Modest Mouse Band • Page 5

I read an interview in which Isaac said that he had written a lot of material, enough to release two albums, one of them being Strangers To Ourselves. He said he wanted to release the other songs too, in a year or so. Maybe I made a mistake by presuming that the songs that are on STO are the best out of those sessions. But I think it makes sense that if you are going to release a long-awaited album after an eight year gap since your last, you would choose to disclose the best songs you have written first. That's why I called the other songs "leftovers". But anyway, I hope they prove me wrong.

 

they aint putting out another album any time soon. isaac smokes too mcuh weeed

 

this is different every time i do it, but today it's probably:

Lonesome Crowded West
Building Nothing Out Of Something
Strangers To Ourselves
No One's First, And You're Next
We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
The Fruit That Ate Itself
Good News For People Who Love Bad News
The Moon & Antarctica
This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About
Everywhere And His Nasty Parlour Tricks
Sad Sappy Sucker

 

i think that you try to pick the best songs, but also you pick songs that make a cohesive album. when you do that, you end up leaving out some songs that might be really great but don't quite fit in. i know that i personally like a lot of bands' b-sides more than the songs on the albums they could've been on. they're left over, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're worse.

 

Alright, so after being forever changed by TM&A and LCW, should I move forward to Good News or back to This is a Long Drive?

 

which record did you like more?

 

Melodically, I liked LCW much more, but I preferred the way Moon & Antarctica sounded production-wise. Lol. Worst answer.

 

i'd probably recommend good news, then. it's got a similarly clean sound. you could also check out building nothing out of something. that's somewhere between lonesome crowded west and moon & antarctica in terms of overall sound.

 

Yeah, I figured that would fit better for me. Out of curiosity, what similarities can be drawn between lonesome and the debut?

 

other than being closest chronologically, they both have a lot of space, a tendency toward jammier sections, and a more brute-force approach to songwriting. they're both albums from when the band had fewer members, and that comes through in the compositions. they both contrast a bit from everything from the moon & antarctica or good news for people who love good news on in that they aren't quite as clean and have less of an emphasis on tighter song structures and more traditionally catchy melodies. in my opinion, lonesome crowded west is like a more fleshed-out take on what the band was doing on long drive, with stronger thematic ties and better overall production. if you like one, you should probably like the other (i love all of their albums haha). it's not as big as jump as either of those would be to anything after the moon & antarctica.

once you've listened to all of the modest mouse albums (or even somewhere in between), you should also check out the ugly casanova album from between moon & antarctica and good news. it's in the same vein as modest mouse (because isaac brock is involved), but it's a little weirder.

 

I guess the questions was "which one should I listen to first" but if for some reason you were thinking about not listening to Long Drive at all, rethink that.

 

this is fucking wild, yo.

 

Long Drive is amaaaaazing

 

Long Drive in my top 5 albums ever

 

right after lcc right

 

I like Long Drive more than LCC

 

LCC? You mean, LCW?

Either way, Long Drive is my favorite MM record.

 

yep thats what i meant

 

The Moon & Antarctica
Good News for People Who Love Bad News
This is a Long Drive
The Lonesome Crowded West
Strangers to Ourselves
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Since its release, Strangers has sunk a couple spots in my ranking, but I think it contains some of their best work and honestly each of their albums are great in their own unique way. That's why they continue to be my favorite band. Their EPs/b-sides are usually interesting but of varying quality.

 

night on the sun tho

 

Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks >>>

basically all TM&A b-sides and related materials >>>

 

i feel so left out being a not fan of the moon...

 

Yeah, I was going to quote your ranking but I didn't want to be rude...what's up with that? lol

 

ya im a bad fan

 

But actually, like, what don't you like about it? I'm just so curious