Dave Grohl (drummer) goes on to be the leader and guitarist for the Foo Fighters. He also admits to borrowing the intro to this song from Tony Thompson of Chic and the Power Station
It was time for "Hair Metal" to die. It had become a parody of itself by the late-'80s. The slate needed to be wiped clean to separate the talented from the bands simply cashing in on the look, the trend, and the lifestyle that went along with it. Thank you, Nirvana and the short-lived Grunge scene!
I remember hearing a story that some hair band member brought this single to one of band mates to listen to. After listening, the band mate said something along the lines of, “well, time for us to go get jobs.” He knew that their time was up.
No surprise😉 as far as global pop went hair metal was never on top: it went from punk to new wave to hip hop. Grunge was killer, Cobain (and Grohl) a genius, but we had been punks had been through this. Nevertheless! I was a massive fan of Nirvana and Cobain’s death broke my FKG heart almost as much as Lennon’s.
I was into the hair metal scene & hip hop & when that song came out, people lost their minds. It was so influential that the music industry dropped hair metal & mined the Seattle area of all its bands, both good and bad. The term grunge was invented to give the media a buzz word to use for those Seattle bands, but those bands were not the same. Nirvana was different from Pearl Jam which was different from Soundgarden which was different from Alice in Chains & so on. Lot of great bands came out during that time & a lot of musicians left us way too early. And, out of the ashes of Nirvana rose the Foo Fighters.
I agree but it wasn't just Seattle. You also had bands like the Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, Rage Against The Machine, The Lemonheads, Blind Melon, Stone Temple Pilots. The list goes on and on. Only 4 big bands came out of Seattle. There were so many more than that.
You need to watch Dave Grohl explaining to Pharrell, how he came up with the beat for this song. The moment Pharrell recognizes it is classic. Then the epilogue is so wonderful.
@@mztweety1374 Tony Thompson was the Gap Band drummer. Dave thanked him in person and Tony said he knew Dave had used his drum riffs when he heard the song, lol.
I grew up in Olympia, Washington. Still go home to visit my 91-year-old parents. Kurt wrote most of Nevermind in a house on Pear Street in Olympia. I go by that house every time I'm back home. Out of respect.
I grew up in Seattle but had moved before grunge. Sad going back to my old neighborhood after his death and seeing billboards tagged with "Suicide- the bright side"
My definition of Grunge: Evolution of metal: still heavy but less polished, fuzzy and more melodic...Kids were a bit jaded with the fakeness of hair metal. You can see it happening in the late 80ies with Guns & Roses. May also want to check out Janes Addiction (Nothing Shocking or Ritual De Habitual albums)- they were right in that limbo period between metal and grunge in late 80ies early 90ies.
Man, this song. It just grabs you by the throat and does not let go. As good as the drumming is....and also Cobain's whisper-to-scream vocals....the production by Butch Vig is also incredible -- doesn't get enough credit.
The drummer is Dave Grohl, who formed the Foo Fighters after Kurt killed himself. As you know, Dave Grohl moved from the drums to guitar and vocals with the Foo Fighters. 🕊❤️🎼
The 90s was a blessed era for music. Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpinkin's, Red Hot Chili Peppers etc All of those great great bands in their bests. It would be fantastic guys if you start dive into this era and these bands. Cheers!
It was so awesome being a teen in the 90s. You don't know what you got until it's gone... Teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old... Miss you heaps, Kurt.
The soft verse/loud chorus thing was heavily influenced by The Pixies. And the biggest tragedy of Kurt Cobain dying is that Dave Grohl switched from drums to guitar.
One of my favorite stories from the MTV biography was when one of those hair bands had just finished a concert, got on the bus, and saw this video, and was like "welp, we're done."
Ned again fellas. I'm an old NYC Punker from the 1980s and remember Dave's teenage band Dain Bramage's advert in Hardcore punk magazines like Maximum Rock n Roll. He was already doing that beat back then which if you listen to it is a kind of half paradiddle between the snare and bass drum. Then he replaced the drummer in Scream who were a pretty legendary Wash DC band. The pre Grohl Nirvana played in NYC at the Pyramid club as the OPENING band for RAT AT RAT R. After they got famous half of the scene swore they were there. I know one or two guys who were there and said they were great. Iggy Pop was there too.
I first saw this video in December of 1991. It's came on MTV as I was walking through the room at an after exam party and it stopped me in my tracks. I had never heard anything like it before. Changed my life.
@ChrisSmith-bz1gl Guys like stanleshop want the world to know they are the ultimate authority on music, and anyone that disagrees with them or their opinions (or their hypocrisy) just doesn’t know as much as they do. Gee, I wish was as knowledgeable and authoritative as him (but not as big a hypocrite).
