Part Five
I've started getting goosebumps, so many classic indie grooves w/ warbled bass & drums, atmospheric guitars, all so tight, and Isaac Brock laying out his better vocal performances as we get into the more mature phase of the band.
If you have any other insights to add about any of these tracks - or if you disagree with me and want to make your opinion heard - please do post in the comments. I'll read all responses.
(60) Worms Vs. Birds (Sad Sappy Sucker)
How can you not fall in love?! That first drum and guitar groove, it's so sloppy and major key, you can hear how little thinking is going on behind the scenes, the music is pure feel. This is the genesis moment of indie rock. The vocals come in and it's perfect, the blend of catchy malaise and punk arrogance that goes beyond words.
self pity me so pitiful
you can see that birds and worms don't get along
self righteous me so wrong
you can see that we don't have to get along
(59) Workin' On Leavin' The Livin' (Building Nothing Out of Something)
This track starts with David Lynch's famous song from Eraserhead: "In Heaven, Everything Is Fine." The Pixies covered that tune, and were a huge Modest Mouse influence, so Isaac could be referencing either source. After that, the room mics get cranked for a twee-bonham groove with absurdly tight textural guitars floating around, harsh drones in the high-end supported by a warm bass low-end. This is Modest Mouse at their most ambient, and it's beautiful.
I'm working on leaving
I'm working on leaving the living
In heaven everything is fine
In heaven everything is fine
(58) Karma Payment (The Fruit That Ate Itself)
Haha, how the fuck did this get to #58 on my list? IDK. This is a weird one, starting with a reversed soundscape thing that fades into a 6/8 snare and kick groove, a dinky bass / guitar thing that rolls through a four-chord progression with weird whistling and vibraslap in the background. This is cool, it's fun, but the production is pretty bad even by indie standards.
I drove my car on June 14th
I drove it right on down the street
I have not had any sleep, so I ate Minithins to stay awake
You crash your car right into me, there's two days that I didn't sleep
(57) The View (Good News)
A catchy upbeat track that shows off Isaac Brock's happier side - even if he is singing about the corporate malaise of America, he sounds like he's having fun. It feels like the band is clean, sober, and well-rehearsed. You can hear the catchy synth lines here - that's one of the pop elements that helped the band break into the mainstream with this album.
Shouts from both sides,
"Well we've got the land but they've got the view!"
Well now here's the clue.
(56) One Chance (Good News)
A relaxed track depicting the struggle of getting older, as life unfurls in its unclear way and you have to make huge decisions that you'll never make again. The counterpoint of the bassline and vocal melody is amazing, and Isaac Brock makes the bizarre decision of yelling "I'm a box in a cage" over and over for the bridge. Production on this is Steve Albini worship to the max.
We have one chance, one chance to get everything right.
My friends, my habits, my family, they mean so much to me.
I just don't think that it's right.
I've seen so many ships sail in,
just to head back out again and go off sinkin'
(55) All Night Diner (Building Nothing/Interstate 8)
The band has never been so funky. The bass is fat, the groove is laid back, even the guitar is in the pocket. This song is hilarious, a tale of a long night getting drunk and talking to awkward strangers. This story sounds like half of what tour life is like, just being up way too late and talking to anybody you see.
He said, he said, he said this is what he said
I have sex, Im always thinking about the pavement
So I can avoid premature ejaculation
I got up, remembering to thank him
Better things to do so Ill start drinking
(54) Fly Trapped in a Jar (We Were Dead)
The guitar arrangement on this track is so ambitious, there's so much going on beneath the veneer of simple angry rock. Isaac Brock shows that his harsh style works just as well in the lower octaves, and it's just deranged enough to get some edge without going too far. Catchy as hell on a bizarre chorus, and the song never loses energy.
All part and parcel, we were already dead
Well, it's probably been said
That it's always been said that
One wing isn't even enough, it isn't even enough to leave
(53) So Much Beauty In Dirt (Parlour Tricks)
A legitimately uplifting song. Very strange production style, as psychedelic as the band as ever been, you'd call this twee rock if it came out five years later. It's cheesy and you can't help but smile.
Woman says let's take a drive down south,
roll down the windows and open our mouths taste where we are and play the music loud.
Stop the car,
lay on the grass,
the planets spin and we watch space pass
(52) Sunspots in the House of the Late Scapegoat (The Fruit That Ate Itself)
This groove is like it's own genre - the absolute prototypical Modest Mouse groove. I never noticed it until re-making this list for the 2017 edition. Never Ending Math Equation is the exact same groove, for example, and there's several more besides. This song is awesome though, I don't even care about the groove similarity. The vocal performance is one of Isaac's best, and the production is better than usual for this era of Mouse.
it was on the rotating eyes
it was all on the same postcard
it was all on the same damn shirt
said to sleep in the same Sear's camp house
51. The Cold Part (Moon & Antarctica)
Drone. Ambience via silky strings, both in texture and melody, while the drone shifts from bass to guitar to voice. There's a lot going on. The drums are lively, like a fighter who's light on his feet but ready to lunge. Isaac is repeating "sad sad part of the world" a lot, which gives you an idea of the emotional vibe.
So long to this salt soaked part of the world
I stepped down as president of Antarctica
Can't blame me, don't blame me, dont
So long to this sad, sad part of the world
(50) Baby Blue Sedan (Building Nothing)
A somber song with the funky dry groove style that pervades most of Building Nothing Out of Something. In this case, Isaac's lyrics come to the forefront, singing about another failed relationship, lots of great one-liners. It never gets loud or frantic, and it never needs to - this is one of those sad yet soothing songs.
