Question:
I've noticed that, like myself, a lot of people 'round hurr are huge devotees of isaac brock and co. So, ya know, to combat internet boredom worldwide, I thought I'd throw this quiz together and see what kinda bloodbath ensues. Does the raw, jagged beauty of LCW trump the sublimely surreal M&A? You tell me, metacritic, and the world.

(ps. i know 'building nothing' isn't a "real" album, but it's just so GOOD, and i wouldn't feel right leaving out "interstate 8," "broke," "baby blue sedan," and the whole rest of that record)

Choices:
This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
Lonesome Crowded West
Building Nothing out of Something
The Moon and Antarctica
Good News for People Who Love Bad News

 

Ooh, this one is ridiculously tough. The 'Mouse have this knack of making albums that are nearly perfect, but have that inch that separates them from absolute brilliance. LCW was (let's face it) way too long, M&A had that pacing issue in the middle, and Good News is schizophrenic, though I've found I like it a lot more than most people do.

I guess I'll go for M&A after all, actually. It's pretty tough to say.

this is tough... because eventhough I love M&A's whole grandoise feel and sheer musical excellence, I ADORE Good News' diversity and tunes... I'm going to go for the latter because M&A is gonna get too many votes and I like to stick up for complete insanity

Well, I think TCW, TM&A and Good News are all "classic" albums, the others are great as well, but obviously they are in a different league than that holy trinity of albums. If anyone said that any one of those three albums was their favorite, I wouldn't think anything of it, each one is so good yet completely different in "feeling" (for lack of a better word) and style, that it really comes down to a minor preference. I personally think TM&A because I love the general atmosphere and sheer ambition. It's surprising how split a lot of people are on Good News, personally I don't know what more you can ask for really. Does everyone really want another carbon-copy of TM&A or TCW?. I don't, they conquered those styles and moved on, and nothing can taint that legacy now. Good News is Modest Mouse making melody their bitch. They stare down The Shins or The Flaming Lips and say "Yeah, we can do this melody thing as well", and they do. Sure, they were never given enough credit for how melodic they could be (even during TCW, I mean "Trailer Trash"? Wowzers), but Good News is them pushing their melodic abilities to near Beach Boys levels (hell, "The Good Times are Killing Me" is the best Beach Boys song never made by the Beach Boys). Oddly enough, a lot of Modest Mouse fans are hoping they don't break into the mainstream, probably because they don't want to lose their own little band that they feel belongs to them, but I hope they first conquer MTV2 and then move onto commercial radio. It's absolutely impossible for it to be a bad thing for Modest Mouse to be on top 40 stations. More power to them, they deserve ten times the success they achieve.

interesting replies. i'd have to agree with the general sentiment that the last 3 official mouse albums have all been classics. also, i get really tired of good news haters. truly, it is a matter of opinion, but i don't see how people can love M&A of LCW and not feel the same about 'good news." Sure, it has a few duds, but as Vykromond astutely pointed out, each MM albums is a little flawed. I mean, though i could've done w/o 'dancehall' or 'the devil's workday,' i also think LCW would be a better w/o 'jesus christ' or 'long distance drunk.' That said, i did cast my vote for LCW. I absolutely adore M&A and parts of Good News (the beginning and the end) are so good that i wanna die/cry, but there is just something about the rawness of LCW that appeals to me. When Isaac screams "oh my goddamn!!!!!" towards the end of "teeth like god's shoeshine," it is, in my opinion, the most emotional musical moment of the 90s (well maybe tied w/the climax of "let down) . But besides that track, this disc is chock full of classics like "heart cooks brain" "trailer trash" "doin' the cockroach" "polar opposites" and "bankrupt on selling". I wouldn't say it's their most consistent effort; however, if i were to make a best of Modest Mouse mix, this cd would be the best represented, and, in the end, that puts it just ahead of the records

"my brains the cliff, and my heart's the bitter buffalo"

"

I myself prefer the Moon & Antarctica, just because it feels the most like a unified statement. Now, granted, there's nothing wrong with a bit of schizophrenia now and then, but when a band can put together a cohesive unit of well-written songs that create an overriding message... that's really impressive.

M&A pulled that difficult trick off. It's far from a concept album, yet the tracks on it seem to combine in such a way that Isaac Brock conveys his worldview with a clarity that even the most gifted of songwriters rarely achieve. The contemplative middle tracks aren't perfect, but they're still quite good, and are effectively balanced by the pure blast of frustration that is 'What People Are Made Of.'

In short, I'm awed by the surreal heights that this album reaches.

I think Lonesome Crowded West stands as the best Modest Mouse album with Moon & Antarctica in a close second.

