What are (and what are your favorite) indie rock anthems?

May 8, 2007 1:43 AM

What are (and what are your favorite) indie rock anthems?

Knowing full well that the term "indie" is loaded at best, please consider the question. I'm looking for those elements that make a (indie rock) song an anthem, or anthemic. Songs like Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" or Broken Social Scene's "Superconnected", etc. What are the qualities that make an indie song an anthem? What are your favorite anthemic songs?

This of course excludes patriotic or school-related anthems. I'm looking for thoughts or even deconstructions of what general qualities make an indie song anthemic. Thanks!

posted by skechada to media & arts (46 comments total)

To possibly stimulate discussion, here's a quickly and crudely put together playlist of songs I see as being "anthemic".

http://www.projectplaylist.com/user/6250909/view

Also, google turned up a NME "Top Anthems List" that I'd disagree with for the most part. It seems that their interpretation of "Anthem" is a song that best personfies the band that wrote it, from their body of work (an interpretation I disagree with).

http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/node/4734

I'm looking more for the common qualities (a sense of epic scale, lush instrumentation, multiple vocalists, etc) that add anthemic qualities to songs, and/or songs you think of as being anthemic.

Thanks for any insight or input you can provide!
posted by skechada at 1:48 AM on May 8, 2007

I generally think of "anthems" (indie rock or otherwise) as songs I like to sing loudly with other people when I get drunk, or in the car. See: Bon Jovi's 'Living on a Prayer,' Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone,' Guns n Roses' 'Sweet Child o' Mine,' Biggie's 'Juicy,' Eddie Money's 'Take Me Home Tonight,' and of course, Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'. (Different crowds will have different anthems, but those are some songs that will reliably produce group singing, in my experience.)

The only (vaguely) "indie rock" songs I can think of that have this effect are The Killers' 'Mr. Brightside' and Kaiser Chief's 'I Predict a Riot'.

(Queue argument about what defines "indie rock"....now.)
posted by cosmic osmo at 2:20 AM on May 8, 2007

Damn kids with your "Kaiser Cheifs" and "Arcade Fires".

Sonic Youth's "Teenage Riot" is the indie anthem. I double-dare you to do better than that. Of course, You Am I's "Berlin Chair" may come close, but I don't expect you to have heard of it. </arrogance>

Also, I don't think this is what Ask Metafilter is for.
posted by Jimbob at 2:35 AM on May 8, 2007

Here's my 'anthem' list. Many of these may not be so 'indie' anymore.

Sigur Ros - Hoppipolla
DNTEL - Last Songs
My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes
Bright Eyes - Let's Not Shit Ourselves
Broken Social Scene -- Ibi Dreams Of Pavement
The Flaming Lips -- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (pt 1)
Yeah Yeah Yeah - Maps
Suede - New Generation
Stars - Ageless Beauty
Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
New Order - Ceremony

To me, an anthem is some kind of song that represents or has values of overarching unity -- some kind of shareability, unison emotion. Looking over the list, it seems that most of the bands have a large amount of orchestration, many layered sounds, a strong rhythm, and rely strongly on the texture of the sound to carry the strength of the song.
posted by suedehead at 2:40 AM on May 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

I hate to state the obvious, but I can't think of a much better anthemic song for indie dweebs than The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?"
posted by melorama at 2:43 AM on May 8, 2007

Sugar - Hoover Dam

Hard to find, but definitively anthemic.
posted by pivotal at 2:54 AM on May 8, 2007

Archers of Loaf --- Plumb Line
posted by nimsey lou at 3:17 AM on May 8, 2007

Nirvana/Heart Shaped Box, Pulp/Disco 2000, Elastica/Connection, Veruca Salt/Straight, B-52s/Loveshack, Babylon Zoo/Spaceman, Nick Cave/Red Right Hand, Beck/Loser, Oasis/Champagne Supernova, Blur/Song 2, Chumbawamba/Tubthumping, Cranberries/Linger, Filter/Hey Man Nice Shot, Silverchair/Anthem for the Year 2000.

Anthemic? Indie? No idea, but it's a pretty loose question. These are just what came to mind.

