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.
Lives
Modest Mouse Lyrics
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If you could be anything you want
I bet you'd be disappointed, am I right?
No one really knows the ones they love
If you knew everything they thought
I bet that you would wish that they'd just shut up
When you were alive
No one's going to play the harp when you die
And if I had a nickel for every damn dime
I'd have half the time, do you mind?
Everyone's afraid of their own lives
If you could be anything you want
I bet you'd be disappointed, am I right?
Am I right, am I right, am I right?
Am I right, am I right, am I right?
And it's our lives
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
We're alive for the first time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
We're alive for the last time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
To live before you die
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
That our lives are such a short time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
When it takes such a long time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
My mom's God is a woman and my mom she is a witch
I like this
My hell comes from inside, comes from inside myself
Why fight this?
Everyone's afraid of their own lives
If you could be anything you want
I bet you'd be disappointed, am I right?
The lyrics to Modest Mouse's song "Lives" are heavy with existential themes, discussing the fear of one's own mortality and the difficulty of truly knowing and understanding others. The opening lines describe the pervasive anxiety that consumes individuals, emphasizing that we all carry a certain degree of apprehension about our own lives. The questioning of whether or not we would be fulfilled if we could become anything we desired suggests a deeper sense of longing for something that seemingly never materializes. The lyrics imply that reaching for something out of context with one's true nature and desires could lead to a disconnection with one's sense of self.
The next lines express a poignant observation about human connection. The singer notes that we do not truly know the minds and feelings of the ones we love, and if we did, we would perhaps prefer solitude over the fascinating but often complex and misunderstood ideas and feelings of individuals. This idea is reinforced by the line "Well, you were the dull sound of sharp math when you were alive," implying that people's thoughts and personalities can be difficult to fully comprehend or synthesize into a cohesive understanding for those who were not versed in their internal workings.
The following lines further emphasize the fleeting nature of life and the concept of mortality. There is no grandeur to death or mourning, just dull, unremarkable resignation. This idea is underscored in the chorus with the repetition of the question "If you could be anything you want, I bet you'd be disappointed, am I right?", suggesting that the expectations we harbor and the notion that we can achieve anything we want in this life is unrealistic and often leaves us wanting more.
The final verse ends on a note of personal identity and religious belief. The singer notes the deity his mother worships as a female presence and embraces the concept of an internal hell, suggesting that he is not fighting his demons but rather accepting them. The last repetition of the chorus, by contrast, becomes a bit more personalized, almost a plea to the listener to embrace life and to live fully before time runs out.
Line by Line Meaning
Everyone's afraid of their own lives
People are fearful of their own existence and what it might hold.
If you could be anything you want
I bet you'd be disappointed, am I right?
Even if you had everything you ever wanted, you would still be unhappy.
No one really knows the ones they love
If you knew everything they thought
I bet that you would wish that they'd just shut up
People are often in the dark about what their loved ones truly think, and sometimes the truth can be hurtful.
Well, you were the dull sound of sharp math
When you were alive
No one's going to play the harp when you die
And if I had a nickel for every damn dime
I'd have half the time, do you mind?
The world can be bleak and uneventful, and nobody will celebrate your life when you're gone.
And it's our lives
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
We're alive for the first time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
We're alive for the last time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
To live before you die
We often forget to appreciate the small details in life and the precious moments that pass us by.
That our lives are such a short time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
When it takes such a long time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
Life is fleeting, and we easily forget the value of every moment we have.
My mom's God is a woman and my mom she is a witch
I like this
My hell comes from inside, comes from inside myself
Why fight this?
Personal beliefs and demons can affect who we are and how we perceive the world, and it's difficult to change that.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ERIC JUDY, ISAAC BROCK, JEREMIAH GREEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind