Kathleen Hanna , the lead vocalist of the punk band Bikini Kill and a representative of the riot grrrl , revealed in a podcast what her contribution was to "Smells Like Teen Spirit," a hit by Nirvana .
In a conversation with singer Olivia Rodrigo Music Makes Us podcast produced by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame , the artist recalled (via TMDQA ):
“It’s really embarrassing, but it was like, Kurt and I were super, super drunk – I shouldn’t say this; kids, don’t drink. I’m sober now, actually, but when I was younger, Kurt and I got super drunk and went into the woods. And then we went into town and ended up back at his apartment, and we, like, broke everything in the dark.”
“I started writing things on the wall and then I wrote 'Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit' [Kurt smells like 'Teen Spirit', the name of a deodorant]. And when they [Nirvana] were recording their album, he [Kurt] came up to me and said, 'Hey, can I use that phrase?' And I was like, 'I have no idea how you would use 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' in a song.' And then it became one of the most famous titles that ever existed.”
Kathleen Hanna and the origin of “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit”
While Kurt thought he had a revolutionary phrase about "teenage rebellion," Hanna actually attributed the phrase to a deodorant popular among women. This deodorant Tobi Vail , the singer's girlfriend at the time and drummer for Bikini Kill. Therefore, Cobain exuded the scent of his partner.
What started as graffiti ended up becoming the song that defined grunge. The story is also told in Kathleen Hanna's , Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk
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