Greatest Song Evah 4/25/25

Smells Like Teen Spirit

An obvious choice, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a deserving one. SLTS is one of those songs that Changed Everything - music history can be clearly divided with points between Before Teen Spirit and After Teen Spirit. In addition to the symbolic moment that everyone talks about - the fact that Nevermind replaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at #1 on the Billboard albums chart - the careers of virtually every hair metal band came to a screeching halt overnight. That’s impact for you.

Kurt Cobain often said that he borrowed The Pixies’ signature quiet verse/loud chorus structure for this song. That sense of dynamics is a large part of what makes it so powerful. That, along with the intoxicating riff and Dave Grohl’s powerhouse drumming. Part of the pleasure came from listening to the song over and over trying to figure out what exactly it is that Cobain is singing, seemingly decoding a different phrase with each listen. There was a brief period in which MTV ran a scroll of the lyrics while playing the video. C’mon, that’s cheating!

The song’s title does not appear anywhere in the lyrics. That title came from a phrase that Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna scribbled on Cobain’s wall: Kurt smells like Teen Spirit. That was a reference to the deodorant brand that he used; Cobain mistakenly interpreted it as a call to revolution. That error turned out to be serendipitous; the song contains multitudes. It can serve as both a call to arms as well as an anthem for apathy. Is there a more characteristic Gen-X phrase than “here we are now, entertain us?” Yes there is, it’s “oh well whatever, never mind.”

This is another song for which an analysis can not be complete without discussing the video. By this time I was beginning to age out of the MTV target demographic; I would watch 120 Minutes every week but generally my MTV usage would be to switch over to the channel if whatever else I was watching was in a commercial break. No matter how many times I had seen Teen Spirit I would stick around to watch it all the way through. The atmosphere and imagery were perfect. The cheerleaders with the anarchy symbols. The janitor. The mosh pit melee. And most importantly, Nirvana themselves.

Kurt Cobain was absolutely mesmerizing; even though he was hidden behind smoke for much of the video it was impossible to take your eyes off of him. This song exploded and the rest was history. Suddenly alternative rock became the most dominant sound on album rock radio, and it made deep inroads into both Top 40 & MTV as well. Dozens of artists, both fellow newcomers as well as veterans who happened to be in the right place at the right time, followed in Nirvana’s wake. Many of those artists were great, others derivative, but overall it was an exciting time for music and an “I told you so” moment for those of us who had been championing indie rock for years. Smells Like Teen Spirit was more than just one of the greatest songs of the 1990’s, it was also arguably the most important. The cherry on top of the sundae is that it inspired one of the very best Weird Al Yankovic parodies.

The Announcement Is Nigh

The 2025 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame will be revealed on Sunday night’s episode of American Idol. I decided to be bold and add my predictions for the honorees in the side categories, as well as a suggestion/prediction for the addition of a new category. Keep in mind that there is a fluidity to the definitions for each category. A Musical Influence candidate can easily be considered for Musical Excellence instead and vice versa.

First, a quick reminder of my predictions in the Artist category. Upon further consideration I probably underestimated Joe Cocker’s chances. No backsies; I’ll stick with my original picks while acknowledging that I am almost certainly wrong with my Cocker omission. My predictions: Bad Company, Mariah Carey, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden, The White Stripes. (If forced to redo my picks to add Joe Cocker, I will reluctantly say that the Joy Division/New Order combo is likely to be the ones who are eliminated.)

Musical Influence: The Carter Family, John Coltrane, The New York Dolls, War. History shows that at least one of the winners will be someone whom I have not thought of, but I’m comfortable with these selections. Over the years I have seen some prognosticators speak of Coltrane as a possibility in the Artist category, but with the exception of Miles Davis the committee has never considered a pure jazz artist. I think that Coltrane is a better fit here.

Musical Excellence: Carol Kaye, Kris Kristofferson, Don Was. The Hall’s refusal to induct Carol Kaye feels like pure stubbornness at this point. But come on, she is 90 years old. Make it happen. I could see Emmylou Harris and/or Gram Parsons here, but I am working under the assumption that the Hall will continue their tradition of inducting people one year too late (another reason to make this Kaye’s year while there is still time) and honor Kristofferson. If so, I doubt they would want to induct too many country artists in the same year, especially if my Carter Family prediction is correct, so no Emmylou yet.

Ahmet Ertegun Award: Estelle Axton. Without a doubt she is the single most egregious omission. Considering anyone else ahead of her is absurd.

