Smells Like Teen Spirit

In 1992, the name on the record itself became a problem. The 1960s British psychedelic pop band Nirvana, reformed since 1985, sued the American grunge band of the same name over its usage, and the dispute ended in an out-of-court settlement. By then the song at the center of it all, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," had already sold more than 13 million copies worldwide and pushed Nevermind to the top of several albums charts after its 1991 release on DGC Records. It reached number one in Belgium, France, New Zealand and Spain.

Kurt Cobain wrote the song a few weeks before the Nevermind sessions began, describing it as an attempt to write "the ultimate pop song" modeled on the soft-and-loud dynamics of the Pixies. When he presented it to his bandmates it consisted only of the main guitar riff and the chorus vocal melody. Bassist Krist Novoselic called the riff ridiculous, so Cobain made the band play it for an hour and a half. Novoselic eventually slowed it down, which inspired drummer Dave Grohl to build a beat drawing from disco acts such as the Gap Band. It was the only song on Nevermind credited to all three members.

The title came from a phrase Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill wrote on Cobain's wall: "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit." She was joking about a deodorant. Cobain, unaware of the product until months after the single came out, took it as a revolutionary slogan.