I guess I should take this time to share my opinion on Good News for People Who Love Bad News. Good News.. was a decent album but I think as a whole it had a lot of songs that could have been left off. It's great to hear them on the radio and MTV but Brock's "I'm in this for the money so f you all" attitude is pretty clear on the album. It has some of Modest Mouse's best songs ("Ocean Breathes Salty" and "The View") but it also contains too many dull songs. The only reason Brock's attitude hasn't turned me off completely is that the whole "I do this for me, and I don't give a shit what you think" message is everything I've expected from Modest Mouse and the reason why I love 'em. As long as he keeps putting out great music, I'll keep listening.

Overall I think Lonesome Crowded West shows everything Modest Mouse is capable of. If Good News opens LCW to everyone then I think "Float On" may be the best thing to happen to popular music in a while.

i voted for "this is a long drive..." i just can't get past it. so good. m&a running second place currently. i don't think "good news" is as bad as most critics have made it out to be, though.

i'm shocked to see the moon and antarctica get so few votes. i will now poke my eyes out. how did it not get more votes???!!!

Hey, juice, I hope you and OJ still have at least one semi-good eye to notice that "tm&a" got 62% of the votes. That's not good enough?

Well, it's always been my contention that "This is a Long Drive..." is boring and pretentious, LCW is too long, and Moon and Antarctica sags in a few places, so I guess by elimination I have to vote for Good News, as it's pretty much flawless.

i think the Lonesome Crowded West is great and completely original rock music in my opinion and I think it is their best. I alos like the other albums. Moon and Antarctica got me into them but now it sounds kind of polished structured to me (part of what i like about the first two is that they arent too much this way. Still a great album though.

My favorite Modest Mouse album is Lonesome Crowded West. I’ve listen to that album more than any other album I own and I still can’t complain every time I hear it. There isn’t a dull spot in the entire CD (like how long distance drunk is immediately followed by Sh*t Luck). I love that that the CD is just under 80 minutes long because that just means I’m changing the CD less often. I also like the length because that’s how long the CD medium can hold, just like vinyl only plays for about 50 minutes. An artist doesn’t leave any spots white on a canvas, why is it bad that musicians use all that’s available to convey their message?

Of the other Cds, I think The Moon is my second favorite, but I only listen to it in it’s entirety. Building Something has been growing on me a lot recently and it has a good mix of songs and Long Drive has great songs (Head South is one of my favorites), but the CD has a lot of down time. Good News never really did it for me, the use of the Horn Intro at the beginning of two songs drives me nuts and I just think it’s sloppy. The whole album strikes me as sloppy and not as well thought out as the other, but it’s not terrible and I prefer listen to Good News over a lot of other stuff.


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I've only heard Moon and Antarctica and Good News.

I like them both, but I'd easily pick Moon and Antarctica, because the music is more complex and the tunes are more melodic.

I don't know why they stripped down the side and decided to just yell the words instead of singing them to a tune in Good News, but it made them sound more generically 'rock'.

quote:

I don't know why they stripped down the side and decided to just yell the words instead of singing them to a tune in Good News, but it made them sound more generically 'rock'.

"Bury Me With It" might as well be a Pixies song. I like the record, however unoriginal it may be.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobthespirit:
I've only heard Moon and Antarctica and Good News.

I like them both, but I'd easily pick Moon and Antarctica, because the music is more complex and the tunes are more melodic.

I don't know why they stripped down the side and decided to just yell the words instead of singing them to a tune in Good News, but it made them sound more generically 'rock'.

Check out Lonesome Crowded West, Bob. I think Isaac Brock's best, most consistent songwriting is on that album. It's not as densely produced as the two that you've heard, but the songs are stellar. Even though it clocks in at nearly 80 minutes, it's an easy, engaging listen.

I think Building Nothing Out of Something is terribly underrated by a lot of Modest Mouse fans. Although it's a collection of b-sides and rarities, it stands on it's own as a very good album. Many of Modest Mouse's very best songs are on there, ("Never Ending Math Equation", "Interstate 8", "Baby Blue Sedan", "Grey Ice Water").

Building Nothing Out of Something I agree is great. "Sleepwalkin'" "Baby Blue Sedan" "Broke" "Interstate 8" are all some of my favorite songs. There actually is not a dull moment on the collection and definitely fits together like an album. I think I would rank it just under LCW.

Yeah I've only recently started listening heavily to MM and I have to say that I love Building Nothing, M & A, LCW, and Good News and I'd like to know if This is a Long Drive is worth a listen because I'd love to add another great MM ablum to my collection.

I wouldn't recommend This Is A Long Drive, Brighteyes. I hate about half of Lonesome Crowded West though. If I had to rank the ones I've heard, I'd go:

Moon and Antarctica
Sharpen Your Teeth (Ugly Casanova)
Good News For People Who Love Bad News
Building Something Out of Nothing
Lonesome Crowded West
Sad Sappy Sucker
This Is A Long Drive...

To me, Moon and Antarctica is light-years ahead of anything else they've done.

No one's mentioned the Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks EP which is also quite good. "Night on the Sun" is one of my favorite Modest Mouse songs. It's a great Built to Spill-esque epic.