The band's current configuration is Isaac Brock (vocals, guitar), Tom Peloso (strings, horns, bass, keyboards), Jim Fairchild (guitar), and Eric Judy (bass)). Plummer has recently become the new drummer for The Shins.
Brock came up with the name "Modest Mouse" when he read the Virginia Woolf stream of consciousness essay The Mark On the Wall in which the author described the working middle class as "modest mouse-coloured people"
Brock frequently moved around with his mother when he was a child. Around this time, his mother left his father for his father's brother (Brock's uncle). Brock's mother's house flooded and forced them to move into his mother's new husband's trailer, but there was no room for Brock. Brock stayed behind, living in the second story of the flooded house, until he was eventually evicted by police. He then moved into a shed next to his mother's house and it is said this is where Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy first began playing music.
In 1994, the band recorded their debut EP, Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?, at Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studios, which was then released on Calvin's record label K Records. Then followed a single with Sub Pop that was recorded by producer Steve Wold at Moon Studios. Wold, who in the mid-2000's would begin to perform under the name Seasick Steve, would also perform on the band's albums, but was never an official member of the band. After moving to Up Records Modest Mouse put out several releases recorded at Moon Studios, including 1996's This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About. This double LP was produced and recorded by Steve Wold. The next offering on UP was Interstate 8; also produced by Steve Wold. 1997's The Lonesome Crowded West, (also recorded at Moon Studios, by Scott Swayze) turned out to be the band's breakthrough album. The Lonesome Crowded West gained the band a cult following and is now widely considered by many critics to be one of the defining albums of mid-90s indie rock.
In 2000, Modest Mouse released The Moon And Antarctica, their first album on a major label (Epic Records). The band enjoyed some success on alternative radio with the singles "3rd Planet" and "Gravity Rides Everything." Lead singer Isaac Brock has since put out an album with his side project Ugly Casanova on Sub Pop Records.
In 2003, drummer Jeremiah Green quit the band; the official word was that he was quitting to work with his side project, Vells. He was replaced with two members, drummer Benjamin Weikel (who also drummed for The Helio Sequence) and guitarist Dann Gallucci (Murder City Devils). Weikel being new to the band and Gallucci returning to the band for the first time since This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. On April 6, 2004, Modest Mouse released the platinum-selling Good News For People Who Love Bad News, which scored two hits with "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty". In 2004 Jeremiah Green returned to the band, and Benjamin Weikel now drums exclusively for The Helio Sequence. Dann Gallucci left the band in August, and they toured with Hutch Harris of The Thermals during the fall of 2004.
Modest Mouse was mentioned by name in the 2005 Supreme Court decision in the case of MGM v. Grokster. Justice Souter wrote that on the Grokster P2P network, "Users seeking Top 40 songs, for example, or the latest release by Modest Mouse, are certain to be far more numerous than those seeking a free Decameron, and Grokster and StreamCast translated that demand into dollars."
In 2005, multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso, who already played various instruments on Good News For People Who Love Bad News, officially joined the band. In 2006, Johnny Marr, former guitarist for The Smiths, became an official member of the band.
On March 20, 2007, the band released their fifth album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. Four singles were released from the album: "Dashboard", "Missed the Boat", "We've Got Everything" and "Little Motel". The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. James Mercer of The Shins provides backing vocals on three songs.
In 2009, they released No One's First And You're Next, an EP of unreleased songs from around the time Good News and We Were Dead were recorded, and two songs that had already been released, "I've Got It All (Most)" and "King Rat". The video for King Rat was directed by late actor Heath Ledger.
In 2009, Johnny Marr left the band and was replaced by Jim Fairchild, formerly of Grandaddy. The band performed at several festivals throughout 2009 and 2010, including the main stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2010.
After an 8 year wait, the band's latest full-length is "Strangers To Ourselves", released March 17th, 2015- two weeks after the original release date, March 3rd, 2015. The album art is an aerial photo of an RV resort located in Mesa, Arizona. Five singles were released before the album, "Lampshades on Fire", "Coyotes", "The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box", "The Best Room", and "Of Course we Know".
Drummer Jeremiah Green passed away from cancer on December 31, 2022 at the age of 45.
Black Cadillacs
Modest Mouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
After towns that we've never been to.
And it's true that the clouds just hung around
Like black Cadillacs outside a funeral.
And we were done, done, done
With all the fuck, fuck, fuckin' around.
You were so true to yourself.
Well I should put you in the ground.
