I've thought about this topic as well...and one thing I kept coming back to was how much the visuals of MTV and so forth color my thoughts about anthem type songs. For instance - I probably wouldn't give Genesis' Land of Confusion from Invisible Touch much thought as far as anthem songs go...but damn if that video doesn't make me connect that song with the Reagan years (what a prediction for ol' Ron there huh!). But I think anthem songs have to be really really popular, though...so Land of Confusion probably wouldn't fit the bill...just like Futures So Bright wouldn't either. Now, something like Smells Like Teen Spirit is for sure the Anthem of the early 90s. Without a doubt. That song has it all - the symbolic beginning of grunge rock. The end of hair band rock. A tragic character. A great tune. A voice for a generation. And...the video...which I think you have to consider - at least for the mid 80s to mid 90s. In the words of George Tenet - that one's a slam dunk.

Dan