Line #106 Music/ModestMouse


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/modestmouse.jpg]]
2
3	->The ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in
4	->In your head, in your mouth, in your soul.
5	->The more we move ahead the more we're stuck in rewind.
6	->Well I don't mind. I don't mind. How the hell could I mind?
7	-->-- "Ocean Breathes Salty," ''Good News for People Who Love Bad News.''
8
9	Modest Mouse [[GenreBusting is a neo-classical emo folkabilly electro-acoustic hardcore soft pop rock band.]]
10
11	Now let's ''really'' talk about them.
12
13	Formed in Issaquah, UsefulNotes/{{Washington}} by Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green, and Eric Judy. It's named for a story entitled "[[Creator/VirginiaWoolf The Mark on the Wall]]." It goes:
14
15	->"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."
16
17	And there did it begin: Their legacy of [[WordSalad singing about metaphors, so arcanely obtuse that you'd probably need a plum bob just to get your mind straight after a listen.]]
18
19	Their first album: ''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).
20
21	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.
22
23	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.
24
25	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.
26
27	It took eight years for the band to release a follow-up album, and ''Strangers to Ourselves'' saw more changes to the band's lineup. Not only was Marr gone, but co-founder Eric Judy had left as well. Drummer Joe Plummer also left to join Cold War Kids. The album had decent reviews, but nowhere near the level of acclaim their previous output had received. Brock claimed that the band would release a follow-up album as soon as legally possible, and after nearly the same length of time, ''The Golden Casket'' was announced for release in 2021.
28
29	One of the more popular indie bands, they remain diverse and unique in style, outlook, and introspection.
30
31	Sadly, on December 31, 2022, Jeremiah Green died of Stage IV cancer.
32	----
33
34	!! '''Albums:'''
35
36	* ''Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?'' (EP) (1994)
37	* ''This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About'' (1996)
38	* ''Interstate 8 (EP)'' (1996)
39	* ''The Fruit That Ate Itself'' (EP) (1997)
40	* ''The Lonesome Crowded West'' (1997)
41	* ''Night on the Sun'' (EP) (1999)
42	* ''Building Nothing Out of Something'' (Compilation) (2000)
43	* ''The Moon & Antarctica'' (2000)
44	* ''Sad Sappy Sucker'' (2001)
45	* ''Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks'' (EP) (2001)
46	* ''Good News for People Who Love Bad News'' (2004)
47	* ''Baron von Bullshit Rides Again'' (Live Album) (2004)
48	* ''Music/WeWereDeadBeforeTheShipEvenSank'' (2007)
49	* ''No One's First and You're Next'' (EP) (2009)
50	* ''Strangers to Ourselves'' (2015)
51	* ''The Golden Casket'' (2021)
52	----
53
54	!! Tropes include:
55
56	* AlasPoorVillain: "Cowboy Dan".
57	* AlbumIntroTrack: ''Good News For People Who Love Bad News'' starts with the appropriately named "Horn Intro" - nine seconds of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band playing, taken from the beginning of a song from later in the album ("This Devil's Workday").
58	* AlbumTitleDrop: ''Good News for People Who Love Bad News'' in "Bury Me With It" and ''Strangers to Ourselves'' in "The Tortoise and The Tourist."
59	* BackToFront: The music video for "Little Motel."
60	* BerserkButton: Requesting "Free Bird" by Music/LynyrdSkynyrd is a good way to piss off frontman Isaac Brock. See the ending of the ''Baron Von Bullshit'' performance of "Paper Thin Walls" for an example.
61	* BlessedWithSuck: Isaac speaks and sings with a noticeable lisp, but this has become one of Modest Mouse's most recognizable, and beloved features.
62	* BrokenRecord:
63	-->"Alright! Already we'll all float on..." "Alright! Already we'll all float on..." "Alright! Already we'll all float on..." "Alright! Already we'll all float on..." "Alright!..."
64	** See also "Styrofoam Boots / It's All Nice on Ice, Alright", which repeats [[TitleDrop the second part of its title]] for about ''four minutes'' out of the song's seven-minute run.
65	** "All Night Diner", "Parting of the Sensory", and "The Whale Song" also count.
66	* CallAndResponseSong: "Already we'll all float on..." "ALRIGHT!" "Already, we'll all float on..." "ALRIGHT!"
67	* CarefulWithThatAxe: During the choruses of "Head South" and "Bury Me With It".
68	* DeadpanSnarker: The lyrics can occasionally devolve into this, especially considering it's snarking [[CrapsackWorld at the world itself.]]
69	* DrivenToSuicide: It can be argued that the lyrics of "Ocean Breathes Salty" are sung in anger to someone who had committed suicide. As well, "The Cold Part" could be taken to be about the singer himself committing suicide.
70	** Depending on how you interpret the lyrics, "Sugar Boats".
71	* DrowningMySorrows: The lyrics to "Polar Opposites" describe this, which clashes with [[LyricalDissonance the rather upbeat sound of the song]].
72	* DrugsAreBad: "The Good Times Are Killing Me" and "Fuck Your Acid Trip".
73	* EpicRocking: While their songs can range from MinisculeRocking to standard pop length (about three minutes or so) to six or even seven minutes, "Whenever You See Fit" (Modest Mouse's longest song at a little over fourteen minutes), "Trucker's Atlas," "The Stars Are Projectors," "Night on the Sun," and "Spitting Venom" are the most epic.
74	* FadingIntoTheNextSong: Done in between "The World at Large" and "Float On" on ''Good News for People Who Love Bad News.''
75	** Also between "People as Places as People" and "Invisible" on '' Music/WeWereDeadBeforeTheShipEvenSank.''
76	* FakeOutFadeOut: "Night On the Sun."
77	* HesBack: For Green in 2007; for the band itself, after a five year hiatus, in 2004.
78	* IAmTheBand: Isaac Brock was always the driving force behind the band, but he really started fitting this role after Modest Mouse expanded beyond a RockTrio, and after the departure of mainstay Eric Judy.
79	* LighterAndSofter: ''The Moon & Antarctica'' is a weird, zig-zagged example. Musically, it's much more subdued than its rambunctious, borderline punk rock predecessor, ''The Lonesome Crowded West.'' On the other hand, it also features some of their most dark and depressing lyrics, which is really saying something.
80	** ''The Golden Casket'' is their most upbeat album by far.
81	* LongSongShortScene: "3 Inch Horses, Two-Faced Monsters" was a four minute song that was recorded during the sessions for ''The Moon And Antarctica'', but cut down to an unlisted 10 second segue between the songs "A Different City" and "The Cold Part". The full song was featured on ''Everywhere And His Nasty Parlour Tricks'' instead.
82	* LyricalColdOpen: "Shit Luck", "Autumn Beds", and "We're Lucky"
83	* LyricalDissonance: Many songs of theirs, but a special shoutout goes to ''The Moon & Antarctica'' for having almost every song on it fit this trope. "Gravity Rides Everything" is a prime example:
84	--->''[[ItsAllJunk And all the spilt milk, sex and weight]]''
85	--->''[[YouCantFightFate It all will fall, fall right into place]]''
86	* LyricalShoehorn: In "Dashboard:"
87	--->Oh! It would've been, could've been worse than it had even gone
88	--->Well, the car was on blocks, but I was already where I '''want'''
89	--->(It was impossible, we ran it good, we ran it good!)
90	* MinisculeRocking: Almost all of ''Sad Sappy Sucker'', especially given many of the songs on it were originally demos anyways.
91	** See also the instrumental intermissions on ''The Fruit That Ate Itself'' and ''Good News...''. To a lesser extent "Wild Packs of Family Dogs", "God is an Indian and You're an Asshole", and "Too Many Fiestas for Reuben" also qualify.
92	* MotorMouth: Brock in "Steam Engenius" and "Guilty Cocker Spaniels." Holy crap, [[IndecipherableLyrics "Guilty Cocker Spaniels"]]...
93	** Also on "3rd Planet" to some extent:
94	-->''Well a third had just been made, and we were swimming in the water, didn't know then was it a son, was it a daughter when it occurred to me, that the animals were swimming, around in the water in the oceans, in our bodies, and another had been found, another ocean on the planet, given that our blood is just like the Atlantic, and how...''
95	** The opening verses of "Lounge (Closing Time)" as well.
