Mr. Bungle is one of those bands that never made it to the same level of fame as the bands that they influenced. They remained "cult classics", while the bands they influenced rose to a pop culture-level of fame. Korn is one of the bigger bands that has openly cited Mr. Bungle as a heavy influence, and though Korn's popularity has declined over the years, they were still very much on top of the scene in their prime.
This brings up another point about pop culture, that being that there appear to be two different types of pop culture. One type is the "what's popular right now", and the other is "Who do you think of when you think of the great musicians of all time?". Nirvana is one instance of a band that made it to the status of being remembered as a large contributor to music history, while Soundgarden enjoyed a very close level of fame but will not be as recognizable of a name as Nirvana will be through the ages.
So to me, pop culture is quite literally the culture revolving around what's popular for the time and for the ages. When Nirvana was actively on top of the scene, everyone who followed them, and even some who didn't, wore raggedy jeans and flannel shirts. Advertisers quickly saw this and adjusted their ads to make them more relatable to the "popular culture" of the time. Obviously, popular culture affects more than just the entertainment industry. It trickles through and touches a wide variety of areas of culture.
In my opinion, there is a very easy way to identify a pop culture icon....by its icon. There are a few pictures and symbols that when you see them, you can't think of anything but Nirvana. Those artifacts are below:
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