Everyone who loves this song remembers where they were when they first heard it. At my cousins house in his room. We just sat and stared at each other then replayed it about 40 times.
Awesome reaction, you guys got to do “Weird Al” Yankovic’s smells like teen Spirit. He talks about how you can’t understand the lyrics. It’s a great version of it.
@@AirplayBeats Since you just reacted to the original, you should react to the Weird Al "Smells Like Nirvana" parody next. Per Wikipedia and other sources, when Al asked Kurt Cobain for permission to do the parody, Cobain agreed, though initially he inquired if the song would be about food, a common theme in many of Yankovic's songs. Yankovic explained that the song would be about Cobain's incomprehensible lyrics, to which Cobain replied, according to Yankovic, "Oh, sure, of course, that's funny." When Al did the video, he used the same set and some of the same actors. Nirvana loved it!
I was at a point where I was beginning to think that maybe rock was on its last legs when this video popped up. The opening guitar really caught my ear because it was something different. When Dave Grohl came in on the drums, though, my faith in rock was restored. Interesting to hear that this had an impact on the hip hop world. I'd never heard that before. Just goes to show that great music is great music, whatever the genre.
Glad you guys talked about this song. It changed the world of rock music and Butch Vig did a masterful job producing and mixing. Every song on album is fantastic. Keep checking it out in it's entirety. 🤘
that's still sorta like bragging about sitting in the far back seat of the short bus. music in the 90's took a huge nose dive with grunge and hip hop. by the end of the 90's rock was dead.
@@BigTimeRushFan2112 "music in the 90's took a huge nose dive" No it didn't. Rock was dead because of MTV, (video really did kill the radio star), and Nickelodeon and Disney and illegal downloading which made getting paid for your music rather difficult. And iTunes of course, finished it off with the concept of the "album".
@@theapocalyptist all your examples are from the mid 2000's though. sadly rock did die in the 90's, musical tastes changed and those of us caught between generations and growing up also listening to our parents music from the 60's and 70's for the most part will all say that to ya. Pop and country did the same thing, went from weekly cool new stuff telling cool stories to blah, blah, blah, autotune crap with musicians barely about to sing yet alone play any instruments. It is what it is I guess. But hip hop and grunge did finish off rock in the 90's, I stick by that assessment 100%.
Grunge was hugely popular for us younger X'ers. Never in our lifetime was there such a drastic shift in the industry and arguably the culture than when this album spearheaded the Seattle sound across the country. Hairbands were obsolete overnight.
Check out Breed. It is a serious banger. This was 1 of the most important songs of a generation. So much changed because of this album. So much from this album was played on the airwaves. The drums were crazy, hats off to Dave Grohl.
It's so sad that the lead singer's depression and drug abuse led him to commit suicide. He apparently couldn't stand the fame and attention. Very heart wrenching story.
Incredible song and the production by Butch Vig was masterful. Vig is a member of the band, Garbage, their drummer and producer. This song has a classic Garbage sound, exact and clear segments followed by huge industrial chaotic bombastic hooks. Well done by all.
The do remember the Garbage Pail Kids collector cards? I feel like grunge (including Smashing Pumpkins) and Mad Magazine were all in the same vein. Bevis and Butthead…haha. I already commented about Alice In Chains.
The lyrics speak to a young man standing at the line between leaving his youth and accepting the deep responsibilities of adulthood. He calls out to his mother and father, but they turn a deaf ear to his pain.
Did someone say,, GIVE ME SOME BARZ?.. When released,, This one hit different,, But in the best of ways,, Timbuk 3 "Life Is Hard" (Official Music Video A MUST!!) 🔥
Yeah you need to listen to their 3 studio albums in chronological order and their legendary mtv unplugged. Theres a reason their music still his and his words make people smile and tear up.
There are videos of Dave playing alone to this in tribute to Kurt and you can see exactly what he's doing and how complex his patterns are. Another drummer from that scene who is a game changer is Matt Cameron from Soundgarden, Hater and Wellwater Conspiracy.
A game change for the direction of music and influential as the a group can be for the next generation. Having not listened to this for some time, I am brought back to a simple time in my life. Young drummer playing in many bands in NYC and opening up for a band called the Bad Brains. Check out, "I against I". Speed, dexterity, brilliance and musicianship all wrapped up in the same ANGST as Nirvana. Put your seat belts on before you listen to this one!
Man! I grew up on. the East Cost and took a 2 week vacation in California right after the Rodney King verdict came out. I brought this back along with some other bands so my friends could give a listen. In 1991-1992 the East Coast got music later than sooner....lost my every loving mind and I'm a hard core Jazz, EWF and Blues and was hooked on the Genre...thanks Gents!
