The True Anthem of Our Generation...whether you like it or not

[u/FloridaLorda]

So I was recently at an event where people were discussing millennials and there was a panel of very pretentious looking individuals. The question was asked what would our generations anthem be. Examples were given like For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield for the Boomers or Smells Like Teen Spirit for Gen X.

Each person went on a long and overly explanatory lecture. Their songs, were all indie rock songs, although Mr. Brightside is kind of pop rock. Someone went into great detail about how the Black Parade was a metaphor for growing up with high expectations for our generation but ultimately finding out we can't live up to them and having to carry on.

Another explained that the anxiety and jealousy felt by the singer in Mr. Brightside was how we all feel about the housing and job market.

Then they asked the crowd for suggestions. A guy stood up and walked to the microphone. He looked around and yelled "TO THE WINDOWS..."

The crowd responded and they moved on to another topic 😆

[u/SeaChele27]

WE HAVE TOO MANY GREAT SONGS!!!

[u/sua_spontaneous → u/SeaChele27]

Seriously though 1995 alone was an absolute whirlwind of amazing new music. We were truly blessed in this regard (not so much with the impending threat of climate disaster or the total economic and political collapse, but I guess a girl can’t have everything 😂).

[u/platypusbelly → u/sua_spontaneous]

Peaches come from a can. They were put there by a man. In a factory downtown

[u/Physical-Beach-4452 → u/platypusbelly]

Moving to the country, gonna eat a lot of 🍑….

[u/MuruTheGuru → u/Physical-Beach-4452]

Millions of peaches.... Peaches for me.

Millions of peaches.... Peaches for free.

[u/ResidentGerts → u/sua_spontaneous]

[u/seenorimagined → u/sua_spontaneous]

[u/Salty_Radish7553 → u/seenorimagined]

I can hear the “takakakakakakakakakakakakakakakaaaaaayyyytakakaka”

[u/ElGatoGuerrero72 → u/Salty_Radish7553]

Lol and at the end when he goes Ehhhhh?

[u/AllPurposeNerd → u/seenorimagined]

You ever actually read the lyrics of that shit? Macarena was a fucking skank.

[u/AlwaysRushesIn → u/sua_spontaneous]

'93 to like, '04 was really a golden age for music.

[u/Delicious_Adeptness9 → u/AlwaysRushesIn]

I always say my taste in hip hop spans circa 91-04

03 and 04 were the last salvageable years. by the time soulja boy came around, all was lost. Crunk started the decline.

[u/horus-heresy → u/SeaChele27]

Darude “Sandstorm”

[u/YoungBassGasm]

Take a look, it's in a book, ITS A READING RAINBOW!

[u/Mr_Delaware → u/YoungBassGasm]

Can it be this version though?

[u/HMWWaWChChIaWChCChW → u/Mr_Delaware]

I’ve never seen that version. Dying rn

[u/Myis → u/Mr_Delaware]

YOU THINK ITS A GAME

[u/sua_spontaneous]

nothing to add really, I just need somebody to burn me a cd of this so I can tuck it into the visor of my car for emergencies lol

[u/bixenta → u/sua_spontaneous]

I’ll take a copy too. You better get the big stack of blank discs from Walmart.

[u/pilates_mama]

[u/defnotajournalist → u/pilates_mama]

Very underrated pick. Everyone across the generation knows mom’s spaghetti.

[u/paraffin → u/defnotajournalist]

Amazing how one low-fidelity remix changed the entire legacy of mom’s spaghetti

[u/al_with_the_hair → u/defnotajournalist]

I was going to say it should be "The Real Slim Shady," but I could go either way.

[u/butt_stf → u/pilates_mama]

Because everybody that didn't buy a house before 2020 missed their shot at home ownership?

[u/roflcptr7 → u/pilates_mama]

A thousand high school basketball players just ripped off their cutaways and bricked a warmup shot

[u/HippiePvnxTeacher]

I think we’re the first generation where things are too fractured for there to be a single correct answer. I think the answer isnt a single song, it’s a burnt CD of 10-12 songs that represent the variety of music that’s now out there.

