(no subject)

[gfish]

An odd thought occurred to me today. At what point did it become an obscure factoid that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a reference to a cheap brand of deodorant? Growing up remains quite weird.

In other news, does anyone have a Dreamwidth invite I can use? I'd like to claim my username there while it is still available. 'gfish' is disappearing annoyingly quickly on new services these days.

Comments

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

... that's an obscure factoid?

Oh god. I feel old.

[loree.livejournal.com]

It was a perfume before it was a deodorant. </old>

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

What's interesting to me is to learn from Wikipedia that the reference was apparently an accident:

Cobain came up with the song's title when his friend Kathleen Hanna, at the time the lead singer of the Riot Grrrl punk band Bikini Kill, spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his wall. Since they had been discussing anarchism, punk rock, and similar topics, Cobain interpreted the slogan as having a revolutionary meaning. What Hanna actually meant, however, was that Cobain smelled like the deodorant Teen Spirit, which his then-girlfriend Tobi Vail wore. Cobain later claimed that he was unaware that it was a brand of deodorant until months after the single was released.[9]

I'd always assumed that Cobain was deliberately, cynically poking fun at one of the stupidest marketing campaigns ever ("smells like teen spirit" was the *actual* slogan for the stuff.) Mocking that level of corporate pandering. Turns out he did it by accident...

(Is it *really* an obscure factoid now? Are you running into people who never heard of it? Damn.)

[gfish.livejournal.com]

I kind of have to assume Cobain wasn't being entirely truthful there. How could he have avoided exposure to those horrible commercials? I mean, I immediately assumed it was a reference when I first heard the song, and I was about as cut off from mainstream culture at the time as was possible without living in a yurt.

I don't have any firsthand experience of people not knowing about it, but why would they know about a string of annoying commercials from almost twenty years ago? Maybe I'll ask a couple of the other grads tonight...

[neuro42.livejournal.com]

For a better and/or more depressing sample, ask the freshmen.

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

You can always get a paid account and then let it lapse — it will become a basic account at that point. Since the minimum buy-in is just $3, I'm surprised more people aren't doing this.

[caladri.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure why one should give $3 to a business that's going to provide a service of questionable value. Especially when said business has raised $60k in the last 24 hours and will raise another $20k next week, or maybe it's another $40k next week — they don't seem good at consistency so far. Those seed accounts should have come with lots of invite codes, but did not. Giving them money at this point is just supporting their bad behavior and poor planning.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

I never knew the reference. I am pretty old, too. ;)

Maybe if he had called the song Smells Like Love's Baby Soft ...

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

Invite sent...if I didn't screw it up.

[gfish.livejournal.com]

Hrm, I never saw anything. What address did you use?

[gfish.livejournal.com]

Nevermind, I got one from someone else. Thanks, though!

[grinninfoole.livejournal.com]

I have never seen those commercials. I only know of the brand because of the song, and hearing that factoid quoted from wikipedia. So I guess I'm older twice over. (Is that how it works? We didn't have the internet in my day, so I'm not sure.)

[ionan.livejournal.com]

I think perhaps it became an obscure factoid when the next generation became the one to market to. We as generation Y have peaked and are now having kids and settling down. The music that we listened to as high school kids is now being played on classic rock stations (hello, Metallica).
In ten years it'll be "obscure factoids" about the current crop of whatever is passing for rock bands these days, and it'll be the kids who spent the aughties in high school who get to feel old.

Man, that looks really cynical, reading over it.

[caladri.livejournal.com]

Not just cynical -- cyclical, too!