Smells Like Teen Spirit was released by Nirvana in 1991 as the lead single from Nevermind and became the defining grunge anthem of the era, built around a quiet verse and an explosive chorus dynamic. Online, editors isolated its opening riff and shortened it into a one second blast used like the vine boom and other meme stingers. The joke relies on instant recognition followed by shock, so the clip keeps circulating in edits, soundboards and reaction videos long after the song first topped charts worldwide.