Float On (Modest Mouse song) explained

Float On
Cover:Modest Mouse-Float on- album cover.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Modest Mouse
Album:Good News for People Who Love Bad News
B-Side:I've Got It All (Most)
Genre:
Length:3:28
Label:Epic
Producer:Dennis Herring
Prev Title:Heart Cooks Brain
Prev Year:1999
Next Title:Ocean Breathes Salty
Next Year:2004

"Float On" is a song by American rock band Modest Mouse, released on March 8, 2004, as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004). The song topped the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 2005. The music video is portrayed in the style of a pop-up book with the band wearing turn of the century style clothing and in an underwater scene with flotsam suits.

Background and composition

Asked about the song in an interview with The A.V. Club, Brock said that he consciously intended to write something that felt more positive than some of his previous work:

The song is in the key of F major with a tempo of 101 beats per minute.[4] The final few notes of "The World at Large" lead into the opening notes of "Float On".

Release and reception

The song was released to alternative radio on March 8, 2004,[5] and was the first Modest Mouse song to gain mainstream popularity. Nearly six months after its release, it became the band's first 1 hit on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 70 and peaked at No. 68. In Australia, the song peaked at No. 94 and was ranked No. 11 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.[6] In 2013, when Triple J created a new list of the Hottest 100 songs of the past 20 years, Float On appeared at No. 45.[7] In July 2009, it was also voted in at No. 94 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time.[8] In December 2009, Rolling Stone named it the 39th greatest song of the 2000s.[9] NME ranked it at No. 351 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2014.[10] At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005, "Float On" was nominated for Best Rock Song, losing to U2's "Vertigo".[11] [12]

Track listings

US 7-inch and CD single[13] [14]

  1. "Float On" – 3:28
  2. "I've Got It All (Most)" – 3:06

Australian CD single[15]

  1. "Float On" – 3:28
  2. "I've Got It All (Most)" – 3:06
  3. "The Good Times Are Killing Me" (alternative mix version) – 4:11
  4. "Bukowski" (Congleton/Godbey remix) – 4:14

UK 7-inch single[16]

A. "Float On"

B. "Bukowski" (Congleton/Godbey remix)UK CD single[17]

  1. "Float On" – 3:28
  2. "I've Got It All (Most)" – 3:06
  3. "The Good Times Are Killing Me" (alternative mix version) – 4:11
  4. "Float On" (video) – 3:32

European maxi-CD single[18]

  1. "Float On" – 3:28
  2. "I've Got It All (Most)" – 3:06
  3. "The Good Times Are Killing Me" (alternative mix version) – 4:11
  4. "Bukowski" (Congleton/Godbey remix) – 4:14
  5. "Float On" (video)

Personnel

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2004)Position
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[20] 12
US Triple-A (Billboard)[21] 40

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United StatesMarch 8, 2004Alternative radioEpic
April 26, 2004Triple A radio[22]
June 14, 2004Contemporary hit radio[23]
United KingdomJuly 12, 2004CD[24]
AustraliaSeptember 13, 2004[25]

Covers

The song was covered by Ben Lee, whose version can be heard on the soundtrack for the 2006 film John Tucker Must Die.[26] It was also covered by Mark Kozelek and Goldspot, whose version later appeared on the television series The O.C.[27]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 45 Cleveland concerts to check out in May 2018: Jimmy Buffett, Modest Mouse, BROCKHAMPTON, more. Nickoloff. Anne. cleveland.com. 27 April 2018 . September 9, 2019.
  2. Web site: Rolling Stone Staff . 100 Best Songs of the 2000s . . June 17, 2011 . A snappy, silver-lined indie-pop march that asserts, 'Good news is on the way.'. November 4, 2022.
  3. Web site: Modest Mouse announces spring Iowa concert. Leimkuehler. Matthew. January 23, 2018. The Des Moines Register. September 9, 2019.
  4. Web site: Float On by: Modest Mouse. Find Song Tempo. August 27, 2020.
  5. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1545. 27. March 5, 2004. May 25, 2021.
  6. Web site: Triple J Hottest 100 2004. Australian Broadcasting Company. August 27, 2020.
  7. Web site: Triple J's Hottest 100 20 Years – The Countdown. 18 April 2013 . Australian Broadcasting Company. August 27, 2020.
  8. Web site: Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time. Australian Broadcasting Company. August 27, 2020.
  9. Web site: Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums, Songs of the '00s. Stereogum. December 10, 2009. January 20, 2014.
  10. Web site: The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time – 400–301. Barker. Emily. NME. January 31, 2014. August 27, 2020.
  11. Web site: Complete List of 2005 Grammy Nominees. December 7, 2004. August 27, 2020.
  12. Web site: 2004 Grammy Winners. Grammy Awards. May 25, 2021.
  13. Float On. Modest Mouse. 2004. US 7-inch single vinyl disc. Epic Records. ES7 58214, 34 76685.
  14. Float On. Modest Mouse. 2004. US CD single liner notes. Epic Records. 34K 76685.
  15. Float On. Modest Mouse. 2004. Australian CD single liner notes. Epic Records. 675187.1.
  16. Float On. Modest Mouse. 2004. UK 7-inch single sleeve. Epic Records. 675069 7.
  17. Float On. Modest Mouse. 2004. UK CD single liner notes. Epic Records. 675069 2.
  18. Float On. Modest Mouse. 2004. European maxi-CD single liner notes. Epic Records. EPC 674963 2, 6749632000.
  19. R&R Canada Rock Top 30. Radio & Records. 1566. 75. July 30, 2004. October 7, 2019.
  20. [{{Google books|1BMEAAAAMBAJ|pg=RA1-PA30|plainurl=yes}} Year in Music & Touring: Hot Modern Rock Tracks]. Billboard. 116. 52. YE-70. December 25, 2004. 0006-2510. June 12, 2022. Google Books.
  21. 2004 The Year in Charts: Most-Played Triple-A Songs. Billboard Radio Monitor. 12. 51. 54. December 17, 2004.
  22. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1552. 24. April 23, 2004. May 25, 2021.
  23. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1559. 26. June 11, 2004. May 25, 2021.
  24. Web site: Float On. Amazon. July 17, 2021.
  25. New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 13th September 2004. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20041019140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20041020-0000/ISSUE759.pdf. dead. 2004-10-19. The ARIA Report. 759. September 13, 2004. 28. Australian Recording Industry Association. June 12, 2022. Trove.
  26. Web site: John Tucker Must Die(2006) – Soundtracks. IMDb. April 7, 2010. April 7, 2010.
  27. Web site: No 139: Goldspot. Lester. Paul. The Guardian. July 6, 2007. March 14, 2010.

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