I think a lot of one-hit-wonders might qualify.
posted by Leon at 3:18 AM on May 8, 2007

I'm going to suggest that the anthems playlist the OP linked to is extremely limited in scope—four Arcade Fire songs and four Broken Social Scene songs? Three artists in total? But then I guess that's why you're asking this question, to expand your horizons. Problem is, I'm not sure what links "Wake Up" to "Anthems For a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl"; the two tracks are about as different as you can get and I'd hardly call "Anthems" a real anthem song. Though apparently Webster disagrees somewhat:

a usually rousing popular song that typifies or is identified with a particular subculture, movement, or point of view <anthems of teenage angst>

"Anthems" only fulfills one of those criteria, and not very strongly at that; it's more an impressionistic song than a real statement of (teenage) authority. (Also, you can't really sing along to it, which to me kinda rules it out as an anthem.) Anthems are supposed to be statements; they're like manifestos set to song. That's why "Wake Up" makes a lot more sense as an anthem; it's like the Arcade Fire are testifying to some higher power, especially when you see them play it live.

It also explains a bunch of those NME picks; sure, Pulp's "Common People" is one of their best-known songs, but it's an anthem precisely because it was a popular statement that reached so many people. The basic narrative resonates; it's a great anthem because it's a bold statement of us vs. them. You don't understand us, we have to deal with all the shit in life you get to escape whenever it suits you, we can never see eye to eye and we will always be different. Not all anthems are such a "fuck you" to someone else, or even have much of a statement besides "yeah, we're awesome" or "party hard!" but they should absolutely inspire something in you—whether it's to dance, or sing along, or run into the streets and break stuff. (Maybe not so much the latter one.)

With all that said, I can't actually think of very many anthems at the moment, and none of them really have that much in common with each other except perhaps what I've already said above. The problem with anthems is that they tie you specifically to a time and place in your life that you share with a certain group of people, and to everyone else they'll have no idea what you're prattlin' on about.
posted by chrominance at 3:32 AM on May 8, 2007

Suede - Trash (if this doesn't bounce you out of bed and make you reach for the eyeliner and hair dye, you're dead), Beautiful Ones (La la la la laaaa)

Manic Street Preacers - You Love Us, A Design For Life, Motown Junk, oh and loads of others mostly from the first 4 albums.

There are too many to mention from the days when indie anthems were all about celebrating being different. Oh my god but I'm old!

God what a question!
posted by merocet at 3:38 AM on May 8, 2007

I think your earlier indie anthems (late 80s, early 90s) are going to be those songs that hesitantly, quirkily, dissonantly approach the qualities of the aforementioned "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Living on a Prayer" – "approach" because indie music then stood against that kind of music* so there was always a self-loathing component when the bands embraced it. "Teenage Riot" qualifies; so do Pavement's "Summer Babe" and Sebadoh's "Brand New Love".

*yes, this is a complicated statement and it was full of lots of love/hate feelings, etc., but it was there in a way that it's not with the Arcade Fire & such who don't even consider it an issue.

A brief rule of thumb for '80s and '90s indie: If the band headlined at stadiums, it wasn't – at least in contemporaneous US usage – indie. I think this is a good a rule as any and avoids the literal, but fraught, major-label question. "Indie" was not as inclusive a term as "alternative" the way it seems to be now.
posted by furiousthought at 3:57 AM on May 8, 2007

To be clear: I'm not suggesting "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Living on a Prayer" are indie anthems. I just used them to demonstrate what I consider an "anthem" to be (namely, it has to pass the drunk singalong or karaoke test. But my definition seems to be different than the OPs.)
posted by cosmic osmo at 4:08 AM on May 8, 2007

@Leon: If we are talking Silverchair, I'd reckon 'Freak' from the album 'Freakshow' is more of an anthem (or at least a better song). Also, the first single - Straight Lines - off the new album - Young Modern - is a kickass track.

Otherwise, how about:
Bloc Party - Positive Tension
Music - The People
Muse - Starlight (or even Bliss)
Crowded House - Weather with you
Radiohead - Paranoid Android (though not exactly the best one for a sing along when drunk, its a bit too clever)
RATM - Bombtrack, Killing in the Name, Know Your Enemy
Clash - Rock the Casbah (big fan of the Something for Kate cover too)
At The Drive In - Pattern against User

And my current favourite... 'I Go Hard I Go Home' by Presets from their debut album 'Beams'.
posted by nicholasboyle42 at 4:08 AM on May 8, 2007

cosmic osmo, I wasn't implying that your suggestion was wrong - it was useful! it provided a reference point! But I do not believe that "Loveshack" for example (or sweet jesus anything Silverchair) would ever have been considered an indie anthem by a US indie-rock fan circa 1990 or so.
posted by furiousthought at 4:18 AM on May 8, 2007

Pounding - Doves
Freak scene - Dinosaur Jr.
Motorcycle Emptiness - Manic Street Preachers
Blur - The Universal
Idlewild - American English
The Wedding Present - My Favourite Dress
The Cure - In-between Days
posted by DZ-015 at 4:18 AM on May 8, 2007

(furiousthought: yeah, I see that now...reading is fundamental!)
posted by cosmic osmo at 4:27 AM on May 8, 2007

@furiousthought: the indie/not indie line was drawn somewhere else in the UK, I think. I remember the girl who introduced me to The B52's also introduced me to The Sugarcubes and The Stone Roses. But looking up their Wikipedia page, you're probably right, I probably have an idiosyncratic definition.
posted by Leon at 4:29 AM on May 8, 2007

Well, my list is probably off the mark too. Failure to read question properly. I think I took my inspiration from Leon rather than the OP
posted by nicholasboyle42 at 4:40 AM on May 8, 2007

Sloan - Underwhelmed
posted by davey_darling at 5:03 AM on May 8, 2007

Bastards Of Young - Replacements?
posted by jonmc at 5:03 AM on May 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

too lazy to look it up, but frogan posted a question along similar lines a day or so ago, about silversun pickups "lazy eye," which is pretty goddamn anthemic if you ask me.

also, check out "coast to coast" by love as laughter, "this year" by the mountain goats, "all systems red" by calexico, "nerves" by silkworm (on 'firewater') and "dremate" (on 'in the west', "twilight creeps" by crooked fingers...
posted by Hat Maui at 5:07 AM on May 8, 2007

I love it when people ask these questions.

"Transatlanticism" by Death Cab for Cutie
"Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens

Those feel the most grandiose and everyone-can't-help-but-sing-along to me.
posted by santojulieta at 5:11 AM on May 8, 2007

I'm taking "anthem" to mean any song that all but forces you to pump your fists in the air and shout the chorus, in which case I nominate the following:

Archers of Loaf - Web In Front
Quicksand - Landmine Spring
Midlake - Roscoe
Nation of Ulysses - A Comment on Ritual
Fugazi - Shut the Door
Three Mile Pilot - Circumsised
Piebald - Grace Kelly With Wings

And about a million others that I can't remember right now. I'll be back to this thread, guaranteed.
posted by saladin at 5:12 AM on May 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

Oh, and I totally think this is what MeFi is for.
posted by santojulieta at 5:12 AM on May 8, 2007

Second Leon and Chrominance with Pulp.
I prefer "Do You Rememeber the First Time?" though: it's got the soaring melody that's essential to an anthem.

My local bar (here in DC) has it on the jukebox, so whenever I get drunk I put it on and dance like I'm Jarvis Cocker...
posted by tonylord at 5:15 AM on May 8, 2007

Not sure I quite get the "anthem" bit, though maybe that's because I don't recognize most of these songs. A song that I always want to turn on louder and louder and louder is "The Moon" by the Microphones. It's got to be the fuzzy one on The Glow Pt. 2 and not any of the early versions on the 7"'s.
posted by msbrauer at 5:18 AM on May 8, 2007

Can it be?

Can it really be that nobody here has mentioned Superchunk's "Precision Auto," or "Slack Motherfucker"??? Those are pretty much the textbook indie anthems.


Also, for Archers of Loaf, I'd lean more toward "Harnessed In Slums" than "Web In Front," but that's just me.
posted by kaseijin at 5:26 AM on May 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

I might also suggest "Academy Fight Song" by Mission Of Burma.

And yes, Jimbob, Sonic Youth's "Teenage Riot" is most certainly up there. But come on... Do not pass me, just to slow down - I have precision auto!

Totally wins. Hands down. And I used to be a huge SY fan back in the day.


Also (not to Jimbob)...Sigur Rós, Death Cab? ANTHEMIC??? Really? See, I always thought an "anthem" was supposed to make you want to pump your fist in the air and sing along at the top of your lungs....
posted by kaseijin at 5:32 AM on May 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

kaseijin: you beat me to the punch with *both* Slack Motherfucker and Harnessed in Slums!

Some other suggestions:
Pixies: Debaser, Gigantic
Black Flag: Rise Above
PJ Harvey: Rid Of Me
posted by tim_in_oz at 5:37 AM on May 8, 2007

Holy crap, Jimbob, I haven't heard or even thought about "Berlin Chair" for maybe ten years and I instantly agreed. Surely that's a good quality for an anthem?
posted by plant at 5:38 AM on May 8, 2007

Blister in the Sun, and Add It Up from the Violent Femmes
Monkey Gone To Heaven from the Pixies

Not Loveshack, but definitely Rock Lobster from the B-52s
posted by goo at 5:39 AM on May 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

Interpol - Leif Erikson
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 5:44 AM on May 8, 2007

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
posted by Packy_1962 at 5:48 AM on May 8, 2007

First, I have to nth Teenage Riot as well. Also a second for Dinosaur Jr.'s Freak Scene.

A few that come to mind that haven't been mentioned yet:
Built to Spill: "You were right"
Pixies and/or Jesus & Mary Chain: "Head on"
Palace: "Ohio River Boat Song"
posted by jessicak at 5:50 AM on May 8, 2007

on preview, I should also have included In the Aeroplane over the Sea...luckily Packy_1962 took care of that one.
posted by jessicak at 5:51 AM on May 8, 2007

Seconding "Debaser", "Bastards of Young", and "Academy Fight Song."

Also:
"Rise" by Public Image Ltd
"Bring on the Dancing Horses" by Echo & the Bunnymen
"Swamp Thing" by the Chameleons
"Chips Ahoy!" by the Hold Steady
"Panic" by the Smiths
"The Unguarded Moment" by the Church
There's GOT to be something by Hüsker Dü - "Makes No Sense at All", maybe?

Finally, it's nowhere near 'anthemic' and it's difficult to sing along, but the Minutemen's "History Lesson Pt 2" is pretty close to defining indie rock.
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 5:51 AM on May 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

What comes to mind (with aghast surprise that the latter two songs haven't been mentioned yet):

Guided by Voices - "Echoes Myron" and "Hot Freaks"
Pavement - "Stereo"
The Pixies - "U-Mass" (not a school fight song at all, trust me).

I'm in the crew of folks who requires an anthem to sound really, really good while driving at least twenty miles an hour over the speed limit. Therefore I will wholeheartedly endorse your choice of "Don't Save Us From the Flames," which has gotten me through many an early morning commute.
posted by thecaddy at 5:52 AM on May 8, 2007

Push Kings- Memphis
Throwing Muses- Not too Soon
Sleater-Kinney- I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone
Bikini Kill- Rebel Girl

Definitely "Teenage Riot," but I'd also add "Chapel Hill" to the Sonic Youth list. Oh, and Superchunk's "Hyper Enough."
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 5:55 AM on May 8, 2007

The true indie rock anthem is "Gimmie Indie Rock" By Sebadoh.


Though the song itself is not anthemic.
posted by drezdn at 6:04 AM on May 8, 2007

"Another State of Mind" (and "Mommy's Little Monster") by Social Distortion
"99 Red Balloons" or "99 Luftballoons" by Nena
posted by Martin E. at 6:09 AM on May 8, 2007

let me add Punk Rock Girl by The Dead Milkmen.
yea I know they arent really "indie" in that sense of the word, but damn it that song makes me scream at the top of my lungs everytime...

Just...you...and me... punk... rock... girl!
posted by ShawnString at 6:18 AM on May 8, 2007

Some more:

Cap'n Jazz - Little League
Fugazi - Waiting Room
Dinosaur Jr. - The Lung
I Hate Myself - This Isn't The Tenka-ichi Budokai
Piebald - American Hearts
Promise Ring - Best Looking Boys
Get Up Kids - I'm a Loner, Dottie, a Rebel
posted by saladin at 6:20 AM on May 8, 2007

> punchdrunkhistory writes:
> There's GOT to be something by Hüsker Dü -
> "Makes No Sense at All", maybe?

It's a little obscure, but how about Divide and Conquer? The version on The Living End is sensational. And if Eight Miles High was an enthem for the hippie generation, surely Husker Du's reworking of it is worth a mention.
posted by tim_in_oz at 6:32 AM on May 8, 2007

Guided By Voices has a ton. thecaddy mentioned a different couple but the first two that come to mind for me are "A Salty Salute" and "Over the Neptune / Mesh Gear Fox." I could reel off another dozen if I had to.
posted by dfan at 6:34 AM on May 8, 2007

To the true indie snob, an indie anthem would be an oxymoron. To them, you are only indie as long as you are obscure and an obscure song can not be an anthem.

Anyway, my vote goes for Blitzkrieg Bop.
posted by caddis at 6:37 AM on May 8, 2007

Oh and how could I leave out "Weed King"?

As far as anthem criteria go, to me an anthem has to be midtempo, so you can bang your head to it without spilling your beer.
posted by dfan at 6:38 AM on May 8, 2007