"Anthem for the Year 2000" is a song by Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Silverchair Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Ben Gillies on drums, Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got their big bre ...

, released as the first single from their third album, ''

Neon Ballroom ''Neon Ballroom'' is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair, released in 1999 by record labels Murmur and Epic. The songs "Anthem for the Year 2000", "Ana's Song (Open Fire)" and " Miss You Love" were released ...

''. The song reached number three on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, becoming the band's sixth top-ten single and their first lead single from an album not to reach number one, a feat " Tomorrow" and "

Freak A freak is a person who is physically deformed or transformed due to an extraordinary medical condition or body modification. This definition was first attested with this meaning in the 1880s as a shorter form of the phrase " freak of nature ...

" had accomplished. The song reached the top ten in New Zealand, on Canada's ''RPM'' Rock Report, and on the

UK Rock Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...

. Australian writer Craig Mathieson described the song as "a viciously compressed take on

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

stadium rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...

moments that made Y2K into a generational battle".

Origin

Songwriter

Daniel Johns Daniel Paul Johns (born 22 April 1979) is an Australian musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the former frontman, guitarist, and main songwriter of the rock band Silverchair. Johns is also one half of The Dissociatives with Paul Mac ...

said "Anthem for the Year 2000" was inspired by a dream:

The whole thing is about youth rebelling against people who are supposedly more important. It's about youth having total control over their own minds. They do not need overweight people in suits telling them what to do and how to act. It is all about just being yourself. The chorus is very sarcastic. It is not supposed to be taken seriously.

Music video

The music video was directed by Gavin Bowden, who also made some videos for the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

. Australian actress

Maggie Kirkpatrick Margaret Anne Kirkpatrick (née Downs; born 29 January 1941) is an Australian stage and screen actress who starred in the cult TV series ''Prisoner'' (otherwise known as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'' in the UK and North America), where she was bes ...

played the robot politician. Kirkpatrick said about being invited for the video:

My first reaction was, 'Why me?' I later found out that the boys were from
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
and, being an old Newcastle girl myself, I was more than prepared to help them out. I encourage anyone from my own town. Actually, my niece and nephew went to school with the guys.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

critic Jason Anderson thought that "Anthem for the Year 2000" was one of the three highlights from ''Neon Ballroom''.

Influence

Northlane Northlane are an Australian heavy metal band from Sydney, formed in 2009. The band comprises guitarists Jon Deiley and Josh Smith, drummer Nic Pettersen and vocalist Marcus Bridge. Northlane have released six studio albums: '' Discoveries'' ( ...

member Jon Deiley said:

"Anthem for the Year 2000" was the first Silverchair song I ever heard. To me as a young kid, it was intense and heavy and it wasn't til a few years later that I really began to appreciate the impact their music had on me at an early age.

Track listings

Australian (MATTCD080)/European (6668362) CD single/Cassette single (MATTC080) # "Anthem for the Year 2000" # "London's Burning" # "Untitled" # "The Millennium Bug" (The Paul Mac Remix) Australian 7-inch vinyl (MATTVO80) # "Anthem for the Year 2000" # "Trash" Limited numbered UK CD single (6670882) # "Anthem for the Year 2000" # "The Millennium Bug" (The Paul Mac Remix) UK limited 7-inch numbered picture disc # "Anthem for the Year 2000" # "The Millennium Bug" (The Paul Mac Remix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 singles 1999 songs Epic Records singles Murmur (record label) singles Protest songs Silverchair songs Song recordings produced by Nick Launay Songs written by Daniel Johns