In this life that we call home, the years go fast and the days go so slow.
At number 5 is Modest Mouse, the second best band to quote on this countdown. Like seriously, some of the lyrics Isaac Brock writes are some of the best things I've ever read. But maybe that's because I haven't read many books.
Wiki - Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, their lineup has centered around Brock, Green and Judy. Guitarist Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths) joined the band in May 2006, along with percussionist Joe Plummer (formerly of the Black Heart Procession) and multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso, to work on the album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Guitarist Jim Fairchild joined the band in February 2009.
The band has accrued significant mainstream success since being signed to Sony's Epic Records in 2000 and have been one of the leading bands in the popularization of indie rock, beginning with The Moon & Antarctica and Good News for People Who Love Bad News, which have been certified gold and platinum by the RIAA respectively. They have gone on to sell over three million records since. Elements of Modest Mouse's early sound have been likened to or inspired by that of Pixies and numerous other alternative rock and space rock bands. Their name is derived from a passage from the Virginia Woolf story "The Mark on the Wall" which reads, "I wish I could hit upon a pleasant track of thought, a track indirectly reflecting credit upon myself, for those are the pleasantest thoughts, and very frequent even in the minds of modest, mouse-coloured people, who believe genuinely that they dislike to hear their own praises."
Discography -
Studio albums
This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (1996)
The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)*
The Moon & Antarctica (2000)*^
Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007)
EPs
Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect? (1994)
Interstate 8 (1996)
The Fruit That Ate Itself (1997)
Night on the Sun (1999)
Building Nothing Out of Something (2000)
Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks (2001)
Sad Sappy Sucker (2001)
Baron von Bullshit Rides Again (2004)
No One's First and You're Next (2009)
*best albums
^top 10 favorite album
Top 20 Modest Mouse songs (deciding this alone almost took the whole 2.5 weeks between posts)
20 Dashboard
19 Gravity Rides Everything
18 Satelitte Skin
17 The View
16 Dark Center of the Universe
15 Ocean Breathes Salty
14 Jesus Christ Was An Only Child
13 Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
12 Float On
11 Parting of the Sensory
10 Florida
9 Spitting Venom
8 Night On The Sun
7 Never Ending Math Equation
6 Talking Sh*t About A Pretty Sunset
5 Missed the Boat
4 Dramamine
3 Trailer Trash
2 3rd Planet
1 Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice, Alright
Modest Mouse is sharp, poignant indie rock. It is loud and aggressive, but it is also peaceful and ambient. Frontman Isaac Brock is known for his strong stage presence. Seeing them live is a must as they change their setlist around show-to-show, which I really respect in a band (see Pearl Jam), and you never know what shenanigan Brock might get into with the crowd.
For me, MM is introspective, and I love listening to them while contemplating life. LCW and tM&A are both worth listening to front to end, and Dramamine is my hangover song.
Now check them out, and their two drummers.
Ah yes, the clue for ModestMouse was the drawings done by the late Heath (Heath Heath Heath Heath) Ledger for the music video of the song "King Rat". The next clue is not quite so obvious.
next up: Shadows, Spirals, and Sodomy.
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