Oh, I know who Giger is - I worked for one of his relatives just a few years ago. What I was trying to get across is that I don't know if the inclusions of such pop-culture references are usually successful or merely "look at me, I like this thing" moments for the reader - it's not a question that there's any objective answer for, of course, just subjective responses, but it's a particular aspect of fiction writing that I find interesting.
In particular, the question comes down to "would the character (not the author) know and make that reference, given what we know about them, character and setting wise?", which sometimes is hard to answer. Reference "The Simpsons"? Sure, general popular culture. Reference Giger, probably not unless we're told the character specifically likes dark artworks or, just as believable, was a fan of ALIEN. But as a geneal reference by "an average guy"? Not really sure but it seems unlikely. The problem, though, as I said, is that popular culture in general is now so fractured that its hard to feel like anything beyond the most ubiquitous examples could be realistically referenced by "an average guy". The origins and making of an "Exquisite Corpse" is probably about as well-known as H.R. Giger, in a general sense of outre popular culture, but see how well the former went down, unexplained, in the flash contest.