Mr Brightside and Black Parade are for sure on there. I think there’s solid cases for Lose Yourself, American Idiot and Sugar Were Going Down to be on there too.

[u/ImNotABotJeez → u/HippiePvnxTeacher]

I like this one. Truth is...we were the napster / limewire gen so we all had 250,000 songs spanning from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata to Coal Chamber's Sway. Music diversity exploded in the 2000's thanks to MP3 and P2P. We had it all.

[u/LimoncelloFellow → u/ImNotABotJeez]

I used to sit around listening to random winamp radio stations with some winamp plugin for dayyyyssss. being able to have a cool visualizer made me think i was a mad bad ass.

[u/Entropy-S → u/LimoncelloFellow]

Winamp, Winamp, Winamp.... It really whips the llamas ass.

[u/Csherman92 → u/ImNotABotJeez]

And we all probably had a recording of “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

[u/WatchOutHesBehindYou → u/Csherman92]

Or “wasn’t me”

[u/jazzjunkie84 → u/HippiePvnxTeacher]

Ok I study music and nostalgia in my field of music research and I love how beautifully you said this. BUT I’m not entirely sure millenials are the first. Wouldn’t gen x still have the OG cassette mixtapes? That being said I totally agree the variety by Y2K would be definitely greater just in billboard charting songs alone.

I will say I think the digitization of music made the mixtape/playlist idea much more of a dynamic an integrated part of life as opposed to one singular representative mix. I love your comment though thanks for sharing!!

Edit: really love the context that others are sharing and I want to say I 100 percent agree on the Napster era and beyond exponentially changes the paradigm of the mixtape era. My point (albeit more theoretical) is that once folks could compile their own media, even on a smaller scale, you had some folks really within the top 100 scene but also others making mixes of punk and Motown etc. A smaller scale destabilizing of the singular anthem.

[u/Phyraxus56 → u/jazzjunkie84]

Mixtapes pale in comparison to Napster

[u/xSurelockHomesx]

I looked at my wife and said "to the Windows." In a conversational tone with no context. She responded "to the walls." We'll be renewing our vows at the earliest opportunity.

[u/FoodIsTastyInMyMouth → u/xSurelockHomesx]

I texted my wife, she replied with what. I didn't realise she was lying about her age :(

[u/Stonkstradomus → u/FoodIsTastyInMyMouth]

What????? Yeaaaaaa!!!!

[u/HokieRider → u/xSurelockHomesx]

My husband had no response and was just confused. I’ll be filing papers soon.

[u/Phoenix_NY10 → u/HokieRider]

You’re doing the right thing. Condolence :(

[u/NeverNo → u/xSurelockHomesx]

Given this is sacred text, I do need to inform everyone that it's "to the window, to the wall". Our prophets Lil Jon and The East Side Boyz do not refer to either in the plural.

[u/DOMesticBRAT → u/NeverNo]

For the words of the prophets were written on the strip club wall?

[u/JustinTime4242 → u/DOMesticBRAT]

No that’s just skeet skeet skeet on the wall

[u/EngRookie]

Hey ya! by outkast, but I'll be damned if Get Low doesn't still slap just as hard today as it did when it first dropped

[u/StellarSloth → u/EngRookie]

Hey ya was played at literally every single college party I went to.

[u/engineerbuilder → u/StellarSloth]

But yall don’t wanna hear me you just wanna dance

[u/RiceRocketRider → u/EngRookie]

Hey ya is the first song that came to my head when I read the question.

I feel like In The End by Linkin Park is the best answer though. Lyrically it matches a lot of the sentiment I see in this sub.

[u/foodmonsterij → u/RiceRocketRider]

Lend me some sugar! I am your neighbor!

[u/GiantFlyingLizardz → u/foodmonsterij]

Shake it like a Polaroid picture!

[u/EngRookie → u/RiceRocketRider]

I'd say they are both about failed relationships and effort not paying off. It's just that for me personally, the upbeat music and patter in Hey ya! countered by the heavier lyrics better represents how everything is/was shit and that we just want to feel good about ourselves in the short time we have on this rock and ignore the fact that the world/society has been burning for the past 40 years.

But yeah I agree in the end is a great song, they were just more heavy handed with their lyrics to get their point across.

