off topic for this blog, perhaps, but nonetheless worth circulating. There have been many nirvana covers over the sixteen years since Nevermind. Tori Amos. Weird Al. That ska band on Moon who covered "Breed" and whose name I am forgetting, because I am old. They were an easy band to cover because the instrumentation is so straightforward, so simple, albeit sometimes sloppy. I never really liked any of these covers. And I never really liked "Smells Like Teen Spirit" that much. Well, that's a lie, but I liked the more lyrical stuff from later on the album more, "Lithium" and "Drain You," and "Lounge Act."

I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was by how great Patti Smith's cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is, but I am. It's probably the best Nirvana cover I've ever heard. Kurt Cobain always said the song was a Pixies rip off, but if the original looked towards "Wave of Mutilation," Smith's cover looks more towards "Silver," i suppose. At any rate, i like it a lot.