Perhaps no other word paints a better picture of the 2020s as “uncertainty.” Political polarization is high as human rights are being lost, not won, as the world gets warmer every year, as wars are being waged with civilians in the crossfire and as many other things seem to go down the gutter. It can feel that reading the news is overwhelming at times and terms like “doomscrolling” have been created to talk about the unhealthy habits many partake in while trying to stay informed. With no signs of these issues ending anytime soon, these topics get further polarized, leading to more fighting, more bad news and more misery. How does one break out of this cycle of perpetuating sadness?
King Gizzard tries to answer that with the finale of Flight b741. The longest song on the album, “Daily Blues” is a multi-part blues rock epic sung primarily by Stu (with various additions from the rest of the band). The song takes influence from ‘60s and ‘70s rock groups, specifically bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Grateful Dead (with similarities to “Truckin’” during the first verses as well as a “Turn On Your Love Light”-esque riff during the second half of the song).
The song grapples with uncertain times, the first verses detailing the ways differing ideologies and faiths are fighting over who is right and wrong, thereby creating a source of struggle which they refer to as the “Daily Blues” (a play on the term “daily news”). Their answer to these differences is a simple one: to put down the weapons, both literal and figurative, and tell the other side you love them. In the end, we’re all human and we aren’t that different. If one is to create a free world that can overcome our current issues, there must be cooperation and understanding between the people. While their plan may come off as naive considering the hateful values of certain groups and political ideologies, the band understands this and singles out bigots by saying that they are not welcome and that their faith is not justification for discrimination. We cannot create an equal world if we are tolerant of the intolerant (as proposed in Karl Popper’s famous paradox of tolerance). While the song ends with a roll call over the song’s intro groove and the sound of horses and airplanes, King Gizzard ultimately makes a statement about the times in which the album was created. They focus on the battles that people are faced with, but they don’t fall into the nihilism of an album like PetroDragonic Apocalypse or the hedonism of Butterfly 3000. Instead they focus on what we can do to come together in troubled times to create an equal society.