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.
Here
Modest Mouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I see you're talking to him right there
Oh, I knew I was a little messed up
But I guess it's much worse than I feared
'Cause I'm still here
I'm still here
I am still here
Your friends are all rollin' their eyes and you're laughing
Well, yeah, I know what's what
I love to joke just like anybody
But I don't like being the butt
'Cause I'm right here
I'm still here
I am still right here
Your eyes are dartin' around and you're looking right past me
For something else that's near
Well you must've powdered your nose just a little too much
'Cause I'm still here
I know that you told me you were a little bit drunk
But I think it's much worse than you feared
Well, you're making me feel like a dog-catcher
But hell, you invited me here
Why am I here?
Why am I here?
Why am I here?
The lyrics of Modest Mouse's song Here revolve around the feelings of rejection and inadequacy experienced by the singer. The song portrays the situation where the singer is completely ignored by his partner who seems to be engrossed in a conversation with someone else, making the singer feel invisible and worthless. The singer feels like he is being treated like a joke and is unable to comprehend why he is still in the same space as his partner. The lyrics portray his frustration and confusion about the situation and his inability to figure out why he is still present, as his partner seems to be completely oblivious to his presence.
The lyrics also reveal the singer's low self-esteem as he questions his worth and why he is being treated poorly, even though he was invited to be there. His partner's disregard for him induces all these emotions of worthlessness and inadequacy, leaving the singer feeling like a "dog-catcher." Overall, the lyrics of "Here" are poignant and reveal the negative emotions that accompany a situation where one feels invisible and unimportant.
Line by Line Meaning
So you went to make a call, well, they must've hung up
You tried to make a phone call but the person on the other end must have hung up.
'Cause I see you're talking to him right there
I can see that you're now talking to someone else in front of me.
Oh, I knew I was a little messed up
I knew I wasn't in the best state but I didn't realize how bad it was.
But I guess it's much worse than I feared
I now realize that my current state is much worse than I thought.
'Cause I'm still here
Despite everything, I am still present and not going anywhere.
Your friends are all rollin' their eyes and you're laughing
Your friends are annoyed with my presence but you seem to find it amusing.
Well, yeah, I know what's what
I understand the situation and am aware of what is happening.
I love to joke just like anybody
I enjoy making jokes as much as the next person.
But I don't like being the butt
However, I do not appreciate being the center of ridicule.
'Cause I'm right here
Despite everything, I am still present and not going anywhere.
I'm still here
I am still present despite what is going on around me.
I am still right here
I have not left and am still in the same place.
Your eyes are dartin' around and you're looking right past me
You seem distracted and are not acknowledging my presence.
For something else that's near
You seem to be looking for something or someone else in the vicinity.
Well you must've powdered your nose just a little too much
It appears that you have applied too much powder to your nose.
'Cause I'm still here
Despite everything, I am still present and not going anywhere.
I know that you told me you were a little bit drunk
You mentioned earlier that you had a little too much to drink.
But I think it's much worse than you feared
However, I suspect that your level of drunkenness is worse than you realize.
Well, you're making me feel like a dog-catcher
You are making me feel like an unwanted nuisance or someone who is trying to catch a wild animal.
But hell, you invited me here
Despite how you are treating me, you were the one who invited me to be here.
Why am I here?
Despite being made to feel unwelcome, I am questioning why I am still present.
Why am I here?
I am still uncertain as to why I am being treated this way while still being present.
Why am I here?
Despite being made to feel like an outsider, I am still questioning what led me to be in this situation.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Isaac Brock
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
R.E. K.
"Here it comes (the place and the time that we knew that things could go wrong)"
Walk to your house on my lunch break; here it comes
"Come inside and pour a drink"; here it comes
You'll probably tell me everything you think; here it comes
The place and the time that we knew that things could go wrong
The grass grows green, could you step away from the screen, it doesn't mean I don't want you to be seen, just not like everyone.
Grass grows green and it's everyone.
You always told me life's a dam that breaks, well; here it comes
If you sit still or if you run, well; here it comes.
So now we're drownin' in birthday cakes, well; here it comes
The place and the time that we knew that things could go wrong
Keep it clean. I didn't mean to be mean. Why does it always seem that I've never won.
Keep it clean and no one's ever won.
The empty promise makers said, "Here it comes"
Make a point to make no sense; here it comes
Speak about the future in the past tense; here it comes
"Don't look down." So what'd we do?" Here it comes
Walkin' around with shit on our shoes; oh, here it comes
The place and the time that we knew things would go wrong.
GratefulRed13
one of the most slept on MM songs. Glad to see so many people that love it as much as me.
raijin1378
It's a good song they've come a long ways since ugly casanova. This one is in my category of favorites from mm cheers bro.
Ballz Deep
I ain’t sleepin’ on it Grateful. Isaac is one of the best lyricists of his generation. He’s like the Eminem of his genre. “Make a point to make no sense”..LOL!
Dank_Crusad3r
Quick backstory of how I found out about this band. One of my friends used to make some CD mixes where he would take about 10-20 songs and put them on a disc for me and my family to enjoy. He called them There and Back Again Volumes and we would never go on road trips without them. This was the first song I ever heard from them. I think it was on There and Back Again volume 2 or 3 that he put this song in, and that was how I found out about Modest Mouse. This band is just too nostalgic for me to forget.
SuperCadet24
modest mouse makes me forget about all the problems in the world, and for a moment, i am one with my self. thank you MM
righteousrat
everytime you hear this song, you smile and you don't know why? how can you not?!
ck675
honestly - every single time. such a special, special, special tune
Kim
It feels like a secret. Obscure tune from EP, and the Modest Mouse song most likely to make me air acoustic guitar and lip sync. Glad I found a place where I could admit that.
Johnny McCarthy
This songs lyrics commuciates on so many levels across so many ideas in such a beautiful simplistic way the whole thing is an experience in synesthesia. I'll be playing this tonight right before they really start to kick in..."place and the time when things......" HERE IT COMES!!!
MrBillSasquatch
It simply doesn't get any better than this.