Thread: which song is the definitive 'Millennial' anthem?

economymedicine.bsky.social335

Phoenix "lisztomania" popular enough AOC made a music video featuring it but largely stayed within millennials.

Alissa Wilkinson225

It’s really gotta be Such Great Heights

Joel Mayward212

Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" also comes to mind.

buildmore🔰187

Way too much indie rock on here. The real answer is in another genre. Think Temperature by Sean Paul, Milkshake by Kelis, Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson.

Darth Calculus 🏳️‍🌈105

Hoobastank - "the reason" Snow Patrol - "chasing cars" Death cab for cutie - "I'll follow you into the dark" These are the three songs I think of as being very relevant in the mid-2000s and then never hearing them again except for nostalgia

Gene Parmesan84

It’s Mr Brightside and Ms Jackson. They’re a couple. They’re dating

asura81

No Sum41 or Lit? No one knows Flagpole Sitta anymore

Renee74

Gorillaz’ “Feel Good Inc.” maybe, too?

doom boy69

this is a white ass list my friend

Todd65

Postal Service is probably it but millennials also have a fondness for wheatus “Teenage Dirtbag”, which I am not sure I’ve ever heard aside from millennials singing it at karaoke.

Morbo the News Monster58

Every single millenial, no matter what their race, culture, religion, or musical preferences, knows every goddamned word to I Want It That Way.

Abby Olcese48

By this logic (which I kind of agree with) it should be Rebecca Black's "Friday."

Sara, no H43

Has anyone mentioned Avril yet? Complicated was every 14 year old girl's anthem it felt like and I couldn't even tell you the last time I heard it

Themlock42

I'm afraid to tell you that it is Beverly Hills by Weezer

AK42

"Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People is probably the answer both for its ubiquity and it's lyrics' relevance

THISISKYLE37

Comments making me feel like this is a ”two americas” sort of thing.

Caldé time36

Its obviously "Thong Song" by Sisqó. I mean, what are we doing here? Make your booty go!

David McGinnis33

As a high school teacher I have to eliminate “Maps,” it was a TikTok meme as recently as last year

John Penus 𓅸31

like it or not its “party rock anthem”, you couldn’t escape it for a few years no matter how hard you tried, it was there, wherever you turned.

Anxiyeti28

Florence + The Machine "Dog Days Are Over" has gotta be up there

R. Hunter Whitworth27

I Believe in a Thing Called Love feels relevant

Contingency Fee26

Is 'Fat Lip' by Sum 41 too early? 'What's My Age Again' by Blink 182 also.

Greer24

Other contenders: Phoenix's 1901 or maybe Lisztomania; Something by Fitz and the Tantrums. Probably Outta My League or Handclap Also... Does the entire Garden State soundtrack scan more as Gen X or Millennial (as it's *extremely* Xennial)?

Christo Silvia24

So the real way you measure this quantitatively is by going to the weddings of people in their late 20s early 30s and using a decibel meter for the crowd reaction to each song

Cab23

"Are you gonna be my girl" by Jet or Le Tigre's "Deceptacon". Any song that played in either a mobile phone company or an iPod ad is a strong contender.

JJ23

I regret to inform you it's Drops of Jupiter

Frog Suit Mario23

I'm a Xennial our anthems are already codified (Longview, Torn, and Tubthumping)

Lilly ⭐️23

this list really does paint a beautiful picture

Dan22

Ok fun exercise, but I think the problem here is that trying to nail down "definitively millennial" is like a 3-card monte game of our pre-9/11, post-9/11, and Great Recession eras. You point to one and a thousand people pop up and make the totally valid point that it's gotta be another.

rando54.bsky.social20

I think it broke contain slightly with later memes, but “Fireflies” by Owl City has to be in the running

Jonno20

It's absolutely panic at the disco - I write sins not tragedies

Em, midly20

I know Kids charted higher, but I’d argue Time to Pretend is the MGMT track to beat

UncannyKyle19

I regret to inform it’s likely “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyes Peas. It was inescapable through like all of 09-10 but it’s disappeared since, because if you weren’t at prime drinking and partying age when it was guaranteed to be on at a club, you think it’s fucking corny.

Andy 🐈‍⬛🍺🧦🇺🇦🇵🇸↙️↙️↙️17

"Hey Ya!" belongs on there.

