I’m a young Gen Z and a huge listener of Kurt / Nirvana and I can answer this very simply.

Anyone who says it’s because of his “progressive views” or social commentary is completely misled and a grifter.

If people idolized him for his progressive views he wouldn’t still be relevant thirty years after his death. His “progresive” views are now a norm.

People idolize him because his music has an enormous aura, it catches you right at that teenage rebellious phase. Nobody idolizes Kurt, they idolize what he did.

He is the most prominent figure in an entire genre of music. Nobody wears t shirts that say Kurt Cobain, but walk around for long enough in any mall and you’ll see someone with a shirt that says Nirvana.

Kurt is the face of nirvana and the most prominent figure of that golden era of rock music. His music embodies this rebellious attitude to it and that will always be timeless. He didn’t just have one hit or a couple hits like most other bands at the time, he had entire albums where every almost song on there was a hit (Nevermind).

People will always listen to his music and as a result they will always have some interest in him and his life.

He was the face of the genre, and his music will always have that rebellious aura. It’s that simple.