I know I’m getting old and all, but this to me seems shocking.  Almost without question the definitive song of the 1990′s and the Grunge era as a whole is Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit.  The Google bar suggests possible popular searches that might be what you’re looking for, so the fact that out of the 10 results not a single one is the actual name of the song just astounds me.  It’s not the first time I’ve heard this misnomer before, but I am just shocked how prevalent it is given these results.  And given Google’s search algorithm is smart they also just send you to results for Smells Like Teen Spirit, what the person was actually looking for.

I understand there’s now a whole generation of kids who weren’t even alive when that song came out, or even get the reference it was making.  When Kurt Cobain wrote the song he was referencing a brand of deodorant that was being marketed towards teenage girls in the early 1990′s called Teen Spirit.  I believe it was written about an ex-girlfriend who wore the stuff.  I know this because I read the biography Heavier Then Heaven, but I also know this because I totally remember the commercials.  Being 11 years old I did watch my fair share of MuchMusic.  And now that everything old is new again given the advent of YouTube, here is that iconic commercial.