Avs Von Rockie16

Anyway, “Wolf Like Me”, TV On The Radio

NaK Eutectic Enjoyer16

I hear Stacy's Mom has got it going on

Stephie16

I replied to a quote but Flo Rida’s “Low” is one for me. Kanye’s “Flashing Lights” hits me more in the nostalgia. A few more: Sleepyhead by Passion Pit, L.E.S. Artistes by Santigold

Transfer portal poster 14

How to save a life- The Fray

Gabe Lynch13

Maybe “We Are Young” by fun?

Taylor12

Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" is up there.

bokunobeard.bsky.social12

Yeah by Usher. I cannot imagine anyone avoided that one and most people my age and at least 5 years on either side have always known it. Some of these other recs are wayyyy more obscure than I think yall realize.

Just Chris11

I'll actually go with The Lonely Island's "I'm on a Boat."

PureNRK11

Okay I’ve revised my opinion. Anything too early 90s won’t hit the young millennials. Anything too mid-2000s will miss the old millennials. So… I think it needs to be something in the ‘98-‘01 release range. So I’m going with: 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite Train - Drops of Jupiter

Michael Yarbrough (he/him)11

Whatever with the no Rihanna rules, the correct answer is "Umbrella."

シェパード, Shepard11

I'm an American millennial, I have never in my life heard any of these.

Dracula Enthusiast11

It's Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out"

Augh11

dawg i know its on me but i never heard of any of these let alone heard them

Mark Histed11

Bloc Party “blue light” Regina Spektor “fidelity” modest mouse “float on” or “the world at large” probably also the shins and broken bells Could also add “pumped up kicks” and stretching layer “call me maybe”

Ken10

"Chop Suey" by System of a Down. In addition to its many obvious credentials, the album came out on 9/11.

Golf Art10

All Star and Californication were huge when I was in 5th grade

Chris10

Sufjan Stevens: “Chicago” Phoenix: “1901” The Shins: “New Slang”

Zach Malm10

Throwing my "House of Jealous Lovers" by The Rapture hat into the ring.

Hank Single9

Postal Service and Strokes are X-ennial jams, to me, an X-ennial.

Pearl River Flow9

I can't believe so few people are skeeting Aww Skeet Skeet You have to Get Low On the list to find it. And that's not right. Also it might be Outkast.

old kenfucky shart9

My wife just made a strong case for “No One Knows” by Queens of the Stone Age” based primarily on the lyrics

Robbie, sometimes8

The answer is Mr. Brightside. Now i would also contend that it's possibly "Clint Eastwood" but I don't know if we're ready to have conversation.

vILLAGE GENIOUS8

kesha, tik tok or die young

Nora 🐝8

It’s Such Great Heights. Clearly and definitively

Nathaniel7

We’re the only generation that does the “It’s Gonna Be (May)” gig, so It’s Gonna Be Me has to be there if we’re talking songs which *didn’t* break generational containment.

Richard Stromberg7

Okay I still say Mr Brightside even with the follow-up disclaimer but will also posit The Scientist or Chasing Cars. Maybe Float On. In my heart An Honest Mistake by The Bravery deserved more but it never got there.

Kelly7

While I understand your point about Beyoncé and most of her songs don’t apply, I think Single Ladies is a uniquely millennial song

HOTOL Vuh7

Ladytron’s ‘Destroy Everything You Touch’? although they’ve just released a new album and it’s pretty solid, so maybe too enduring for the brief

Wearing a HR Monitor while taking a poo 6

Midnight City - M83 This is it. This is the answer

Musky Canadian6

While I too would prefer it was one of these cool songs, we all seem to be forgetting how Gangnam Style took over the world for a while and now we all know what K-pop is

zours.bsky.social6

The Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers Beirut - Nantes Cat Power - The Greatest Amy Winehouse - Rehab Sleater Kinney - Jumpers

Geoff Lemon 🍋6

Accurate list, every one a bullseye, Pumped Up Kicks is in that bracket too

Craig Can’t Even6

I think we’re overestimating how many millennials would know this list of songs. I know charts are not everything, but the only one of these to make any sort of chart impact is All of the Lights. Thinking back to high school I know the specific friend group who would have been listening to these.

Sean Howe6

I have a feeling you're going to be having this debate for another night or two

Will Hardy6

I submit “feel good inc” as just last week me (1991) and my coworker (1994) couldn’t believe that our other coworker (1999) had never heard of it before

Ryann Liebenthal6

I’m sorry, but it’s either “Waterfalls” or “Say My Name”

Kelly J. Crawford6

EVERYBODY'S FREE (to wear sunscreen) m.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7...

lumidingo.bsky.social5

How are there no Blink songs here? What's My Age Again? Dammit?

