The Myth of "27"

Jared Rinaldi
The 27s.jpg

You know their names - Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin; rock legends forever immortalized by their fast and wild combination of music and lifestyle. Their deaths have a deeper significance, though: all three died at the age of 27. Not only that, but 31 other reverred musicians, their individual stories spanning several generations, have also passed on at that same early age.

Freak coincidence? The 27's: The Greatest Myth of Rock and Roll, a book by Eric Segalstad and Josh Hunter, seeks to unravel this mystery. Spanning 312 pages, complete with original color illustrations, The 27's doesn't make a case for an off-the-wall conspiracey theory, but rather examines the toll that fame, pop culture and a life of excess can take on the human spirit. Rock music's history is deconstructed and examined, with thoughts pertaining to astrology and numerology applied throughout the book.

Fans of blues pioneer Robert Johnson, tragic Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, and Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones will be pleased to find their idols within the pages of The 27's.

Comments

I made it!

Submitted by DavidCain on Thu, 04/09/2009 - 14:53.

I'm 28 now. It's actually humbling to know that many of my musical idols never found out what it was like to be as old as I am.

I guess 27 is probably the mean age for how long a person's psyche can stand up to the unique combination of excessive partying and public scrutiny that the rock n' roll lifestyle offers.

It's long-weekend Thursday and I feel like a beer and some guitar riffs. But I'll be in bed by midnight, that's my secret. www.raptitude.com -- The gentle art of sanity amidst civilization

No More Heroes

Submitted by Thom K Evans on Thu, 04/09/2009 - 18:36.

Ha, so many people have told me that my supposedly Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle will bury me by the time I'm 27. A weird belief. I'm sitting in a road cafe right now, on my way home after a satisfyingly spinal tapesque trip exploring the megaliths of the west coast of ireland, nearly 30 ish years old (I've no birth certificate) and as fit as ever.

 

Still, there's obviously something in this 27 thing - and when Kurt Cobain died, I felt the shockwave. The rock myth of anger and doomed revolt against a square hegemony is a powerful one. Maybe Homer started it in the first line of the Illiad with: "Sing, Goddess, the wrath of Peleus' son, Achilles" (cue Hendrix riff).

 

Or perhaps wrath fosters the new being? But health too is revolutionary. Stay Alive. Live long and prosper, linger. Forget your carbon footprint - consider your imaginal footprint. Let that be your legacy. (insert appropriate tune - Enya perhaps).

 

Listen. Love.

 

In wildness is the preservation of the world - Thoreau

What about 72?

Submitted by sniffcode.com on Fri, 04/10/2009 - 06:40.
What about 72? Do we have any geezer rock stars who all mysteriously kicked the bucket at 72? www.sniffcode.com

Angels Advocate

Submitted by Pippalayana on Fri, 04/10/2009 - 15:53.

One could also, maybe say, that 4 times 7 years is 28 ...

Maybe they finished up the peak of their youthful karmic momentum ... and so burnt out ... rather then rust

Numerologically speaking ... that is ... seventh son of the seventh son

... if you peak early ... why stay ... karma serves the dharma ultimately ...

Right before full maturity takes over ... a whirlwind of creation ... 'but a passing dust storm

Three Cubed Anyone?

Submitted by masonic43 on Fri, 04/10/2009 - 16:11.

Thanks for a cool article and heads-up for a book I'm definitely going to check out. Having been fascinated (read obsessed) with certain numbers for a long time now, I'll be very happy to add 27 to my list. Here's a few other tidbits concerning this mysterious number:

# the cube of three, ie 3x3x3 (3 to the power 3) is 27

# the number of straight lines on any cubic surface is 27

# if you add the numbers between 2 and 7 the result is 27

# the largest number which is also the sum of the digits in its cube is 27

# the number of books in the new testament is 27

# the 27th book of the new testament is revelation, written by St John of Patmos, whose saint's day is December 27

# in the book of revelation it states that the antichrist will have power over 27 states

# the number of pieces in a rubik's cube is 27

# the number of letters in the greek alphabet is 27

# the number of letters in the hebrew alphabet is 27

# the number of letters in the spanish alphabet is 27

# the moon takes 27 days to orbit the earth

# the sun revolves on its axis every 27 days

# during the cold war, the russians experimented with supercomputers using base 27

# the human hand contains 27 bones

# it takes 27 days for a human cell to re-grow

(from www.27project.org)

Saturn Return

Submitted by Daniel Pinchbeck on Mon, 04/13/2009 - 03:10.
They couldn't make it through Saturn Return, when the urge for liberation meets discipline. "Will the transformation."-Rilke

Me too!

Submitted by deci belle on Mon, 04/27/2009 - 23:21.
Hah! So I guess I can forget about Saturn return— actually that's exactly what I did when I was 27— It's the only time I ever couldn't remember how old I was! Nice insight, Daniel (They couldn't make it through Saturn Return, when the urge for liberation meets discipline)."Will the transformation."-Rilke.