Do You Remember?

Where you were when you first heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit"?

I remember exactly where/when/location I was when I heard Cliff Died.
I remember exactly where/when/location I was when I heard Paul Hackman was taken before his time.

Do you remember exactly where or when you heard Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time???

I do. Working for a legal messenger company in 1991. I was sitting in front of 8053 East Bloomington Freeway and, at the time, listening to the classic rock station. My buddy Rich flies out and says "Switch it to KJJO 104"! I did. My heart slunk into my fat stomach as I immediately knew what was coming for the very immediate future of rock. A dark moment. To me, it is just THAT black and white. I enjoyed alot of what came out after that day. But, at the same time - it was pretty much a funeral for my choice of music and the lifestyle I was accustomed to.

I just remember seeing the video on MTV all the time.

heard that particular song over the radio while in the car going to work. i bought the disc that same week. picked up Bleach at the same time & liked it even more.

I can't remember what time I woke up five day ago, let alone when I heard a song for the first time twenty years ago.

I first saw it on MTV. I got my first Soundgarden album in '89 and then bought Facelift by Alice In Chains in '90, I had read about Nirvana before Nevermind came out. I liked the song well enough but I got burned out on it really quick, never did become a Nirvana fan despite really enjoying the "Bleach" album when I heard it several years later.

Honestly though, my musical tastes had already been changing and I had slowly started to move away from metal by the time 1991 rolled around. So the change in the music industry at that time didn't really have a significant impact on my existence.

Just saw the video when it first came out on MTV.

I was in college at the time and "Teen Spirit" was getting a lot of play on WSOU, which was the local all-hard-rock station out of Seton Hall University. I liked it right off. Bought the album, dug that too. Still do.

I was sitting in a friend's car, we already were fans of Soundgarden and Mother Love Bone.

He had this tape of comp of different bands given to him, by a magazine called Concrete, when I heard 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' I paused and asked who is that? He goes Nirvana, went and bought the album the same week and became a fan overnight.

I don't remeber where I was the first time I heard that song, but I do remember being in a strip club when we heard the news that Kurt killed himself. I remember saying, "Good riddence. And don't play 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' in here. How's a girl supposed to strip to that."

In hindsight I feel kinda bad about those comments now.

The first time I heard 'Man in a Box' by AiC was watching the video on MTV. I kinda dug the song right off the bat, but was kinda turned off by their dirty look, back when Laye had his white-boy dreads.

I couldn't even tell you when I first heard it. Maybe on the radio or on MTV,but I did like it. I bought Nevermind around that time through BMG and still like it today.


I also remember hearing about Kurt's suicide. Nothing spectacular, I was just at work and heard it over the radio.

I was working for Kmart and was on my way out the door at the end of my shift when I heard about Kurt's suicide. I was clocking out and one of the girls who was punching in sez to me "Hey, Keith, did you hear about Kurt Cobain?" -- since he'd just been hospitalized in Rome a week or two earlier for an overdose I said "No, what the hell did he do now?" and she sez "He's dead! He blew his brains out!" -- went home and put on the TV and of course, it was all over the news.

Unlike many of the grunge kiddies who were sobbing and lighting candles, however, my reaction was more along the lines of "Geez. What an a**hole."

Fat Freddy wrote:

I was working for Kmart and was on my way out the door at the end of my shift when I heard about Kurt's suicide. I was clocking out and one of the girls who was punching in sez to me "Hey, Keith, did you hear about Kurt Cobain?" -- since he'd just been hospitalized in Rome a week or two earlier for an overdose I said "No, what the hell did he do now?" and she sez "He's dead! He blew his brains out!" -- went home and put on the TV and of course, it was all over the news.

Unlike many of the grunge kiddies who were sobbing and lighting candles, however, my reaction was more along the lines of "Geez. What an a**hole."

As cold as it sounds, I had a similar reaction. I didn't necessarily think a-hole, but I did think he was a coward. He left a wife and kid behind to fend for themselves without a father, while whining about the woes of being a rock star. Oh boo-hoo! That was my reaction at the time.

I still think suicide is a cowards way out, but I wonder how much of it had to do with his drug addictions. Drugs can mess with your mind and make you chemically unbalanced. I had a very close friend who was taking heavy pain medication for his back. He swore the medication was making him lose his mind. He told the doctors and he told me so. Apparently the doctors didn't believe him and kept him on those drugs. He tried to get off the medication by cutting it out, cold turkey. He ended up shooting his beloved dogs, his wife and himself. Do I think he's a coward? No. I think he made a very poor choice getting off that medication without weening himself. I knew him well and that was not type of person he was. Rather it was his brain's reaction to the lack of chemicals it was craving that cause the murder/suicide. It pains me to this day whenever I think about it. That situation made me change my attitude about Cobain's suicide as well.

