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.
Custom Concern
Modest Mouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Build up the monuments and steeples
To wear out our eyes
I get up just about noon
My head sends a message for me
To reach for my shoes then walk
Gotta go to work, gotta go to work, gotta get a job
Doesn't see no signs that they will yield
And then thought, this'll never end
This'll never end, this'll never stop
Message read on the bathroom wall
Says, "I don't feel at all like I fall."
And we're losing all touch, losing all touch
Building a desert
The lyrics of "Custom Concern" by Modest Mouse are heavily centered around the idea of society's preoccupation with building structures and monuments to impress others, as well as the feeling of being trapped in a monotonous cycle of work and feeling disconnected from oneself and others. The opening line, "Their custom concern for the people," refers to the powers that be who are responsible for constructing these symbolic structures. The phrase "custom concern" suggests that these structures are not purely functional, but instead serve a symbolic purpose, a way to show off one's wealth or power. The lines "Build up the monuments and steeples / To wear out our eyes" further emphasize this point, suggesting that these structures are designed to impress and distract us rather than serve any practical purpose.
The lyrics then shift focus to the personal experience of the singer, who wakes up at noon and feels compelled to go to work. The need to work is presented as a societal mandate, rather than something that comes from within. The lines "Gotta go to work, gotta go to work, gotta get a job" feel like a mantra, repeating the same idea over and over. The singer then walks through a parking lot, feeling aimless and seeing no signs that anything will ever change. The lines "And then thought, this'll never end / This'll never end, this'll never stop" express the feeling of being trapped in an endless cycle, with no escape in sight.
The lyrics then take a more abstract turn, with a message read on a bathroom wall saying "I don't feel at all like I fall." This line is somewhat ambiguous, but it could be interpreted as a rejection of the idea that we must constantly strive to achieve more, to climb the ladder of success. In the context of the rest of the song, it suggests a yearning for something more authentic, something that can't be achieved by building monuments or working a job. The final lines "And we're losing all touch, losing all touch / Building a desert" seem to reflect a feeling of disconnection, of being lost in a vast, empty landscape.
Line by Line Meaning
Their custom concern for the people
They pretend to care about the welfare of the people
Build up the monuments and steeples
They glorify themselves by constructing large, impressive buildings
To wear out our eyes
Their elaborate displays are meant to distract us from what's really happening
I get up just about noon
I wake up in the late morning after a night of partying or depression
My head sends a message for me
My mind reminds me of my responsibilities
To reach for my shoes then walk
I need to get ready and leave the house
Gotta go to work, gotta go to work, gotta get a job
I have to find employment to support myself
Goes through the parking lot fields
I traverse through the mundane environment of a parking lot
Doesn't see no signs that they will yield
I don't notice any indications of success or progress
And then thought, this'll never end
I despair at the prospect of the daily grind continuing indefinitely
This'll never end, this'll never stop
I dread being stuck in this cycle of work and monotony forever
Message read on the bathroom wall
I come across graffiti in the restroom
Says, "I don't feel at all like I fall."
It reads, "I don't feel like I belong here."
And we're losing all touch, losing all touch
We're becoming disconnected and isolated from each other
Building a desert
We're creating a barren, lifeless environment through our actions and neglect
Lyrics Ā© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ERIC JUDY, ISAAC BROCK, JEREMIAH GREEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@LateNightRewrites
After our first date I played Polar Opposite on the way home in my 88 Oldsmobile that belonged to my great grandma.
After years together, the last time I walked away from her apartment and drove home I listened to this song.
It was me who let you down, and I'm sorry. I hope and pray that you you go on to live a beautiful life.
Love,
Someone you used to know
@nicholasaramirez885
Their custom concern for the people
Build up the monuments and steeples
To wear out our eyes
I get up just about noon
My head sends a message for me
To reach for my shoes then walk
Gotta go to work, gotta go to work, gotta get a job
Goes through the parking lot fields
Doesn't see no signs that they will yield
And then thought, this'll never end
This'll never end, this'll never stop
Message read on the bathroom wall
Says, "I don't feel at all like I fall."
And we're losing all touch, losing all touch
Building a desert
@ausinasmith96
This song makes me feel like I'm in touch with the people in the comments
We are okay guys, keep pushing
@matthewwilson6805
A Wholesome Airhorn
@ImMooful
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@captphun66
i love the voice crack when Got to go to work Got to go to work Got to have a job is sung. so beautiful. Work blows!
@sonshineoh
i've stored so many bad days tears and terrible thoughts into this song. it blows me away how i can still get the same comfort i got out of this song years ago. modest mouse had always been like a security blanket for me. i'll turn it up until i can't think about anything but the music and then it doesn't seem so bad. it's amazing how many out there do the exact same thing it's beautiful the amount of support their music gives. modest mouse is there for you.
@piratesmile75b
omg this
@duck5tar
I feel you, It holds so much of me too, I have placed so much into this song even though I'm not entirely sure that I fully understand the meaning of it. But it always carries me when things are crap, that's what good songs do!
@jkwalzo
Whoa dude, same. All the best.
@MrMorganMakesMusic
There's this graffitti on the wall of the public toilets in my town, been there since I was young, never knew what it meant, reading "I don't feel at all like I fall" never, understood it, but always kept thinking about it throughout my life. I'm hearing this song for the first time, and holy crap, I finally understand.
@TheSaladTozzer
MrMorganMakesMusic i dont feel at all like I thought I would