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.
Life Like Weeds
Modest Mouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I could have told you all that I love you
And in the places you go, you'll see the place where you're from
I could have told you all that I love you
And in the faces you meet, you'll see the place where you'll die
I could have told you all that I love you
And on the day that you die, you'll see the people you'd met
I could have told you all that I love you
I wish I could have told you all
In this life like weeds, eyes need us to see
Hearts need us to bleed, in this life like weeds
You're a rock to me
I know where you're from, but where do you belong?
In this life like weeds, you're the dirt I'll breath
In this life like weeds, you're a rock to me
All this talkin' all the time and the air fills up, up, up
Until there's nothin' left to breathe
And you think you feel most everything
And we know that our hearts are just made out of strings
To be pulled, strings to be pulled
So you think you've figured out everything
But we know that our minds are just made out of strings
To be pulled, strings to be pulled
All this talkin' all the time and the air fills up, up, up
Until there's nothing left to breathe
Up until there's nothin' left to speak.
Up until the better parts of space
The song, "Life Like Weeds" by Modest Mouse is a contemplative exploration of life, death, and the elusive nature of human connections. The lyrics, "And in this life like weeds, you're just a rock to me", suggest a sense of emptiness or insignificance, as if the singer is searching for meaning and struggling to find it. The repeated phrase, "I could have told you all that I love you", adds a layer of regret and a desire for connection, perhaps with someone who has since passed away or moved on.
The imagery of the "places you go" and "faces you meet" reinforce the idea that life is a journey with many twists and turns. The heart and eyes are mentioned as essential, but fragile components of life, emphasizing the singer's sensitivity and vulnerability. The final lines of the song, "All this talkin' all the time and the air fills up, up, up, until there's nothing left to speak. Up until the better parts of space", suggest a sense of futility or even despair, as if the singer is overwhelmed by the vastness of the universe and the transience of human existence.
Overall, "Life Like Weeds" is a deeply introspective song that explores the complexities and contradictions of the human experience. The vivid imagery, poetic language, and raw emotion of the lyrics make it a powerful and moving piece of music.
Line by Line Meaning
And in this life like weeds, you're just a rock to me
In this chaotic life, you are insignificant to me
I could have told you all that I love you
I had the opportunity to express my love, but I didn't
And in the places you go, you'll see the place where you're from
No matter where you travel, you'll always remember your roots
And in the faces you meet, you'll see the place where you'll die
The people you encounter will all eventually remind you of your own mortality
And on the day that you die, you'll see the people you'd met
When you die, all those people you met over the years will come to mind
And in the faces you see, you'll see just who you've been
When you look at your own face, you'll realize the kind of person you have been
I wish I could have told you all
I regret not expressing my feelings to you
In this life like weeds, eyes need us to see
In this life, we need each other to perceive the world
Hearts need us to bleed, in this life like weeds
We need to feel pain and emotions to truly experience life
You're a rock to me
You are my constant, dependable presence
I know where you're from, but where do you belong?
I am familiar with your background, but where do you truly fit in?
In this life like weeds, you're the dirt I'll breath
In this harsh life, you are the essential element that keeps me going
All this talkin' all the time and the air fills up, up, up
We talk so much that the space around us becomes suffocating
Until there's nothin' left to breathe
Eventually, we're left with no more air to sustain ourselves
And you think you feel most everything
You believe that you have experienced all that life has to offer
And we know that our hearts are just made out of strings
Our emotions are like puppet strings in the hands of fate
To be pulled, strings to be pulled
We are at the mercy of the universe, which controls our destiny
So you think you've figured out everything
You believe that you have all the answers
But we know that our minds are just made out of strings
Our thoughts and beliefs are also manipulated by external forces
Until there's nothing left to breathe
We keep talking until there's no more air to sustain us
Up until there's nothin' left to speak.
We keep talking until there's nothing more to say
Up until the better parts of space
We keep talking, filling the universe with our words, until we reach the unknown depths of space
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ERIC JUDY, ISAAC BROCK, JEREMIAH GREEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind