Song of the Day 4/26: Nirvana, “Lithium”

H/t El Somnambulo’s Sunday magazine item about lithium mining. Rechargeable batteries weren’t on Kurt Cobain’s mind when he wrote this “Nevermind” track in 1990 – back then lithium was best known as a treatment for bipolar disorder. Cobain explained that the song’s protagonist has lost his wife and turned to Marx’s opiate, religion, to stave off depression.

The song was one of the band’s follow-up singles to “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” released nine months later, which helps explain its relatively tepid chart performance: No. 16 among Mainstream Rock tracks. Most critics consider it one of their best songs.