And on a less somber note, when I first read the headline of this thread, I thought this...

I have had friends commit suicide so my attitude toward his death was a bit more sympathic and IMO Cobain had issues well before he had a platinum album or a stack of money sitting in his bank account.

The issue of suicide is so complicated, it would take a battery of shrinks to explain the mindset behind such an act, and even they really don't know.

I am sure drugs played a major part in his decision to die, but that was one of the many contributing factors, not excusing what he did, but trying to make sense what is seemingly senseless.

ultmetal wrote:

As cold as it sounds, I had a similar reaction. I didn't necessarily think a-hole, but I did think he was a coward. He left a wife and kid behind to fend for themselves without a father, while whining about the woes of being a rock star. Oh boo-hoo! That was my reaction at the time.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up my feelings on it. Additionally, there was a bit of selfishness involved on my part cuz I was a pretty big Nirvana fan at the time and I'd been hoping to catch them live the next time they came through my area. Now, obviously, that was never going to happen, so I was like "Dammit, why'd he have to do that before I got a chance to see'em? What a d*ck."

ultmetal wrote:

And on a less somber note, when I first read the headline of this thread, I thought this...

I do remember Hullabaloo, UpBeat, Shindig, and the Summer Jam too. I also remember Jerry Lee, John Lennon and T-Rex. However, I do not remember Ol' Moulty...

I dont remember exactly where I was at the first time I heard it but I remember thinking it was pretty kickass.I also remember thinking the happy party music that I loved so much was gonna be in trouble. My heart sank cuz I knew it was the writing on the wall.

Along the lines of the original question, I remember the first time I saw the band Helmet on MTV's Headbanger's Ball for 'Unsung'. I didn't know what to make of them.

The music was heavy in an odd sort of way, but they looked like college frat-boy dorks in baseball caps & shorts. No long hair? No leather & spikes? No solos? Does not compute. They don't belong on Headbanger's Ball. I didn't like it.



15 years later, and I'm still not sure what to make of these guys

I heard it at work and thought, here comes the angst. Not kidding, I didn't and don't like Nirvana's music and grunge in general. I did like some of AIC but don't consider them grunge.

Don't remember..... but I do remember the video getting a ton of play on MTV. I thought the song was OK. Never bought the album, but I did hear it a number of times, thought it was OK.

I remember when I heard about Cobain blowing his brains out - my first reaction was "Great, now they are going to make this guy out to be as great as Hendrix and Morrison. Had he not off'd himself he'd have faded into obscurity"

Still feel that way..... SUICIDE SUCKS!!!!!

I also remember when I was in art school, this hardcore punk dude I hung out with, James, was pissed off when 'Smells..." hit big time. I guess he followed them in their early days and then all of the sudden all these people started coming to see Nirvana and he hated it. He and his friends would throw Teen Spirit deodorant at the band.

ultmetal wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I was working for Kmart and was on my way out the door at the end of my shift when I heard about Kurt's suicide. I was clocking out and one of the girls who was punching in sez to me "Hey, Keith, did you hear about Kurt Cobain?" -- since he'd just been hospitalized in Rome a week or two earlier for an overdose I said "No, what the hell did he do now?" and she sez "He's dead! He blew his brains out!" -- went home and put on the TV and of course, it was all over the news.

Unlike many of the grunge kiddies who were sobbing and lighting candles, however, my reaction was more along the lines of "Geez. What an a**hole."

As cold as it sounds, I had a similar reaction. I didn't necessarily think a-hole, but I did think he was a coward. He left a wife and kid behind to fend for themselves without a father, while whining about the woes of being a rock star. Oh boo-hoo! That was my reaction at the time.

I still think suicide is a cowards way out, but I wonder how much of it had to do with his drug addictions. Drugs can mess with your mind and make you chemically unbalanced. I had a very close friend who was taking heavy pain medication for his back. He swore the medication was making him lose his mind. He told the doctors and he told me so. Apparently the doctors didn't believe him and kept him on those drugs. He tried to get off the medication by cutting it out, cold turkey. He ended up shooting his beloved dogs, his wife and himself. Do I think he's a coward? No. I think he made a very poor choice getting off that medication without weening himself. I knew him well and that was not type of person he was. Rather it was his brain's reaction to the lack of chemicals it was craving that cause the murder/suicide. It pains me to this day whenever I think about it. That situation made me change my attitude about Cobain's suicide as well.