Now, for my suggestion. The Hall should create a new category to honor backup bands, whether it’s a group that has long worked with a specific artist or a band of studio pros who usually work together. The Hall has inducted such groups on occasion but all would be better served if this population of candidates is treated as a dedicated category with at least one induction per cycle. My pick for this year would be The JB’s.

Because the announcement will be made on a Sunday evening I’ll only have time to put together my initial impressions in time for Monday’s newsletter. I’ll save a deeper dive - hopefully my ratio of satisfaction to complaints will be balanced in the proper direction - for Wednesday. Please don’t force me to talk about Chubby Checker.

A Couple Of Musical Losses

Record producer Roy Thomas Baker recently died. A couple of years ago I had named him as a potential HOF candidate, but I did not mention him this year, as I believe that there are other producers ahead of him in the queue. It would be the most HOF thing, however, if they elect him in the month that he passes away.

Baker was one of the most prolific producers for a period of around a dozen years; I particularly loved his work with The Cars. I remember him as being one of the earliest producers to use a 24 track recorder; it was more than just a toy that he played with. He really used that space to add flourishes and depth to his recordings, and there is no better example than that of his most famous collaboration. He was Queen’s producer during their most creatively fertile period. Add Freddie Mercury’s ambition to Roy Thomas Baker’s technical prowess, and they created magic together. Could anyone else have produced Bohemian Rhapsody? Baker was 78.

We also learned yesterday that Pere Ubu’s leader David Thomas has died. Pere Ubu is admittedly an acquired taste. Their music was often dissonant, and Thomas’s vocal work was intentionally grating. But they were a much admired band in the post punk scene, and they even stuck around long enough to have some minor mainstream success in the late 80’s. They were one of the bands that paved the way for the Nirvana generation. Thomas was 71.

Quick SNL Update

Saturday Night Live revealed the hosts for the final 2 episodes of the season, following the previously announced Quinta Brunson. My dreams of either Jennifer Coolidge or Meryl Streep did not come through, but I can’t complain about either of the two actual selections. More often than not the season finale is hosted by either a show alum or by a host who has hosted so frequently that they might as well be a cast member. The latter is the case this year; Scarlet Johansson will have the honor of closing the books on season 50. (Jost’s final episode?)

That leaves the penultimate episode, and this looks like it’s gonna be a treat. Walton Goggins will have the hosting duties. Let me repeat that. Walton Goggins is going to host an episode of Saturday Night Live. I realize we are living in the darkest timeline, but we do get the occasional reward. BTW, the musical guests for the final 3 set of shows will be Benson Boone, Arcade Fire, and Bad Bunny.

50 Years Ago - Northern Lights - Southern Cross

The sixth studio album from The Band served as a return to form; it had been 4 years since their last album of new material, an eternity in that era. Since 1971’s Cahoots they had released a live album and a record consisting of covers of old rock & roll and R&B songs. Not that they were inactive; in the interim they had collaborated once again with Bob Dylan in the studio and on the road. In addition, 1975 saw the long awaited release of The Basement Tapes.

Most of the Band songs that people are familiar with have come from their first 3 albums, but this record contains some of the group’s highlights, including two songs that appeared in The Last Waltz. Those would be Ophelia and It Makes No Difference, two songs that are very representative of The Band’s catalog. That is the case with the album as a whole as well. It’s not as strong of a record as Music From Big Pink or their eponymous second album. Those albums did not have any dead spots, whereas there is some noticeable filler found here. They are still in prime form, however. As is the case with the very best of The Band, the three singers share vocal duties and the members show off their versatility by playing a variety of instruments throughout.

One song on this collection stands out above all others. Acadian Driftwood is one of my favorite Band songs; in this one Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Richard Manuel all take their turns in the lead, Robbie Robertson’s lyrics tell a story from Canadian history about which many people are likely unfamiliar, and the complete instrumental arrangement makes one feel as if they are in the Canadian wilderness. It is apropos that they simply called themselves The Band; they were the epitome of a tight ensemble.

Their time was gradually drawing to a close; they would only release one more album with the original lineup. The Last Waltz farewell concert took place roughly a year after the release of this record. It is also worth noting that Robertson received sole songwriting credit on every song on this record, a topic that was the major bone of contention between him and the rest of the band. NL-SC is not the all-time classic that their first two albums were, but the best moments of this record were pretty damn good.

Closing Laughs

That wraps things up for yet another week. Thanks as always for reading/subscribing/liking/sharing etc. Have a great weekend everyone. See ya on Monday.