Director: Samuel Bayer
Album: Nevermind
Released: 1991
Easily the most recognizable Nirvana video, Smells Like Teen Spirit catapulted the band into the mainstream in 1991.
The video is set in a gymnasium, with the band playing a “pep rally from hell” complete with anarchist cheerleaders and bored students watching from the bleachers.
The video was directed by Samuel Bayer, with the concept heavily influenced from a film Cobain had seen called Over the Edge.
Cobain wasn’t happy with Bayer’s original final version of the video, and personally worked on a re-edit to create the finished product. In typical Cobain fashion, he purposely added the scene of himself fiddling with the guitar during the solo and also removed certain characters (pictured) and scenes.
The video went on to win Nirvana several awards, including “Best New Artist” and “Best Alternative Group” at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. It was also parodied by Weird Al Yankovic with the permission of the band as ‘Smells Like Nirvana”.
