Interlude 2
While the Bush administration never did find weapons of mass-destruction in Iraq, Columbia, Missouri band Downshift found plenty of rock radio success in the spring of 2003. It was during these early days of the Iraq War that their single, "Hero of Fallujah", rocketed to the top of the hot mainstream alternative rock airplay heatseekers chart. Scholars attribute the song's commercial success to its anthemic hook, rabid jingoism, and also the song came as a pre-downloaded MP3 on the Dell Digital Jukebox and was literally impossible to delete. The band's legacy was later complicated by the January 6th Capitol insurrection, when drummer Slam Johnson defecated on a portrait of former senator Jeff Flake—a move that alienated some fans, but invigorated many, many more.
The band continues to tour regionally to this day. However, Downshift weren't the only artists cementing 2003 as the universally agreed-upon "greatest year in rock music", for that was the year a sixteen-year-old whiz chick from Destin, Florida released her debut CD, capturing the hearts of tweens and teens alike. Featured on the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie, The Totally Awkward Misadventures of Mae, Rockstar in Training, here is Mae Haven Thompsons with "Freak Out".
