• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Modest Mouse |OT| - So much beauty it could make you cry.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 22576
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Who hasn't listened to The Pixies? They were undeniably a big influence on MM stylistically, but Frank Black could never hope to match Isaac's incredibly insightful lyrics and that's what separates the two.
 
Crunched said:
Not as good IMO. I listen to Modest Mouse pretty much every week at least once, been doing so for nigh on ten years. Pixies are a good band, no argument there, but I can't listen to them repeatedly.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I agree. Pixies are a wonderful, amazing band. But they just don't mean as much to me as modest mouse. To be honest, this is actually the first time I've ever heard anyone relate the two bands. I'm not sure I see it, they're not that much alike.


Dynamite Ringo Matsuri said:
They were undeniably a big influence on MM stylistically, but Frank Black could never hope to match Isaac's incredibly insightful lyrics and that's what separates the two.
Click to expand...
I have never drawn this connection before. That's crazy. I am very very familiar with pixies too. I went through a huge listening phase a few years back. Now I only listen them periodically. I need to go back and see if I can notice this.
 
Jtwo said:
What's your guys' opinion on No one's first and you're next?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_One's_First_and_You're_Next

I've only listened to it once I think, and I didn't like it very much.
I kinda forgot about it until now. I'm gonna check it out again later, but was wonder what the general concensus was.
Click to expand...

I also only listened to it once and never went back to it.
 
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri said:
Who hasn't listened to The Pixies? They were undeniably a big influence on MM stylistically, but Frank Black could never hope to match Isaac's incredibly insightful lyrics and that's what separates the two.
Click to expand...
Yeah I've always thought Built to Spill was a bigger influence on MM, even though they're almost contemporaries.

Pixies probably influenced both of them a great deal though.
 
Jtwo said:
Yeah, I agree. Pixies are a wonderful, amazing band. But they just don't mean as much to me as modest mouse. To be honest, this is actually the first time I've ever heard anyone relate the two bands. I'm not sure I see it, they're not that much alike.



I have never drawn this connection before. That's crazy. I am very very familiar with pixies too. I went through a huge listening phase a few years back. Now I only listen them periodically. I need to go back and see if I can notice this.
Click to expand...
The way that Frank barks out his lyrics and his vocal delivery on Surfer Rosa and Doolittle is similar to Isaac's vocal delivery, and the discordant guitar playing style shared by the two bands is similar. I'm surprised you never drew the connection between the two bands. Try going back and listening to some Pixies and you'll notice it.
 
Some of the opinions in this thread really sadden me. Great band though, the first song I ever heard was "Gravity Rides Everything" off of Moon & Antarctica. What a way to start, eh?

Jtwo said:
Yeah, Talking shit about a pretty sunset was one of the first songs that really made me pay attention to them. "Blanketing opinions I'll probably regret soon." When I was like 15 that meant so much to me. It's kind of funny how the music you listen to as a teenager completely becomes part of your personality. Has anyone else just listened to WAY TOO MUCH modest mouse? I could probably tell you the title of any track if you tell me a lyric or hum the tune. They were just there, right at the right time, and really made a HUUUUGE impression on me.
Click to expand...

This is so true. People joke about music "changing your life" and stuff, but it really can. I remember seeing this performance (My Morning Jacket on Conan) a few years ago, and immediately bought everything I could find by them. I was enthralled by that performance; a group of guys just rocking out on stage giving it everything. I started making southern-folky rock with my friend for nearly 2 years because of that one video.
 
"Good News for People who Love Bad News" may just be the best album title ever.

Great songs, too. I'll never get bored with "Satin in a coffin."
 
The main change Modest Mouse has made in my life is providing me an acute awareness of how shitty nearly every other band's lyrics are.
 
51A4K27D2QL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


One of my favourite albums of all time.
I just can't seem to get into any of their other albums as much...maybe I just need more time with them or something.
 
"The smell of summer can make me fall in love."
I always picture the smell of a fresh shower, a hint of marijuana, the sound of a laptop whirring in a slightly dusty room with sunlight pouring in through one window.


