Kurt Cobain’s long dirty-blond hair, his tattered green cardigan and his melancholic voice continues to touch teenagers who feel misunderstood, even decades after his death.

Nirvana, Cobain’s band, was able to do something very few bands are able to accomplish: inspire future generations to create something beautiful from their pain. 

Cobain did this himself during Nirvana’s live performance of “Where did you sleep last night” on MTV Unplugged in 1994. His pain is heard throughout the song’s whole five minutes and gives you the same feelings of heartbreak he was dealing with at the time.  

Nirvana was an alternative, grunge band from Seattle and their second album, “Nevermind,” was a breakthrough record that made alternative music mainstream, according to a 2018 Louder Sound article. 

Louder Sound is a music magazine that primarily covers alternative rock, punk and indie genres, according to its website. 

When Nevermind came out in 1991, the likes of R&B artist Mariah Carey and pop star Madonna were dominating the charts at the time. No one really batted an eye at the alternative band that formed in 1987 and were active until Cobain’s death by suicide in 1994, according to the same 2018 Louder Sound article. 

Nirvana was perceived to be a simple band of angry, depressed kids making noise in a garage. 

Nevermind validated feelings of angst and dreading your future while being anxious about your present. 

Cobain was the antithesis of a musician. He didn’t like the world and he despised his own fame, according to a Feb. 20, 2017 Rolling Stone article. 

Those same sentiments aren’t far from the way today’s teenagers feel. About 57% of teenagers have anxiety or depressive symptoms, according to an Aug.19, 2020 – Feb. 1, 2021

Household Pulse Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

It makes sense. Young adults are entering an unstable economic situation, a climate emergency making our planet inhabitable and the rise of technology, which has given teens the perfect reason to belittle themselves even more. 

Cobain spoke to that feeling. He understood most of us are just living in constant anger at the current state of the world. 

On “Breed,” he repeatedly sings “I don’t care” and “I’m afraid” because at some point, it becomes hard to care. Our small actions feel insignificant compared to the bigger issues and it’s easy to become numb.

While Cobain definitely felt that despair, he also created something devastatingly beautiful out of it. It was inspiring and a reminder that your rage matters. Your voice matters. 

30 years after Nevermind, Nirvana’s influence can be heard everywhere. 

Shirts with Nirvana’s name can be seen worn by people who have most likely never even heard a single song by the band and their dark, brooding aesthetic can be seen in the clothing and sounds of today’s teenagers. 

Nirvana made it so rage could be not only expressed, but appreciated for being a raw, human emotion. Until then, rage was largely dismissed. 

In 1991, Nirvana released the video for their single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which included a dark, gloomy high school gym. At the end of the music video, the band along with fans break their equipment. It was the kind of anger and discontent that can only come from teenagers. 

Cobain had a lot to be angry about. 

“I’m just as pissed off about the things that made me pissed off a few years ago. I’m pissed off about everything in general so all these songs are pretty much about my battle with the things that piss me off,” Cobain said in a 1993 biography written by Michael Azerrad. 

Like many young people today, Cobain’s anger was significantly fueled by social issues. He was an active advocate for feminism and LGBTQ+ rights throughout his career, according to a Feb. 20, 2017 Rolling Stone article. 

Cobain frequently acknowledged and discussed how prevalent sexism is in punk and rock culture, according to an animated interview by Blank on Blank. 

Blank on Blank is a Quoted Studios company that produces animated videos from lost interviews of famous artists, according to its Youtube channel. 

His music was a direct reflection of that frustration. It was him screaming from his gut, so much so that he dealt with stomach inflation, according to the same animated interview. 

Young people get called out for our naivete and dismissed for our beliefs, but maybe the youth have always been right. Maybe we just aren’t listening. 

On January 11, 1992, Nevermind made it to the top of the charts, four months after its original release on September 24, according to a Sept. 23, 2016 Billboard article. 

30 years later and the youth are still frustrated and ready to unleash rage on the world. Like Nirvana in the ‘90s, they are demanding to be heard. 

The question is: Are you listening?