(click the album cover to get to a youtube playlist of the entire album FOR YOUR EARS :brule:)
Alrighty folks! Sorry it took me a few extra days, but here you go.
I have a feeling most, if not all, of you cool cats have already listened to this album or at least a fair portion of the songs from it. I get that. The point of me choosing this album is not only because it is by far my favorite Modest Mouse album, but to hopefully get you to listen to it once again and listen to it
really good in order to better appreciate some of the finer aspects of this beautiful album. This album, in one way or another, sold me on the Pacific Northwest when I still didn't know if I wanted to come out here (and once I got here, stay here). I will be writing a short bit on every song on the album as I go back through the album myself....enjoy.
This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think AboutDramamine - Everybody who is anybody has heard this song. Its melody flows so damn well and the heavy influence of the simple bass line guides the intro straight into Isaac's unique vocals which made me fall in love with this band back in high school. I really love some of the lyrics in this song, as with just about every MM song; "We kiss on the mouth but still cough down our sleeve" is definitely the highlight of the song for me lyrically-wise. This song also makes me think of what I call "The Shadow World" which is what happens when you trip on Dramamine. Don't ever do it kids. EVER. Seriously. Do not fucking do this.
Breakthrough - Ah man I fucking love this song. Not only did I learn the word "pejorative" from this song, but I feel it is a nice showcase of one of my favorite Isaac'isms which is his scream. In fact, I am going to open my window and let in the atMOSPHERE OH YEAH right now. When they busted this out in Norfolk, VA when I saw them (the day after trying Lucy for the first time so needless to say I was pretty out of it) I nearly lost it.
Custom Concern - Oh man. This song. THIS SONG. The simplistic stylings of this song fly in stark contrast to the lyrics, in my opinion at least. A metric shitload of MM's songs are, at least in some part, about urban sprawl (before THE ARCAIDE FYRE made it dumb) and this one is no exception. I grew up in what is generally considered one of the more rural suburbs of Baltimore which equated to the heyday of sprawl in that area so this one really hit home with me. Favorite line: "Message written on the bathroom wall said, 'I don't feel at all like I fall'."
Might - Probably the only "weak link" in this album in my opinion. I never really cared much for this song but that isn't to say that it is without merit. Okay, maybe it is. I just don't like this song haha. It is interesting to note, however, that he mentions in the lyrics breaking his jaw which was the inspiration for one of my most favorite MM jams:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkmZLbuAKM8Lounge - Definitely one of the grooviest chunes on this album. I love the faster pace of it and the general style of the music in this one as a whole. It really DOES sound like some sort of lounge music. When Isaac starts screaming towards the second verse...oh man it is fucking great. A lot of MM songs, as beautiful as they may be, are hard to really dance to. This is not one of them. I will flail my Polish arms around with blatant disregard for my own or anyone else's safety. The "sequel" to this song is on my second favorite MM record
The Lonesome Crowded West and is equally as awesome but what parts this one ahead of the belt sander, is the jam at the end of it. Going from fast-paced, dancey awesomeness to the classic, slow and drawn-out MM melodic style is one of the things that I first came to associate with the Pacific Northwest before ever even really planning on moving here.
Beach Side Property - It would be hard for me to identify a MM song which gets me as fucking pumped as the first half of this song. DEM SCREAMS. This song, much like
Custom Concern speaks a lot to urban sprawl. But does it in the most bad-assed of ways. This is basically coked out Isaac Brock circa 1996 pulling his pants down and taking a giant, screaming pile of shit on Arcade Fire's chest and
sayingSCREAMING, "HOW DO THEM APPLES". The second half of the song once more utilizes that same MM method of starting fast only to slow it way the fuck down, and given how much I love the beginning of this song, it is one of the few songs in which this method has always rubbed me the wrong way. It has grown on me, however, over the years and there are definitely some lyrical gems in the second half of this song, including my favorite of;
A message left on the forehead of God
Sent sealed and signed by the saints who sang this song:
"We're going union like they say
We'll buy the congregation
Then one day, you'll find us sitting
in your chairs with big ideas of stocks and shares."
She Ionizes and Atomizes- So I'm not sure if I have spoken to it on here before, but I am a god damned sucker for songs with female vocals or backups. MM occasionally has Nicole Johnson do backup vocals on tracks, at times barely audible, but I love it when they use her. This song is a prime example of that. I will forever associate this song with one particular female who was a brief part of my life, and needless to say the way it ended was not great yet the memories it invokes are of the better sort...sex, drugs, and roadtrips as I first began to establish my own identity here in Idaho.
This song is definitely a MUST LISTEN when it comes to this album. This one switches up the style from the previous track, starting out slow, long, and...haunting with a melody consisting of primarily bass and drums only to reach the halfway mark and have Isaac kick in with his guitar. Isaac has this insane ability to rock THE fuck out yet play some of the most (once again) haunting sounds ever. It is beautiful in a sad way, and given what little of his personal life has been documented in the public eye, you can sort of see where it comes from which is something I love in a musician.
Head South - One time, when I first lived in the dorms at BSU, I drank a couple of 40s by myself, smoked a joint with a buddy across the hall, and then freaked the fuck out while listening to this absolutely rocking song and scribbled "HEAD SOUTH" all over my walls. This is another of the essential songs on this album. Isaac matching his voice to his whammy bar is awesome. And the lyrical material, which speaks of people "bleaching their hair, pawning their skis, and selling out for the shade of the palm tree scene" is just immense. This song is definitely in my top 10 MM songs.
Dog Paddle - Definitely more of a filler song, I still love this chune. Isaac gasping for air as if he were drowning in the background really just pulls it all together.
Novacain Stain - Yet another song about urban sprawl, this is definitely in my top 10 MM songs as well. As simple as the guitar work is in it, it still gets me to rock the fuck out and the last ~minute or two of it is awesome. Seriously, do not skip this song. I literally get a boner every time I listen to the last minute of Isaac rocking out in this song. Favorite line;
"More housing developments go up
Named after the things they replace
So welcome to Minnow Brook
And welcome to Shady Space"
Tundra/Desert - At least MM reflected the duplicit nature of the song in the title for this one. Another one of my favorites, both instrumentally and lyrically, this song is a nice 5 and a half minute long jam, including a few screams, distorted vocals, profanity, and lyrics about a shitty childhood/life in general. I fucking love this song. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
SHIT (woke up my drunk neighbor with that one)
Ohio - This is a fun song. Cool melody, decent lyrics, and Isaac once more plays with his vocals in some interesting ways. They also mention Baltimore in this song so theres that. I definitely prefer the slower, second half of the song to the beginning. Not one of my all-time favorites but I never skip this one should it come on.
Exit Does Not Exist - Another one of my least favorite songs on the album, but not a bad one by any means. It goes from starting relatively slow to rocking out pretty quickly and stays that way until the end. The last 2 minutes have some awesome guitar work in 'em so be sure to not miss that. Lyrically, this song falls pretty flat but with the guitars at the end I can't complain.
Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset - I bet most of you have heard this one. If you haven't....WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU. This is hands down one of MM's best songs in their entire catalog. Lyrics; awesome. Music; even better. Split into two, distinct halves; check. The second half of this song is one of the best driving chunes of all time, in my humble opinion. And if you don't agree with me, I will kung fu chop you in the throat.
Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds - Once more, MM goes out of their way to reflect their usual duplicit song structure in the title of the song. And once more, one of my all-time favorites by them. Not only does Isaac break out his banjo, but the lyrics in this one have always spoken deeply to me. I fucking love this song to no end, and it very well may be my #1 favorite from MM. Only the first half has lyrics, but the second half gets me rocking sofa king hard. Pretty sure a hole was punched in a wall at least once listening to this song as a hyperactive, angsty teen. Favorite lyrics...ALL OF THEM;
And I said you shouldn't make facts out of opinions
He said that I was right
You're right, I knew that I was
And I'd hate to see anybody fail
But I'd like to see you fail saying thank you, though
I'm not sure who I am
I'm not sure who I am but I know who I've been
And I said you can't make everybody happy
He said you'd like to at least make yourself happy though
I'm not sure who I am
I'm not sure who I am but I know who I've been
Space Travel is Boring - Talk about having a tough act to follow. This is by no means a bad song, but one that I often skipped because I always forgot it was there. I dig the music on this track, but the lyrics at the beginning are just too quick for most of it to really make an impact. It is definitely a fairly decent ending track for an album but I could take it or leave.
Okay folks, so I know that was a shitload but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did while writing this. Please, for the love of God, if you don't take anything else from this AoTW, just listen to the damn album! It truly is the best of MM in my opinion.