One of the legends that has been part of the music world for decades is that of the «Club 27», a group of artists all died at 27 years old who, in one way or another, have changed history and have become icons of mass culture. 30 years ago, on April 5, 1994, at the age of 27, Kurt Cobain, frontman and voice of Nirvana, committed suicide with a shotgun. Author of one of the most important rock albums in history («Nevermind», 1991), Cobain has become an icon despite himself, transforming into the voice of a lost generation that wanted to express all its discomfort and pain.
In the name of grunge, Cobain, with his anxieties, dependencies, and sufferings, was the last true revolution of rock and a representative of Generation X. For those who grew up in those years, Cobain's death marked «the end of music» and the sunset of those ideas and feelings that the leader of Nirvana had managed to bring into his music. Pale face, blonde hair constantly covering his face, sneakers, and a look that was absent and lost in the void, Cobain had become a point of reference for a generation that perceived, suffered, and lived the same disorientation, lack of confidence in the future, and, more generally, of life.
In the farewell letter found next to his body, Cobain wrote «sometimes I feel like I should punch the clock every time I go on stage» in an almost apocalyptic message that demonstrated a progressive emptying of the interest many artists have towards their own work. Nirvana's was, probably, the last true musical revolution that truly represented a social situation in the balance and an inner discontent felt by many young people.
Kurt Cobain shot himself in the head at his home at 171 Lake Washington Boulevard in East Seattle, destroyed by addictions and depression. And it was precisely this that made him a true music idol, a figure that has transcended his own time and role becoming the symbol of an era and a flag of Generation X.