And it's hard to be a human being
And it's harder as anything else
And I'm lonesome when you're around
And I'm never lonesome when I'm by myself
(49) Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds (Long Drive)
The start of this song is ultimate indie: the tape is warbling, the bass is mostly on the top of the neck, the vocals are... mostly in tune. As it starts moving, this song builds momentum. Soon Isaac's singing the hook "I'm not sure who I am", over the wonky groove, and it all takes a catchy melodic tone that makes sense. A few minutes in, Mechanical Birds happens with guitars squealing everywhere over a loudly crashing drum beat and bass chords. It's an insane moment that acts as a climax for this long-ass album.
And I said you can't make everybody happy
He said you'd like to at least make yourself happy though
I'm not sure who I am
I'm not sure who I am but I know who I've been
(48) Perfect Disguise (Moon & Antarctica)
Who would've guessed that Isaac Brock would go from the screamy, off-kilter vocals of Long Drive and Lonesome to the soft background harmonies he's singing on songs like this? The rest of the band follows suit - Jeremiah Green's using brushes, the bass and guitar are reverberating and echoing. It's a completely different sound, but it's still Modest Mouse, and it's still amazing.
Well youve got the perfect disguise and youre looking ok
From the bottom of the best to the worst well what can I say
Cos you cocked your head to shoot me down
And I dont give a damn about you or this town no more
(47) Out Of Gas (Lonesome Crowded West)
I absolutely love the first few lines of this song. "Out of gas, out of road, out of car I don't know how I'm gonna go." It's simple and it's surreal, somehow really clever to me. The band follows a descending chord progression that repeats every four measures, and it kinda rolls along for a bit and ends. Simple, short, but effective and great.
Out of gas, out of road
Out of car I don't know how I'm going to go and
I had a drink the other day
Opinions were like kittens
I was giving them away
(46) Medication (Building Nothing)
First, Isaac Brock is lazily singing about the parts of himself. The part the needs meds, the part that dreams, the part that thinks there aren't aliens. The sound of traffic and birdsong in the background gives the vibe that you're in the room with him. Then the band comes crashing in, all edgy guitars and floating synths with Jeremiah Green bashing the life out of his cymbals. It's energetic, frantic, and then it's over - and the final part of the song goes back to the soft singsong mode. An interesting song structure, unique in Modest Mouse's discography.
this is the part of me that needs medication
this is the part of me that believes in heaven
this is the part of me that thinks outer space is all dead
this is the part of me that wishes it was with it
(45) Alone Down There (Moon & Antarctica)
A very live-sounding track. You can imagine this song sounding really similar live to the way it is on the record. A few strummed guitars, a few leads, a truly emotional plea from Isaac with "I don't want you to be alone down there," whoever he's singing about is someone he really loves. This song is intensely emotional.
The Devil's apprentice he gave me some credit
He fed me a line and I'll probably regret it
I don't want you to be alone down there
To be alone down there, to be alone
(44) Beach Side Property (Long Drive)
Damn, this first groove is a summer jam and a half. You can cruise along the highway with the windows down, joint in mouth, the desert rolling by in endless flatness. Isaac screams his fucking head off over this tasty jam. It's a weird sonic combination that makes more sense to those well-versed in the Pixies discography - it's pure Frank Black mode here. I love this. They don't give a fuck.
No I dont like this plan
It was a staple of brass tacks and waxed backs
A memo left on the forehead of god
Sent sealed and signed by the saints who sang this song
(43) Ohio (Long Drive)
Isaac Brock is rapping here. He won't admit it, at the time you couldn't draw easy parallels between indie rock and hip-hop - but in retrospect, that is SO where this lyrical flow comes from. The groove here is reminiscent of Exit Does Not Exist, another stellar Jeremiah drum beat, but the guitars and vocal melody make this a whole different beast of a song. This list is heating up, only at #43 and I'm already getting goosebumps from how brilliant this band is.
Truly sorry, I see clearly
Calmly crashing, I pace faster than anyone
Hinges rusting, they swing louder than anything
Truly lonely this place is flatter than it seems
(42) Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset (Long Drive)
This track evokes a bit of the future mood of Moon & Antarctica. The vocal arrangement is ambitious, with Isaac straining to pull off the sorts of tricks that he'll do with ease on future releases. He pulls it off. This track feels great, it's a slow jam that pays off. By the end, just when the main themes threaten to grow old, you shift into a wilderness of cello and new guitar melodies, a more energetic drum groove, and it's a beautiful ride to the finish.
Oh noose tied myself in, tied myself too tight
Looking kind of anxious in your cross armed stance
Like a bad tempered prom queen at a homecoming dance
And I claim Im not excited with my life any more
(41) Dramamine (Long Drive)
The first song on Modest Mouse's debut album, with the band's most iconic bassline and an immediate taste of bent guitar harmonics. The style of the band is so immediate, so wonderful, so alive. Isaac comes crashing in with his harsh psychedelia to pull your attention back as you start to close your eyes. It doesn't get more classic than this.
Travelling swallowing dramamine
Feeling spaced breathing out listerine
Id said what Id said that Id tell ya
And that youd killed the better part of me
Next up is the second-to-last edition of the list... the songs only get better from here, if you can believe it.