What do ya'll think of Beach Side Property?
That song is BEST.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iyYnCP76qk

"We're going union like they say
We'll buy the congregation
Then one day, you'll find us sitting
in your chairs with big ideas of stocks and shares."
Click to expand...
 
NutJobJim said:
51A4K27D2QL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


One of my favourite albums of all time.
I just can't seem to get into any of their other albums as much...maybe I just need more time with them or something.
Click to expand...
I would say literally every single thing they've put out (LP, EP, singles, etc.) is more accessible than Long Drive, so I would give them another listen. Start with Building Nothing out of Something, Everyone and His Nasty Parlour Tricks, or Lonesome Crowded West.
 
I've always loved how Doin' the Cockroach seems to imply that humans have been around forever and have hardly changed and then you come to this:

One year
Twenty years
Forty years
Fifty years
Down the road in your life
You'll look in the mirror and say
"My parents are still alive

And also in Styrofoam boots, all of the atheists are relegated to polishing halos, baking manna and gas. The last part is awesome because some Christians think dinosaurs are the work of the devil, and fuel comes from fossils.

And also this incredibly brilliant passage:

"Every time anyone gets on their knees to pray
Well, it makes my telephone ring
And I'll be damned"
He said, "You were right
No one's running this whole thing"
He had a theory, too
He said that God takes care of himself
God takes care of himself
And you of you
 
love MM, but the mastering on their last few albums have been such shit so as to make them near unlistenable for my ol' ears. little dynamic range, too much compression, too much clipping.
 
scorcho said:
love MM, but the mastering on their last few albums have been such shit so as to make them near unlistenable for my ol' ears. little dynamic range, too much compression, too much clipping.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the loudness wars. it's unfortunate, but as long as we don't have an album that sounds like Californication I'm ok.'
 
Make Everyone Happy/Mechanial Birds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZT10-S_KtU&feature=related

So I'm 19, and drinking this HUGE 7/7 out of a nalgene bottle in a car with my best friend that I'd known since I was in Kindergarten. [He was driving and not drinking] We're coming home from Sebastopol, which is this rural kinda hippy town in Northern California. There is this long stretch of road that is just straight and surrounded by farmland. It just happened, I don't think either of us noticed it or planned it but THIS happens. And we just completely lose it, we both knew the record in and out, but we were experiencing it. We weren't just listening. I've never felt that close to anyone in my life.
 
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri said:
I've always loved how Doin' the Cockroach seems to imply that humans have been around forever and have hardly changed and then you come to this:

One year
Twenty years
Forty years
Fifty years
Down the road in your life
You'll look in the mirror and say
"My parents are still alive

And also in Styrofoam boots, all of the atheists are relegated to polishing halos, baking manna and gas. The last part is awesome because some Christians think dinosaurs are the work of the devil, and fuel comes from fossils.

And also this incredibly brilliant passage:

"Every time anyone gets on their knees to pray
Well, it makes my telephone ring
And I'll be damned"
He said, "You were right
No one's running this whole thing"
He had a theory, too
He said that God takes care of himself
God takes care of himself
And you of you
Click to expand...
\

Dude hell yeah! Those are two of my favoritest of favorite parts.
 
SuperBonk said:
I would say literally every single thing they've put out (LP, EP, singles, etc.) is more accessible than Long Drive, so I would give them another listen. Start with Building Nothing out of Something, Everyone and His Nasty Parlour Tricks, or Lonesome Crowded West.
Click to expand...

It's not that I don't find them accessible, I just don't think the other albums I've heard (Lonesome Crowded West, The Moon and Antarctica, and Good News..) are of the same quality.

I'm not sure why, I know the general consensus is that they continue to produce quality albums, but nothing I've heard sounds as good.
Long Drive is one of my absolute favourite albums of all time though. When I first bought it I listened to nothing but the first three tracks for about a week because I loved them so much lol.
 
i had that one cd with "the world at large" and loved it. i really need to keep up with them and check out their other stuff. thanks for making this thread!
 
i used to be really into modest mouse for a few years, but now i rarely listen. i'm seeing them live in may so that might renew my love for them.
 
