Dave Grohl recalls his own ‘Spirit’ as ‘Nevermind’ turns 30
“We were kids,” he says, remembering the creation of NIrvana’s iconic album.
Many iconic albums are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year, from Adele’s “21,” released a decade ago in January, to Carole King’s “Tapestry,” which turned 50 in February.
Perhaps of biggest interest to rock fans is Nirvana’s seminal second album “Nevermind,” released 30 years ago on Sept. 24, 1991. The album arrived with little fanfare: It made its debut at No. 144 on the Billboard 200 chart but quickly became a word-of-mouth sensation, selling more than 10 million copies in its first eight years, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
“Nevermind” was preceded by the single “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The snarling grunge anthem was cowritten by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain, drummer Dave Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic as a nod to the Pixies. They demoed the album in rural Tacoma, Washington, before recording at the legendary Sound City Studios in Los Angeles in May 1991.
“We were kids. I think I was 21 when we were writing that song,” Grohl tells USA TODAY. “It was in a rehearsal space that was a converted barn, and we just wanted to go in and work. This was our life at the time: We were just eating and sleeping so we could go back to the rehearsal space and write more songs.”
Grohl is now the frontman of his own band, Foo Fighters, which released its 10th album “Medicine at Midnight” in February. But he vividly remembers the first time Nirvana played “Smells Like Teen Spirit” live for an audience, at Seattle’s OK Hotel venue on April 17, 1991.
“Usually when you play a song that’s not a part of your celebrated repertoire, people stand and listen,” Grohl says. “The first time we played ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ the place went (expletive) bananas and that hadn’t necessarily happened before, so I didn’t know what it would mean. I just knew sonically, this is going to make people move . ... It did.”
Beyond that, Grohl says he can’t articulate why “Teen Spirit” in particular has continued to resonate. It ranks No. 9 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017.
“My connection with those songs is a bit deeper than just musical,” Grohl says. “So when I hear those songs come on the radio, it’s almost like going back to your mother’s house and flipping through the same photo albums she’s had since you were a kid. You’ve looked at the picture 1,000 times, it’s fading, but it brings you back to that moment. So when I hear those songs, it brings me back to recording. I can remember the shirt I wore. I can remember how cold it was. I can remember the drum set. So that’s my connection to it. I have my theories on why so many people connected to it and why Nirvana became a popular band, but mine is just a little more distorted than an actual music critic.”
Along with “Teen Spirit,” “Nevermind” sparked other massive hits for Nirvana, which disbanded in 1994 following Cobain’s death. “Come As You Are,” “Lithium” and “In Bloom” all were released as singles from the album – the last of which recently enjoyed a viral moment.
In late 2019, then-9-year-old drummer Nandi Bushell recorded a video of herself delightedly playing along to Nirvana’s “In Bloom.” The clip eventually caught the attention of Grohl, who agreed to a virtual “drum battle” with the British prodigy during the height of COVID-19 lockdown last year.
Grohl’s drum-off with Bushell became “the deciding factor” in releasing “Medicine at Midnight,” the rocker says. Foo Fighters recorded the album in fall 2019, but they were unsure whether to put it out in a pandemic.