Here I Am To Entertain You

Did you know, and this is rather embarrassing to admit, I thought the lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit were actually 'here we are all entertainers'. I thought it was a fairly deep meaning. You know, here on Earth we are all a source of entertainment for others, what we say and do, just a bit of white noise to distract and entertain. This is not the case. They are actually 'here we are now, entertain us'.

Breaking News. I have been singing this song at the top of my lungs in the shower wrong for all these years.

It's a funny little thing. Not such a big deal. But how many other songs have I been butchering? Probably hundreds. It's funny because as a young girl, I used to love reading the inside sleeve of compact discs. This wouldn't have happened if I actually bought Nevermind instead of stealing it off a friend. The funny part is I always thought I'd hit the goldmine when I unfolded the little booklet in a compact disc and the lyrics were in there.

Compact discs. Did anyone else snort with amusement at that? I mean, that's what they were called. CDs, but still is sounded funny. Like VHS, but no one really knew what that stood for, or at least they didn't think about it. Video Home System, which is kind of silly. Granted, so is compact disc. I mean, what would the opposite? A loose disc? Uncondensed disc? Perhaps they were talking about size, right? I mean, the laser disc that came before the CD was a fair bit bigger.

Maybe these are things I should have ruminated over in 2002.

The reason I was thinking about Smells Like Teen Spirit is because the girl who owns Still Rad, a totally awesome apparel shop for tots, teens and adults, posted a picture of a toddler with this saying on his t-shirt. It sparked the 'holy crap I've been saying the lyrics wrong all this time' horror. Of course, I consulted with Dr. Googles, just in case Mrs Still Rad had printed hundreds of shirts with the wrong lyrics on it. No, she hadn't. Good thing I didn't jump the gun and warn her.

And then I heard the rumour Kurt Cobain's case was going to be reopened, but that proved to be a vicious internet lie. Can you believe it's been twenty years since he died? I mean, can it really be that long? It makes me feel old. Sometimes I wonder what would have become of him if he hadn't passed on. Would he still be making music? Would he have gone solo? Could he have withstood the test of time?

I think about all those grunge bands from the nineties and I'm surprised so many of them are still around. Pearl Jam lost all kinds of street cred when they kept putting out all those bloody bootlegs, but they did just release a new album last October. I will be honest, I haven't listened to it. Mostly because, I've never been a big fan. But even the Smashing Pumpkins are still going. If Billy Corgan can weather the storm, then I can only assume Kurt Cobain could have. Too bad 7 Year Bitch, Veruca Salt and L7 didn't.

All these memories of things and places and people. It's so weird how the brain works. What you remember when, and why. Sometimes I think memories crop up for a reason. Other times I think I'm just unable to turn the noise off. I am grateful I remember, though. Even the silly things like wrong lyrics and the mystery of the compact disc.

Here I am now, entertaining you. And here's a picture of Kurt with his kitten.