Float On (Modest Mouse song)
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"Float On" is a song by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced ...
, released on March 8, 2004, as the
lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...
from their fourth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, ''
Good News for People Who Love Bad News ''Good News for People Who Love Bad News'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Modest Mouse, released on April 6, 2004 by Epic Records. Founding member Jeremiah Green did not perform on this album due to his temporary absence from th ...
'' (2004). The song topped the US ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart and was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
. The music video is portrayed in the style of a
pop-up book The term pop-up book is often applied to any book with three-dimensional pages, although it is properly the umbrella term for movable book, pop-ups, tunnel books, transformations, volvelles, flaps, pull-tabs, pop-outs, pull-downs, and more, each ...
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 ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', 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 F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...
with a
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
of 101 beats per minute. The final few notes of "
The World at Large "The World at Large" is the third promo release by indie rock band Modest Mouse. It was recorded in 2003 and was featured on their album ''Good News for People Who Love Bad News''. It was not until after the album's release that Isaac Brock ...
" lead into the opening notes of "Float On".


Release and reception

The song was released to
alternative radio Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...
on March 8, 2004, 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 A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart. It debuted on the ''Billboard''
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
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. 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. In July 2009, it was also voted in at No. 94 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time. In December 2009, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' named it the 39th greatest song of the 2000s. ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' ranked it at No. 351 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2014. At the
47th Annual Grammy Awards The 47th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. They were hosted by Queen Lati ...
in 2005, "Float On" was nominated for
Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
, losing to U2's "
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
".


Track listings

US 7-inch and CD single # "Float On" – 3:28 # "I've Got It All (Most)" – 3:06 Australian CD single # "Float On" – 3:28 # "I've Got It All (Most)" – 3:06 # "The Good Times Are Killing Me" (alternative mix version) – 4:11 # "Bukowski" (
Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Top ...
/Godbey remix) – 4:14 UK 7-inch single :A. "Float On" :B. "Bukowski" (Congleton/Godbey remix) UK enhanced CD single # "Float On" – 3:28 # "I've Got It All (Most)" – 3:06 # "The Good Times Are Killing Me" (alternative mix version) – 4:11 # "Float On" (video) – 3:32 European enhanced maxi-single # "Float On" – 3:28 # "I've Got It All (Most)" – 3:06 # "The Good Times Are Killing Me" (alternative mix version) – 4:11 # "Bukowski" (Congleton/Godbey remix) – 4:14 # "Float On" (video)


Personnel

* Isaac Brock – vocals, lead guitar * Eric Judy – bass, backing vocals * Dann Gallucci – rhythm guitar, keyboards, drum loops, backing vocals * Benjamin Weikel – drums, percussion


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Covers

The song was covered by
Ben Lee Benjamin Michael Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but he focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appe ...
, whose version can be heard on the soundtrack for the 2006 film ''
John Tucker Must Die ''John Tucker Must Die'' is a 2006 teen comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film is about a trio of teenage girls who plot to break the heart of school basketball star John Tucker after they learn he has been secretly dating all three and p ...
''. It was also covered by
Mark Kozelek Mark Edward Kozelek (born January 24, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and occasional actor. He is known as the vocalist and primary recording artist of the indie folk act Sun Kil Moon and founding member of ...
and
Goldspot Goldspot is a New York-based band. Founded by singer/songwriter/producer and television and film composer Siddhartha Khosla, the group has since received critical acclaim for its debut album ''Tally of the Yes Men'' (''Tally''), and second alb ...
, whose version later appeared on the television series ''
The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...
'' The band
Iron Horse ''Iron horse'' is an iconic literary term (considered by the early 21st century to be transitioning into an archaic reference) for a steam locomotive, originating in the early 1800s, when horses still powered most machinery. The term was common ...
did a bluegrass cover version of the song in a 2007 album entitled '' The Bluegrass Tribute to Modest Mouse: Something You've Never Heard Before'' as a part of their " Pickin' On" series. The song's melody was sampled by
Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...
in 2010 for the song " The Show Goes On".


References

{{Authority control 2004 singles 2004 songs Epic Records singles Modest Mouse songs Songs written by Dann Gallucci Songs written by Eric Judy Songs written by Isaac Brock (musician)