What is probably the most celebrated song to ever come out of the 1990s has been redone by MusicSnake. Smells Like Teen Spirit is not only the anthem of an entire generation, but it is what people link to Kurt Cobain, frontman of Nirvana. To take on a song like this is, number one, very risky because absolutely no one in the universe can replace Cobain, and number two, gutsy, because of the commercialism attached to it. These three guys put themselves on the line in every way possible and I have to commend them for that aspect alone.
The song starts off unmelodious. It is almost impossible to hear that this is the intro to a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The initial vibe I got is one of relaxation. I could see myself sitting by a bar at the beach, sipping on mojitos as the song entails, and enjoying the afternoon in the sunlight. It was completely different to the rough, sexy version us Nirvana fans are used to, but different does not necessarily mean bad.
Then the lead singer takes up the microphone and starts singing. At first I was unsure of what he was trying to do, but it was definitely not lyrical. It sounded like a mixture of rapping and breathless jogging as he ripped through the first verse of the song. When he got to the chorus, he rambled through it, killing the poetry attached to the words. After a while, he became totally incoherent in what he was saying. I get that he was trying to make it his own, and big ups to him. I do think that this is not a song that should be sung in such a harsh, rhythmic beat.
The part I enjoyed the most was the short solo that the guitarist performed near the end of the song. Again, I was transported back to a place underneath palm trees, the ocean gently lapping at the shore behind me, and just letting myself go to the music he was playing. The tone did get a little bit monotonous as it sounded like it was the same thing over and over again, but overall it really wasn’t a bad solo for a novice garage band. I would have liked to see more of him in the music video.
The song was ended off without the last verse sung, which in my opinion is the best part. It is such a slow interval in contrast to the rest of the song that is quite brash. Instead, MusicSnake sang the chorus one last time and faded it out after a while. To my disappointment, I didn’t hear the claaaaaaang of that sweet, last chord that forms part of the anthem of the youth.
As a last verdict, I would say it is a good effort, and the adjustments that were made were pretty good. An incredibly difficult song was taken out of grunge and into the sunlight. It is definitely 100% MusicSnake. I will say, however, that sometimes musicians are better without the singer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lhLrqaLbE8