Feel The Flow

Evening, gang.


I hope you're having a great long weekend. I know I am. Its been a day of lounging, interspersed with a cocktail and some salsa from yesterday's cooking extravaganza. Had the windows open for a cool September afternoon. While entertaining some guests tonight, a song came on my iPod that made me nod my head to myself, not interrupting the evening, because I love it but didn't want to interrupt an anecdote. So here I am, sneaking off to write a few words about one of my favorite modern rock tracks of the last ten years.

The rock royalty I speak of is none other than Queens of the Stone Age. The super group burst onto the scene in the beginning of the millennium with their amazing album Songs for the Deaf, an album featuring the amazingly powerful drum work of Dave Grohl. The album was an almost immediate hit, propelled in part by the phenomenal single 'No One Knows', a raucous romper whose dark tones suggest the spooky air of Halloween. I adore that song, but its the easy hit, we all know it and its fantastic. What I think is even better, though, is the second single off the album - the short and concise power pop of 'Go With The Flow'. 

I melt for this song. Released in 2003, the single 'Go With The Flow' is a bit of an anomaly - it didn't feel like anything else on the radio. It's this super-condensed little number, hurtling from lily pad to lily pad to avoid sinking, speeding from one section of the song to another to avoid sinking under its own weight. It starts with no flair, just rolling right into the song. It ends the same way - no fanfare, just an abrupt end with no announcement. The sections of the tune are all mixed in a like minded sound, but constructed in a cut and paste manner. It's a tight number with no frills, just a few guitar lead overdubs and some lightly played keys in the background. This sparse approach plays in its favor, though. There's a straight-forward desperation and urgency to the song, a dark undercurrent snaking through the heart of it. The video clip for the song only adds to the unspoken menace already present. Featuring an affecting, minimalist color scheme that utilizes its lack of color to make a dramatic impact, the video is just as intense as the track. In it, the band rocks out in the bed of speeding pickup as they motor through the desert on a collision course with another vehicle.

'Go With The Flow' is an amazing song. It's nothing grandiose or mind-blowing, but it's a solid, serviceable song that manages to have cojones in this neutered, modern era. It's a rare song that has teeth in a cold, calculated world. The album that it hails from is great, along with the other singles on it that we already know. Do yourself a favor and get acquainted with how great this Queens of the Stone Age song is before Halloween rolls in - it's a great dark, ominous rocker that can help you get ready for a wild night out on All Hallow's Eve. I'll see you cats tomorrow for another post. Adieu.