Nirvana’s hit single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is from the nineties. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from the band’s second album, Nevermind.
Written by Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, the song combined a memorable guitar riff with the quiet-loud dynamics associated with alternative rock and grunge. Its success helped push Seattle’s grunge scene into the mainstream and turned Nevermind into a landmark album of the early 1990s.
The title has an unusual origin. Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna wrote “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” on Cobain’s wall, referring to a deodorant brand. Cobain initially misunderstood the phrase as a rebellious slogan. Another common mix-up is calling the song a 1990 release: it was recorded in May 1991 and released that year, making the 1990s answer definitive.