History Music / ModestMouse

* LongTitle: All of their albums and most of their [=EPs=].
** In terms of song titles; "Whenever You Breathe Out, I Breathe In (Positive Negative)" is the biggest example.

* CoolOldGuy: Steve Wold, the band's producer, and erstwhile instrumentalist during their early years. In the mid 2000's, Wold would become popular in the United Kingdom, after he released several blues folk albums under the name ''Seasick Steve.''

Their first album: ''[[LongTitle This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About]],'' was praised for its mellow cum harsh acoustic melodies, along with lush instrumentation, and an odd singing style (the latter of which would become the band's staple).

They made ''Interstate 8'' and ''The Fruit That Ate Itself,'' before releasing their next full length album, ''The Lonesome Crowded West,'' which [[AcclaimedFlop is universally lauded by critics, but sold modestly at best.]] Then came ''Night on the Sun'' (another EP) and ''Building Nothing Out of Something,'' a compilation album. Eventually came what might be their most acclaimed album to date: ''The Moon & Antarctica,'' a [[WorldHalfEmpty bleak]] and sometimes [[NightmareFuel scary]] collection of mostly instrumental melancholies. "Mostly instrumental" stems from the fact that Brock had had his mouth wired shut after his jaw was broken between recording sessions. To say that their follow up, ''Sad Sappy Sucker'',[[note]]which was meant to be their debut, but was shelved in favor of ''This is a Long Drive''[[/note]] suffered HypeBacklash is somewhat of an understatement.

Then came Green's nervous breakdown. Afterwards, he decided quit the band to work on their own side project. Now without a main drummer, they enlisted the help of Benjamin Weikel, as well as a new guitarist (Dan Gallucci). And lo and behold was ''[[NewSoundAlbum Good News for People Who Love Bad News]],'' which not only proved to be warmly received by the fans and critics (though not as much as ''[[TrueArtIsAngsty The Moon & Antarctica]]") but was a commercial success as well; nearly half a year after its release, the band saw a [[BlackSheepHit surprise hit]] with "Float On," their most optimistic song to date.

More [[StealthPun good news]] followed: Jeremiah Green [[HesBack returned]], and Music/JohnnyMarr of Music/TheSmiths replaced Dan Gallucci on guitar. Riding on their newfound (if still relatively small) popularity, they released ''We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank,'' conceived as an entirely [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything nautical themed]] album. It was greeted with a great reception, especially with the now-fan-favorite "Dashboard", but a long hiatus was to follow.

* TurtlePower: "The Tortoise and the Tourist" from ''Strangers to Ourselves'' features a section about the titular tortoise offering his ultimate knowledge to a passing man. [[HumansAreBastards Unfortunately, the man opts to kill the tortoise]] [[{{Greed}} for his jewel-covered shell.]]

Formed in [[UsefulNotes/TheOtherRainforest Issaquah, Washington State]] by Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green, and Eric Judy. It's named for a story entitled "[[Creator/VirginiaWoolf The Mark on the Wall]]." It goes: