Song · The Living End
“Prisoner of Society” by The Living End
From the EP Second Solution / Prisoner of Society (1997)
“Prisoner of Society” by The Living End appears on 25 radio countdowns from 12 stations between 1997 and 2025. It was first released in 1997 on the EP Second Solution / Prisoner of Society. Its best result is #15 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #62 alternative song of 1999, #2,249 alternative song of all time and #300 of the '90s.
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"Prisoner of Society" is the song that blew the Living End wide open in Australia, riding in on the 1997 EP Second Solution / Prisoner of Society before getting its own American single in January 1999. Chris Cheney wrote it, sings it and plays the guitar, with Scott Owen on bass and Travis Demsey on drums, and Lindsay Gravina produced, recorded and mixed it.
Cheney called it his own spin on "My Generation" or "Summertime Blues": a blunt, simple message that parents and society can take a hike, because this music belongs to the kids. He wanted it to carry the rebel charge of old-school Chuck Berry into his own band's sound, and it snaps and hollers like punk with a greaser's haircut. The EP reached number four on the ARIA chart and hung around the Top 100 for 69 weeks, and in 2018 Triple M put the song at 32 on its "Ozzest 100".
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 15 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997 | 100 |
| 1999 | 35 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1999 | 107 |
| 1999 | 51 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1999 | 106 |
| 1999 | 75 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1999 | 101 |
| 1999 | 92 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1999 | 100 |
| 1999 | 39 | K-Rock New York, NY | K-Rock Top 92 Songs of 1999 | 92 |
| 1999 | 48 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 99 Songs of 1999 | 99 |
| 1999 | 58 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 1999 | 107 |
| 1999 | 71 | 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON | 89X Top 89 Songs of 1999 | 89 |
| 1999 | 79 | Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) | Radio & Records Top 104 Songs of 1999 | 104 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 18 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998) | 100 |
| 1999 | 219 | KROQ | KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) | 300 |
| 1999 | 883 | 107.7 The End | The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1077 |
| 2006 | 97 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) | 500 |
| 2006 | 254 | Live 105 | Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) | 500 |
| 2007 | 118 | KROQ | KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) | 500 |
| 2008 | 140 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) | 500 |
| 2009 | 448 | Live 105 | Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) | 500 |
| 2009 | 34 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009) | 100 |
| 2013 | 20 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013) | 100 |
| 2018 | 32 | Triple M | Triple M Ozzest 100 (2018) | 100 |
| 2020 | 414 | 105.9 The X | 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) | 420 |
| 2021 | 407 | 105.9 The X | 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) | 420 |
| 2023 | 419 | 105.9 The X | 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) | 420 |
| 2025 | 41 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs (2025) | 100 |
Also listed as: Prisoner Of Society.
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