Neon Ballroom

Neon Ballroom

n 8 March 1999. The album debuted at number-one on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified 4× platinum by ARIA. It was also certified Gold in the United States. It genereated the singles "Anthem for the Year 2000", "Ana's Song (Open Fire)", "Miss You Love", and "Paint Pastel Princess".

Neon Ballroom was an overhaul of the band's musical style found on its first two albums, Frogstomp and Freak Show. "Anthem for the Year 2000", for example, retained much of the band's youthful rock energy but featured a new rock song structure and various electronic effects. Eight years after the album's release, Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns said: "To me, I honestly feel like our first record was Neon Ballroom. I've never felt any different. I don't feel like our first two albums were Silverchair: that's our teenage high school band. I don't like them at all. I listen to them and go, 'That's cute', especially the first one, because Frogstomp we were 14. But the second one we're like 16, I'm like 'You're getting older. You're running out of chances'".

"Spawn Again" had previously appeared on the 1997 soundtrack to the film Spawn. The Neon Ballroom version is a remix of the original; hip-hop group Vitro added various electronic elements to the track. However, the origin of "Spawn" dates back to 1996 when it was recorded for inclusion on Freak Show but was later omitted. The Pre-Vitro mix of "Spawn Again" is not the Freak Show version but a later one recorded when the band demoed tracks for Neon Ballroom. The Pre-Vitro version lacks an entire verse pertaining to "animal liberation". This version was included on the Neon Ballroom Limited Edition bonus disc, The Best of Volume 1 (2 Disc Limited Edition) in 2000, and the Rarities 1994 - 1999 compilation in 2002. The album recording of "Anthem for the Year 2000" is slightly different on the Australian release than the one found on other releases (including singles). "Satin Sheets" was originally called "Punk Song #3" and "Paint Pastel Princess" was "All the Same to Me". "Emotion Sickness", "Ana's Song (Open Fire)", and "Miss You Love" are on The Best of Volume 1. An acoustic remix of "Ana's Song" was released on the Best of disc that also included the Rarities bonus. Eight tracks from Neon Ballroom appear on Live from Faraway Stables. The album has been released in a double pack along with Freak Show. Johns wrote all the songs on the album except for "Spawn Again" (Johns-Gillies). The vinyl version of the album was limited to 5,000 copies worldwide. In October 2010, the album was listed at number 25 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.