10 Amazing Songs That Artists Hate

No one could have predicted that Nirvana were on the cusp of something amazing at the start of the '90s. With the '80s hair metal scene on its last legs and the hard edged styles of metal starting to become the norm, who had their money on a random indie band from Seattle breaking it big? Then Smells Like Teen Spirit came along and blew the roof off of the entire music scene.

Instead of just the regular catchy single, this song announced the grunge movement, with Cobain apathetically asking to be entertained by the placid record execs that he despised. Even though it's a scathing bit of commentary, Cobain himself ended up turning his back on his greatest creation. While originally cutting the song, Cobain was actually pretty confident in the tune, going so far as to show his fellow bandmates the lyrics so they would know what the tune was supposed to be saying.

However, people kept misunderstanding the track as it grew bigger and bigger, which made the scathing satire in the lyrics fall on deaf ears time after time. This eventually led to many shows where Nirvana would just brugrudgingly play through the song or just not play it at all. Whereas other bands might live or die on their greatest hit, it was clear that Cobain preferred his own artistry over any kind of royalty check.