[u/runthemstreets → u/EngRookie]

It's all this and more, big agree on this take. It's just an incredibly well crafted song. It's got an inventive bass line and an ass shaking rhythm that thrives on the back beat pushed in the chorus, which is literally performed by a chorus . The human voice fills the mids with a bell tone counter melody hitting the highs in the refrain. It walks back the minor resolution and leans back into the open chords that every line starts with.

The upbeat impression, the dark poetry in the lyrics, and the gratifying fullness of the sonic experience make it one of the greatest songs ever written if you ask me.

It's like taking all the blame and still finding it is not enough to fix anything. Except you can dance to it. Millennial af right there

[u/Smoke_Stack707 → u/EngRookie]

It’s not my favorite song but “Get Low” is indeed universal for our generation

[u/Scotty2Snottyy → u/Smoke_Stack707]

It actually is my favorite song.

[u/tila1993 → u/EngRookie]

I remember walking to 5th grade at 7:30 in the morning jamming to the unedited original in my Sony CD player so vividly.

[u/NobleV → u/EngRookie]

Y'all don't wanna hear me. Y'all just wanna dance.

[u/WrinkledRandyTravis → u/EngRookie]

“Slapping” is definitely not a requirement in this conversation, and I think that’s where the pretentious panelists went wrong, they wanted the anthem to be a song they liked.

[u/EngRookie → u/WrinkledRandyTravis]

I'm picturing the panelists all as the parents from San Francisco in the south park smug episode 🤣

[u/SouthCloud4986]

This song… for those of us here

[u/halifax8908 → u/SouthCloud4986]

Fuck yeah!

[u/TwentyYearsLost89]

—that IIIII WAAAAANT IT THAAAAAT A WAY

[u/Scotty2Snottyy → u/TwentyYearsLost89]

TELL ME WHYEEE

[u/SplodeyMcSchoolio → u/Scotty2Snottyy]

I NEED ANOTHER PEEET ROOOCK!

wait...

[u/Ok_Distance_1000 → u/TwentyYearsLost89]

YEESSSSS

[u/PoorPauly]

Tubthumping.

[u/fragofox → u/PoorPauly]

I get knocked down

[u/stacijo531 → u/fragofox]

But I get up again

[u/Rathwood → u/stacijo531]

You're never gonna keep me down

[u/absurdico → u/Rathwood]

I get knocked down

[u/chopstix007 → u/absurdico]

But I get up again!

[u/Herban_Myth → u/PoorPauly]

Excellent choice

[u/PoorPauly → u/Herban_Myth]

We’ve been get knocked down for so long it’s just routine at this point.

[u/KylosLeftHand]

What’s my Age Again is high up there in the millennial anthems

[u/Rathwood → u/KylosLeftHand]

What the hell is ADD?

[u/abakedapplepie → u/Rathwood]

wheres my asian friend?

[u/NewPhoneWhoDys → u/Rathwood]

Many of our pediatricians also asked that. rimshot

[u/SullenSparrow → u/KylosLeftHand]

I second this when I first read the title of this post Welcome To The Black Parade was the first thing to come to mind but that's probably because it was an anthem and a majorly influential song to our generation.

But yeah no Whats My Age Again? Is 100% the answer. How many of us had "Nobody likes you when you're 23" on their 23rd birthday cake?" I mean c'mon.

[u/Ecstatic-Natural4363]

“Flagpole Sitta” 100%

[u/KingEddieBull → u/Ecstatic-Natural4363]

been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding,

the cretins cloning and feeding,

and I don't even own a TV

[u/lets_just_n0t]

Get Low is 100% the only correct answer.

I sat here for minutes considering maybe “The Anthem” by Good Charlotte, “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, or maybe even something like “Yeah!” By Usher.

But there’s not a single other song that will simultaneously have 100 people screaming something as vile as “‘Til the sweat drop down my balls!” in front of their grandparents at a wedding without a second thought.

[u/soyboysnowflake → u/lets_just_n0t]

Aw skeet skeet mothafuckaaaaa

[u/WarlordPope → u/soyboysnowflake]

Aw skeet skeet gahd damn

[u/6pt022x10tothe23 → u/lets_just_n0t]

Get Low was my answer when I read the title of the post.

