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"And we'll all float on, okay?" — the shrugging, off-kilter singalong that carried indie rock onto every radio station, mall speaker, and burned CD of 2004. A decade-old cult band from Washington state suddenly had the most reassuring song in America.
The Killers' debut single — written after Brandon Flowers found his girlfriend in a Las Vegas bar with another man. Released in 2003, it peaked at No. 10 on both the US and UK charts, and then simply never left: by 2026 it had logged more than 500 weeks on the UK singles chart, a communal scream at weddings and stadiums that outlived its own decade.
A seven-note riff that sounds exactly like a bass — played by a band with no bassist. "Seven Nation Army" peaked at #76 on the Hot 100, then quietly conquered every stadium on earth. Millions chant it at games today without knowing they're singing The White Stripes.
The show that made indie rock cool, gave us Chrismukkah, and turned Newport Beach into the center of the universe. Josh Schwartz's The O.C. launched a thousand emo haircuts and a meme that won't die.