Band gives stressed-out nation message

Breeze Perspectives

There’s been an angry air circulating our society these days, and it’s getting to the point where bizarre events have begun to occur. Players and fans having an all-out battle royale during the middle of a basketball game is the product of people deeply repressing their collective frustrations. For too long have I been stressed out over issues that are out of my control. And while some are quick to label these feelings as growing up, the older and, more often than not, wiser generations don’t appear as cool and collected as they might lead everyone to believe. The emotional state of our nation is not the usual status quo. A fog of consternation has engulfed this country since Sept. 11, 2001.

One cannot help but wonder what may come in 2005 and, fortunately, it didn’t take me long to find a bright spot on the horizon. Saturday Night Live aired on Jan. 1 and Modest Mouse was the musical guest, so I figured I’d sit down and watch its performance. The band played "Float On," and, despite how much I’d heard that song, there is this comforting feeling that always seems to come over me when I hear it. My sister then said, "It’s cool that they’re the first band to play on SNL this year." I didn’t think too much of her seemingly insignificant comment, so I went downstairs to read. Then she came down and said, "‘Float On’ was No. 1 on a radio station’s countdown of the best songs of 2004." Now she got me thinking — I immediately ruled out the possibility of the two events being a coincidence.

"Float On" was the best song of 2004 because it was the conclusion our disgruntled and disoriented society reached after carrying on as such a society for too long a time. The good news for people who love bad news — the album’s title — is "don’t worry, we’ll all float on." Modest Mouse didn’t write that song because the members are a bunch of sell outs. The band wrote it because it needed to reach people — because its message may be single-handedly keeping everyone in this country from the brink of insanity.

This annual New Years’ celebration also signifies the epoch now occurring in American history. For the first time in years, we have the opportunity to reconcile with one another on the premise of "don’t worry, everything will be all right." A solution, however temporary it may be, has been manifested. So after a period of time that was scarred by animosity, we can finally find common ground with one another to face our shared anxiety. As if trying to calm a raving lunatic, Modest Mouse grabbed us by the shoulder and slapped us in the face with its message: Chill out.

Cory Reyman is a sophomore finance major.