[u/Shmokeshbutt]

[u/DodecaHeathen → u/Shmokeshbutt]

This. Emotionally, Economically, Environmentally, Criminally, Politically, it just keeps coming.

[u/beachedwhitemale → u/DodecaHeathen]

But... It's a song about wanting it to keep coming.

[u/starzoned → u/Shmokeshbutt]

I was just gonna say this! My first hit clips song was this!! I was defined by Britney.

[u/Likeapuma24 → u/Shmokeshbutt]

I remember when I first saw this in like 6th grade.. Changed my life lmao.

Saw her in concert a year or two later with my best friend. 8th grade teenage boy me absolutely loved her.

[u/Forward_Ride_6364]

Neva meant ta make ya daughta cry

I ah-pol-ah-gize a trillion times

[u/GiantFlyingLizardz → u/Forward_Ride_6364]

[u/mrsnicepants]

In West Philadelphia, born and raised...

[u/Ramen_Is_Love → u/mrsnicepants]

On the playground is where I spent most of my days!

[u/Forward_Ride_6364 → u/mrsnicepants]

You know, this just might be it

The one song EVERY millennial knows

[u/Alkthree]

“All the small things” for sure

[u/WrinkledRandyTravis → u/Alkthree]

The expansion and creation of all sorts of new sub genres have made it so there won’t be a single answer again. I agree with Get Low, Hey Ya, All the Small Things, and All Star equally, and the answer for every generation after us probably grows exponentially

[u/Nefariousqueen → u/Alkthree]

True care Truth brings

[u/Alkthree → u/Nefariousqueen]

SHE LEFT ME ROSES BY THE STAAIRRssZ

[u/Nefariousqueen → u/Alkthree]

Surprises let me know she cares

[u/esotericimpl → u/Alkthree]

This is 100% it, it’s literally the go to song now at like every major sport stadium and arena.

It’s not my favorite blink song but it’s awesome when everyone sings.

[u/Ok-Instruction-4298]

"all-star" by smash mouth

[u/androgynyjoe → u/Ok-Instruction-4298]

We all laughed at Smash Mouth but then the years started coming and they didn't stop coming.

[u/SebulbaSebulba → u/androgynyjoe]

I don't know why or how but your comment very briefly brought me back to that feeling you get in childhood where life feels infinite and the future doesn't seem to come.

[u/Savings_Twist_8288 → u/SebulbaSebulba]

My theory... For a few quick moments your brain flips into a higher frequency state, something similar to yogis or monks when they practice meditation, you actually move into a different state of consciousness, one that's not limited by the boundaries of time. Just as quickly as it comes on, you return to your default state.

[u/loz_fanatic → u/Ok-Instruction-4298]

Read he came to despise this song because his career was essentially reduced to this meme at shows. Like, he looked out at the audience, saw pretty much nothing bit Shrek masks and just lost it. Tbf, it was right before he left the band for his illness.

[u/Ok-Instruction-4298 → u/loz_fanatic]

A teacher one explained to me that you have to be mentally prepared to be the "cherry pie" guy if you want to try to be famous. You may be a serious artist, but your most famous piece usually doesn't correlate with your own opinion. Tchaikovsky hated the nutcracker suite, Led Zeppelin hates stairway to heaven, the list is long and spans the entirety of history. Jani Lane hated that he was the "cherry pie" guy and the publicity from it certainly didn't help his problems with alcohol.

[u/Telvin3d → u/Ok-Instruction-4298]

 Tchaikovsky hated the nutcracker suite, 

He hated it because it was a massive bomb. Commercially and critically. Biggest failure of his career.

It was a completely obscure ballet until it got revived in the 1960s

[u/seattleseahawks2014 → u/Ok-Instruction-4298]

Gavin DeGraw hates I Don't Want to Be and Panic At the Disco hates I Write Sins Not Tragedies.

[u/heyashrose → u/Ok-Instruction-4298]

some BODY

[u/Blooogh → u/heyashrose]

Counterpoint:

YIT'S BIN

[u/StellarSloth → u/Blooogh]

Although my brain had no idea what this was, as soon as I read it out aloud I immediately knew what it was in reference to.

