ANTHEM FOR THE YEAR 2000 by SILVERCHAIR. Poem by Michael Leach.

 

 
 

Newcastle, Awabakal Country, Wednesday 25 October 2023

 

I’m walking hand in hand through Newcastle

Museum

with my partner of eight months.

We’re learning

about Newcastle’s industrial heritage—

a local history constructed

from the mining of planet-harming coal

and the production of modernising steel.

 

Not far

from the steelmaking ladle & ingot car,

we suddenly spot

something unexpected, something

incongruous, conspicuous, colourful—

a neon sign

glowing across a curated spectrum

in the darkest corner of Newcastle

Museum.

 

The sign shows a pinkish couple

dancing

in a red-and-orange room

like my partner & I plan to tonight.

Those tiny dancers dance on

the yellow-and-white word ‘SILVERCHAIR’,

which stands above

the blue words ‘NEON BALLROOM’

as well as four gold stars

that look like they belong in a glowing album review.

 

As I study the sign, I suddenly realise

a quarter of a century has passed

since those three teens from Silverchair—

amongst the most famous of all Novocastrians—

dropped their third studio album

Neon Ballroom

in the wake of that album’s dated lead single

Anthem for the Year 2000.

 

My latent memories             of the lyrics

to this heavy metal               song—repetitive words

of youth & rebellion             that still resonate with me—

manage to shock                   me

from the past                         to the present

from single                            to coupled

from hapless                          to happy

from high school                   to the workplace

from 16                                  to 39

from one millennium             to another

from 1999                              to a time when the cover art

                                                               for an album from my formative years

                                                                                  belongs in a museum.

Stereo Story #754