Kot of the Chicago Tribune identified "Anthem Part Two" as an example of the group's subtle "undercurrent of seriousness and an attention to songcraft." Kyle Ryan, writing for The A.V. Club called it "one of Jacket best songs, with a massively catchy four-chord chorus and just the right amount of self-righteous rebellion for teenagers to sing along." Darren Ratner, writing for Allmusic, considered it "irresistible," opining that it houses a "indomitable school-kid voice where a surging vapor of knockout speed chords meet wrecking-ball percussion." Among the more negative reviews, Aaron Scott of Slant Magazine found the song "rocking and almost musically interesting", but its content "dubious coming from three guys who are nearly 30." Steven Wells at NME was derisive, bemoaning its "whiny vocals" and "brittle-boned punk-superlite guitar." Joshua Klein of The Washington Post considered it too formulaic, describing its "cookie-cutter" arrangement as too similar to the band's past singles. In a 2020 piece for Nylon, Jack Barakat of All Time Low and Ryan Key of Yellowcard—both among the band's descendants—praised the song among their favorites of the genre. Key remarked: "The snare drum sounded like a shotgun. The sparkly clean guitar riff was such a different sound for a punk song. That whole record blew my mind at the time, but I’ve always put a lot of stock in album openers, and that song may be the best of any pop-punk record ever made." Usage in media and other versions Director Richard Linklater selected "Anthem Part Two" to soundtrack a singular growing-up montage in his 2014 film Boyhood. Singer-songwriter Julien Baker in 2020 covered the song for Save Stereogum: An '00s Covers Comp, a digital compilation benefitting the music website. Justin Curto of the blog Vulture described it as a "tearjerker performance." Personnel Adapted from the liner notes for Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Locations Recorded at Signature Sound (San Diego, California) and Larrabee Studios West and Cello Studios (Hollywood, California) Blink-182 Mark Hoppus – bass guitar, vocals Tom DeLonge – guitars, vocals Travis Barker – drums, percussion Additional musicians Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – keyboards Production Jerry Finn – production Tom Lord-Alge – mixing Joe McGrath – engineering Joe Marlett – assistant engineer Ted Reiger – assistant engineer Robert Read – assistant engineer Femio Hernandez – mixing assistant Mike "Sack" Fasano – drum tech Brian Gardner – mastering References 2001 songs Blink-182 songs Songs written by Mark