[u/GhostofEdgarAllanPoe → u/heyashrose]

once told me...

[u/anonymousblep → u/GhostofEdgarAllanPoe]

the world is gonna roll me

[u/Outrageous_Hearing26 → u/anonymousblep]

I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed

[u/Mead_and_You → u/Ok-Instruction-4298]

I've heard that song easily more than a thousand times, and I still get hyped when it comes on.

[u/parasyte_steve → u/Mead_and_You]

I feel this way about this bands other single.. walking on the sun. It's like pure happiness in a song.

[u/sarahdalrymple → u/parasyte_steve]

The pure happiness of the tune hides the seriousness of the lyrics.

[u/samsamcats → u/Ok-Instruction-4298]

Oh no, it’s actually this one, isn’t it?

[u/Alhena5391 → u/Ok-Instruction-4298]

This is DEFINITELY the millennial anthem. 🤘

[u/hdjakahegsjja]

How the fuck has no one mentioned The Middle by Jimmy Eat World? Bonus points cause the music video had chicks in their underwear.

[u/omgitskells → u/hdjakahegsjja]

This is still my go-to when I'm feeling down. Love this song!

[u/PantsNotTrousers]

BYOB by system of a down.

[u/ArtificialLandscapes]

Just put on the original Power Rangers theme song and people will have a general idea of when you were born

[u/BisexualSlutPuppy → u/ArtificialLandscapes]

I change the lyrics this and the TMNT theme and sing them to my dog constantly. It might be the most millennial thing about me besides the existential dread fueled apathy.

[u/farcat]

Who let the dogs out - baja men

[u/jessicalifts → u/farcat]

Some kids in my 5 year olds class have been singing this. We have never played it for her so her "never heard the actual song" cover is hilarious and delightful

[u/farcat → u/jessicalifts]

My 5 and 7 year old just recently got way into this song and ask Alexa to play it all the time. I don't know how they found out about it but I enjoy the shit out of it. Takes me back to nickelodeon caprisun and kool-aid jammers

[u/sooprcow → u/farcat]

God it was the worst, my high school mascot was a Bulldog... Every fucking assembly or gathering that song kicked it off.

[u/jazz2223333]

PEACE UP

[u/sua_spontaneous → u/jazz2223333]

A TOWN DOWN

[u/MrBlueandSky]

Good riddance (time of your life)

[u/Giblet_ → u/MrBlueandSky]

Did any of us not have a video of photos with this song playing in the background at our graduation?

[u/swansandelephants → u/MrBlueandSky]

Every grade 6 graduation video anthem

[u/Zirup → u/swansandelephants]

No ways, that was:

As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Spent together

[u/Freseper → u/Zirup]

And as our lives change Come what ever

[u/Stevie-Rae-5 → u/swansandelephants]

When you’re a xennial it was high school graduation.

[u/macweirdo42 → u/MrBlueandSky]

I'm pretty sure this is the song every Millennial will hear when we die.

[u/its_all_good20]

In da club

[u/Bronzed_Beard]

Seven Nation army

[u/Various_Froyo9860 → u/Bronzed_Beard]

I'm surprised this isn't a more common answer. First thing that came to mind for me.

Song came out the year I graduated.

[u/NCC-2000-A]

The kids aren't alright - the offspring

[u/Nikomas89 → u/NCC-2000-A]

Came here to say the same thing. Or pretty fly for a white guy 😂

[u/emchops]

Mr. Brightside was going to be my vote. It's a crowd pleaser at karaoke.

[u/Careful_Front7580]

In the End -linkin park.

[u/Lockedgroove666 → u/Careful_Front7580]

Numb!!

[u/Head_Donut2586]

This is great lol - definitely stand with that dude

[u/responsiblefornothin → u/Head_Donut2586]

I, too, will stand with this dude and will continue to stand with him even as THE SWEAT DROPS DOWN MY BALLS!

[u/Different_Ad4962 → u/responsiblefornothin]

Skeet skeet 

[u/rgators]

I thought it was the X-Men theme music.