96	* NewSoundAlbum: ''Good News for People Who Love Bad News'', and to an extent, ''The Golden Casket''.
97	* PersecutionFlip: The video for "King Rat".
98	* RecycledLyrics: ''"I don't know, but I been told, you'll never die, and you'll never grow old..."''
99	** ''"I'm on the road to God don't know, my brain's the burger and my heart's the charcoal''"
100	** In "Tundra/Desert" - "I don't feel and that feels fine"; in "Truckers Atlas" - "I don't feel and it feels great"
101	** In "Out of Gas" - ''"Out of gas, Out of road, Out of car, I don't know how I'm going to go"'' and in "Other People's Lives" - ''"On the road, Out of road, Going out, Out of gas, Out of road, Out of car"''
102	** In "White Lies, Yellow Teeth," an outtake from ''This is a Long Drive'' - ''"People talk in soda pop, they talk it quite a lot / The opinions that I don't give are the opinions I don't got."'' Then, in "Spitting Venom" (recorded 10 years later) - ''"You were talking soda pop, you were talking quite a lot / The opinions that I do not give, the opinions I ain't got."''
103	** "Dance Hall" has the lyrics "Committing crimes, running down the alley, I am the captain and you're in the galley". These lyrics appeared two years earlier in Isaac Brock's side project, Music/UglyCasanova's ''Sharpen Your Teeth'' (specifically, the song "Ice on the Sheets").
104	* RockTrio: Pre-''Good News For People Who Love Bad News'', the core of Modest Mouse consisted of Isaac Brock, Eric Judy, and Jeremiah Green.
105	* ShoutOut: To ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' in "Workin' on Leavin' the Livin'".
106	** They seem to be very fond of Music/TomWaits. They reference him in song titles, like "Lounge (''Music/ClosingTime'')," or musically, like in "This Devil's Workday."
107	** "Dashboard" makes reference to ''Film/PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles'' with the line "The dashboard melted but we still have the radio."
108	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Mostly on the cynical side. The biggest exceptions are "Float On", "Dashboard", "People As Places As People", and most of ''The Golden Casket''.
109	* TheSomethingSong: "The Whale Song."
110	* SongStyleShift: Several times in "March Into the Sea," wherein the style switches between soft rock and abrasive, scream-filled hard rock quite a few times.
111	** Happens several times within "Spitting Venom", as well as at the end of "Parting of the Sensory". Outside of ''We Were Dead...'', "Lounge (Closing Time)" also does this a few times.
112	** "Japanese Trees" shifts from fast-paced punky sounds to slower, softer sounds multiple times.
113	* SteamPunk: The song "Steam Engenius" is from the point of view of a steam automaton.
114	* StudioChatter: "What People are Made Of" begins with someone saying "What's up? Make love?" before the music kicks in.
115	** Also at the beginning of "The Good Times are Killing Me", during which the people in the studio were apparently goofing off.
116	** A conversation can be heard around the bridge of "Perpetual Motion Machine", though the instrumental makes it difficult to tell who it is or what they're saying.
117	** There's laughing and Isaac saying "I love this shit" at the beginning of "King Rat".
118	* TextlessAlbumCover: The cover to ''Strangers to Ourselves'' is a text-free satellite photo of Venture Out RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona.
119	** The word "STRANGERS" actually printed on the cover using matte, transparent lettering. If you angle the cover just right you can see the light reflect off the text.
120	* TitleOnlyChorus: "Head South".
121	* VocalEvolution: Not a particularly egregious example, but Isaac began singing in a lower tone of voice on ''Good News...'' and further developed this new singing style on ''We Were Dead...''
122	** He's also much more nasally on their earliest material.
123	* WeAllDieSomeday: "Parting of the Sensory"
124	-->''One day you will die somehow, and something's gonna steal your carbon.''
125	* WiseOldTurtle: "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.]]
126	* WithLyrics: "Sleepwalking," an adaptation of the Santo & Johnny instrumental "Sleep Walk."
127	* WordSaladLyrics: "Jesus Christ Was An Only Child" is a particularly bizarre example of this.
128	* WorthIt: In "Float On".
129	-->A fake Jamaican took every last dime with that scam\
130	It was worth it just to learn some sleight of hand

Context Music / ModestMouse