Opinion

So is David Grossman's formulation correct? Is Hootie the soundtrack of the uncomplicated phase of Francis Fukuyama's end of history, the peak of liberal confidence and American power and post-ideological relaxation? Shouldn't a pure "it's the end of ideological conflict, and I feel fine" work of art be a little bit less angsty, a little sunnier than Darius Rucker singing, "Let her cry, if the tears fall down like rain/Let her sing, if it eases all her pain"? Or Adam Duritz crooning mournfully, "It's raining in Baltimore, baby/But everything else is the same"? Still, when I look back on this music, there's something about Grossman's analysis that rings true.