"Modest Mouse" Shouldn't Be So Modest

Portland Oregon based band, Modest Mouse, was created in 1993 by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. In May 2006, guitarist Johnny Marr, percussionist Joe Plummer, and multi-instumentalist Tom Peloso joined the band to help with the album "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank." In February 2009, Jim Fairchild also joined Modest Mouse. The original three band members chose the name with inspiration from Virginia Woolf's 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-colored people, who believe genuinely that they dislike to hear their own praises."

Modest Mouse' two most recent albums are also their two most famous albums. "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" was released on April 6, 2004 and was a platinum-selling album with two hit songs, "Float On," which is my personal favorite, and "Ocean Breathes Salty." This album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Rock Album in 2004, but unfortunately did not win. Their next album, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank," was released on March 20, 2007. It featured the hit single, "Dashboard," another one of my favorites, as well as "Missed the Boat," "Fire It Up," and "We've Got Everything." It even reached number one of the US Billboard 200 charts.

Even with all of these awards and honors, the popularity of Modest Mouse seems close to nothing. Many people have never even heard of the incredibly talented band. The word about this band needs to be spread so more music-lovers, especially those who enjoy relaxed, beachy, indie music, can enjoy the wonderful songs from Modest Mouse.

My favorite song, "Float On", is about how irrelevant small problems are and how everyone will "float on" and eventually be okay. The lyrics are quite inspiring, but definitely have a sense of humor as well. Although the lyrics are deep, the song is fun, relaxed, and catchy. The song "Dashboard" also has some inspirational lyrics- "Well it would've been, could've been, worse than you would ever know. Oh, the dashboard melted but we still have the radio." Similarly to "Float On", there is a sense of humor in the lyrics but they are also discussing the unimportance of small problems and how there are still worse things that could happen.

Although slower, indie songs aren't my normal go-to music, Modest Mouse is perfect for relaxing on the beach or right before bed. The songs are slower than most of the hip-hop and rock I normally listen to, but the sound is still catchy and the lyrics are still fun. I often like to blast Modest Mouse out of my car on long car rides to the beach with my windows down. Perfection :)