Music In the Dark - Nirvana

Former members -

Kurt Cobain - Lead vocals & guitar

Krist Novoselic - Bass

Dave Grohl - Drums

Genres considered - Grunge, Alternative Rock, Punk Rock

Nevermind

2nd album

(major record label debut)

Released in September 1991

Range of emotions - dark, humor, disturbing

Range of themes - alienation, frustration, anti-establishment, sexism, loneliness, troubled love

Top 10 worldwide

Replaced Michael Jackson's Dangerous at No. 1 on Billboard 200 (January 11, 1992)

300,000 copies in sales a week

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" Stats I

- Opening track & lead single 

- Over 13 million in sales worldwide

- One of the best-selling songs of all time

- 2 MTV Video Music Award wins

- Most-played video on MTV Europe (Guinness World Records, 2000)

- No. 80 on RIAA's Songs of the Century (2001)

- No. 41 on VH1's 100 Greatest Rock Songs (2000)

- No. 3 on joint MTV/Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Pop Songs (2000)

- No. 2 on NME's 100 Greatest Singles of All Time (2002)

- No. 3 on Q's 1001 Best Songs Ever (2003)

- No. 10 on Rolling Stone's The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time (2007)

- No. 1 on Rolling Stone's 50 Best Songs of the Nineties (2019)

- No. 5 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2021)

- Included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll (1997)

- Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (2017)

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" Stats II

- No. 6 on Billboard Hot 100 (peaked the same week Nevermind reached No. 1 on the albums chart)

- No. 1 on Billboard Modern Rock Tracks

- No. 7 on UK Singles Chart

- No. 1 in Belgium, France, New Zealand, & Spain

- No. 5 in Australia

- No. 32 on Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Chart 

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" Point of interest

- Did not initially chart

- Only sold well in U.S. locations with an established fanbase

- Intended to build a base

- Not expected to be a hit

- Heavy rotation on campus & modern rock radio stations

- "None of us heard it as a crossover song, but the public heard it and it was instantaneous..." - Danny Goldberg, Gold Mountain (Nirvana's management)

- Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song...lost to Eric Clapton...one of the 10 biggest upsets in Grammy history (Entertainment Weekly)

- Nirvana grew uncomfortable with the success & eventually dropped its performance in concerts

- "I still like playing 'Teen Spirit', but it's almost an embarrassment to play it...Everyone has focused on that song so much." - Kurt Cobain (1994)

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" Certifications 

Gold in Sweden

2x Platinum in Brazil & Germany

3x Platinum in Denmark, Italy, Portugal, & Spain

5x Platinum in the UK

7x Platinum in New Zealand

8x Platinum in Canada

12x Platinum in Australia

Diamond in the U.S.

(Wikipedia)

Back to album

Brought Nirvana into global superstar status

Kurt Cobain was named the "voice of his generation"

Brought grunge and alternative rock to the mainstream 

Brought renewed interest in punk culture among teenagers and young adults

One of the most acclaimed and influential albums in the history of music

Added to the National Recording Registry in 2004

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 

No. 6 in 2020 & 2023

Review Scores (Contemporary) -

Chicago Sun-Times - 4/4 Stars

Chicago Tribune - 4/4 Stars

Entertainment Weekly - A-

Kerrang! - 5/5

Los Angeles Times - 35/4 Stars

NME - 9/10

Q - 4.5/5 Stars

Rolling Stone - 3/5 Stars

The Village Voice - A-

Review Scores (Retrospective) -  

AllMusic - 5/5 Stars

The A.V. Club - A

Blender - 5/5 Stars

Christgau's Consumer Guide - A 

The Daily Telegraph - 5/5 Stars

Pitchfork - 10/10

Q - 5/5 Stars

Rolling Stone - 5/5 Stars

The Rolling Stone Album Guide - 5/5 Stars

Spin - 5/5 Stars

Track List -

1.  Smells Like Teen Spirit

2.  In Bloom

3.  Come as You Are

4.  Breed

5.  Lithium

6.  Polly

7.  Territorial Pissings

8.  Drain You

9.  Lounge Act

10.  Stay Away

11.  On a Plain

12.  Something in the Way

13.  Endless, Nameless

Certified Gold in Finland

Certified 2x Gold in Mexico 

Certified Platinum in Austria, Brazil, Iceland, the Netherlands, Poland*, Portugal, Spain, & Switzerland ... *BMG Release

Certified 2x Platinum in Germany

Certified 3x Platinum in Argentina, Japan, & Poland* ... *Geffen/Universal Music Release

Certified 4x Platinum in Italy  

Certified 5x Platinum in Australia

Certified 6x Platinum in Denmark

Certified 7x Platinum in New Zealand

Certified 8x Platinum in Belgium

Certified 9x Platinum in the UK

Certified 13x Platinum in the U.S.

Certified Diamond in Canada & France 

(Wikipedia)