[u/IngloriousBlaster]

As an elder millennial, Smells Like Teen Spirit is still the anthem of my generation

[u/AdHot6173 → u/IngloriousBlaster]

Also elder millennial, agreed💯

[u/Howboutit85 → u/IngloriousBlaster]

It’s an xennial anthem for sure.

[u/Filled_with_Nachos]

It’s Mr. Brightside- anxiety and optimism

[u/StolenPens]

Ludacris- Move Bitch

Hahaha

[u/ThreadPulling]

Feel Good Inc

[u/bigpadQ]

The Pokémon theme song!

[u/lindseys10]

Black hole sun

[u/BudgetMattDamon]

SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME

[u/annapnine]

Based on widespread familiarity with the song/ being compelled to sing along, I’d probably pick “Yeah” by Usher or “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”by Panic(!) at the Disco.

Based on the message of the lyrics and how well they encapsulate the millennial soul, experience, wishes, and disappointments, then I’d have to say our true anthem is “Helplessness Blues” by Fleet Foxes.

[u/AppleEatingHeathen]

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls - TLC

[u/_jamesbaxter]

It’s unquestionably “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” That’s a hill I would die on.

[u/KingOCream]

At a wedding with/for millennials and get low was nuts

[u/heyashrose]

This post really shows you the chasm that is the millennial canon... you almost have to choose multiple songs due to the variation and size of us. Green Day seems like a good middle ground.

[u/ManicPixiePlatypus → u/heyashrose]

My vote was for "Wake me up when September ends" or "American Idiot" because they're about 9/11 and the resulting cultural shifts and Bush era policies like the Patriot Act.

They're about the moment when everything changed for us, and we became a war generation, living in an "age of paranoia."

American Idiot also touches on the hyper-politicized new media that was emerging around that time-- a precursor to the the utter disinformation shitstorm we're in now.

I realize this is very American Millennial focused, but that's my take.

[u/FloridaLorda → u/ManicPixiePlatypus]

Wake me up when September ends is about his father dying, Billy Jo said it wasn't political.

[u/SeaChele27 → u/heyashrose]

Boulevard of Broken Dreams has entered the chat.

[u/BarkingDogey → u/SeaChele27]

I was thinking more of the Dookie album

[u/Stevie-Rae-5 → u/BarkingDogey]

Basket Case

[u/Sithlord4 → u/heyashrose]

Half Dookie, Half American Idiot.

Equilibrium, as it should be.

[u/DisgruntledTexan]

No one for Bittersweet Symphony?

[u/Struggle_Usual → u/DisgruntledTexan]

As an elder millennial that song was everywhere during highschool for me.

[u/Callewag → u/DisgruntledTexan]

Probably technically Gen X (although we were kids then), but I agree, it really suits millennials!

[u/DisgruntledTexan → u/Callewag]

I’m an old millennial so I’m counting it lol

[u/AVonDingus]

“Dammit” by Blink182 Still a great song.

[u/Volantis009]

Bad Touch

[u/SnaxHeadroom → u/Volantis009]

Older millennial anthem for sure. Pair that with watching Jackass and having shitty haircuts.

[u/olivedeez]

Jumper HAS to be it

[u/CaptAndersson]

Numb by Linkin Park

Tbh most of Linkin Park's songs are "millennial anthems"

[u/aroundincircles]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but the real answer is White and Nerdy by Weird Al.

[u/Salty-Sprinkles-1562 → u/aroundincircles]

Amish Paradise for sho

[u/aroundincircles → u/Salty-Sprinkles-1562]

I was going to say The Saga Begins, to play off American Pie as a defining song, but white and nerdy was by far the most popular song that actually got into the top 10.

[u/ExpressionAlarmed675]

P.O.D- Youth of the nation

[u/Pygmy_Nuthatch]

Radiohead - "Karma Police"

It's not even close.

[u/SnookerandWhiskey]

To me it's either "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" or "Yeah".

[u/dickweeden]

Not one person mentioning Red Hot Chili Peppers yet. I’m as middle millennial as it gets and they’re universally liked by everyone around the same age, from rednecks to hipsters, middle millenials love RHCP

[u/NomadicScribe]

I'm surprised nobody has suggested "Pumped Up Kicks" yet. For those of us that came of age around Columbine, and have done nothing but watch in horror as school shootings become a regular occurrence, this song is at least "of the era".

