Red Hot Chili Peppers Cover Nirvana Classic 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'

Red Hot Chili Peppers Cover Nirvana Classic ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

2022-10-31

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Story by Charles Ken, courtesy photo

Listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers go grunge with a live performance of the ’90s Nirvana hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Red Hot Chili Peppers have enjoyed a very busy year. Not only have they released two full-length studio albums in 2022, but the band has also spent much of the year on the road. That said, the Peppers apparently aren’t finished with surprising fans.

Now, the Peppers have performed a special cover for the first time. The band wrapped up a benefit concert for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music on Saturday (Oct. 29) by covering the Nirvana classic “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time ever.

The performance didn’t disappoint. Lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis performed shirtless, but with his face covered with his shirt. He belted the first verse out and then had guitarist John Frusciante sing the track’s famed chorus. Watch fan-filmed footage of the cover performance below.

The cover is an interesting choice. The Red Chili Peppers aren’t a “grunge” band, as Nirvana is labeled, but the two had a history together. The bands toured together in 1991, which the Peppers talked about during a recent interview on “The Howard Stern Show.”

“I remember just feeling like, you know, they’re good bands, but Nirvana, they were really carrying a heavy magic with them, just this feeling like they are a powerful entity to be respected,” Flea said.

In other news, Red Hot Chili Peppers recently became the first rock band in 17 years to score two No. 1 albums in a calendar year with April’s “Unlimited Love” and October’s “Return of the Dream Canteen,” the latter of which was pretty much a surprise album. The band also had one of the highest-grossing summer tours of the year, with their North American jaunt.

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Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.