Kirsty MacColl - Free World / Modest Mouse - Float On

"women and men united by the struggle.."

This song is almost 20 year old now, and with it's urgent lyrics and chiming guitars, it still feels like a call to arms.



To hear this Kirsty MacColl song in the context of the last year of the 1980's was both a condemnation of the state of Thatcherite England and a prophetic warning of times to come. "It's cold and it's going to get colder" she sang as indeed the world has turned increasingly to blind materialism. Faced against all the forces of government and culture, the people can slowly fall asleep, turning to drink and drugs and blind compliance, and even death as a "reliable exit.."

What stood out about this song and video was the complete defiance against such forces, with knowing words and a clear voice. The frenzied flashes from the television in the video also show images of war and male domination, as well as the response of female empowerment. But in the eternal tension of gender issues, how often do we see or hear a phrase such as "women and men united by the struggle..?" And despite the sharpness of the observational lyrics and subject matter, she declares in complete opposition to a cold and cynical world, one positive declarative statement - "I wouldn't tell you if I didn't care.."


The one phrase in the lyrics "You've got to get into the water, Like a lamb goes to the slaughter" reminded me of a more recent song and video - "Float On" by Modest Mouse:


by 2004, MTV was still playing music videos, but only late at night. The song was a hit and this video was in heavy rotation that summer. Looking closer at the details of video other than the animated forms of the band, I saw such things as two vultures on a power wire..one gets electrocuted and falls to the ground and the other promptly flies down to pick at his carcass. This was my first clue that maybe the words to the song had more of an ironic intent.

Happy lambs, who are completely 2-dimensional, frolic in the fields. But they are seduced by unseen forces in the clouds and a voice emanating from unseen machinery beyond. They are driven to jump into the depths of the water and discover the source of the voice is a little bo peep character, who exerts her influence through television in their underwater state. They are seemingly given instructions to where she will lead them next. They proceed to move as one unified group towards the gates ahead, where they find her, urging them to keep moving forward. As the darkness falls we are given a glimpse inside the building where we realize what they do not. The swinging hooks of the slaughterhouse beckon menacingly, as each lamb is taken inside one by one, not knowing what lies beyond this reliable exit. "Don't worry.. we'll all float on.."

With so many deeply underwater in this current culture, does this type of visual metaphor even get recognized and understood anymore?