"With the lights out, its less dangerous, Here we are now, entertain us, i feel stupid and contagious, here we are now, entertain us, a mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido, YEAH!!" (Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit).
While it is difficult to truely understand what these songs represent, i have watched an interview with Nirvana about the meaning of Smells Like Teen Spirit and they say the song talks about the lack of enthusiasm and laziness of kids during the 90s, Chris says "nobody cares about anything anymore"... "more people smoke pot than voted for George Bush... think about that".
Nirvana was a band who, on first observation of the lyrics of many of their songs, seem to have little care for the use of lyrics as a tool of storytelling, most of their songs consist of nonsense and words and sentences which seem to be completely unrelated. I find it difficult to unscramble the messages hidden in Nirvana's songs.
However, one of the main purposes of music is to share ideas and emotions, it would be stupid to think that because the lyrics of Nirvana are not comprehendible, there are therefore no ideas or emotions behind the music. All songs are created with some form of emotion and message behind them. Some are just harder to uncover.
On a more "educated" analysis, these lyrics can be translated into messages of emotional influence, perhaps hope, desperation or hysteria etc.
"Take your time, hurry up, the choice is yours, don't be late, take as rest as a friend, as an old memoria..." (Nirvana, Come As You Are).
My love of these songs, despite the words and messages being put forward, shows that perhaps the lyrics are not as important as they may seem. Nirvana's music is loved by many because of their unique musical approach to rock during the 90s. However, it could also be argued that these odd lyrics contain important messages of a political nature, as Nirvana was seen as a part of a "social movement" during their rein. Therefore, similarly to Joe McDonald's musical protest on war movements during the 1960s, through his lyrics in "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag", the lyrics Nirvana used have significant impact on the perception of their music and the messages they put to the world, even though the motivation may not be as obvious.
Even if i did know what these lyrics meant, my interpretation could be completely different to the intended meaning of Nirvana, particularly when the lyrics are so ambiguous as many of Nirvana's songs. However, because i don't know the meaning of these lyrics, i could say that to some extent the lyrics of this song don't really have any meaning to me, apart from the fact that they are completely unique and that is one of the things which draws me into the songs.
When it comes to Nirvana, and in particular their songs Smells Like Teen Spirit and Come As You Are, while my immediate love of the music comes from the instrumental composition that is unique to Nirvana's songs, however, as you listen to a song more closely, you form familiarity with the lyrics of the music and whether the words make sense or not, those lyrics also contribute to my appreciation of the song because of their uniqueness.
The value of these songs lies with the instrumental composition and the messages being communicated through the lyrics. The lyrics and melody of Nirvana's songs are equally important aspects of a song.
To view the music video of Smells Like Teen Spirit visit this website http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXO3OMGKPpw
Nirvana was a band who, on first observation of the lyrics of many of their songs, seem to have little care for the use of lyrics as a tool of storytelling, most of their songs consist of nonsense and words and sentences which seem to be completely unrelated. I find it difficult to unscramble the messages hidden in Nirvana's songs.
However, one of the main purposes of music is to share ideas and emotions, it would be stupid to think that because the lyrics of Nirvana are not comprehendible, there are therefore no ideas or emotions behind the music. All songs are created with some form of emotion and message behind them. Some are just harder to uncover.
On a more "educated" analysis, these lyrics can be translated into messages of emotional influence, perhaps hope, desperation or hysteria etc.
"Take your time, hurry up, the choice is yours, don't be late, take as rest as a friend, as an old memoria..." (Nirvana, Come As You Are).
My love of these songs, despite the words and messages being put forward, shows that perhaps the lyrics are not as important as they may seem. Nirvana's music is loved by many because of their unique musical approach to rock during the 90s. However, it could also be argued that these odd lyrics contain important messages of a political nature, as Nirvana was seen as a part of a "social movement" during their rein. Therefore, similarly to Joe McDonald's musical protest on war movements during the 1960s, through his lyrics in "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag", the lyrics Nirvana used have significant impact on the perception of their music and the messages they put to the world, even though the motivation may not be as obvious.
Even if i did know what these lyrics meant, my interpretation could be completely different to the intended meaning of Nirvana, particularly when the lyrics are so ambiguous as many of Nirvana's songs. However, because i don't know the meaning of these lyrics, i could say that to some extent the lyrics of this song don't really have any meaning to me, apart from the fact that they are completely unique and that is one of the things which draws me into the songs.
When it comes to Nirvana, and in particular their songs Smells Like Teen Spirit and Come As You Are, while my immediate love of the music comes from the instrumental composition that is unique to Nirvana's songs, however, as you listen to a song more closely, you form familiarity with the lyrics of the music and whether the words make sense or not, those lyrics also contribute to my appreciation of the song because of their uniqueness.
The value of these songs lies with the instrumental composition and the messages being communicated through the lyrics. The lyrics and melody of Nirvana's songs are equally important aspects of a song.
To view the music video of Smells Like Teen Spirit visit this website http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXO3OMGKPpw
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