:28 and 2:39, Yankovic doesn't touch his guitar strings, yet he continues strumming.
• The janitor is the same actor as in "Smells Like Teen Spirit". He is seen eating a donut found in his mop bucket, playing the tuba, and dancing in a ballet outfit. He is also seen in You Don't Love Me Anymore playing the cello.
• When the janitor starts playing the tuba, the instrument he is playing sounds nothing like a tuba, and has a sound more similar to that of a baritone horn. Also, if you look closely, you'll notice that the janitor isn't actually playing the tuba (he isn't pressing the valves).
• A skinheaded teen in the audience has "THIS SPACE FOR RENT" written on the back of his head.
• Several children in the high school crowd lose body parts as they are headbanging to the song (arms, legs, and even a head). Numerous members of the crowd are flung from the bleachers in the video, most prominently when Yankovic is doing the "Bargle Nawdle Zouss" verse, where a student is tossed from the tops of the bleachers to the floor.
• The yellow light illuminating Yankovic's face from below is seen to be held by a midget or toddler.
• Dick Van Patten is in the crowd. He offers a bite of his sandwich to the teenager next to him, but the teenager slaps it out of his hand. Ironically the teenager is wearing a shirt with the words "EAT FOOD" written on it.
• A cow and a sheep are in the audience.
• Girl Scouts come up to the teenagers, but the teenagers knock the cookies out of their hands. During this part, a teen can be seen in the background dancing with a pair of Boxer Shorts. In another scene one of the Scouts is seen being carried in the background by several teens.
• Nirvana's cheerleaders wear tops with a red circled letter A (a symbol of anarchism). Yankovic's cheerleaders have the same symbol, but with a capital "L" added to the upper right of the "A", thus spelling out "AL".
• Yankovic is seen pulling on someone's nose with a pair of channel lock pliers near the end of the video.
• Both videos are shot in the same basketball court. In Yankovic's, there is a game going on in the background, where one of the players is hit in the face by the basketball. At one point Yankovic is thrown a basketball which he throws behind him. It disappears for about 4 seconds before falling through the hoop, from 2:41 to 2:45.
• Near the end, Yankovic smashes up his guitar, also hits someone on the head with a dinner plate and demolishes a building.
• During the guitar solos in "Smells Like Teen Spirit", there is a guitar riff and Cobain saying "Yay" four times. In "Smells Like Nirvana", this is replaced by four different sounds. In order, they are a burp, a "boing" sound effect, a cow's moo, and a sheep's bleat.
• At the end of the song, Yankovic starts screaming. With his voice somewhat distorted from lack of breathing, he starts coughing when he's nearly done. Finally, he passes out.
• During a riff, "Weird Al" gargles some water to the tune of the riff.
• Between 3:41-3:42 the drummer faints.
• Jim West, the band's guitarist, is visible in front of the crowd at 1:52. He is eating a banana, but later sees the camera in front of him, and runs away startled at 1:55. Mismatched lighting suggests this was a bluescreen shot.
• Both videos have a teenager seen stealing the drummer's Hi-Hat.
• At the "boing" sound effect, Yankovic bends his guitar, which at that point, is apparently made of rubber.
• At 0:51, there is a shot across the bleachers like in the original video, but the bald teenager is the only teenager not head-banging.
• At the very beginning of the "You Don't Love Me Anymore" video, the drummer gets up from the same drumset as the "Smells Like Nirvana" video, takes off of his wig and throws his drumsticks on the ground. This a hint that they are on the same set, seconds between the music videos.

Music Video Controversy

There was a very minor controversy over the music video when it was nominated for Best Male Video at the 1992 MTV Music Video Awards. Because the video so closely mirrored the video for Smells Like Teen Spirit, many believed that Weird Al should some how pay tribute to Nirvana should he win, maybe even share the award with Nirvana. Ultimately, the video did not win the award.

Cobain's thoughts on the video

In an interview performed by MTV in early 1994, Cobain had the following to say:

MTV: What about Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana"?

COBAIN: Oh, I laughed my butt off. I thought it was one of the funniest things I ever saw. He has some good people working for him. Those people really know how to...I mean, I'm sure he has a lot to do with it, but they really know how to reproduce things to the T. He had the exact same setup. It's the same video with him in it. It's great.

MTV: Do you go along with the idea that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

COBAIN: Sure. Yeah.

See also

• List of singles by "Weird Al" Yankovic
• List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic
• Smells Like Teen Spirit

External links

• Watch the "Smells Like Nirvana" music video on Google Video
• Watch the "Smells Like Nirvana" music video on Youtube