Smells Like Nirvana

Lore & Background

Prior to writing "Smells Like Nirvana", Yankovic's career had suffered from the poor financial performance of his 1989 film UHF. He considered parodying a Michael Jackson song but was refused permission. As Nirvana's popularity surged with their album Nevermind, Yankovic decided to parody "Smells Like Teen Spirit", focusing on the public's inability to understand the lyrics. After difficulty contacting the band, Yankovic called Cobain while Nirvana was on the set of Saturday Night Live, and Cobain quickly gave permission.

Recording took place around January 27, 1992, at Santa Monica Sound Records. The song was relatively straightforward musically compared to Yankovic's previous parodies, which required many overdubs. Yankovic strained his vocal cords from singing eight to twelve hours a day, and for the garbled verse he placed cookies in his mouth. The musical interlude features Yankovic gargling water, along with kazoos and a tuba played by Tommy Johnson.

The music video, directed by Yankovic's manager Jay Levey, is a near shot-for-shot parody of the original Nirvana video, using the same sound stage, many of the same actors and cheerleaders, and the same janitor. It includes a guest role by actor Dick Van Patten and an appearance by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk as an extra.

Reader's Guide

"Smells Like Nirvana" is significant as a key moment in "Weird Al" Yankovic's career, helping him recover from a three-year slump after the failure of UHF. The song captured the quickly-rising popularity of grunge and Nirvana's success, and its parody of Cobain's unintelligible lyrics resonated with audiences. It became Yankovic's second top 40 hit in the United States, reaching number 35 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song's video was nominated for a 1992 MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video. Dave Grohl of Nirvana noted that the parody enabled the band to recognize their own success. The single remains one of Yankovic's most successful and helped re-establish his place in pop culture.

Did You Know?

• Yankovic called Kurt Cobain while Nirvana was on the set of Saturday Night Live to get permission for the parody.
• For the garbled verse, Yankovic placed several cookies in his mouth to achieve the effect.
• The music video was shot on the same sound stage as the original Nirvana video and used many of the same actors.
• Dave Grohl said the parody helped Nirvana recognize the success they had achieved.