JPEgg5

If we are just doing white alternative millennials, it's Kids. If we are going beyond that, it's Hey Ya.

Jason Fliegel5

It's obviously Fireflies by Owl City.

💚𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐋𝐮𝐢𝐠𝐢💚5

Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin, Paper Planes by MIA, Hey Ya, Party in the USA by Miley, Numb by Linkin Park, Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day, and I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic all feel definitively millennial

🔞Yeager Comics🔞5

The way this gives me an existential crisis, considering I don’t know any of these.

As a Gen Xer, I‘d want to know if there is something as thematically on-point for millennials as Smells Like Teen Spirit - which isn’t the “best” Gen X song, but the one that most clearly articulates what our generation is purportedly about. That’s our anthem, no question.

pokeypete.bsky.social5

Not every millennial is a weirdo indy kid.

dynamoxie.bsky.social4

My vote was going to be for "Hey Ya," but now I'm veering towards "I'm Really Hot" by Missy Elliott.

Richard Hayes4

I would say “Kids” even though it is borderline annoying (just like Millennials tbh)

Mind Titan4

If it's something all millennials seem to know, my extensive research indicates it's actually Don't Stop Believing (Journey).

Jennifer Rose4

I am an elder millennial and I have heard precisely zero of these songs and, besides Kanye for all the wrong reasons, I am vaguely aware of maybe one other group.

🔞Cass, The Rocker Queen🔞4

As a millennial, I have heard of exactly 1 of these.

i vote Such Great Heights

David Savage4

Sorry it's Mr Brightside there's no contest.

JAIL FOR ICE THUGS4

“I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Juuusst big enough to have not broken containment.

Silly Rookie3

I know zero of these, even the Kanye one. I know other Kanye songs, but not that one. The rest of those I've never heard of in my life.

Minnesota Macroplastic Barbie3

going to have to go with Such Great Heights because I don't recognize any of the other songs, also I remember it being played at the first college house party I went to

Merlin Blackwell of Clearwater🇨🇦3

Does Awolnation Sail count as millennial?

Joe Marshall3

It’s Mr Brightside, and it isn’t particularly close.

Hannah “Charles Barkley” Pechan3

The answer is anything ying yang twins

jmguti.bsky.social3

The Shin’s “New Slang” and Dispatches “The General” also deserve consideration IMO

Geoff Bowser3

Black Keys - Lonely Boy - Yes it was a huge hit, but basically by hitting mono-culture amongst millennials. Also it was/is a good song & video.

Geoff Bowser3

I personally love MGMT "kids". I don't think Kanye can be on the list, because he got cancelled and also because trying to meet your cultural definition is impossible. Why "all of the lights" instead of "runaway" or "Heartless". Is OutKast "Hey Ya" too mainstream?

J0SIE Mostly3

I said it was a song my wife has never heard and she said it was one I've never heard, so I don't know where that leaves millennials as a whole 🤔

Andy Schauer3

i'm so sorry to bring this up, but if you're going like total population of american millenials it might be "the reason" by hoobastank. other possibilities: "drive" by incubus "higher" by creed

LuBoo3

Pumped Up Kicks, but Kids is also a good one.

sarah(a_lalala)3

this is an excellent list. I will say that as someone on the other end of the millennial cohort I understand why younger genx people take issue with some of these lol. eventually I listened to some of these songs in high school but was a child when they came out.

Nick LaGrange3

After sleeping on it, I now realize it’s actually the theme song from The Office.

Allena (Ah-lay-nuh), she/her I support 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸🎌2

Buttons.. Promiscuous… What about Fallin’? Eminem’s Stan? I think Millennials went through such a search of shit that it’s really gonna have to be hyper local. Hah

Shady Dell Public Library2

If someone bombed this thread there would be zero 42 year olds left on Bluesky.

zvxg.bsky.social2

Kid cudi - pursuit of happiness

irrationalsixers.bsky.social2

It’s get low by lil john and the ying yang twins and it’s not particularly close

hiebygb.bsky.social2

I’ve always thought Kid Cudi’s Pursuit of Happiness was the quintessential millennial anthem

Wack Harlow2

I'm a baby millennial and only recognize such great heights and all of the lights

Avs Von Rockie2

You just ruled out half the definitive millennial songs

hanfinity 🚲2

We are Young by Fun, but probably only for mid to late millennials

Stefan Müller2

as non-American, so my entry is Wir sind Helden with „Denkmal". all good songs listed here though

ThrillClinton (he/him)2

Electric Feel is MGMTs definitive millennial song

David Jones2

cold war kids, ‘hang me up to dry’

MISANDR of the thaw2

I gotta go with maps, but I think it being a guitar hero song made it break millennial containment.

