# Nirvana — Smells Like Teen Spirit

Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991) is No. 1 in our Grunge ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1991
- **Label:** DGC
- **On one list:** Grunge
- **Updated:** 2026-08-31
- **Artist:** [Nirvana](https://waxonia.com/artist/nirvana/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/nirvana--smells-like-teen-spirit/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Grunge](https://waxonia.com/genre/grunge/)

Cobain called it an attempt to write a Pixies song. Four chords, a quiet verse, an unintelligible chorus, and the end of one era of popular music inside three months.

## Analysis

9 sections, the first drop at 0:08, 3% of the way in, 20% of it spent climbing.

- **Tempo:** 117.5 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** F minor
- **Dynamic range:** 5 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 4:38

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: drums, bass, other
- `0:18` B · **build** (bar 9), sung — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `0:43` B · **build** (bar 21), sung — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `1:00` C · **peak** (bar 29), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `1:26` C · **breakdown** (bar 42), sung — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `1:57` B · **build** (bar 57), sung — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `2:12` B · **peak** (bar 64), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `2:40` C · **steady** (bar 78), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass, other
- `3:07` C · **outro** (bar 91), sung — the closing fall — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other

**Drop** at 0:08 (bar 4). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Nirvana%20Smells%20Like%20Teen%20Spirit) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.