Same here, while I do feel sad reading about all those teens in high school killing themselves over being bullied, it's kinda to feel sympathy for people that have kids and/or a fiance and still choose to take they're own life(like that nurse in England who supposedly killed herself because of a prank from radio DJs, which I don't believe) as that's an incredibly selfish act, but maybe medication did play a part in Cobain's suicide, I don't know.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Along the lines of the original question, I remember the first time I saw the band Helmet on MTV's Headbanger's Ball for 'Unsung'. I didn't know what to make of them.

The music was heavy in an odd sort of way, but they looked like college frat-boy dorks in baseball caps & shorts. No long hair? No leather & spikes? No solos? Does not compute. They don't belong on Headbanger's Ball. I didn't like it.



15 years later, and I'm still not sure what to make of these guys

I loved it when I first heard it! Ran right out and bought the album. I was so sick and tired of the hair band scene, it was like a breath of fresh air. Bands like Helmet, Prong and Tool I got into right away because I felt like I was starving for something different. That kind of stuff ended up not having any staying power with me, I had moved on within a couple years, but I still have fond memories.

Yea, but you had a few years more of the experience than me. I only got into metal around '85 or '86 and was still fully immersed in it when the grunge/alternative thing came along. I hated it at the time. I've come to appreciate it more now.

A few years down the road, I ended up picking up a copy of that Helmet album, but it didn't really sit with me.

Helmet was (is? are they even still around?) a cool band. I had that Meantime record for a while....not sure where it disappeared to, it must've gone on the trade pile during my Great CD Purge in the late '90s.

Dang, now that you've got me thinkin' about it again I'm probably gonna end up re-acquiring that damn thing.

Prong was cool too. I saw them live during the Prove You Wrong era and they incited one of the sickest pits I've ever seen. Two doofuses ran into the pit, each carrying one of the little cafe' tables from the back of the club, and they started slamming them on the floor in time with the music!! That's something I can honestly say I'd never seen before. Naturally, it only took a few seconds before club security decided to intervene.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I also remember when I was in art school, this hardcore punk dude I hung out with, James, was pissed off when 'Smells..." hit big time. I guess he followed them in their early days and then all of the sudden all these people started coming to see Nirvana and he hated it. He and his friends would throw Teen Spirit deodorant at the band.

That was me with Metallica when "Enter Sandman" became a super huge hit. All of a sudden people who wouldn't have pissed on Metallica if they were on fire two or three years earlier were "huge fans" and it irritated the crap out of me. It seems silly now, but at that time I was one of those "Dammit, where were all these posers when Kill'Em All came out? Who do they think they are, discovering OUR band? They don't have a clue about metal or the underground or the blah de blah de blah" guys. I guess it's a natural reaction to people who are hip to "unknown" stuff before everyone else, if the band suddenly gets famous the "old" fans treat the "new" fans like intruders/invaders into their little secret club.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Along the lines of the original question, I remember the first time I saw the band Helmet on MTV's Headbanger's Ball for 'Unsung'. I didn't know what to make of them.

The music was heavy in an odd sort of way, but they looked like college frat-boy dorks in baseball caps & shorts. No long hair? No leather & spikes? No solos? Does not compute. They don't belong on Headbanger's Ball. I didn't like it.

I didn't have those feelings about their look, mainly because my dad already had his strict no long hair or facial hair rule and I had very few band shirts (now I have enough to wear a new one every day for almost 6 months). I was glad to see that you didn't have to have the hair or leather to be heavy (also the drummer for Carcass had short hair and John Bush got his hair cut on HB-though I still longed for the day I could have long hair).

Fat Freddy wrote:

That was me with Metallica when "Enter Sandman" became a super huge hit. All of a sudden people who wouldn't have pissed on Metallica if they were on fire two or three years earlier were "huge fans" and it irritated the crap out of me. It seems silly now, but at that time I was one of those "Dammit, where were all these posers when Kill'Em All came out? Who do they think they are, discovering OUR band? They don't have a clue about metal or the underground or the blah de blah de blah" guys. I guess it's a natural reaction to people who are hip to "unknown" stuff before everyone else, if the band suddenly gets famous the "old" fans treat the "new" fans like intruders/invaders into their little secret club.

You see, Enter Sandman was the first real metal song I ever heard. Without it I might have become one of those white people who feel they should have been born black. Instead of wearing band shirts, leather jackets, and long hair; I might of had pants hanging past my ass, oversized sport jersey, a douchebag haircut, and be butchering the English language .

As for Kurt Cobain, I felt the same way about him being a coward. I liked Nirvana enough, but the constant Cobain tributes on MTV and radio made me sick of the music and I felt he was being fussed over way too much.