I randomly got a craving for some Modest Mouse, so I figured maybe you did too. Modest Mouse is one of those bands that I’ve had trouble coming to terms with over the years. When I discovered them, I loved them. 2000’s The Moon and Antarctica was my shit. I felt like I was on the same wavelength as them, and that dull, purplish album stayed in my Jeep’s CD player for weeks at a time.
By the time Good News for People Who Love Bad News came out in 2004, I was barely interested. Admittedly, part of it was due to their success. It was like one of my most cherished secrets had been discovered by every little douche bag in the neighborhood and spread around like a stolen porno mag. “Float On” whored it up on television, radio, and compilations until it finally found itself sandwiched between Keane and Maroon 5 on carelessly crafted mix CDs. I never bought that album, although I drunkenly fell in love with “Float On” years later, forgiving it for what it had done like it was an old girlfriend who had been unfaithful. I don’t care how played out it is. It’s a great fucking song.
Next up was We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, and by this time my feelings had changed again. I had made amends with Modest Mouse, and I was over the whole ‘success=bad’ issue. (I know it’s hard to share your favorite shit, but don’t be selfish. Modest Mouse is good for the kids.) Isaac Brock is still one of the best front men out. The addition of Johnny Marr was one of the best moves possible, and somehow, through all this silly bullshit, Modest Mouse has maintained whatever it was that made me fall in love with them in the first place.
So that’s where I’m at. I love Modest Mouse, but I’ll always have a weird lingering feeling. I know there are people out there who jumped on the bandwagon when “Float On” came out, and they are probably better fans than I have been, but they have no idea how much that band’s music meant to people like me years before. Lame, right? But I think a lot of people have felt that way at some point. I’m just happy that after it all, the music wins. Modest Mouse makes great music, and I’m glad that people enjoy it.
Wow. Didn’t intend to write this much about Modest Mouse. Here’s what you came for.
Modest Mouse – White Lies, Yellow Teeth (Unreleased)
Modest Mouse – Calculus Man (Unreleased)
Modest Mouse + Lil’ Wayne – Fire It Up (Hood Internet)
Modest Mouse – Fly Trapped In A Jar (One of my favorites from We Were Dead…)
