“Island” (Float Away) by The Starting Line, Wednesday, April 28, 2021

 

In Western North Carolina, we had two modern rock radio stations. From upstate South Carolina there was 93.3 “ The Planet,” an Active Rock radio station that played lots of ‘90s rock and neo-90s rock. They loved grunge and post-grunge. They played Nickelback, Seether, P.O.D., Flyleaf, Puddle of Mudd, and that kind of music. Then there was Charlotte’s 106.5 “The End,” an Alternative rock station. While playing much of the same music, they also featured some newer groups, such as Silversun Pickups, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and the occasional The Almost or Saosin song. The Starting Line was one of those emerging bands that was starting to be picked up on radio. The first single, “Island,” from the band’s third and final (latest) LP, Direction, was a kind of break out for the band to mainstream alternative rock. The band had toured on their two previous albums and built up a fan base thanks to venues like the Vans Warped Tour, but some band members grew tired of touring, while others got involved with other projects.

WAITING TOO LONG FOR A SHIP TO COME. I wasn’t fond of other Starting Line albums, but the songs on Direction had a lot going on. Whether it was the summery campfire sounding song “Something Left to Give,” the too-old-for-my-youth song “21,” or the tongue-in-cheek “Birds,” Direction was on of my favorite summer of ‘09 albums. “Island” is a great example of layers in alternative rock. Based on what lead singer/bassist Kenny Vasoli calls a “pretty-ugly chord,” the song builds with some interesting drumming and with some Calypso-sounding elements. The song talks of the urge to “sail away” with a loved one and leave their old lives behind. The music video finds the band shipwrecked on an island that seems to have suffered a hurricane. In one scene, there’s a guitar case and in another the band gear is floating out to sea. The video version differs from the album version in that the video ends on a fade out, whereas the album version ends with a more dramatic drumming and chorus.

Tornado damage near Ringgold, GA, 
April 27, 2011: source.

IT SEEMS THAT THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER. This line was my mantra in college for a while. However, whenever I uttered it, it seemed the opposite happened—from credits not adding up to housing falling through. There was even the April 27, 2011–ten years ago yesterday— tornado outbreak that devastated the community the semester before my student teaching. Looking back at this song, I certainly missed the point. The message of the song is that life is hard and you rarely catch a break. Some days things start off pretty good, like waking up fully rested before your alarm and listening to a good song. The sun is shining and you realize there's not too much pressing this day. However, quickly problems start piling up, and everything starts resolving the exact opposite way. A few fruitless missions too many and you wind up angry with the world, with the old man who's not wearing a mask, with the department store for having a crappy selection, and you just want to be home--those are the times when you need to "keep a hold on and don't let go."

 

Read “Island” by The Starting Line on Genius.