I like Modest Mouse quite a bit. A buddy who was a die-hard MM fan put me on them.
I'd say my favorite songs are King Rat, Dancehall, Satin in a Coffin, Devil's Workday, We've Got Everything, Sleepwalking (though not more than the original Sleepwalk, it's still mesmerizing), and Dramamine.

I'd also have to say that the only thing that I do not like about Modest Mouse isn't an issue with them, but with the MM fans who act like if you like anything that came after Lonesome Crowded West, then you aren't a MM fan. I've met a lot in person and ran into a lot of those types online and they are irritating as shit. I think MM has only gotten better with every new CD release.
 
One of my favorite bands of all time. Their live shows started to really go downhill sometime around 2004 though. Haven't seen them recently.

Definitely some of the best (now) mainstream lyricists I can think of. Lyrics range from insightful to completely banal to nonsensical, often within the same song. Custom Concern is sooo good.
 
EYEL1NER said:
I like Modest Mouse quite a bit. A buddy who was a die-hard MM fan put me on them.
I'd say my favorite songs are King Rat, Dancehall, Satin in a Coffin, Devil's Workday, We've Got Everything, Sleepwalking (though not more than the original Sleepwalk, it's still mesmerizing), and Dramamine.

I'd also have to say that the only thing that I do not like about Modest Mouse isn't an issue with them, but with the MM fans who act like if you like anything that came after Lonesome Crowded West, then you aren't a MM fan. I've met a lot in person and ran into a lot of those types online and they are irritating as shit. I think MM has only gotten better with every new CD release.
Click to expand...
Nah, I happen to think that We Were Dead was a very underrated album. The old fans just don't seem to like how Johnny Marr imparted post punk style riffs into the mix.
 
They're in my top 5 bands ever. I love their music. I'm not sure what my favorite track would be. Maybe Bukowski or The World at Large, but I'd have to listen to some others I haven't heard in a while before making that decision.
 
EYEL1NER said:
I like Modest Mouse quite a bit. A buddy who was a die-hard MM fan put me on them.
I'd say my favorite songs are King Rat, Dancehall, Satin in a Coffin, Devil's Workday, We've Got Everything, Sleepwalking (though not more than the original Sleepwalk, it's still mesmerizing), and Dramamine.

I'd also have to say that the only thing that I do not like about Modest Mouse isn't an issue with them, but with the MM fans who act like if you like anything that came after Lonesome Crowded West, then you aren't a MM fan. I've met a lot in person and ran into a lot of those types online and they are irritating as shit. I think MM has only gotten better with every new CD release.
Click to expand...
The last live show I went to was about 2 years ago and it was merely okay.

:( I was pretty sad.
 
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri said:
Nah, I happen to think that We Were Dead was a very underrated album. The old fans just don't seem to like how Johnny Marr imparted post punk style riffs into the mix.
Click to expand...
And I'm not saying all other MM fans think what I said or that they are wrong or old MM sucks or anything.
I have just encountered a very vocal minority that stand by the old "If you like new 'Band X' material over 'Band X's' older stuff, then you are a poser and the new stuff sucks" thing that die hard fans of some bands rely on to make them feel more a-special.
 
leroidys said:
One of my favorite bands of all time. Their live shows started to really go downhill sometime around 2004 though. Haven't seen them recently.

Definitely some of the best (now) mainstream lyricists I can think of. Lyrics range from insightful to completely banal to nonsensical, often within the same song. Custom Concern is sooo good.
Click to expand...
I saw them live in 2007 and was extremely unimpressed. Very boring.

My expectations were so high, and they didn't meet them on any level. Only other band I can think of that disappointed me so much live is TV On the Radio.

