Prisoner of Society

For the Georgian film, see Prisoner of Society (film).

"Prisoner of Society"
Single by the Living End
from the album The Living End
Released5 January 1999 (1999-01-05)
Length3:54
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Chris Cheney
Producer(s)Lindsay Gravina, the Living End
The Living End singles chronology
"Save the Day"
(1998) 		"Prisoner of Society"
(1999) 		"All Torn Down"
(1999)

"Prisoner of Society" is a song by Australian punk rock band the Living End. It was originally released in Australia on the 1997 EP Second Solution / Prisoner of Society. The song was later released as a single, separate from the EP, in the United States in January 1999. In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", "Prisoner of Society" was ranked number 32.[1]

Background

The Living End had achieved mainstream success with the release of their third EP, Second Solution / Prisoner of Society, in September 1997. It peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart and spent 69 weeks within the ARIA Top 100.[2] "Prisoner of Society" also reached No. 15 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 1997.[3]

Lyrics

"It's basically my take of 'My Generation' or 'Summertime Blues'. The lyrics are, 'screw society, screw mum and dad, this is young people's music' and I wanted to put that as simply as I could. It was me grabbing that influence of the early 1950s and the rebellion of something like a Chuck Berry song into something that we did. Obviously we didn't think at the time that it would become the biggest selling single of the 1990s" - Chris Cheney [4]

Legacy

Double J named it in the top twenty Australian songs of the 1990s, saying it, "hits you in the guts, right from the first few bars. It's got the kind of chorus that makes you want to sing (scream) every. single. word. Especially the part about being a brat and talking back. And that breakdown 2 minutes in? Just a great excuse to jump around really."[5]

In January 1999, "Prisoner of Society" was released as a radio single in the United States, where it peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[6] Eight months later, it was released in the United Kingdom as a stand-alone single but did not reach the top 100.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Prisoner of Society"Chris Cheney[7]3:54
2."Mr Business Man"Chris Cheney[8]2:39
3."Sleep on It"Chris Cheney[9]2:39

Recorded and engineered by Lindsay Gravina at Sing Sing Studios (Melbourne). Mixed by Jerry Finn at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles).

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[14] 2× Platinum 140,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 5 January 1999 Alternative radio Reprise [15]
11 January 1999 Active rock radio [16]
United Kingdom 6 September 1999
  • CD
  • cassette
 [17]

References

  1. ^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. ^ Hung, Steffen. "The Living End – The Living End (Album)". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Hottest 100 - 1997". Triple J. ABC. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  4. ^ Gazzo, Jane (2022). Sound as Ever - The Greatest Decade in Australian Music 1990-1999. Melbourne Books. p. 47.
  5. ^ Gab Burke. "The 50 best Australian songs of the 90s". Double J.
  6. ^ a b "Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 12. 20 March 1999. p. 75.
  7. ^ ""Prisoner of Society" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  8. ^ ""Mr Business Man" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  9. ^ ""Sleep On It" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  10. ^ "The Living End – Second Solution / Prisoner of Society". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  11. ^ "The Living End – Second Solution / Prisoner of Society". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  12. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1998". ARIA. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Most Played Modern Rock Songs of 1999". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 7, no. 52. 24 December 1999. p. 36.
  14. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  15. ^ "The Living End: 'Prisoner of Society'". Radio & Records. No. 1279. 18 December 1998. p. 94. Official Add Date: the next time you report! 1/5/99
  16. ^ "Adds for January 11 & 12". Gavin Report. No. 2237. 8 January 1999. p. 37.
  17. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 6 September, 1999: Singles". Music Week. 4 September 1999. p. 23.