Youth of the Nation
Encyclopedia
"Youth of the Nation" is a song recorded by christian metal
band P.O.D.
. It was released in December 2001 as the second single to come from their album, Satellite. It was inspired in part by the school shootings at Santana High School and Columbine High School
.
While Satellite contained numerous hit songs, "Youth of the Nation" was the band's only #1 hit on the Modern Rock
chart and reached #28 on the Billboard Hot 100
. The song's inspiration stems from a trip when the band was on their way to record for Satellite. They were held up in traffic and discovered that the reason was a school shooting. The album was consequently delayed and they were inspired to write "Youth of the Nation." The song follows three distinct characters in assorted problems they face common to American youth.
for "Youth of the Nation" has the band performing the song in a room filled with photos of adolescents as seen on the single cover. It revolves around a group of teenagers taking a cross country trip in a car from New York City
to what appears to be California
via Western Pennsylvania (New Kensington, Arnold, Cheswick, Harmarville) and other locales. Directed by Paul Fedor, the video found significant airplay on MTV2
.
Christian metal
Christian metal, also known as white metal, is a form of heavy metal music usually defined by its message in a song's lyrics as well as the band's dedication to Christianity...
band P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
. It was released in December 2001 as the second single to come from their album, Satellite. It was inspired in part by the school shootings at Santana High School and Columbine High School
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
.
While Satellite contained numerous hit songs, "Youth of the Nation" was the band's only #1 hit on the Modern Rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
chart and reached #28 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The song's inspiration stems from a trip when the band was on their way to record for Satellite. They were held up in traffic and discovered that the reason was a school shooting. The album was consequently delayed and they were inspired to write "Youth of the Nation." The song follows three distinct characters in assorted problems they face common to American youth.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Youth of the Nation" has the band performing the song in a room filled with photos of adolescents as seen on the single cover. It revolves around a group of teenagers taking a cross country trip in a car from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to what appears to be California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
via Western Pennsylvania (New Kensington, Arnold, Cheswick, Harmarville) and other locales. Directed by Paul Fedor, the video found significant airplay on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
.
Appearances
The song was featured in- The movie Blue CrushBlue CrushBlue Crush is a 2002 surfer film directed by John Stockwell and based on the Outside magazine article "Life's Swell" by Susan Orlean. Starring Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake, and Mika Boorem, it tells the story of three friends who have one passion: living the ultimate dream of...
- The video game Aggressive Inline
- An episode of Boston PublicBoston PublicBoston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...
- An episode of Third WatchThird WatchThird Watch is an American television drama series which first aired on NBC from 1999 to 2005 for a total of 132 episodes, broadcast in 6 seasons of 22 episodes each....
- An episode of Rise of the Video GameRise of the Video Game"Rise of the Video Game" is a five part series on The Discovery Channel about the history of video games. The first episode aired in November of 2007. The series ran under the tile "I, VIDEOGAME" in Europe.-Episodes:Taken from...
- This song was satirized in "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's song "Angry White Boy Polka" on his album, Poodle HatPoodle HatPoodle Hat is the Grammy Award-winning 11th studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on May 20, 2003 on Volcano Records. The album debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200. The album was released on an Enhanced CD...
. - PunchlinePunchline (band)Punchline is an American rock band from Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, that formed in 1998. The band released released their sixth full-length album Delightfully Pleased on August 10, 2010 on their own label, Modern Short Stories, and TDR Records....
's ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
rap song from 2006 ends with the members singing the chorus of "Youth of the Nation", after announcing, "let's sing some P.O.D.!" - On the hidden track on Impending DoomImpending DoomImpending Doom is a Christian deathcore band from Riverside, California.-History:Brook Reeves and Manny Contreras started the band in 2005 with ex members Chris Forno, Isaac Bueno, and Jon. After releasing the The Sin and Doom of Godless Men EP, Greg Pewthers joined on third guitar after leaving...
's album Nailed. Dead. Risen.Nailed. Dead. Risen.Nailed. Dead. Risen. is the debut album by Christian death metal band Impending Doom, released in 2007 on Facedown Records. This is the only release, along with their independently released EP The Sin and Doom of Godless Men, to feature a more brutal death metal sound...
, the lead singer can be heard messing up his line and singing the chorus of "Youth of the Nation" instead. Afterwards, someone in the background seems to mispronounce P.O.D.'s name as "Pod". - This song has been remixed by PulsedriverPulsedriverSlobodan Petrovic Jr. is a Yugoslavian-German electronic dance music DJ, producer and is the founder of Aqualoop Records in 2000. He is best known by his alias, Pulsedriver.-Early life & career:...
. - The song was recently included on Buzz Ballads 2, a collection of the greatest alternative rock power ballads.
- Clips of the music video are shown in the first segment of the say-no-to-drugs video Natural High 2, accompanied by the sound track, and clips of an interview of the band.
- This song is available as downloadable contentDownloadable contentDownloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
for the Guitar Hero series. - Became downloadable content for Rock Band 3Rock Band 3Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
on July 12th, 2011.
Track listing
- "Youth Of The Nation" (album version) - 4:18
- "Alive" (Semi-acoustic version) - 3:27
- "Sabbath" - 4:33
Official versions
- Album version 4:18
- Album edit/video 4:04
- Radio edit 3:57
- Conjure One remix 3:55
- Mike$ki remix