Welcome to this week’s edition of “Trending Topic Tuesday,” where we share our take on what’s going on in the world and what promotional products would appropriately (or inappropriately) market the subject matter.
Today alternative rock music fans, and seemingly the Internet as a whole, are paying homage to musician Kurt Cobain, on this 17th anniversary of his death. Best known as the lead singer and guitarist for the 90s grunge band Nirvana (which has sold over 50 million albums worldwide), Cobain also came to be hailed as a cultural icon, not only impacting the style of popular rock music at the time, but an entire generation of youth who sought solace in his music and lyrics amidst a time of so-called “teenage angst” fueled by the dissolution of family, heightened violence, drug abuse and diminished opportunity. You can remember Cobain today by listening to some classic Nirvana on your promotional MP3 players. I recommend the band’s hit, “Come As You Are,” from their 1992 album, Nevermind.
While you may have not been a greasy-haired, flannel-wearing, punk rock Nirvana fan of the 90s, some of the messages Nirvana sought to relay through its music can actually be relevant to you and your business. “Come As You Are,” for example, is said to be described by Kobain as a song about, “people and what they’re expected to act like.” If you apply that to the corporate world, the message remains essentially the same. Businesses generally perform best when they focus on their organization’s core competencies. Oftentimes, companies try to be all things to all people, and end up being nothing to no one. Think about who you are as a business today as you listen to Cobain.
Jaime
Manager – Content