by MangaMoon

Kurt Cobain

Remember… how a joke written on Kurt Cobain’s bedroom wall became the title of one of Nirvana’s most famous songs? One evening, Kurt and his friend Kathleen Hanna, vocalist of Bikini Kill, were drinking and goofing around at his apartment. The room was a mess. Kathleen picked up a marker and wrote several things on the wall. One line read: “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit.” Kurt liked the phrase. They had been talking about youth and revolution, so he took it as a compliment: perhaps Kathleen was saying his music could inspire young people. Kathleen, however, had something else in mind. Earlier that day, she and her friend Tobi Vail had seen a deodorant called Teen Spirit at a grocery store. They joked about what “teen spirit” could possibly smell like. The name was still in Kathleen’s head that evening, so she wrote it on Kurt’s wall. Months later, Kurt called and asked if he could use the phrase in a song. Kathleen agreed, although she didn’t yet know it would become the title. Kurt learned about the deodorant later. By then, he had found his own meaning in the joke on his wall—and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had its name.

Material: wooden