And the arrangement is a master-class of the quiet-loud dynamic without ever feeling clichГ©d: Grohl's subdued drumming in the verses pays off with his bruising attack on the chorus, and Cobain's clean-to-fuzz pay-off could be the most satisfying moment of their career. The story goes something like this: Sheriff Kurt moseys into town just long enough to purge the spandex-clad. These are some of Cobain's most vivid lyrics - images of cancer-eating and umbilical nooses, 'meat-eating orchids' and cutting oneself on 'angel hair and baby's breath.' Is it about love? Sex? Death? The 'Hey! Wait! I've got a new complaint!' chorus, Cobain has said, is about his perception in the media, quotes being spun out of context to make it look him look like the world's grouchiest, most entitled rock star. 10 Best Songs Ap12:10 PM By James Jackson Toth. But when you break down these songs to their nuts and bolts, 'Heart-Shaped Box' is the most unique, unraveling its surprises over time and rewarding close listening. 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' may be Nirvana's signature song, the one that changed it all, and an obvious choice to top any and every list. I can't pretend to have a good time playing it.' His pain, our gain. 'I literally want to throw my guitar down and walk away. 'I can barely, especially on a bad night like tonight, get through 'Teen Spirit,'' he added to Rolling Stone. By the end of their run, he actively resented playing the track live. And the song's ubiquity hounded Cobain for the rest of his career, signifying his conflicted relationship with fame. Due in part to its flannel-heavy music video, itself a definitive moment of the grunge era, 'Teen Spirit' swelled into a culture-defining moment that eclipsed Nirvana itself. From its dark, enchanting vocal melody to its quiet-loud leap to its signature power-chord churn - a minor-key surge that, like Boston's 'More Than a Feeling,' inspired countless teenagers to pick up a cheap pawn-shop guitar - there isn't a more expertly crafted rock song to emerge from the entire decade. And it's hard to argue against the result. 'I was trying to write the ultimate pop song,' Cobain told Rolling Stone of this larger-than-life Pixies homage. 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' Nevermind (1991) But I knew the majority of the people wouldnвЂ™t understand it.' The sarcasm flew over the head of Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, who once said the song's 'fucking rubbish' attitude inspired him to write 'Live Forever.' That's one roundabout way to score a hit.Дў. I wanted it to be the title of the album for a long time. 'He isnвЂ™t satisfied with anything.' And I thought it was a funny title. IвЂ™m thought of as this pissy, complaining, freakedвЂ“out schizophrenic who wants to kill himself all the time. It was totally satirical, making fun of ourselves. We knew people wouldnвЂ™t get it theyвЂ™d take it too seriously. 'And that had a bit to do with why we decided to take it off. 'Nothing more than a joke,' he told Rolling Stone of the name. Cobain originally wanted to use the title - a joke about his public perception - for In Utero, but he wisely backed off the idea. The backstory of this Brazil recording, a demented swirl of sci-fi feedback and carnivalesque bass, is much more intriguing than the song itself. 'I Hate Myself and Want to Die,' The Beavis and Butthead Experience (1993) The track, which drips with sarcasm with lines such as 'Things have never been so swell/I have never felt this well,' may have been a showcase of things to come or acted as a final act in that chapter of the band. Recorded in Seattle on January 30, 1994, it serves as the last song the band did together. Where Did You Sleep Last Night (MTV Unplugged, 1994)ДЇittingly, it's the final song from their MTV Unplugged show - an incredibly emotional performance of the American folk classic from Cobain shows him at his most vulnerable - so much so that he struggles to get the last notes out. Yet another cover tune, this time from the Vaselines, shows the band at their most playful, and proves that they weren't always churning out doom-and-gloom grunge numbers. The perfect way to kick-start your next вЂ90s get together. This punk-rock roller coaster ride, a cover song from the Wipers, starts off with a slow bass crawl behind a monotone Cobain, before launching into a massive attack of screeching vocals, guitars and drums. 'I love you so much it makes me sick,' groans Kurt Cobain, on this ferocious Black Sabbath-influenced rocker about ex-girlfriend and Bikini Kill founder Tobi Vail, who was also the inspiration behind the title for Teen Spirit. Everyone recognizes the monumental opening chords to Smells Like Teen Spirit, Heart-Shaped Box and About a Girl, but here are some Nirvana songs that, while admired by fans, may fly under the radar for casual music lovers:

Best nirvana songs