I've got the time, I got the hours,
I got the days, I got the weeks.
I could say to myself
I've got the words but I can't speak.
Well I was done, done, done
With all the circ, circ, circlin' round.
I didn't die and I ain't complainin'.
I ain't blamin' you.
I didn't know that the words you said to me
Meant more to me than they ever could you?
I didn't lie and I ain't sayin'
I told the whole truth.
I didn't know that this game we were playin'
Even had a set of rules.
We named our children after towns
That we've never been to.
And it's true that the clouds just hung around
Like black Cadillacs outside a funeral.
And we were laughing at the stars
While our feet clung tight to the ground.
So pleased with ourselves
For using so many verbs and nouns.
But we were all still just dumb, dumb, dumber
Than the dirt, dirt, dirt on the ground.
Well wings on flames, kings with no names,
Well this place just ain't got right air right now.
You were so all over town but still so Crayola brown.
Well you should run 'round yourself right now.
And we were done, done, done
With all the fuck, fuck, fuckin' around.
Circlin' round.
The song "Black Cadillacs" by Modest Mouse is a reflection on the solemnity of loss and the chaos that often comes with it. The lyrics offer vivid imagery that conveys a sense of heaviness, drawn from the use of details such as "black Cadillacs outside a funeral" and "the dirt on the ground" that create a somber mood. The opening verse, "And it's true we named our children after towns that we've never been to" could be interpreted as a commentary on the arbitrariness of our choices and how they can come back to haunt us in unexpected ways.
The chorus, "And we were done, done, done with all the fuck, fuck, fuckin' around. You were so true to yourself. You were true to no one else. Well I should put you in the ground," reveals the tension between an individual's desire for autonomy and the inherent interdependence of human relationships. The song suggests that sometimes, we can become so focused on ourselves that we forget about the people around us, leading to a sense of emptiness and dissatisfaction.
In the final verses, we see a sense of resignation and acceptance creeping in. "I didn't die and I ain't complainin'. I ain't blamin' you" seems to be a message of survival that life goes on, even after experiencing great tragedy. The reference to "using so many verbs and nouns" suggests an attempt to analyze and make sense of the world, but ultimately the song acknowledges that despite our best efforts, there are still things that we will never fully understand.
Line by Line Meaning
And it's true we named our children
After towns that we've never been to.
We gave our children names of places we have never been to.
And it's true that the clouds just hung around
Like black Cadillacs outside a funeral.
It is a fact that the clouds stayed in the sky like black Cadillacs parked outside of a funeral.
And we were done, done, done
With all the fuck, fuck, fuckin' around.
We were finished with all the nonsense and fooling around we had been doing.
You were so true to yourself.
You were true to no one else.
Well I should put you in the ground.
You remained true to yourself and no one else, and I feel like punishing you for it.
I've got the time, I got the hours,
I got the days, I got the weeks.
I could say to myself
I've got the words but I can't speak.
I have plenty of time to express myself, but I am struggling to put my thoughts into words.
Well I was done, done, done
With all the circ, circ, circlin' round.
I was tired of going in circles and getting nowhere.
I didn't die and I ain't complainin'.
I ain't blamin' you.
I didn't know that the words you said to me
Meant more to me than they ever could you?
I am not dead so I can't complain, and I'm not blaming you either. I didn't realize that the words you said to me had a deeper meaning for me than they did for you.
I didn't lie and I ain't sayin'
I told the whole truth.
I didn't know that this game we were playin'
Even had a set of rules.
I didn't lie, but I didn't tell the whole truth either. I didn't realize that there were rules to the game we were playing.
And we were laughing at the stars
While our feet clung tight to the ground.
So pleased with ourselves
For using so many verbs and nouns.
We found humor in the heavens while staying grounded, proud of ourselves for using extensive vocabulary.
But we were all still just dumb, dumb, dumber
Than the dirt, dirt, dirt on the ground.
Despite our intelligence, we remained ignorant and foolish.
Well wings on flames, kings with no names,
Well this place just ain't got right air right now.
This place is wrong and chaotic, with kings who have no true identity or power.
You were so all over town but still so Crayola brown.
Well you should run 'round yourself right now.
You were so active and everywhere, but you seem dull and one-dimensional. You need to explore and discover who you truly are.
And we were done, done, done
With all the fuck, fuck, fuckin' around.
Circlin' round.
We were finished with all the senseless behavior and aimless circling around we had been doing.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DANN GALLUCCI, ERIC JUDY, ISAAC BROCK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind