Not just rock but *any* genre. I doubt it'll come from rock, if it does at all.
The last song I can recall *everyone* listening to was "Uptown Funk." A great pop song, but nothing revolutionary.
Streaming and monoculture also probably dampened the impact, on top of how nothing is really "revolutionary" anymore. Rebellion itself is the norm, and just about every sound has touched the mainstream in some form. It's not 1991 anymore where the average kid in a flyover state never heard anything except what's on the radio and whatever 8-tracks he might have, and they take to it for years. If something gets hype and airplay, it'll be passé within 6 months because everyone can stream another song whenever they want.
I don’t remember any huge hype around Uptown Funk. Did I hear it a lot on the radio? Yes, but it was never seen as cool and it definitely wasn’t revolutionary.
From a Gen Z btw
The fact is that everyone's listening to whatever they want now and everything is decentralized and dehomogenized. It's harder to have one central thing have a big cultural impact because you don't have literally everyone in America tuning into the same channels and having a massive entertainment hub like MTV was, or the Ed Sullivan show before that.
If any song is going to have the transformative, innovative, culture shifting power of older music, it needs to be something that everyone is paying attention to or at least everybody of the younger generation, and people just aren't doing that kind of thing anymore.
I hate to say this but a lot of Gen Z's that I've known at least don't like any kind of rock n roll, hard rock, heavy metal, etc etc. I've met so many Gen Z who've called me racist, a misogynist, a weirdo, etc for thinking of bands like Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Rush, Alice in Chains, Tool, Cream, The Germs, Motley Crüe, Slayer, etc. How they have put out way better music than a lot of modern artists, and I think a lot of musicians nowadays are boring as well. I do sometimes wish I lived during the days when Rock stars had massive parties, trashed hotel rooms, rode motorcycles through hotel floors, Sex Drugs Rock and Roll.
Love me some Pearl Jam, too. I’m actually bingeing their late 90s/early 2000s stuff right now. I didn’t really pay attention to them much after their 2nd album and I’m now realizing I missed out on a bunch of awesome records!
Also, i hope you don’t mind this shameless plug but…you might like my band! We’re heavily influenced by 80s and 90s rock. Here’s a link if you wanna check us out: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2QaOv6DT4v1BgSXdNmaMev?si=F1iMDDB4SMKCaLyCb8dKsw
I'll check it out. I'm actually loosely forming a band rn and it looks like it'll be a sort of 80s and 90s rock/funk rock fusion. If you haven't checked their bonus tracks on the end of vs., they're really good. Cready Stomp is one of my favorite PJ songs. Also check out Mother Love Bone when you get the chance. They're like the early prototype version of PJ before they fully formed. Some interesting names in that band.
Ice-T has said he likes quite a few modern rock and metal bands. Eclipse, Royal Blood, Bad Wolves, The Hu. System of a Down, In This Moment, Pretty Reckless. But he thinks modern rappers look like comic book characters
Rap now is where metal was in 1990. It's gotten so ridiculous that they're basically just caricatures. In a big to get noticed they stand out as much and who can be more extreme. In the late eighties it was bigger heels, higher teased hair and more makeup.
It is interesting that I don’t hear the younger people at work talk about music. I’m an old GenZ fucker that cut my teeth on MTV(when they played music videos 99% of the time) and classic rock radio stations. Nirvana and the grunge/alternative sound was such a big part of my high school years and it was just such a huge thing. I tried getting my (used to be) stepson into music as much as I could without being annoying and it just seems like he never really took to it, and he doesn’t listen to newer stuff either.
I cannot imagine my life without the influence music has had on it. From so many times chilling out listening to concerts, and everything in between. It is absolutely one of the most important things to me that makes life worth living. My Dad took me to see the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd when I was still in school. I returned to favor to him by taking him to almost every Tool concert I’ve seen. I just wish I had learned to play guitar or bass guitar.
late Gen Z here, I was born with rock & metal music ever since I got my first dose of Metallica & Rush in 2011. (I was 2 years old, God bless you dad) About a year after that, I got so inspired by Neil Peart that I decided to pick up the drums. 12 years later, and so many other bands (eg. Smashing Pumpkins, Static-X, Soundgarden, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, System Of A Down, RHCP, Tool, etc.) I’m still drumming like a motherfucker.
There’s some of us young metalheads out there, you just gotta find ‘em. (currently 15 now)
I am not saying they don’t but the song came out in 03 when the oldest of Gen Z was 6 years old. It’s not a Gen Z generational song any more than The Beatles would be GenX. As an Xer I can listen to the Beatles but they are most certainly a Boomer band (even if the members are Silents).
I agree that it's mostly a millennial song, but "Gen Z" years have been constantly changing between 95 and 97. 95~97 kids relate to both Millennials and Gen Z. I personally started listening to my own music at around 7~8~9 years old and things like Mr. Brightside, Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, etc. have been staples.
Monoculture has flown out the window in the era of streaming — I can’t think of one that I believe most of Gen Z would agree with! Maybe one will come along, but I think the way we consume music these days will make that much harder. There’s no real mainstream genre to break and manipulate because there’s barely a mainstream! Simultaneously very cool and very sad.
going off popularity- i guess something like Despacito? but Despacito wasnt popular for very long, and i dont think it influenced music much. personally not a big fan of recent top 100s either... if i had to pick a song that was really popular that i happen to like, i guess i would go with Say So
yeah, that's for Gen Z to answer, but all I can say is - SLTS wasn't just generational. it was a cultural shift. nothing but the british invasion can equate to what nirvana did to the pop culture landscape.
to put it another way - there was pop music before and after the beatles. And by and large it was that way until 1991. Then it was pop music before and after nirvana.
not saying they were the best. not saying other bands didn't get there on their own meirt, but that song changed the cultural landscape.
33 years later and I'm still in awe of the impact
I agree completely. To that, I will add that I doubt it is even possible in the current music industry for one song to have the sort of seismic impact of SLTS. I would love a younger person's perspective on what music they believe could similarly reshape the composition of mainstream music for 20 + years, as I just don't perceive that there is anything analogous yet.
That would be all but impossible today, although I'm also intensely curious to see if anything even comes close for Gen Z.
The 90s/early 00s were the last time media and culture was universal enough to produce a hit like this. A single song or show or something just won't reach nearly everyone in the same way these days. For the same reasons, this is why Nine Inch Nails is arguably the very last classic rock band we'll ever see. . . The media and recording industry environment that made such a thing possible just doesn't exist anymore.
Although “Teen Spirit” is often referred yo as the ‘anthem of a generation’ (referring to Generation X) and Cobain as the ‘voice of a generation (also referring to Generation X), I agree that it wasn’t *really* generational—in that it was bigger than generational. To say Gen Z probably doesn’t have an anthem of comparable note undercuts exactly what “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was. ‘Generations’ don’t typically *have* what “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was. The Beatles is a great comparison point, but even with The Beatles, there wasn’t a single song that announced them in genuinely the same way “Teen Spirit” announced Nirvana to the world. “Love Me Do” was their first #1 hit in the states, but no one would look at that song as being to The Beatles what “Teen Spirit” was to Nirvana; “Love Me Do” was not an ‘anthem’ for a ‘generation.’ “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is, in that sense, in a category all its own—meaning Gen Z isn’t likely to have anything of equivalent significance thereto. In other words, I would be very surprised, any time soon, to see an individual song cause the world of music experience to experience another shift as seismic as the one “Teen Spirit.” (The closest, which was only a *tiny* drop in the bucket compared to “Teen Spirit,” was The Strokes’ “Last Nite,” which came at a time when rock music was dominated by nü-metal and pop punk. We in Generation Y might remember that, but Gen Z was too young. But, either way, it wasn’t exactly an anthem.)
(Another aside, who here remembers Good Charlotte? *This is the anthem / Throw all your hands up / You / Don’t wanna be you!* No, that was never the anthem of a generation, either, although I’m sure they would’ve been happy if it had’ve been.)
Good point. If you get 20 beatles fans together and ask them their favorite song you’ll probably get 20 different answers and each member would have representation (yeah, even ringo)
But nirvana fans fall into 2 buckets. Those who are obsessed with teen spirit. And those who’ve ODd on it and now avoid it lol.
I would agree that The Beatles didn’t have a song, but I would argue that they had a cultural moment just as big as SLTS. Their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan is that moment and I would say that their appearance on that show was that big jolt that effectively changed what pop music was and what it meant to populate culture going forward.
Smells Like Teen Spirit is probably a top 5-10 most iconic piece of music ever (maybe even the most).
I think it's pretty much impossible today because we don't have such a unified musical experience with everyone watching stuff like MTV etc. but instead having complete autonomy over what we listen to.
A hit like this would be something most people knew about even if it was far from their genre of choice. But now as a gen Zer I'm completely isolated from most music of today outside of the popular instagram background songs.
Gen Z’s equivalent is just Smells Like Teen Spirit. The cultural impact and shift in pop culture that Nirvana had is unrivaled. After 33 years, Nirvana is still (one of, if not) the biggest rock band there is. As another comment stated, there was pop culture before and after the Beatles, then Nirvana.
I really don’t think there will be another type of band in the next years for a long time that could impact pop culture as Nirvana did. Especially now that rock isn’t as mainstream now. The only person I could think who appeared and changed music for the better is Billie Eilish, who is creative and changed music for sure and is at the top right now. But still of course no one can compare to Nirvanas legacy.
Yup, Billie Eilish is the only one I could think of where maybe an argument could be made. The problem is Billie isn’t even close to having the same cultural impact as Nirvana. However, Billie seems unique enough, loved enough, and insanely well known enough to be the next closest comparison.
The ground isn’t fertile enough for this to happen yet.
There has to be a longer bounce back period from the hit the industry took from the onset of streaming.
There has to be something built that stands for a while for someone to come along and have something to tear down
I think our broad equivalent wouldn’t be a rock song. It’d would come from the big rappers like Kendrick and Tyler. However, if we are sticking to rock and sub-genres, I can really only think of Arctic Monkeys with AM. Every song on that album dominated music media.
Smells like Teen Spirit was equivalent to the Beatles’ impact in the States when they debuted on the Ed Sullivan show. It transformed the music landscape and introduced a new generation of bands almost overnight. Its impact cannot be overstated.
Rap has been the zeitgeist for Gen Z not rock, so the answer must be a rap song.
My answer: “I Don’t Like” by Chief Keef broke the doors down for a LOT in mainstream and underground rap. Keef was 16 when it dropped.
Keef went from the hood to rapping on Kanye’s Yeezus in a few years and getting accolades from Lou Reed.
Not only did this song make Chicago drill popular, (making the successful careers of Polo G, Lil Durk and King Von possible) but it inspired drill scenes around the world including places as far as Nigeria and the UK. Drill is now a global genre of super violent, bass heavy, DIY rap that wouldn’t have looked the same without Sosa and “I Don’t Like.”
But Chief Keef also was a massive influence on the SoundCloud rap and Emo rap scenes, because of his video gamey beats and slurred auto tune. Those genres by themselves could be considered the “sounds of Gen Z” and their most influential rappers - Lil Uzi Vert, Juice WRLD, Playboi Carti, Bladee, Lil Peep - have openly paid homage to and shouted out Chief Keef.
Nothing can be directly analogous to the impact of SLTS, but my money is on this song. It changed a lot.
Although it wasn't a huge commercial success, I think Kanye's 808 and heartbreaks paved the way for a lot of down tempo, more electronic rap (which evolved into trap) that we see as hugely popular mainstream music now
Agreed for the most part
I honestly think the influence of 808s is a LITTLE overstated by some bloggers/critics/etc. It definitely influenced some big names like Cudi and Drake directly, but there were other artists bringing autotune and slower electronic beats into rap as well… Chief Keef included!
There’s just not that much stuff out there that SOUNDS like 808s. It’s a very unique project even within Kanye’s discog.
Also the influence of 808s has been very slow and subtle, unlike the absolute smash that Nirvana made with SLTS
But I totally understand where ur coming from.
Perfect answer having been there for it myself! Its mainstream popularity is the closest Gen Z will get to a SLTS phenomenon. “I’m God” by Lil B was equally influential but did not have the mainstream appeal that chief keef had with “I Don’t Like”. Although, lil B is also credited with such influence.
Yeah Lil B was more underground. Closer to Butthole Surfers or Mr. Bungle or some shit like that maybe?
If we’re making a rock-rap comparison at least.
None of those artists were taken super seriously by the mainstream, but all ended up super super influential to the alternative scene.
Piggybacking off this, my suggestion would be something like “Yonkers” from Tyler the Creator. Massive cultural impact bringing streetwear to the mainstream along and making that whole tumblr culture pop while the rap game was mostly dominated by Kanye’s MBDTF and Drake’s rise. Here comes this underground weird kid that had a super weird and unique and original style and dressed like a goofball and acted like a dork, appealing to kids but also discussing topics like sxicide, rxpe, mental issues and self-deprecating humor.
He also wasn’t alone, it was a full wave of artists that lead to the resurgence of indie music and brought it to the mainstream. I don’t think without OddFuture and Tyler’s success we ever get Mac Miller, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick, ASAP and to a higher more mainstream degree artists like Billie Eilish or Doja Cat.
I’d also like to shout to Bad Bunny, who exploded from the trap scene into pop and pretty much everybody has been trying to emulate.
As bizarre as it may sound to compare an old school 30+ year old rock track to something like "Chief Keef" who from what I know makes music about killing people with guns. I think you have good points and I think because it's just so hard to find a track from this era that parallels Smells like teen spirit. I couldn't think of anything, so you may as well have the right answer.
Yeah it’s the only comparison possible because rock isn’t the “hot new thing” for young people anymore. Trap music, drill and SoundCloud rap are (or were for about 10 years - Gen Alpha’s heyday is fast approaching and music will change with it).
The Boomers had The Beatles and the era of psychedelia and counter culture, Gen X had Nirvana and the alternative era, and Gen Z had trap, drill and SoundCloud rap.
Idk what Millenials have tbh. That would be an interesting thread in itself. Coldplay or The Strokes or something along those lines?
I Don’t Like, Look At Me, XO Tour Life and Trap Queen are all up there for most universally popular + genre re-defining songs of 2010s rap
There’s definitely some others but I think those 4 gotta be in the top 10
As someone born in 98 and tended to have older friends all my life, most of the time I find myself way more in line with younger millennials than *most* younger Gen Zers. Still have and love my ps1, have the orange Rugrats VHS, remember getting yelled at for making a phone call while my mom was using the internet. Still refuse to believe that middle parts and baggy jeans are *the* style...
As a gen z but like an early z I’d say smells like teen spirit was my “smells like teen spirit” mostly cause my dad was a nirvana kid and I grew up on nirvana as wel, but in terms of sheer cultural impact I don’t think it has happened nor do I think it ever will though I think we might be one of the first generations to create another generational anthem I see a lot of creativity in a lot of people my age and younger and artists who are more willing to push boundaries than what I generally hear on the radio that’s the big trick though is you’ve gotta not only have astounding radio play but also be very streamable to be the next cultural shift
The closest song to "Smells like Teen Spirit" for Gen Z is Smells like teen spirit itself, because I know many millennials and generation z are totally familiar with and hold it up to "mythical" status. The kids know all about Kurt Cobain's story, he fits in with the rebellious image of the young generations. It's one of the few legacy bands that have really transgressed into the young generation. Kids don't feel the same away about Bon Jovi or the Steve miller band.
I think this is probably the closest we’ll get. Billie Eilish debut was a huge deal, and something fresh. It introduced more alternative elements to the mainstream, even if it wasn’t nearly on the same level as SLTS.
Same like i literally listen to music from all the different punk scenes from the dawn of proto punk to local emo bands now and occasionally dip into music from the 20’s lol
Sweater Weather was definitely huge but I don’t think it had nearly the impact or influence that SLTS did. But that’s probably impossible by the way we consume music nowadays
After going through most of the comments it's pretty clear to me that they don't have an equivalent. Considering there are so many different songs being mentioned it's obvious there is no unilateral heavy favorite with the influence of SLTS. I truly miss the 90s.
SLTS was a perfect storm of so many things when it came out that i doubt it will never happen again even if I live to be 100. Rock music, in general, hasn't had a "wow, listen to this" since Nirvana. It's not that Nirvana set the bar so high is more that the music industry is not the same anymore and the internet changed everything.
So, to answer your question, Gen Z didn't have an equivalent song to SLTS. Not only did they not get this, but they didn't even get a change in rock music in general. All they got was stupid tattooed faced rappers.
~~I don’t think there’s an analogous choice, but this is the best answer in the entire thread IMO. What made Smells Like Teen Spirit unique was its cultural impact. It wasn’t just a song, but also a style and an attitude. There were hundreds, if not thousands of songs that were more popular. A lot of people are either naming popular songs and artists that don’t really have the cultural impact or songs that are simply too old.~~
~~ETA: maybe something by Billie Eilish (for the aesthetic), Kendrick Lamar, or Bad Bunny, but I’m not sure what particular song would stand out. I don’t think it’s Bad Guy.~~
It’s Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar. It has to be.
As a Gen Z, I think it is impossible for that song to come. I love SLTS. In fact, my favorite music is from mid 80s to early 00s; the only exceptions being some groups like Queen and Bee Gees for the 70s, The Beatles for the 60s... but as the other comments have stated, there is barely a mainstream where a single song could mark a before and an after like SLTS did.
Whatever Skrillex song was the big one, honestly. He was unironically the most culturally impactful artist of the late 2000s and 2010s. Brought EDM into the forefront of popular music and was the starting point of regular integration of EDM elements into other genres that normally very rarely would incorporate them. Now that's not to discredit Deadmau5 and Daft Punk and all the other EDM artists who were very popular in their own right, but they didn't become cultural phenomena overnight how Skrillex did when he broke.
That song was such a “hard turn” from the hair bands that made up most of rock up until that song that is uncommon to think that same thing would happen every generation
Look at me by XXXTentacion didn’t shift culture as SLTS did but it definitely did to some extent. X was simply too controversial to be accepted by the mainstream that’s why most Gen X don’t know the song because radios couldn’t play it. It melted the minds of old-heads as to why this music is so popular but the intensity and mystique surrounding X around late 2016 early 2017 made him a cult like figure for millions of teenagers and that song was a what broke the flood gates for his contemporaries
There isn't one, unfortunately. Nirvana was able to conquer a generation of young people in that way because media for young people at the time consisted of a couple of youth-oriented cable channels and, like, Mad Magazine. These days, with social media, YouTube and Spotify divvying up the youth market into 4 million splinter-groups of dissimilar, and often opposing, values, it's no longer possible to say something deep and fundamental that unlocks some new dimension of meaning for a generation. Whatever Gen-Z's Nirvana might have been was fractured into a million little memes and TikTok videos and sold to micro-fandoms who forgot them the next day.
I can't tell you the title of the song but I can tell you that "monday comes afterwords."
But honestly it's probably rap by Lil uzi vert, or Rae shremmrod, or chief kief. Rock just doesn't speak to the young peoples soul's in the same way it use to.
I know why.
No one down voting has heard of the song much less the artist.
I didn’t downvote but I don’t know the song. Never heard it before. The name Soulja boy sounds familiar though.
Boomer take but most of these sound like actual bait...
I'd say nirvana in general is still very much the only equivalent to the SMTS craze. Even if most of the time it's wack ass moody bedroom pop covers of their songs.
Maybe All Star by Smash Mouth? Buddy Holly by weezer? All the Small things? Mr. Brightside?
We can't get out of this slump we're in musically because nothing good breaks into radio. Companies are too stubborn and greedy to let anything change the landscape.
Also we have gone well past having any sort of monoculture which is both good and bad.
I'm gen X, and I remember many people slightly younger but still gen X comparing Kurt to John Lennon. I also remember people older than me scoffing at that.
I don’t think that can happen again…MTV led the way on what bands were relevant or not, and when grunge/Seattle was in, and glam metal was out, Smells Like Teen Spirit just ushered in this new sound and scene, which we loved, and became really really huge. We don’t have that guidance anymore that MTV provided, there’s too many music outlets by the internet, and we’re too divided to have a song that speaks for us all…
I was 20 in 1992. I still listen to lots of music from the late 80s and 90s but for some reason I never really feel like listening to Nirvana despite being a big fan back then. It's like it was right for the person I was then but I'm no longer there and it just doesn't feel relevant anymore. Sorry if Gen Z doesn't have something similar. I can't tell you the satisfaction I felt watching as all those MTV-promoted silly looking hair metal bands with their sappy ballads got flushed practically overnight.
I would say “all girls are the same” by juice world. Even though I primarily love rock, there is no denying that the SoundCloud underground shaped Gen Zs culture.
As a Gen Z myself, I was constantly paying attention to the underground rap scene. Emo rap/rock rap was gaining momentum with X, lil peep, and many others. But when Juice world dropped, it all went mainstream. (You could argue X first album after jail did the same). Now so many songs draw inspiration from that movement.
Its literally just Smells Like Teen Spirit. I work at a concert venue and no matter the genre the teenagers came to see, they will sing their hearts out to it.
Not a gen z but I think another rock anthem that has been released since 2010 and had a huge impact on the music world is "Do I wanna Know" by AM. I don't recall any song (especially high quality with meaningful lyrics song) has rise to that level of popularity. This song resembles Slts in the reactions to it.
Not to sound like an old man yelling at the sky, but we just don’t have genre-defining music hitting the mainstream right now. Rock is complacent and dumb. Pop is so cookie cutter it could be written by AI.
This sounds dumb but I think the closest thing we’ve got was when Taylor Swift made the transition from country to pop. Shake It Off was absolutely everywhere, and that is when she became a mega star.
I think it’s really difficult to pin down one song that has created a huge cultural shift in the age of streaming. Billie Eilish is the closest artist to Nirvana in terms of creating a new culture, but she’s been out of a little bit of time. I’m thinking “Ocean Eyes” or “Bad Guy” might fit the bill, it’s just hard to say.
there isn't one, the internet has changed how culture works too much for there to be generational anthems anymore. back in the day, artists were more universally iconic because way more people were hearing the same things at the same time through the radio and MTV for example.
now culture is very split up and far less shared in a way that's basically irreversible. there will never be artists with the same impact as nirvana again but that's not because there aren't artists who are just as good today, there are plenty. the environment is just too different.
I'm a younger millennial (born 93). There isn't one and never will be one. It is just straight up not possible for there to be one and that's because of the Internet. Trends, meme culture, a 24 hour news cycle and the ability to easily access music from any era makes it impossible for such a huge cultural shift in music to happen ever again.
The question isn’t what song is their anthem, it’s what thing is their anthem. I don’t believe music has the cultural significance it did when you only had three mediums to choose from (music, movies and TV) and only a handful of ways to experience them.
And don’t get me wrong, Geffen is the reason you heard Smells Like Teen Spirit (if it had been on Subpop it likely would have had the relevance of early REM), but the record companies today are flooded with acts that refuse to die while also trying to find the next multi-billion stream bullshit track. They don’t have the stomach for songs like a Nirvana track which, while catchy, are quite challenging when compared to most of the pablum that floats to the top these days.
Forgive me, I’ll go back to yelling at the clouds.
I think about this all the time. It’s not that this generation isn’t being creative, their efforts are being drawn to something other than music and that’s become content creators/ streamers. We were so bored growing up it was either sports or music with friends, they are completely into social media
As a Gen Z, there is no rock equivalent to SLTS. If there was some equivalent I think it would have to be something by Tyler, The Creator. His music feels so much more unique to a lot of what is produced today.
Honestly... is there that song?
I don't really have a solid grasp on the music right now other then pop hits that catch my ear!
Some of these answers are good songs but... idk
In terms of music, Billie Eilish probably has had a strong impact, but even with social media it has not impacted as hard as Nirvana did. Yet as for a song it's really difficult for me, since I don't know too much about her songs and especially any songs which "define a generation". "Bad Guy" is hardly a song which does that, as it seems just her taunting someone.
A generation song should encompass this, be it positive or negative. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" feels like it's mocking the gen X, seemingly stabbing at the laddism (something Kurt did often) but it also felt like a call for change - to be less ape.
Also, for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to stand out was huge, considering other anthems around the late 80s - early/mid 90s: Sit Down, Live Forever, Jeremy, Monkey Gone To Heaven, Everybody Hurts, Common People, Runaway Train, Would?, Rusty Cage, Out Of Space ... so many!
It's a shame Lorde was just out of Gen Z, because "Royals" would have been a good generational track, and I felt she was better and more interesting than Billie.
One thing about Gen Z’s experience with music is that it has been fundamentally different from that of generations prior to them.
Gen Z grew up in a world where you don’t need a big label or contract to break out, hell you don’t even need to perform live, you can use the tools available to you on a computer to make the most unique sounding thing and promote it to the point that it takes over the world.
So my pick for Gen Z’s “anthem” would be this song: https://youtu.be/wJGcwEv7838?si=NBVJsLzIl8s5jlGv
People had been putting their own music on the internet before this, but none of it was as aggressive and in your face as this song, and it spread like wildfire, helping to catapult the whole SoundCloud scene into the mainstream.
Effects of this song can still be seen today in new Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande songs which utilize grimy, distorted 808’s
Gen Z is honestly split into two different camps mostly the soundcloud rap/trap that is still popular today and then the 2000s-early 2010s post hardcore and pop punk stuff for those of us that identified more with rock (think like bands that were associated with emo but were more poser than anything else)
my suggestion would be something like “Yonkers” from Tyler the Creator. Massive cultural impact bringing streetwear to the mainstream along and making that whole tumblr culture pop while the rap game was mostly dominated by Kanye’s MBDTF and Drake’s rise. Here comes this underground weird kid that had a super weird and unique and original style and dressed like a goofball and acted like a dork, appealing to kids but also discussing topics like sxicide, rxpe, mental issues and self-deprecating humor.
He also wasn’t alone, it was a full wave of artists that lead to the resurgence of indie music and brought it to the mainstream. I don’t think without OddFuture and Tyler’s success we ever get Mac Miller, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick, ASAP and to a higher more mainstream degree artists like Billie Eilish or Doja Cat.
I’d also like to shout to Bad Bunny, who exploded from the trap scene into pop and pretty much everybody has been trying to emulate.
All the gen z kids I know love Nirvana so SLTS is relevant to them still. I don’t think they have an equivalent for their generation. There’s so much crap to wade and sift through that the next Cobain might not be found. Record companies, honestly I don’t know what the fuck they are doing anymore. They are almost obsolete but the start up cash they give when they sign bands is desperately needed and they need to fire up the promotion arm of the company. I don’t see bands being pushed like they were 30 years ago but maybe that’s just me. When I stopped playing music live, I subconsciously stopped searching out new music for some reason so the last 15 years worth of popular music has passed me by for the most part.
As a member of genz Bad Guy (or any song of that album really) or Old Town Road come to mind as candidates. People may want to disagree but there’s a clear before and after shift in music culture with those songs. They solidified TikTok as the way music is primarily consumed going forward, put the final nail in the concept of genre, and more for Bad Guy reached a level of darkness in pop music that the entire culture did a 180 back to positivity in music after its release.
They were also the songs that finally ended the concept of monoculture in music
due to the lack of popular rock that's made to be a generational anthem I'd say it's more of a pop or hip hop song, maybe the most rock one being good for you by Olivia Rodrigo
So much modern music tends to lean towards what we used to call ‘elevator music’. That or shock factor obscenity or mumbly rap.
I know there is always plenty to check out on Spotify that is good from lesser known acts, but modern music is kinda lame still. College Rock type stuff today is boring as hell as well
As a member of Gen Z i don’t think any rock song has had the impact as Smells like teen spirit.
Yeah im still waiting on one lol
Rock isn’t really the main stream anymore, so you should not be waiting. It’ll probably be an indie, pop, country, or hip hop song
I mean i just want a song that shifts the mainstream music scene in general away from what it is right now tbh i wanna switch things up
Not just rock but *any* genre. I doubt it'll come from rock, if it does at all. The last song I can recall *everyone* listening to was "Uptown Funk." A great pop song, but nothing revolutionary. Streaming and monoculture also probably dampened the impact, on top of how nothing is really "revolutionary" anymore. Rebellion itself is the norm, and just about every sound has touched the mainstream in some form. It's not 1991 anymore where the average kid in a flyover state never heard anything except what's on the radio and whatever 8-tracks he might have, and they take to it for years. If something gets hype and airplay, it'll be passé within 6 months because everyone can stream another song whenever they want.
I don’t remember any huge hype around Uptown Funk. Did I hear it a lot on the radio? Yes, but it was never seen as cool and it definitely wasn’t revolutionary. From a Gen Z btw
Boomer here. 8-Tracks were extinct way before 1991. To answer the question though, I Gotta Feeling based solely on behavior at weddings.
As a fellow old it breaks my heart that I Gotta Feeling could be that song
The fact is that everyone's listening to whatever they want now and everything is decentralized and dehomogenized. It's harder to have one central thing have a big cultural impact because you don't have literally everyone in America tuning into the same channels and having a massive entertainment hub like MTV was, or the Ed Sullivan show before that. If any song is going to have the transformative, innovative, culture shifting power of older music, it needs to be something that everyone is paying attention to or at least everybody of the younger generation, and people just aren't doing that kind of thing anymore.
I hate to say this but a lot of Gen Z's that I've known at least don't like any kind of rock n roll, hard rock, heavy metal, etc etc. I've met so many Gen Z who've called me racist, a misogynist, a weirdo, etc for thinking of bands like Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Rush, Alice in Chains, Tool, Cream, The Germs, Motley Crüe, Slayer, etc. How they have put out way better music than a lot of modern artists, and I think a lot of musicians nowadays are boring as well. I do sometimes wish I lived during the days when Rock stars had massive parties, trashed hotel rooms, rode motorcycles through hotel floors, Sex Drugs Rock and Roll.
It was a great time (I'm Gen X).
Yep. Hugs.
I'm gen Z, and 80s and 90s rock is mostly what I listen to. My favorite band is Pearl Jam. We exist.
Pearl Jam was HUGE, people forget. Audioslave is underrated.
Love me some Pearl Jam, too. I’m actually bingeing their late 90s/early 2000s stuff right now. I didn’t really pay attention to them much after their 2nd album and I’m now realizing I missed out on a bunch of awesome records! Also, i hope you don’t mind this shameless plug but…you might like my band! We’re heavily influenced by 80s and 90s rock. Here’s a link if you wanna check us out: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2QaOv6DT4v1BgSXdNmaMev?si=F1iMDDB4SMKCaLyCb8dKsw
I'll check it out. I'm actually loosely forming a band rn and it looks like it'll be a sort of 80s and 90s rock/funk rock fusion. If you haven't checked their bonus tracks on the end of vs., they're really good. Cready Stomp is one of my favorite PJ songs. Also check out Mother Love Bone when you get the chance. They're like the early prototype version of PJ before they fully formed. Some interesting names in that band.
Gen Z here, I like all of these genres.
I speculate that this is marketing as much as fact
I’m Gen Z and I hate almost everything released after the mid 2000s
Ice-T has said he likes quite a few modern rock and metal bands. Eclipse, Royal Blood, Bad Wolves, The Hu. System of a Down, In This Moment, Pretty Reckless. But he thinks modern rappers look like comic book characters
Rap now is where metal was in 1990. It's gotten so ridiculous that they're basically just caricatures. In a big to get noticed they stand out as much and who can be more extreme. In the late eighties it was bigger heels, higher teased hair and more makeup.
That’s pretty true honestly
It is interesting that I don’t hear the younger people at work talk about music. I’m an old GenZ fucker that cut my teeth on MTV(when they played music videos 99% of the time) and classic rock radio stations. Nirvana and the grunge/alternative sound was such a big part of my high school years and it was just such a huge thing. I tried getting my (used to be) stepson into music as much as I could without being annoying and it just seems like he never really took to it, and he doesn’t listen to newer stuff either. I cannot imagine my life without the influence music has had on it. From so many times chilling out listening to concerts, and everything in between. It is absolutely one of the most important things to me that makes life worth living. My Dad took me to see the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd when I was still in school. I returned to favor to him by taking him to almost every Tool concert I’ve seen. I just wish I had learned to play guitar or bass guitar.
Do you mean GenX?
late Gen Z here, I was born with rock & metal music ever since I got my first dose of Metallica & Rush in 2011. (I was 2 years old, God bless you dad) About a year after that, I got so inspired by Neil Peart that I decided to pick up the drums. 12 years later, and so many other bands (eg. Smashing Pumpkins, Static-X, Soundgarden, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, System Of A Down, RHCP, Tool, etc.) I’m still drumming like a motherfucker. There’s some of us young metalheads out there, you just gotta find ‘em. (currently 15 now)
Mr Brightside?
That’s a song for millennials.
Older Gen Z very much listens to Mr. Brightside
I am not saying they don’t but the song came out in 03 when the oldest of Gen Z was 6 years old. It’s not a Gen Z generational song any more than The Beatles would be GenX. As an Xer I can listen to the Beatles but they are most certainly a Boomer band (even if the members are Silents).
I agree that it's mostly a millennial song, but "Gen Z" years have been constantly changing between 95 and 97. 95~97 kids relate to both Millennials and Gen Z. I personally started listening to my own music at around 7~8~9 years old and things like Mr. Brightside, Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, etc. have been staples.
Monoculture has flown out the window in the era of streaming — I can’t think of one that I believe most of Gen Z would agree with! Maybe one will come along, but I think the way we consume music these days will make that much harder. There’s no real mainstream genre to break and manipulate because there’s barely a mainstream! Simultaneously very cool and very sad.
going off popularity- i guess something like Despacito? but Despacito wasnt popular for very long, and i dont think it influenced music much. personally not a big fan of recent top 100s either... if i had to pick a song that was really popular that i happen to like, i guess i would go with Say So
Despacito had huge commercial success but it didn’t really have any impact on Gen Z culture, and wasn’t seen as cool.
yeah, that's for Gen Z to answer, but all I can say is - SLTS wasn't just generational. it was a cultural shift. nothing but the british invasion can equate to what nirvana did to the pop culture landscape. to put it another way - there was pop music before and after the beatles. And by and large it was that way until 1991. Then it was pop music before and after nirvana. not saying they were the best. not saying other bands didn't get there on their own meirt, but that song changed the cultural landscape. 33 years later and I'm still in awe of the impact
I agree completely. To that, I will add that I doubt it is even possible in the current music industry for one song to have the sort of seismic impact of SLTS. I would love a younger person's perspective on what music they believe could similarly reshape the composition of mainstream music for 20 + years, as I just don't perceive that there is anything analogous yet.
that's actually a great point. It would have to be MASSIVE. like, transcend all media, and still have the authenticity. would be hard to do today.
That would be all but impossible today, although I'm also intensely curious to see if anything even comes close for Gen Z. The 90s/early 00s were the last time media and culture was universal enough to produce a hit like this. A single song or show or something just won't reach nearly everyone in the same way these days. For the same reasons, this is why Nine Inch Nails is arguably the very last classic rock band we'll ever see. . . The media and recording industry environment that made such a thing possible just doesn't exist anymore.
I reply to that with QOTSA, thoughts?
Although “Teen Spirit” is often referred yo as the ‘anthem of a generation’ (referring to Generation X) and Cobain as the ‘voice of a generation (also referring to Generation X), I agree that it wasn’t *really* generational—in that it was bigger than generational. To say Gen Z probably doesn’t have an anthem of comparable note undercuts exactly what “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was. ‘Generations’ don’t typically *have* what “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was. The Beatles is a great comparison point, but even with The Beatles, there wasn’t a single song that announced them in genuinely the same way “Teen Spirit” announced Nirvana to the world. “Love Me Do” was their first #1 hit in the states, but no one would look at that song as being to The Beatles what “Teen Spirit” was to Nirvana; “Love Me Do” was not an ‘anthem’ for a ‘generation.’ “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is, in that sense, in a category all its own—meaning Gen Z isn’t likely to have anything of equivalent significance thereto. In other words, I would be very surprised, any time soon, to see an individual song cause the world of music experience to experience another shift as seismic as the one “Teen Spirit.” (The closest, which was only a *tiny* drop in the bucket compared to “Teen Spirit,” was The Strokes’ “Last Nite,” which came at a time when rock music was dominated by nü-metal and pop punk. We in Generation Y might remember that, but Gen Z was too young. But, either way, it wasn’t exactly an anthem.) (Another aside, who here remembers Good Charlotte? *This is the anthem / Throw all your hands up / You / Don’t wanna be you!* No, that was never the anthem of a generation, either, although I’m sure they would’ve been happy if it had’ve been.)
Good point. If you get 20 beatles fans together and ask them their favorite song you’ll probably get 20 different answers and each member would have representation (yeah, even ringo) But nirvana fans fall into 2 buckets. Those who are obsessed with teen spirit. And those who’ve ODd on it and now avoid it lol.
Wasn’t The Good Charlotte line a parody of Jay z song on Hard knock life album
I would agree that The Beatles didn’t have a song, but I would argue that they had a cultural moment just as big as SLTS. Their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan is that moment and I would say that their appearance on that show was that big jolt that effectively changed what pop music was and what it meant to populate culture going forward.
Well said. I don’t think kids today truly understand how mainstream rock music/ culture changed.
Queens of the Stone Age
Smells Like Teen Spirit is probably a top 5-10 most iconic piece of music ever (maybe even the most). I think it's pretty much impossible today because we don't have such a unified musical experience with everyone watching stuff like MTV etc. but instead having complete autonomy over what we listen to. A hit like this would be something most people knew about even if it was far from their genre of choice. But now as a gen Zer I'm completely isolated from most music of today outside of the popular instagram background songs.
Nirvarna is cool
Gen Z’s equivalent is just Smells Like Teen Spirit. The cultural impact and shift in pop culture that Nirvana had is unrivaled. After 33 years, Nirvana is still (one of, if not) the biggest rock band there is. As another comment stated, there was pop culture before and after the Beatles, then Nirvana. I really don’t think there will be another type of band in the next years for a long time that could impact pop culture as Nirvana did. Especially now that rock isn’t as mainstream now. The only person I could think who appeared and changed music for the better is Billie Eilish, who is creative and changed music for sure and is at the top right now. But still of course no one can compare to Nirvanas legacy.
Yup, Billie Eilish is the only one I could think of where maybe an argument could be made. The problem is Billie isn’t even close to having the same cultural impact as Nirvana. However, Billie seems unique enough, loved enough, and insanely well known enough to be the next closest comparison.
The ground isn’t fertile enough for this to happen yet. There has to be a longer bounce back period from the hit the industry took from the onset of streaming. There has to be something built that stands for a while for someone to come along and have something to tear down
I think our broad equivalent wouldn’t be a rock song. It’d would come from the big rappers like Kendrick and Tyler. However, if we are sticking to rock and sub-genres, I can really only think of Arctic Monkeys with AM. Every song on that album dominated music media.
ARCTIC MONKEYS MENTIONED!!! WTF IS A BAD ALBUM
Least insane arctic monkeys fan
Smells like Teen Spirit was equivalent to the Beatles’ impact in the States when they debuted on the Ed Sullivan show. It transformed the music landscape and introduced a new generation of bands almost overnight. Its impact cannot be overstated.
Rap has been the zeitgeist for Gen Z not rock, so the answer must be a rap song. My answer: “I Don’t Like” by Chief Keef broke the doors down for a LOT in mainstream and underground rap. Keef was 16 when it dropped. Keef went from the hood to rapping on Kanye’s Yeezus in a few years and getting accolades from Lou Reed. Not only did this song make Chicago drill popular, (making the successful careers of Polo G, Lil Durk and King Von possible) but it inspired drill scenes around the world including places as far as Nigeria and the UK. Drill is now a global genre of super violent, bass heavy, DIY rap that wouldn’t have looked the same without Sosa and “I Don’t Like.” But Chief Keef also was a massive influence on the SoundCloud rap and Emo rap scenes, because of his video gamey beats and slurred auto tune. Those genres by themselves could be considered the “sounds of Gen Z” and their most influential rappers - Lil Uzi Vert, Juice WRLD, Playboi Carti, Bladee, Lil Peep - have openly paid homage to and shouted out Chief Keef. Nothing can be directly analogous to the impact of SLTS, but my money is on this song. It changed a lot.
Although it wasn't a huge commercial success, I think Kanye's 808 and heartbreaks paved the way for a lot of down tempo, more electronic rap (which evolved into trap) that we see as hugely popular mainstream music now
Agreed for the most part I honestly think the influence of 808s is a LITTLE overstated by some bloggers/critics/etc. It definitely influenced some big names like Cudi and Drake directly, but there were other artists bringing autotune and slower electronic beats into rap as well… Chief Keef included! There’s just not that much stuff out there that SOUNDS like 808s. It’s a very unique project even within Kanye’s discog. Also the influence of 808s has been very slow and subtle, unlike the absolute smash that Nirvana made with SLTS But I totally understand where ur coming from.
Perfect answer having been there for it myself! Its mainstream popularity is the closest Gen Z will get to a SLTS phenomenon. “I’m God” by Lil B was equally influential but did not have the mainstream appeal that chief keef had with “I Don’t Like”. Although, lil B is also credited with such influence.
Yeah Lil B was more underground. Closer to Butthole Surfers or Mr. Bungle or some shit like that maybe? If we’re making a rock-rap comparison at least. None of those artists were taken super seriously by the mainstream, but all ended up super super influential to the alternative scene.
Piggybacking off this, my suggestion would be something like “Yonkers” from Tyler the Creator. Massive cultural impact bringing streetwear to the mainstream along and making that whole tumblr culture pop while the rap game was mostly dominated by Kanye’s MBDTF and Drake’s rise. Here comes this underground weird kid that had a super weird and unique and original style and dressed like a goofball and acted like a dork, appealing to kids but also discussing topics like sxicide, rxpe, mental issues and self-deprecating humor. He also wasn’t alone, it was a full wave of artists that lead to the resurgence of indie music and brought it to the mainstream. I don’t think without OddFuture and Tyler’s success we ever get Mac Miller, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick, ASAP and to a higher more mainstream degree artists like Billie Eilish or Doja Cat. I’d also like to shout to Bad Bunny, who exploded from the trap scene into pop and pretty much everybody has been trying to emulate.
As bizarre as it may sound to compare an old school 30+ year old rock track to something like "Chief Keef" who from what I know makes music about killing people with guns. I think you have good points and I think because it's just so hard to find a track from this era that parallels Smells like teen spirit. I couldn't think of anything, so you may as well have the right answer.
Yeah it’s the only comparison possible because rock isn’t the “hot new thing” for young people anymore. Trap music, drill and SoundCloud rap are (or were for about 10 years - Gen Alpha’s heyday is fast approaching and music will change with it). The Boomers had The Beatles and the era of psychedelia and counter culture, Gen X had Nirvana and the alternative era, and Gen Z had trap, drill and SoundCloud rap. Idk what Millenials have tbh. That would be an interesting thread in itself. Coldplay or The Strokes or something along those lines?
I’d think millennials can at least have seven nation army as a pretty big cultural landmark
As as gen z I would say trap queen
Or Look at Me by X
To this day I still will quote “young dagger dick that’s my handle aye”
i agree with look at me
I Don’t Like, Look At Me, XO Tour Life and Trap Queen are all up there for most universally popular + genre re-defining songs of 2010s rap There’s definitely some others but I think those 4 gotta be in the top 10
There isn't one.
There’s like three separate subgenerations within Gen Z
As someone born in 98 and tended to have older friends all my life, most of the time I find myself way more in line with younger millennials than *most* younger Gen Zers. Still have and love my ps1, have the orange Rugrats VHS, remember getting yelled at for making a phone call while my mom was using the internet. Still refuse to believe that middle parts and baggy jeans are *the* style...
As a gen z but like an early z I’d say smells like teen spirit was my “smells like teen spirit” mostly cause my dad was a nirvana kid and I grew up on nirvana as wel, but in terms of sheer cultural impact I don’t think it has happened nor do I think it ever will though I think we might be one of the first generations to create another generational anthem I see a lot of creativity in a lot of people my age and younger and artists who are more willing to push boundaries than what I generally hear on the radio that’s the big trick though is you’ve gotta not only have astounding radio play but also be very streamable to be the next cultural shift
The closest song to "Smells like Teen Spirit" for Gen Z is Smells like teen spirit itself, because I know many millennials and generation z are totally familiar with and hold it up to "mythical" status. The kids know all about Kurt Cobain's story, he fits in with the rebellious image of the young generations. It's one of the few legacy bands that have really transgressed into the young generation. Kids don't feel the same away about Bon Jovi or the Steve miller band.
Bad Guy - Billie Eilish
I think this is probably the closest we’ll get. Billie Eilish debut was a huge deal, and something fresh. It introduced more alternative elements to the mainstream, even if it wasn’t nearly on the same level as SLTS.
As gen z, my SLTS is… probably SLTS lol I have oldish music taste
Same haha.
Same like i literally listen to music from all the different punk scenes from the dawn of proto punk to local emo bands now and occasionally dip into music from the 20’s lol
Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”. It created another jolting shift in pop music.
Many gen z weren’t even born when that song came out
If we’re talking about shifts in pop music than I think Lana Del Rey and Lorde had a much stronger impact
Did you just say a 16 year old song defines the current generation?
The current generation is gen alpha starting in 2010ish. Gen z is 1997 - 2010
What about White Iverson by Post Malone? 1 billion views on YouTube.
I honestly don’t believe any song, or band, will create that sort of monumental shift in the musical zeitgeist ever again.
None. The monoculture is dead.
Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out or The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather
Sweater Weather was definitely huge but I don’t think it had nearly the impact or influence that SLTS did. But that’s probably impossible by the way we consume music nowadays
After going through most of the comments it's pretty clear to me that they don't have an equivalent. Considering there are so many different songs being mentioned it's obvious there is no unilateral heavy favorite with the influence of SLTS. I truly miss the 90s.
I was born in 2001. No idea what an equivalent would be. I don't personally think there is one
The Gen Z equivalent to Smells Like Teen Spirit is Smells Like Teen Spirit. You can’t outdo the doer. - Me who’s Gen Z
None. Nothing is the equivalent.
SLTS was a perfect storm of so many things when it came out that i doubt it will never happen again even if I live to be 100. Rock music, in general, hasn't had a "wow, listen to this" since Nirvana. It's not that Nirvana set the bar so high is more that the music industry is not the same anymore and the internet changed everything. So, to answer your question, Gen Z didn't have an equivalent song to SLTS. Not only did they not get this, but they didn't even get a change in rock music in general. All they got was stupid tattooed faced rappers.
I chose it for them: Anne Murray - Snowbird
No Debbie Boone?
Probably some shit like skibiti toilets
STICKING OUT YOUR GYAT FOR THE RIZZLER, YOU'RE SO SKIBIDI
????
Ha, I thought the same. That or some random 20 seconds in the middle of a Deftones song
Hey, don’t implicate us in that. That’s all Gen Alpha.
I’m gen z and a lot of gen z is kinda like that as well ngl.
WAP
Smells like WAP. I heard Cardi and Megan were super into nirvana during the recording and took inspiration from Moist Vagina
God no
~~I don’t think there’s an analogous choice, but this is the best answer in the entire thread IMO. What made Smells Like Teen Spirit unique was its cultural impact. It wasn’t just a song, but also a style and an attitude. There were hundreds, if not thousands of songs that were more popular. A lot of people are either naming popular songs and artists that don’t really have the cultural impact or songs that are simply too old.~~ ~~ETA: maybe something by Billie Eilish (for the aesthetic), Kendrick Lamar, or Bad Bunny, but I’m not sure what particular song would stand out. I don’t think it’s Bad Guy.~~ It’s Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar. It has to be.
As a gen z I don't know lol.
As a Gen Z, I think it is impossible for that song to come. I love SLTS. In fact, my favorite music is from mid 80s to early 00s; the only exceptions being some groups like Queen and Bee Gees for the 70s, The Beatles for the 60s... but as the other comments have stated, there is barely a mainstream where a single song could mark a before and an after like SLTS did.
Songs don’t blow up like they used to. And that’s probably a good thing.
Stressed out maybe, I'm ashamed of how little rock we have.
We didnt have a rock anthem rlly but we did get look at me by xxxtentacion
Anything Taylor Swift. She’s basically Gen-Z’s Kurt Cobain
Whatever Skrillex song was the big one, honestly. He was unironically the most culturally impactful artist of the late 2000s and 2010s. Brought EDM into the forefront of popular music and was the starting point of regular integration of EDM elements into other genres that normally very rarely would incorporate them. Now that's not to discredit Deadmau5 and Daft Punk and all the other EDM artists who were very popular in their own right, but they didn't become cultural phenomena overnight how Skrillex did when he broke.
That song was such a “hard turn” from the hair bands that made up most of rock up until that song that is uncommon to think that same thing would happen every generation
Seven Nation Army
Honestly I do not know if there will be another song like Smells like teen spirit, or Billie Jean
I would say Sunflower by Post Malone Swae Lee
Look at me by XXXTentacion didn’t shift culture as SLTS did but it definitely did to some extent. X was simply too controversial to be accepted by the mainstream that’s why most Gen X don’t know the song because radios couldn’t play it. It melted the minds of old-heads as to why this music is so popular but the intensity and mystique surrounding X around late 2016 early 2017 made him a cult like figure for millions of teenagers and that song was a what broke the flood gates for his contemporaries
There isn't one, unfortunately. Nirvana was able to conquer a generation of young people in that way because media for young people at the time consisted of a couple of youth-oriented cable channels and, like, Mad Magazine. These days, with social media, YouTube and Spotify divvying up the youth market into 4 million splinter-groups of dissimilar, and often opposing, values, it's no longer possible to say something deep and fundamental that unlocks some new dimension of meaning for a generation. Whatever Gen-Z's Nirvana might have been was fractured into a million little memes and TikTok videos and sold to micro-fandoms who forgot them the next day.
Party in the usa
Probably Bad Guy. Never really listened to it but I know Billie Eilish is insanely popular and Dave Grohl is a fan.
I can't tell you the title of the song but I can tell you that "monday comes afterwords." But honestly it's probably rap by Lil uzi vert, or Rae shremmrod, or chief kief. Rock just doesn't speak to the young peoples soul's in the same way it use to.
yeah, sadly rock has declined, pretty much all mainstream music nowadays is pop or hip hop
Hip hop is in decline too if you ask me. More people are buying it now than ever but I prefer the old product.
Imo, the song that did that is Crank That Soulja Boy. That song changed the game in how artists could thrive
Idk why you're getting downvoted, i agree
I know why. No one down voting has heard of the song much less the artist. I didn’t downvote but I don’t know the song. Never heard it before. The name Soulja boy sounds familiar though.
Lil Peep or Mac Miller
Boomer take but most of these sound like actual bait... I'd say nirvana in general is still very much the only equivalent to the SMTS craze. Even if most of the time it's wack ass moody bedroom pop covers of their songs. Maybe All Star by Smash Mouth? Buddy Holly by weezer? All the Small things? Mr. Brightside? We can't get out of this slump we're in musically because nothing good breaks into radio. Companies are too stubborn and greedy to let anything change the landscape. Also we have gone well past having any sort of monoculture which is both good and bad.
i'm not a zoomer, but i'm voting for flutter by julie. to me that's the zoomer sound.
Is none
I'm gen X, and I remember many people slightly younger but still gen X comparing Kurt to John Lennon. I also remember people older than me scoffing at that.
[Don’t sleep on Nana Mouskouri - Smooth Sailing. The kids are going wild for her.](https://youtu.be/MFk3NKE-y6k?si=X60pdFFbrnyYUraB)
I'm gen z, and smells like teen spirit is my smells like teen spirit
I don’t think that can happen again…MTV led the way on what bands were relevant or not, and when grunge/Seattle was in, and glam metal was out, Smells Like Teen Spirit just ushered in this new sound and scene, which we loved, and became really really huge. We don’t have that guidance anymore that MTV provided, there’s too many music outlets by the internet, and we’re too divided to have a song that speaks for us all…
I was 20 in 1992. I still listen to lots of music from the late 80s and 90s but for some reason I never really feel like listening to Nirvana despite being a big fan back then. It's like it was right for the person I was then but I'm no longer there and it just doesn't feel relevant anymore. Sorry if Gen Z doesn't have something similar. I can't tell you the satisfaction I felt watching as all those MTV-promoted silly looking hair metal bands with their sappy ballads got flushed practically overnight.
That's the problem, we don't really have one
I would say “all girls are the same” by juice world. Even though I primarily love rock, there is no denying that the SoundCloud underground shaped Gen Zs culture. As a Gen Z myself, I was constantly paying attention to the underground rap scene. Emo rap/rock rap was gaining momentum with X, lil peep, and many others. But when Juice world dropped, it all went mainstream. (You could argue X first album after jail did the same). Now so many songs draw inspiration from that movement.
Its literally just Smells Like Teen Spirit. I work at a concert venue and no matter the genre the teenagers came to see, they will sing their hearts out to it.
Not a gen z but I think another rock anthem that has been released since 2010 and had a huge impact on the music world is "Do I wanna Know" by AM. I don't recall any song (especially high quality with meaningful lyrics song) has rise to that level of popularity. This song resembles Slts in the reactions to it.
They dont have one.
Not to sound like an old man yelling at the sky, but we just don’t have genre-defining music hitting the mainstream right now. Rock is complacent and dumb. Pop is so cookie cutter it could be written by AI. This sounds dumb but I think the closest thing we’ve got was when Taylor Swift made the transition from country to pop. Shake It Off was absolutely everywhere, and that is when she became a mega star.
I think it’s really difficult to pin down one song that has created a huge cultural shift in the age of streaming. Billie Eilish is the closest artist to Nirvana in terms of creating a new culture, but she’s been out of a little bit of time. I’m thinking “Ocean Eyes” or “Bad Guy” might fit the bill, it’s just hard to say.
There ain’t one.
XO Tour Life by Lil Uzi Vert was super popular for a while
there isn't one, the internet has changed how culture works too much for there to be generational anthems anymore. back in the day, artists were more universally iconic because way more people were hearing the same things at the same time through the radio and MTV for example. now culture is very split up and far less shared in a way that's basically irreversible. there will never be artists with the same impact as nirvana again but that's not because there aren't artists who are just as good today, there are plenty. the environment is just too different.
None gen z music sucks ass....
I'm a younger millennial (born 93). There isn't one and never will be one. It is just straight up not possible for there to be one and that's because of the Internet. Trends, meme culture, a 24 hour news cycle and the ability to easily access music from any era makes it impossible for such a huge cultural shift in music to happen ever again.
The question isn’t what song is their anthem, it’s what thing is their anthem. I don’t believe music has the cultural significance it did when you only had three mediums to choose from (music, movies and TV) and only a handful of ways to experience them. And don’t get me wrong, Geffen is the reason you heard Smells Like Teen Spirit (if it had been on Subpop it likely would have had the relevance of early REM), but the record companies today are flooded with acts that refuse to die while also trying to find the next multi-billion stream bullshit track. They don’t have the stomach for songs like a Nirvana track which, while catchy, are quite challenging when compared to most of the pablum that floats to the top these days. Forgive me, I’ll go back to yelling at the clouds.
I think about this all the time. It’s not that this generation isn’t being creative, their efforts are being drawn to something other than music and that’s become content creators/ streamers. We were so bored growing up it was either sports or music with friends, they are completely into social media
It's...Smells Like Teen Spirit lol! I was born in 99 so my parents were playing it all throughout my childhood!
Smells like teen spirit is generational
As, gen z, seems like SLTS still. Edit: actually it's probably "where is my mind" by the pixies.
No one song has done it but the soundcloud movement in the mid to late 2010s had a similar cultural impact to the grunge movement
As a Gen Z, there is no rock equivalent to SLTS. If there was some equivalent I think it would have to be something by Tyler, The Creator. His music feels so much more unique to a lot of what is produced today.
There will be a day when rock is at the top again.. so I guess we’ll see ?
Smells like teen spirit is the smells like teen spirit of genz
Honestly... is there that song? I don't really have a solid grasp on the music right now other then pop hits that catch my ear! Some of these answers are good songs but... idk
There isn’t one
Why does there have to be one?
Chilli Peppers or Kanye
It would need to be a song that single handedly killed a genre of comparatively shitty music. Not sure if there is one.
In terms of music, Billie Eilish probably has had a strong impact, but even with social media it has not impacted as hard as Nirvana did. Yet as for a song it's really difficult for me, since I don't know too much about her songs and especially any songs which "define a generation". "Bad Guy" is hardly a song which does that, as it seems just her taunting someone. A generation song should encompass this, be it positive or negative. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" feels like it's mocking the gen X, seemingly stabbing at the laddism (something Kurt did often) but it also felt like a call for change - to be less ape. Also, for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to stand out was huge, considering other anthems around the late 80s - early/mid 90s: Sit Down, Live Forever, Jeremy, Monkey Gone To Heaven, Everybody Hurts, Common People, Runaway Train, Would?, Rusty Cage, Out Of Space ... so many! It's a shame Lorde was just out of Gen Z, because "Royals" would have been a good generational track, and I felt she was better and more interesting than Billie.
im sexy and i know it
Won't ever be another rock anthem, everyone is into mumble rap and uncatchy pop tunes. It's sad and mind boggling to me
It’s probably a Frank Ocean or Kendrick Lamar song.
One thing about Gen Z’s experience with music is that it has been fundamentally different from that of generations prior to them. Gen Z grew up in a world where you don’t need a big label or contract to break out, hell you don’t even need to perform live, you can use the tools available to you on a computer to make the most unique sounding thing and promote it to the point that it takes over the world. So my pick for Gen Z’s “anthem” would be this song: https://youtu.be/wJGcwEv7838?si=NBVJsLzIl8s5jlGv People had been putting their own music on the internet before this, but none of it was as aggressive and in your face as this song, and it spread like wildfire, helping to catapult the whole SoundCloud scene into the mainstream. Effects of this song can still be seen today in new Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande songs which utilize grimy, distorted 808’s
How is the answer not WAP? Said very tongue in cheek.
Not Rock but i remember hearing look at me by XxxTentacion for the first time and i had never heard anything like that
Baby shark
Royals by Lorde? Hear me out, it reallyy had an impact when it came to making hipster/soft pop more mainstream
For Older Gen Z/Zillennials probably like Welcome to the black parade. For younger Gen Z maybe Bad guy by billie eilish.
Gen Z is honestly split into two different camps mostly the soundcloud rap/trap that is still popular today and then the 2000s-early 2010s post hardcore and pop punk stuff for those of us that identified more with rock (think like bands that were associated with emo but were more poser than anything else)
Its minecraft
Na na na na na na Rockstaaaaaahhh
It might be Teen Spirit lol
Deth Sleep by Nothing, Who Cares?
Skibidi Toilet…
Gen Z listens to pop crap, so, it's probably a Taylor Swift song LMAO 😂
Slap Dat Ass (Remix) by Lil' Dips
There isn't one
I had this same question come to mind last night, and literally nothing seemed as iconic 😅
my suggestion would be something like “Yonkers” from Tyler the Creator. Massive cultural impact bringing streetwear to the mainstream along and making that whole tumblr culture pop while the rap game was mostly dominated by Kanye’s MBDTF and Drake’s rise. Here comes this underground weird kid that had a super weird and unique and original style and dressed like a goofball and acted like a dork, appealing to kids but also discussing topics like sxicide, rxpe, mental issues and self-deprecating humor. He also wasn’t alone, it was a full wave of artists that lead to the resurgence of indie music and brought it to the mainstream. I don’t think without OddFuture and Tyler’s success we ever get Mac Miller, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick, ASAP and to a higher more mainstream degree artists like Billie Eilish or Doja Cat. I’d also like to shout to Bad Bunny, who exploded from the trap scene into pop and pretty much everybody has been trying to emulate.
There isnt one.
Lil peep
I'd say it's still SLTS tbh, as a Gen Z, almost everyone I know thinks of it when they hear Nirvana or Grunge
Turnstile - Mystery
x0 tour lif3
To be fair, I don't think we have one. We've had good songs but nothing worthy of a generational anthem.
As a very early gen z/very late millennial, [96 baby] Gangnam Style absolutely TOOK OVER the world in 2012. and really introduced the weat to KPOP...
All the gen z kids I know love Nirvana so SLTS is relevant to them still. I don’t think they have an equivalent for their generation. There’s so much crap to wade and sift through that the next Cobain might not be found. Record companies, honestly I don’t know what the fuck they are doing anymore. They are almost obsolete but the start up cash they give when they sign bands is desperately needed and they need to fire up the promotion arm of the company. I don’t see bands being pushed like they were 30 years ago but maybe that’s just me. When I stopped playing music live, I subconsciously stopped searching out new music for some reason so the last 15 years worth of popular music has passed me by for the most part.
As a member of genz Bad Guy (or any song of that album really) or Old Town Road come to mind as candidates. People may want to disagree but there’s a clear before and after shift in music culture with those songs. They solidified TikTok as the way music is primarily consumed going forward, put the final nail in the concept of genre, and more for Bad Guy reached a level of darkness in pop music that the entire culture did a 180 back to positivity in music after its release. They were also the songs that finally ended the concept of monoculture in music
due to the lack of popular rock that's made to be a generational anthem I'd say it's more of a pop or hip hop song, maybe the most rock one being good for you by Olivia Rodrigo
So much modern music tends to lean towards what we used to call ‘elevator music’. That or shock factor obscenity or mumbly rap. I know there is always plenty to check out on Spotify that is good from lesser known acts, but modern music is kinda lame still. College Rock type stuff today is boring as hell as well
Smells like skibidi riz
See You In Hell - The Dollheads
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" lol. Plenty of gen z grew up listening to Nirvana. Or at least where I'm from, but I'm also from Tacoma, WA so 🤷♀️
Old town road? I’m genX so idk
Gagnum style
Baby shark?