Modest Mouse – “People As Places As People” from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.
MP3 courtesy of Ampcamp.
On GLONO: Review
Tag Archives: Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (Sony)
It makes perfect sense that Johnny Marr would join this band. Listening to the last couple of Modest Mouse records you might think the former Smiths guitarist had been there all along; or at least an approximation of the late-80s/early-90s version of Johnny Marr. The last several years have seen Marr’s guitar work veer from the groundbreaking jangle and melodic style that established the Smiths as arguably the most musically accomplished of the original British indie bands who act as the founders of the alternative nation we all live in today.
The Smiths’ influence can barely be heard in the guitar heavy Britpop of the 90s, and even the Marr-fronted Healers displayed more traditional guitar wankery than was comfortable for the many who hailed Mozzer’s ex-partner as the first bona fide guitar anti-hero. And so there’s great irony in the fact that it took a call from Portland, Oregon to bring Marr back to his roots and to a style that set the sound for a generation of American indie bands.
Continue reading Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
Johnny Marr talks about Modest Mouse
Johnny Marr: Meet the New Guy – Apparently, his teenage son is a huge Modest Mouse fan: “Yeah, he knew the riff to “Ocean Breathes Salty” before I learned it. So that was kind of handy! […] I was talking to them about being on tour. I was saying, ‘This record might keep me away next year. What do you think?’ And he was like, ‘What are you even asking me for? It’s Modest Mouse. Go do it.'”
Marr’s views on substances: “I don’t have any truck against psychedelics, not in the slightest. I’m not into alcohol and I loathe cocaine. I think it’s really corny and anti-creative.”
Stream “Dashboard” (QT) from We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.
Via cw.
Modest Mouse (with Johnny Marr) Live
We’ve been waiting with great anticipation to get a listen to the new Modest Mouse material. Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr joined the group a couple months ago and now Netzoo some live tracks from their Wiltern show earlier this week. Modest Mouse and Johnny Marr: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together.
Update: Video after the jump…
Previously on GLONO: Johnny Marr gets back to his roots, Why “Rubber Ring” Is the Best Song Ever, Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One.
Johnny Marr Joins Modest Mouse
According to Rock and Roll Daily, “Johnny Marr is now officially a full-on member of Modest Mouse.” What the fuck? Via cw.
Sun Kil Moon – Tiny Cities
Sun Kil Moon – Tiny Cities (Caldo Verde) iTunes
On paper, Sun Kil Moon’s Tiny Cities may seem like a puzzling step for Mark Kozelek. Modest Mouse and Sun Kil Moon seemingly have nothing in common—one writes tense, anguished, often drug-fueled yelps while the other writes songs so gorgeous and accessible that frontman Mark Kozelek’s Red House Painters famously got chosen for a Gap ad. Yet Tiny Cities, a carefully chosen album of Modest Mouse covers, succeeds beautifully in stripping down the anger and theatrics of the originals, turning them into a love letter to Modest Mouse. It’s all strictly acoustic guitars and string arrangements here, with the occasional brush drum thrown in. Only “Convenient Parking” comes close to the original’s tempo and melody.
It’s also worth noting that the only song from Modest Mouse’s breakout album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News (an album strangely beloved by indie kids, NPR and football stadiums alike) is “Ocean Breathes Salty.” In my mind, this highlights the only possible link between the two bands—with the exception of Good News, both bands have pretty much flown under the radar for their entire careers. “Ocean Breathes Salty” is the best illustration of how the songs change in Kozelek’s hands—while Isaac Brock practically sneers the refrain “You wasted life, why wouldn’t you waste death?” When Kozelek sings it, it changes from an accusation to something bordering on elegy—his voice practically cracks on the word “why.”
In less capable hands, an acoustic album of Modest Mouse covers could have easily turned into a gimmick—dinner-party Muzak versions of the original material, dumbed-down versions for people who still think Modest Mouse is a bit too edgy for their tastes. Instead, the songs are taken on a strange and beautiful journey, turned into hushed, gorgeous campfire stories that still capture the urgency of the originals.
You should also check out Mark Kozelek’s collection of Bon Scott-era AC/DC reinterpretations on What’s Next to the Moon.
Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News (Sony/Epic)
“As life gets longer / Awful feels softer / Well it feels pretty soft to me.” When Isaac Brock admits that things are starting to brighten in the chorus of “The View,” his nasal, post-punk strain sounds more like hopeful Wayne Coyne than aggressive Wayne Cramer. “Satin in a Coffin,” the very next track, bases it’s structure on the lyric “Are you dead? / Or are you sleeping? / God, I sure hope you are dead.” Go figure.
The key to Good News for People Who Love Bad News is to ignore expectations. Even the buzz around Modest Mouse’s latest album is surprising, as anyone who’s seen commercials for the new album or heard first single “Float On” on commercial radio will attest. Despite claims that this is Modest Mouse’s most accessible record to date, which it is, it’s still by no means the type of album that should logically smash through mainstream success. What amounts to traditional songs wind up arriving in bizarre form—I’m not sure I can take any song named “Blame It on the Tetons” seriously, but it’s hard to deny Brock when the words sound so sincere.
“Float On” and “The View” display a brilliantly optimistic side of the band, the latter schizophrenically alternating Gang of Four verses and shimmering choruses complete with delayed guitars and hearty backup vocals. Brock has noted that the new direction the band head in on Good News was a conscious decision, albeit one that resulted more from a sense of defeat—the world is shit, lamenting over it won’t help—rather then any changes in polarity. Good News picks at the same themes that Modest Mouse have always concentrated on—humanity, mortality, religion—but the maturation that began musically on The Moon and Antarctica continues here and is met with lyrics that are indicative of at least a slight skepticism and perhaps the beginning of a change of heart for one of indie’s most stereotypically pessimistic frontmen. That said, this is far from a perfect effort. “Bukowski” and “Dance Hall” are draining, and “This Devil’s Workday” drives the faux-Waits sound into the ground.
It seems Brock is beginning to realize that it’s okay to admit the shortcomings of your youth, many great songwriters have written many great songs about figuring out the complexities of life with age. “The Good Times are Killing Me” drives perhaps the final nail in the coffin of the old Modest Mouse and the band’s oft-publicized love of drink and drugs. With help from The Flaming Lips, “The Good Times are Killing Me” blows like a sweet breeze. When Brock sings that he’s “Fed up with all that LSD / Need more sleep than coke or methamphetamines / Late nights with warm, warm whiskey / I guess the good times they were all just killing me,” he sounds completely satisfied and absolutely convincing.
Out of all of the indie-rock elder statesmen [Elder? They’ve only been around since the mid-90s – Ed.], it’s shocking that Isaac Brock and Modest Mouse have become the group best poised to step into another class of band. Good News for People Who Love Bad News shows a band growing, and more importantly, reflects a songwriter who is shedding the insecurities of youth. Call it somewhat of an awkward phase, but seeing Isaac Brock step into such an unexpected role as displayed in the warmth of Good News is a testament to what makes music so constantly gratifying and suprising.
Ugly Casanova
When the branches tap against the window and the house creaks in the wind, this album will keep you company and assure you that it’s all OK.