Many BpBc readers know that I am not the best writer in the world, but what few of you know is that I am even worse at writing album reviews…so let’s see where this goes.
Before I begin, I’d like to get something off of my chest. One of my biggest pet peeves with the music industry is when MTV and the radio basically dictate which bands are to be popular. They do this through playing the same songs all day long. MTV generally promotes bands on major labels since they are the ones kicking money back to the network.
Anyway, people become fans of a band because they are naive and cannot find new music on their own. Sadly, I never listened to Modest Mouse until their last CD “Good News For People Who Love Bad News”. I heard “Float On” on the radio and decided to give the album a shot. It was nothing short of spectacular. So yes, while I discovered Modest Mouse on the radio, I am NOT one of “those people” who like them because “they” tell me to like them.
Whew, I feel a little bit better. So back to their new album “We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank”. I am not going to go through every song as they are all solid and I don’t believe in picking apart every individual song. If that’s what you want, check out 411mania.com.
What I love most about this CD is that the lead singer sounds like he is borderline psycho in many of the songs. He will be singing one second and the next second he is screaming / singing like he is going out of his mind. Take the video for their single “Dashboard”. It starts like a seemingly normal music video, then just gets nuts half way in. Check it.
I also love how the video isn’t just 3 minutes of the band playing and singing, which get’s old and boring. It actually has somewhat of a story line with thought and creativity.
OK. Back to the album.
I don’t know if it’s the weather warming up or what, but I can’t help to manually roll down my car windows and blast Modest Mouse while delivering pretzels throughout the day. It makes me feel like summer is just around the corner…you know the feeling.
There is one track called “People As Places As People” where he actually barks like a dog. A FREAKING DOG. There are only 3 people I know who bark like dogs for the hell of it - me being one of them and my brother / Donny when they drink too much and harass my dog. This song is so catchy that I find myself barking along while the car next to me awkwardly stares.
Another thing all great albums have in common is the ability to flow from one song into another. I turn on that little feature in itunes that fades one song into the next and let the good times roll. There’s not one song on this cd that I want to skip over. It’s 1 hour of nonstop orgasms in my head.
So yea. There’s my review. It’s a damn good cd. Go out and download it, buy it, or download it illegally and let me know what you think. If you liked their last cd, this one won’t disappoint.
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My favorite CD of the year. I’ve been playing it for weeks non-stop now in my car. Good review.
mmmmm i love modest mouse…
When’s the last time Bernie actually bought a CD?
10 years ago?
Untrue, I saw him walking out of best buy with a crate of CD-RWs just last week
well, in regards to the cd i still have to listen to it. but when you said that the radio “tells you to listen to stuff,” i really gotta disagree there. you even said it yourself. they aren’t gonna waste their time playin some small time band’s song for free, when they have a label giving them money to play other songs. it’s unfair to blame it on the radio/mtv because they are just doing what they gotta do money-wise. wouldn’t you?…i know you would. so it seems to stem back to being the label’s fault. i dunno, maybe i don’t know enough about the topic or just misinterpreted ya. all i know is, i’d play the music of whoever is payin the most, and i think that’s all they’re doin
Im not really sure how it all works, but it doesnt really matter. The point i was trying to get across is that you hear the same shit all day long on MTV and the radio and it’s usually garbage for the most part. it doesnt matter who’s fault it is, but i blame the radio
I have to give cds at least a few weeks before I can give a true verdict, but to be honest I’m not crazy about this one thus far. I don’t want to risk sounding like a trendy hipster d bag, but Good News didn’t wow me as much as their older stuff. That being said, my advice is build backwards with their catalogue now that you’re a fan. Some of their older stuff is incapable of being overplayed, it’s so spectacular. “Head South” and “3rd Planet” instantly spring to mind. However, what really gets the old motor running… I love the dichotomy of Isaac Brock singing soft songs… his violent, off-kilter delivery coupled with smooth, calm music can make for some earth shattering stuff. Prime examples of this would be “Whenever I Breathe in, You Breathe Out”, which encapsulates post-breakup depression better than any song I know, or “Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds” which erupts into pure chaos. I still have hope that I’ll end up appreciating this album in the long run (I usually view it as a bad sign if something is too instantly appealing… usually an indicator that it’s poppy and will wear on me), but the heavyhanded nautical symbolism and similarity between tracks has me slightly concerned. My album of the year thus far is the new Arcade Fire album, which I think you might like based on the elements of Modest Mouse you seem to enjoy.
The new Arcade Fire album is fantastic if for nothing else than its packaging. It’s flippin sweet. That being said, the cd rocks too.
“It’s 1 hour of nonstop orgasms in my head.” - now that’s what I call a mind F—
Yea Ive been jamming to the arcade fire over the past few weeks. There is a station out here in philly, i think its 88.5…it plays mostly indie stuff and it is freaking sweet. you should check it out. As for the new modest mouse…that was really my concern; I know when I listen to a band for a while and then they change their style once they “blow up”, I usually don’t like the “fans of the new stuff”, if that makes sense. Am I that guy? Probably. I am going to look for torrents of their older stuff.
when it comes to music, my good friend, you are soooooooooooooo that guy. thank god i got this good buddy who gives me the heads up before new music goes “mainstream”…
I will have to download some songs from this album , being that you are one of the only fellow Darkness fans I know, your opinion must count for something.
However, long ago I have abandoned your aversion to anything popular. Songs the radio tells us to like are just more fun to sing drunk at a bar.