Holden2

It's gotta be Float On, right?

Why haven’t I seen The Knife’s Heartbeats listed yet?!?!?

the king of england2

Personally I don’t even understand what anyone’s even debating, when we all know what the real answer is

kevinpaulconnor.bsky.social2

I hate maps, but it's maps

Ggobs2

You party with a lot of white people.

Alex2

What about that Baz Luhrman sunscreen song

Courtside Karenina2

Not the winner but "Chicago" should be on the list of contenders.

Drew from Detroit2

Chief Keef's "Sosa," Avicii "Levels," Miley Cyrus "Wrecking Ball," Kanye West "Good Life," Sia "Elastic Heart"

Justin White2

Is it Good Riddance by Green Day?

Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner12

Gin and juice cover by Blink 182

Cannon7

Someone picked up the phone while we were trying to download it from Limewire

Tacticus2

It was beautiful for those 5 seconds right before that .exe file caused the computer to explode.

PPP Grifter (payroll not the other one)2

So um, we only used programs like Kazaa and limewire to download music and only music right guys? Right

JM =^)13

There is no point in debating when we can just simply reminisce

Freakbeat Takeshi7

this is our "we drank from the hose"

Citizen of Somewhere Else5

Chris Farley interviewing millennials on bsky

Eric Garment4

remember some guys, remember some songs, two sides of the same coin

FVBLT 🏳️‍⚧️3

"What is the most __ song" is a way better prompt than "What is the best __ song" because people will fight to the death for their favorites but will sit and reflect seriously for a moment if Who Let The Dogs Out was a bedrock of 2000s culture even if they don't like it. Way better vibes!

The Pumpkin Dipshit20

I haven't seen anybody mention green day's good riddance which was absolutely our melancholy graduation song for every level of schooling below high school

Evan Prellberg15

Not necessarily good songs, but the collective memory is a genuinely enjoyable experience.

Rich Ferguson12

Lou Bega - Mambo Number 5

Sanmei10

I had a little bit of an existential breakdown the other day when I realized it had been more than twenty years since I first heard All the Things She Said.

Baba Yaga’s Chicken Shack8

I legit unfollowed someone who tried to drop yuck on that thread. Any conversation about music and the memories it creates is a good conversation. And any music that elicits feeling is meaningful music.

Theodora Ruhs7

Music discourse is fun, but as someone born barely on the X side, I’m aghast at all the songs of my youth that millennials are claiming. I was hoping some follow cuspers would chime in on this to make me feel better. bsky.app/profile/theo...

DGM6

This week, I saw a group of high school kids in my town circled up, kicking a hacky sack, and listening to shaggy on a boombox. This discourse is important—the youths are looking to us for guidance.

Keir DuBois6

I understand that as an Xer my opinion doesn't count, but I will warn you that our brains did not really survive similar discourse when it happened to us

Oggie2

I feel like the song that really divorced me from any relevance from milenials (younger gen x here) was that vitamin C 'Graduation' song, which was...inescapable. Just...everywhere. Before that I sort of figured my music would remain dominant for a while. (Still confused how Nirvana returned)

Morvelaira2

I had a habit of watching MTV in the mornings while getting ready for school when I was in high school. There was a particular stretch of six months or so where - no matter what else they played - they ALWAYS put on "One Headlight" and "The Perfect Drug" at some point. Forever stuck in my memory.

Dr. Kiki2

WHY CAN'T WE DO THE GEN X VERSION OF THIS? IF I VOTE IN THIS, DO I MESS UP THE RESULTS? WHAT HAPPENS IF I MESS UP THE RESULTS?

John David Pressman52

All these other posts drive a pretty hard bargain but why are we pretending it's anything other than this. youtu.be/kffacxfA7G4

Nanjing Narg27

By this criteria, we have to revise our submissions from good songs to Butterfly by Crazy Town

Future ex-Housewife 🐸20

All Star. I do not make the rules. Now I need a pennance spanking. Fuck.