Very good. Thanks. You guys never reacted to "Creep" from Radiohead? Howsabouts "A Little Time" from The Beautiful South??? Hope you get around to them sometime.
This was the beginning of being more main stream. Before this they were heavy into punk rock which I tried to listen to but I'm not a huge punk fan. Dave is one of the best drummers. I wish he played them more now a days.
The super group band.... "Them Crooked Vultures" Dave Grohl drummer (both foo fighters and nirvana in the rock and roll hall of fame) with none other than THE LEGEND John Paul Jones of Zep, one album. other grunge rockers you may or not know. :) Also, I remember a vid from a while back about with ya'lls sentiment "Hey we will get to grunge but not quite yet..." great decision guys.... BUT WE HERE NOW, cannot wait!
Yes guys, Weird Al Yankovic made up his own words too. Same as you both - me too. Als parody uses the same venue and cast of 'extras', even the janitor - it's hilarious. Title is 'Smells Like Nirvana' Cheers✌
This whole album is Iconic and I kind of wish you would work your way through it. Everything on it got radio play and it's all great. And there's quite a bit of variety. But if you really want to hear more Kick-Ass everything but also Kick-Ass drums, check out songs from this album like, Breed, In Bloom, On A Plane. Here's Breed: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-J6EDW5WFb2M.html&pp=ygUNbmlydmFuYSBicmVlZA%3D%3D
Isn't it crazy how drummer Dave Grohl from Nirvana forms the Foo Fighters but isn't the drummer? He's an epic musician and I love everything the Foo Fighters put out. Great reaction! (And Heart came out of Seattle too)
Love this song! I read that a friend of Courtney Love was laying on her and Kurt's bed and said that Kurt smelled like Teen Spirit, which was a deodorant.
No one called this music grunge. Definitely not the musicians. The name came from an article in which a writer said it was grungy. Not that this song isn't great, but Nirvana was for sure not any better a band than any of the other "grunge" bands from Seattle. Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, were all no less than equal. What happened was similar to what happened with Punk in NYC in the 70's and the "British Invasion" bands in the 60's. Every once in a while, you get a group of bands that all know each other come from the same place and feed off each other and very unintentionally start a musical movement. And this was probably the last one, but a good one, since Rock and Roll went out with a huge bang that made the '90's the last great Rock and Roll decade.
Seattle grunge scene, you need to listen, watch Pearl Jam live - early years another Seattle band - there’s a video where it’s absolutely crazy/ other reactors have watched it- this genre nudged out the glam rock era like Motley Crue- grunge scene was incredible coming out of Seattle- several bands have you done Alice in chains? Another really good grunge band
The onscreen lyrics misses one of their great word-plays. Listen closely, and he's clearly singing "Hello hello hello how low" and the answer may be "Hell low"--Hell low, hell low, hell low, how low. It would be a shame to miss that. ; )
HOW DID WE GET HERE??? 😊 THAT'S A GREAT RESPONSE ON IT'S OWN CHE! LMAO 👍 YOU GUYS HAVE TO DO ( WIERD AL ) TO THIS SONG, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT OF JUST NOW😮
Great reaction gentleman. Love these guys when they came out in the early 90’s. Saw them in Washington with Jerry Cantral and Layn before they were Alice In Chains. They were called Sleze and a Glam band. Layne started out as a drummer. Keep up the great work La/Che
This is a great song, but I always felt the big change that people got from Nirvana was visual, not musical. I've never thought there was much difference in this and Hair Metal, at least musically, they just dressed differently. It was as if everyone started to listen with their eyes.
Grunge was firstly a sound and later a style. I think Mark Arm, of Mudhoney, called his guitar tone Grunge or grungy in an interview and the description caught on. Then it fit that all of the band's happened to dress in flannel shirts abused boots ripped pants etc...the style caught on to the sound terminology. Bam. Grunge. It was probably Alt Rock or Alt Hard Rock to a record business type.
Cobain and Nirvana were at the forefront of an onslaught of bands out of the Seattle area…that introduced the world to the looks and sounds of grunge…which ended the era of ‘Hair Bands’ basically…overnight. Accompanying them were the likes of Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, the Smashing Pumpkins and a slew of others. The drummer of Nirvana, David Grohl, went on to form (& front) the Foo Fighters as both guitarist and lead vocalist.
I was going to see bands in Seattle before Nirvana hit it big. It was a Fing scene after. It was the beer, the rain, the coffee, the gloom, the depression, the pot and the ambiance that created grung in Seattle.
