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"Float On"
Single by Modest Mouse
from the album Good News for People Who Love Bad News
B-side	"I've Got It All (Most)"
Released	March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08)
Genre	Indie rock indie pop alternative rock
Length	3:28
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Isaac Brock Dann Gallucci Eric Judy Benjamin Weikel
Producer(s)	Dennis Herring
Modest Mouse singles chronology
"Heart Cooks Brain" (1999) "Float On" (2004) "Ocean Breathes Salty" (2004)
Music video
"Float On" on YouTube

"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:

It was a completely conscious thing. I was just kind of fed up with how bad shit had been going, and how dark everything was, with bad news coming from everywhere. Our president George W. Bush is just a fucking daily dose of bad news! Then you've got the well-intentioned scientists telling us that everything is fucked. I just want to feel good for a day.

— Isaac Brock, The A.V. Club,

The song is in the key of F♯ major with a tempo of 101 beats per minute. 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, and was the first Modest Mouse song to gain mainstream popularity. Nearly six months after its release, it became the band's first No. 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. 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 named it the 39th greatest song of the 2000s. NME ranked it at No. 351 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2014. At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005, "Float On" was nominated for Best Rock Song, losing to U2's "Vertigo".

Track listings

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

Certifications

Release history

Covers

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

References

1. Nickoloff, Anne (27 April 2018). "45 Cleveland concerts to check out in May 2018: Jimmy Buffett, Modest Mouse, BROCKHAMPTON, more". cleveland.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
2. Rolling Stone Staff (June 17, 2011). "100 Best Songs of the 2000s". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 4, 2022. A snappy, silver-lined indie-pop march that asserts, 'Good news is on the way.'
3. Leimkuehler, Matthew (January 23, 2018). "Modest Mouse announces spring Iowa concert". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
4. Modell, Josh (April 7, 2004). "Modest Mouse interview". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
5. "Float On by: Modest Mouse". Find Song Tempo. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
6. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1545. March 5, 2004. p. 27. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
7. ^ "Modest Mouse Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
8. ^ "Modest Mouse Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
9. ^ "Issue 760" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
10. "Triple J Hottest 100 2004". Australian Broadcasting Company. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
11. "Triple J's Hottest 100 20 Years – The Countdown". Australian Broadcasting Company. 18 April 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
12. "Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time". Australian Broadcasting Company. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
13. "Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums, Songs of the '00s". Stereogum. December 10, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
14. Barker, Emily (January 31, 2014). "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time – 400–301". NME. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
15. "Complete List of 2005 Grammy Nominees". December 7, 2004. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
16. "2004 Grammy Winners". Grammy Awards. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
17. Float On (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). Modest Mouse. Epic Records. 2004. ES7 58214, 34 76685.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
18. Float On (US CD single liner notes). Modest Mouse. Epic Records. 2004. 34K 76685.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
19. Float On (Australian CD single liner notes). Modest Mouse. Epic Records. 2004. 675187.1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
20. Float On (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Modest Mouse. Epic Records. 2004. 675069 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
21. Float On (UK CD single liner notes). Modest Mouse. Epic Records. 2004. 675069 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
22. Float On (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Modest Mouse. Epic Records. 2004. EPC 674963 2, 6749632000.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
23. "R&R Canada Rock Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1566. July 30, 2004. p. 75. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
25. "Modest Mouse Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
26. "Modest Mouse Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
27. "Year in Music & Touring: Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 52. December 25, 2004. p. YE-70. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved June 12, 2022 – via Google Books.
28. "2004 The Year in Charts: Most-Played Triple-A Songs". Billboard Radio Monitor. Vol. 12, no. 51. December 17, 2004. p. 54.
29. "British single certifications – Modest Mouse – Float On". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
30. "American single certifications – Modest Mouse – Float On". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
31. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1552. April 23, 2004. p. 24. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
32. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1559. June 11, 2004. p. 26. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
33. "Float On". Amazon. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
34. "New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 13th September 2004" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 759. Australian Recording Industry Association. September 13, 2004. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-10-19. Retrieved June 12, 2022 – via Trove.
35. "John Tucker Must Die(2006) – Soundtracks". IMDb. April 7, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
36. Lester, Paul (July 6, 2007). "No 139: Goldspot". The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2010.

• 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)