Mechtroid19

As someone who had to listen to the radio during my high-school job at Red Robin, it's fucking Hey There Delilah. IT'S WHAT YOU DO TO ME OH IT'S WHAT YOU DO TO MEEEE

Evil Eye Stalk17

I nominate Train - Hey Soul Sister

Jessica Robot13

hey there delilah what's it like in new york city

ChaoticHuman11

Crazy Frog - Axel F (and really anything else by Crazy Frog in my opinion)

Tristan Palmgren8

The most millennial song must be from Shrek, sorry.

vakuu plays your turn for you7

Back off I'll take you on Headstrong I'll take on millennials

Gavin (who is back in town)5

Hold on. Kids was mentioned as a candidate, and Kids is among the 13 or 327 songs that is not *worse* than any other song (the boys are back in town, she loves you, all too well, Atlantic City, motion sickness, etc)

Doctor Wind Turkey5

You don't like Animal Collective My Girls??

Drift4

The answer is, of course All-Star.

Testudo Aubrei3

Hey ya is great and is the answer.

Ricky B3

"Moves Like Jagger" I feel like there may be a worse Maroon 5 song but I'm blanking

Texas Krusty3

Hey ya is objectively awesome

Bedtime for Glonzo3

Mr Brightside is good, actually

Mark3

Too awful and a song gets referenced and remembered. I'm going with Come With Me Now by The Kongos as just mediocre enough to vanish. Think it only lives on soundtracks, where it is music-that-doesn't-distract on purpose.

the man with the $100,000 fingertip3

Bring Me To Life is the one that keeps coming to mind for me

Icefire93

Okay, my submission: Macklemore, Thrift Shop

eli2

Exiting this thread for my sanity

Mr. Nick Beaudrot2

"Stereo" by maroon 5 and uh somebody cooler than maroon 5?

d.ly16

ceej look what you've sparked look at the damage you've done

Cooper Lund7

A really drunk guy tried to grind on me at a Hood Internet show at the 7th Street Entry in like 2012. We still laugh about it.

Deeny they/them5

Ceej why would you say something so controversial yet so accurate

The Swamp King4

I took acid and had ego death while seeing girl talk at a music festival in 2011 when I was 19. It saved me from becoming what they call a "wook".

Kaiju Sommelier4

The advent of mashups (I believe started at Bootie in San Francisco) was more important than people give credit for.

sadvil 😎4

This would definitely get play at college dorm pregames www.youtube.com/watch?v=i97P...

Jesse3

Appropriate cancellation aside this was always my favorite youtu.be/LCKAPNcmd-I?...

Lost In The Supermarket3

Ooh, I'd posit this one as well: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNzr...

Joe Uchill3

Related: Girl Talk's Knife remix is one of the best mashups ever released.

Mitch Gustafson3

Maybe, but this is the Grizzly Bear mashup I remember us playing all the time: youtu.be/KlnLuUy5IEE?...

R72

most millennial song? strongbad's trogdor song.

medium rare bird2

@ceej.online I went to see the hood internet play live at the art museum in chicago once. I was so starstruck I bought a cocktail with a $20 bill and forgot to take my change. at the time that was like accidentally donating your entire car to goodwill

Brainfall: Mentality’s Requiem2

Hood Internet…now there is a name I have not heard in a long time Also this feels like cheating because they are picking the most millennial-coded songs in the world and taping them together

kurivaim 𓃠2

if it's a mashup, it's going to be an explicitly *pre-youtube* mashup, that was spread through each and every file-sharing medium specifically this one (eminem and ragtime piano)

Matt Johnson2

It was easy to tell that it wasn't actually Phish because it didn't suck

Cheyne8

R Kelly running away with the canceled region

simpcopter6

original post is very [liberal arts college]

Multi-Level Markkanen3

This thread could have been a listicle.

Big Fat Bartolo's Colon2

also only gen z should get to vote to make us all crazy

Julia Is Moisturized, Unbothered, Not Asking for Money16

it’s “Mr. Brightside” for white Millennials, “Hey Ya!” for a more inclusive demographic slice imo

Tollberg9

Grantland did the bracket. It was indeed “Hey Ya”

Angry Cephalopod4

I like The Killers and Mr Brightside is bad, their worst song by far

Charter School Abolitionist 🇮🇷3

Ah yeah. It's hey ya

Matt Murphy3

I saw "Smooth" by Santana ft Rob Thomas as a candidate.

jesse, dramatically changing display name2

Hey Ya can’t be the millennial song when the video was boomer nostalgia!!

binary phase diagram22

did you make the connection between T-Pain and Tallahassee yet?

Matt Murphy9

Just like the color orange is named for the fruit, the state was named for the performer

Fat4all (Agatha) 🏳️‍⚧️3

id argue for “wasn’t me” by shaggy

S Peter Davis and Grogu7

What rough discourse, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bluesky to be born?