The vast majority of Nirvana’s short but incredible discography is still loved and played on repeat today. But there are a few specific songs we don’t ever see going out of style, period. Let’s take a look at four songs by Nirvana that will always be popular, no matter how much time passes!
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1. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a shoo-in on this list of Nirvana songs that will always be popular, even though Kurt Cobain hated it. It was the band’s biggest hit to date. The song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 6 in 1991 and spent 20 weeks on the chart.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” changed American rock culture, in a way. For the first time, a notably sloppy, grunge, angsty song topped the charts of the cleaner and prettier version of rock and roll. It’s timeless, that’s for sure.
2. “Come As You Are”
The 1990s were a period of notable social anxiousness, and “Come As You Are” probably wouldn’t have been as loveable and relatable if it had been released before that very decade.
It’s a song that spoke to a culture of youths who wanted to pull away from the expectations of society, making it an anthem for those of us who never had the mental energy to be someone they aren’t. It also happens to be one of Nirvana’s most punk-sounding songs.
3. “Something In The Way”
This soft, haunting song is still a major fan-favorite among Nirvana fans, young and old. It’s a go-to for movie soundtracks, too.
“Something In The Way”. The lyrical nature of the song is dark and brooding, but what really makes it such a good song is the overall musicality of it. We have to give producer Butch Vig some credit for this one since he (and Nirvana as a whole) built the instrumentals up from Cobain’s core idea.
4. “Lithium”
It’s a little surprising that a song so (debateably) anti-religion would do as well as “Lithium” did, but here we are. Decades later, this angry condemnation of religious hypocrites marked a period where passing down religion to the younger generation began to fail. It’s soft at times and loud at others, and the overall anthemic nature of this song makes it a grunge classic.
Photo by Michel Linssen/Redferns
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