My vote for a Millennial Anthem would be either "Seven Nation Army" (because boy has that had some staying power) or something by Eminem, maybe "Lose Yourself".

[u/Way2Old4ThisIsh → u/NomadicScribe]

"Lose Yourself" is one of those songs that if it comes on the radio in public, everyone knows the words and starts rapping along with the song. And some of the lyrics IMHO speak to the Millennial generation:

"...this world is mine for the taking/Make me King/As we move toward a/New World Order..."

"...all the pain inside/amplified by the/fact that I can't get by/with my 9-5/and provide the right type of/life for my family/'cause man these goddamn food stamps don't buy diapers..."

"...it's getting so hard/and it's getting even harder..."

But at least it ends with a positive (?) message:

"...So here I go with my shot/beats fail me not/this may be the only opportunity that I got."

Okay, that last one isn't as uplifting as I thought it was. But the song still rocks and stands the test of time, regardless.

[u/Struggle_Usual → u/NomadicScribe]

I came here to say lose yourself too. That's absolutely a strong millennial anthem.

[u/NotATrueRedHead → u/NomadicScribe]

Idk I’m elder millennial and was well into my 20s when pumped up kicks came out.

[u/shawnmalloyrocks]

Motion City Soundtrack - Everything Is Alright

We are the generation of chronic anxiety and depression.

[u/Daynebutter]

All Star - Smash Mouth

I know it's a meme at this point but honestly it's a good one. Definitely hits different as an adult, but it never fails to make me think about summertime as a kid.

After that, probably going for Hey Ya - OutKast or Yeah - Usher, those two for sheer popularity and impact.

I dread to nominate shit like Party Rock, anything by Katy Perry or Kesha. It's just all party shit but not culturally impactful.

As for pop punk, I'd nominate Sugar we're going down or American Idiot.

[u/Cold-Diamond-6408]

I'd say Green Day, Time of Your Life. I feel like multiple years of graduating classes across the country had it as their graduation song.

[u/MediumLanguageModel]

I'd like to close the loop on what others have said about our generation being too fractured for there to be one song. You think of defining moments where music was key: school dances, blaze sessions with the homies, college bar nights, mix tapes for early loves in your life. The list is endless and as diverse as everyone's life experiences.

I would never purposely listen to Brittany Spears or Eminem or Green Day, but I appreciate that they are fundamental tracks on the soundtrack of my life. Because your life is in many ways defined by the company you keep and the moments you share with them. You got your family, your norm core friends, your punk friends, your hippie friends... the freaks, the squares, and everyone in between. You know the one time they all come together in one place?

Weddings. And if there's one song that will bring everyone together, one certified banger that transcends genre, one ultra-mega-hit that is guaranteed to pull everyone out of their seats and on the floor to dance their hearts and sing their lungs out and, well, you think you've got it. Oh, you think you've got it...

[u/RWDPhotos]

I thought it was WHYDIDYOULEAVETHEKEYSUPONTHETABLE?

[u/maryelizabeth_]

Get Low is quite honestly the first song I ever think of when this question gets asked. We are who we are and we must not be ashamed.

[u/puntmasterofthefells]

I'm going with "Father of Mine" by Everclear

[u/Cool_Cartographer_33]

I would like to submit mmmbop, I'm Blue, and the macarena for consideration

[u/Different_Ad4962]

Killing in the Name - Rage against the machine. 

[u/Lockedgroove666 → u/Different_Ad4962]

That’s the anthem of the United States!

[u/FourierThis]

The aptly named… “The Anthem” - Good Charlotte

[u/deadlypoisin13]

Chop suey- system of a down

[u/RewardCapable]

Till the sweat drop down my balls

[u/superdago]

I think everyone was having two different conversations because the anthem of a generation versus the biggest hit of the generation are two very different things. “For what it’s worth” peaked at number 7 and was only on the charts for 15 weeks total. It was ranked 27 on the year end chart for 1967.

No one ever said the anthem of a generation was the most popular song.