EYEL1NER said:
I'd also have to say that the only thing that I do not like about Modest Mouse isn't an issue with them, but with the MM fans who act like if you like anything that came after Lonesome Crowded West, then you aren't a MM fan. I've met a lot in person and ran into a lot of those types online and they are irritating as shit. I think MM has only gotten better with every new CD release.
Click to expand...
All their stuff is great, but I do get annoyed when Modest Mouse "fans" cite Good News like it was their first and best release. I don't mind people who like it (it is one of my top all-time CDs), but it's grating when people think it is their starting point.
 
wrowa said:
Good News For People Who Love Bad News is most probably my favorite album of all time.
Click to expand...

That's my favorite Modest Mouse album. It's up their with my all time favorites.
 
I remember when they first blew up. So weird seeing them on the "hip picks" section of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's website back in '04 lol
 
Crunched said:
All their stuff is great, but I do get annoyed when Modest Mouse "fans" cite Good News like it was their first and best release. I don't mind people who like it (it is one of my top all-time CDs), but it's grating when people think it is their starting point.
Click to expand...
See, I've never encountered too many people like that. Not denying they exist though.
 
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri said:
LOL. I was waiting for that. In spite of the fact that MM haven't been indie for like a decade. Never change GAF, never change.
Click to expand...
How is

"Everyone loves them. Everyone hates them.
They're indie, mainstream, brash, easy listening, poetic, venomous, intellectual, simple, emotional, and just plain fun."

Not the definition of hipster speak?

Anyway I like their older stuff. Not a fan of recent works.

Crunched said:
I pretty much ignore his ideas on music.
Click to expand...
Arcade Fire is better than Kings of Leon. I'll give them that.
 
Been a fan since 1997's Lonesome Crowded West came out. Every album gets better, and Issac is one of the truly great lyricists of our time. It's timeless rock music that I can't get enough of. Most albums released since then took me a few listens to appreciate (Lonesome Crowded West being the exception, since that was what I first heard and got into), but they're easily my favorite band.

It speaks volumes that I primarily listen to jazz, hip-hop, metal and drum & bass these days yet I still keep Modest Mouse in regular listening rotation. Someone else called it perfect road tripping music, and I would have to agree since I listen to them on every road trip!

Ad Infinitum said:
Laugh hard, it's a long way to the bank
Click to expand...
My wife's favorite line, and one I'm partial to myself.
 
Buckethead said:
How is

"Everyone loves them. Everyone hates them.
They're indie, mainstream, brash, easy listening, poetic, venomous, intellectual, simple, emotional, and just plain fun."

Not the definition of hipster speak?

Anyway I like their older stuff. Not a fan of recent works.


Arcade Fire is better than Kings of Leon. I'll give them that.
Click to expand...
So the guy uses some adjectives to describe their sound and appeal? I'm not one to hate on other people's tastes as music is subjective but I think you're really reaching there.
 
MjFrancis said:
Someone else called it perfect road tripping music, and I would have to agree since I listen to them on every road trip!
Click to expand...
True, true. They really are good for cruising.
That's how I was really introduced to them. Due to coming from a poorer family without many vehicles and enlisting in the armed forces right outta high school and getting Korea as an assignment outta tech school, when I got back to the states from Korea a couple years ago, I did not know how to drive. I never had opportunities to learn when I was younger. So for 9 months after I got back, I had to depend on rides from the other guys who lived in the dorms. And the main people who I would hang out with and ride everywhere with listened to a ton of MM. Riding to work, from work, off base to get some food, the hour's drive into Columbia, I got a lot of MM in.
 
I saw them live in what must have been 2007 and it was the craziest thing id ever seen, guys rolling around on stage playing the guitar with his teeth, random dude makes a dive for the stage gets past security and right up to the stage and trys to shake lead singers hand and he leans in and offers it to him while security try to haul the runner away haha
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

If you could go on any game show, what would it be?
33
337
Grenseal replied
How much do you love tacos?
2
73
293
Agave replied
How much do you love tacos?
2
63
Rentahamster replied
THE BEAUTY OF FOOTBALL
2
54
925
Ellis replied
Movie scenes that make you cry
2 3
108
5K
Hunter 99 replied
Top Bottom