A New Teen Anthem?

Every generation has a popular song that they can identify with. This song usually gets a lot of radio airtime and is often popular for years to come. Another possible staple for securing a song as a ‘teen anthem’ is ease of play. Quite a few people teach themselves guitar by practicing this song over and over. For people a few years older than me, Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was their anthem. This song led the hair-metal-bashing, rebellious, grunge scene, and is probably the best song of the most well known album of 1992, Nevermind. This as unfortunate because two other fantastic grunge albums, Pearl Jam’s Ten and Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger, also were released that year.

Smells Like Teen Spirit is a song that was catchy, fast, and easy to play. Couple a simple song with Cobain’s dark lyrics (“I feel stupid and contagious/ Here we are now, entertain us”), and the result is a track that will appeal to teens worldwide. The song catapulted Cobain to star status almost overnight.

If the teens in 1992 had that song, then what song can the teens of my generation rally around? I’ve been a teenager since 2000, but I’m willing to add a couple of tweenage years to that count. What song was around then that my peers and I can relate to? Songs that immediately come to mind are ones like Blink-182’s ‘All the Small Things’, ‘Come out and play’ by Offspring, or perhaps maybe a Hootie and the Blowfish tune. But I’m gonna go ahead and say that, no, none of these are the teen anthem of my generation. There is a different song that I think is our teen anthem.


That song would be ‘Seven Nation Army’.


There are several reasons that I pick ‘Seven Nation Army’ over a host of other songs.

• The opening bass line is instantly recognizable
• The song is extremely catchy
• The vague lyrics allow a host of interpretations
• The song is easy to play, even by ear

Granted, Jack White is not Kurt Cobain. Neither is he Jack Black, for that matter. Mr. White, despite his attempts to shy away from the public view, is fast becoming a teen icon. Maybe it’s the red-and white outfits? Perhaps it’s his strict adherence to analog recording techniques? Could it be his once-mysterious relationship with his drummer, Meg? Whatever it is, teens and young adults alike are buying his music in droves. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Hopefully not suicide.