Modest Mouse | |
Number of songs: 9 | Total weeks on charts: 163
Appearing in a total number of: 15 charts | Total period running: 738 days
Appearing in a total number of: 15 charts | Total period running: 738 days
Songs by Modest Mouse
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Biography
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, their lineup has centered on Brock, Green, and Judy. Guitarist Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths) joined the band in May 2006, along with percussionist Joe Plummer (formerly of The Black Heart Procession) and multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso, to work on the album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Guitarist Jim Fairchild joined the band in February 2009. Their name is derived from a passage from the Virginia Woolf story "The Mark on the Wall" which reads, "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."
In 1994, Modest Mouse recorded their first EP, Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?, at Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studios. It was released by K Records. A single, "Broke", followed under Sub Pop that was recorded by Steve Wold (a.k.a. bluesman Seasick Steve) at Moon Studios in Olympia, Washington. During this time, Modest Mouse also recorded what would have been their first album, Sad Sappy Sucker, but constant delays caused the album to be shelved and forgotten. It was not until 2001 that it was officially released. Before making their way into the pop music world in 2004, many of their tours included stops at DIY/punk venues.
After moving to Up Records, Modest Mouse released two full-length albums and other recordings recorded at Moon Studios, including the 1996 LP This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. This album was produced and recorded by Steve Wold (at the time Wold was assisting in the recordings as well, but was not officially part of the band). The next offering was Interstate 8, also produced by Wold. The 1997 album, The Lonesome Crowded West, (also recorded at Moon Studios, by Scott Swayze) turned out to serve as the band's breakthrough. The Lonesome Crowded West gained the band a cult following, and is now popularly considered to be one of the defining albums of mid-1990s indie rock. During this time Nick Kraft was brought in to refine the band's sound. Prior to its release, the band had recorded the EP The Fruit That Ate Itself. In 1999, Up Records released a singles and rarities collection entitled Building Nothing Out of Something, which included the entirety of Interstate 8 except for the songs "Edit the Sad Parts" and "Buttons to Push the Buttons".
In 2000, Modest Mouse released The Moon & Antarctica, their first album on Epic Records. The album was critically well-received including a 9.8 out of 10 score from online music magazine, Pitchfork Media. It has subsequently gone on to receive further acclaim.
Brock has since released an album with his side project Ugly Casanova on Sub Pop, which was the only side project allowed due to the contract. The band licensed "Gravity Rides Everything" for a commercial for Nissan's Quest minivan, a move that Brock has publicly acknowledged as blatantly commercial but necessary to achieve financial stability. Regarding the commercial, Brock stated, "People who don't play music for a living can criticize my morals while they live off their parents' money or wash dishes for some asshole."
In 2001, Modest Mouse released the EP Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks, a collection of unused songs from the recording sessions of The Moon and Antarctica. In 2002, they joined Cake, De La Soul, The Flaming Lips, The Hackensaw Boys and Kinky on the Unlimited Sunshine Tour.
In March 2003, Green left the band after suffering a nervous breakdown; the official word was that he was leaving to work with his side project, Vells. The same year, he and bass guitarist Eric Judy appeared on Adam Forkner's first solo album, VVRSSNN. Green was replaced by two new members, drummer Benjamin Weikel (who also drummed for The Helio Sequence, as well as playing keyboard) and Murder City Devils guitarist Dann Gallucci (who had been a member of Modest Mouse previously, and appears on Sad Sappy Sucker and The Lonesome Crowded West). On April 6, 2004, Modest Mouse released their fourth album, the platinum-selling Good News for People Who Love Bad News, which had two hits with "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty" (both of which they performed on Saturday Night Live on November 13, 2004). The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album that year, and "Float On" was nominated for Best Rock Song. Later that year, Green returned to the band, and Weikel returned to drumming exclusively for The Helio Sequence. Gallucci left the band in August.
The public radio program Marketplace used "Float On" as bumper music and helped propel the group to a broader audience.
In May 2006, Dann Gallucci (who had left the band amicably in September 2004) was replaced on guitar by Johnny Marr, former guitarist for The Smiths. Their next album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, was released on March 20, 2007 after being delayed from December 19, 2006. It was the first Modest Mouse album to reach number one on the US Billboard 200 charts, and had the hit single "Dashboard", as well as "Missed the Boat" and "We've Got Everything". Modest Mouse released singles for the songs "Satellite Skin", "Autumn Beds" and "Perpetual Motion Machine" in limited editions (a run of 4,000 each) vinyl 7 inches, featuring artwork by art director and illustrator Joshua Marc Levy, J.Alex Stamos, and Natasha Wheat.
The band began a North American tour in June 2008. They returned to Florida for the first time since their November 2006 Bang Music Festival show, where they were cut off stage early, with three shows in Miami, Orlando and St. Augustine. Modest Mouse finished their tour supporting We Were Dead after two years of promoting the record.
Jim Fairchild of Grandaddy and All Smiles replaced Marr as guitarist, when Marr left the band after joining The Cribs, beginning with the support of No One's First and You're Next, which was released on August 4, 2009, composed of unreleased tracks from the recording sessions of Good News for People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.
In 2010 The Moon & Antarctica was re-released on vinyl as part of Record Store Day.
On July 4, 2010 the band headlined the second day of the 80/35 Music Festival in Des Moines, Iowa, and the first day of the End Of The Road Festival in Dorset, England, on September 10, 2010. At the end of August 2010, Modest Mouse played on the main stage at the Leeds and Reading festivals.
On April 28, 2011, Big Boi said via Twitter that he had been in the studio with Modest Mouse working with them on their next LP. On May 29 Modest Mouse played two new songs during their headline of the Sasquatch festival. The songs were called "Poison the Well" and "Lampshades on Fire." They then contributed a cover of the Buddy Holly song "That'll Be The Day" to the compilation Rave On Buddy Holly, which was released on June 28, 2011. Recently Modest Mouse had played at Splendour in the Grass in Woodford, Queensland on July 29, 2011, The Warfield in San Francisco on January 25, 2012.
In June 2012, Pitchfork.tv released a forty-five minute documentary on The Lonesome Crowded West. The documentary included archival footage taken during live performances and original recording/mix sessions.
Modest Mouse was one of the main acts in the Good Vibes Festival held in Sepang, Malaysia on August 17, 2013. The lineup featured other internationally renowned bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, Ash, and Japandroids. In April 2013, Modest Mouse performed at Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California. They also performed at the 2014 Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama, in May 2014. They later performed as a headliner at Shaky Knees music festival in Atlanta, Georgia on May 10, 2014, and also headlined Sunday May 25 at Boston Calling in Massachusetts. Modest Mouse then performed at Hudson Valley Music Project in Saugerties, NY in July, 2014. Their final performance in 2014 took place in Austin, Texas during Austin's annual Fun Fun Fun Fest.
On December 15, 2014 Modest Mouse released their lead single "Lampshades on Fire" for an upcoming album confirmed to be released in early 2015. On December 13, it was confirmed that the new album would be titled "Strangers to Ourselves" and scheduled to release on Tuesday, March 3, 2015. The album will be Modest Mouse's first studio album in eight years since 2007's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. On December 16, 2014 Modest Mouse made Strangers to Ourselves available for pre-order for CD and LP formats on the Glacial Pace website and on the iTunes store.
Members:
Isaac Brock – lead vocals, guitars, banjo, keyboards, ukulele (1993–present)
Jeremiah Green – drums, percussion (1993–2003, 2004–present)
Tom Peloso – guitars, bass guitar, upright bass, keyboards, vocals, fiddle, horns (2004–present)
Former
Eric Judy – bass guitar, double bass, acoustic guitar, pump organ, percussion (1993–2012)
John Wickhart – bass guitar (1994–95)
Dann Gallucci – guitars, pump organ, percussion (1994–95, 1997–98, 2002–05)
Robin Peringer (Touring member) – guitar, keyboards, effects (2000–02)
Benjamin Weikel – drums (2003–04)
Joe Plummer – drums, percussion (2004–2012)
Johnny Marr – guitars, vocals (2006–09)
Discography:
This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (1996)
The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)
The Moon & Antarctica (2000)
Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007)
Strangers to Ourselves (2015)
Sources: Wikipedia, Top40-Charts.com Editorial team
Modest Mouse in the news
More songs by Modest Mouse
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