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.
Other People's Lives
Modest Mouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Other people's lives seem more interesting 'cause they ain't mine
Well I'm fed up and I need to go
Out of existence or just down the road forever
Later that night on the side of the road
I'm outta gas and I should have known better
Well a guy shows up he's 25 years old
Always stealing kisses, such a mama's boy
He's been in the army and he did some speed
He went down to Thailand, and he did the did the deed
Oh yeah, he did it for the boys
A cop shows up, way damn late
I was excited, but usually I hate to see them
Other people's lives
Seem more interesting
'cause they ain't mine
Other people's lives
Seem more innocent
'cause they ain't mine
Later that night on the side of the road
I'm out of gas and I should have known better, yeah
I'm fed up and I need to go
Out of existence or just down the road forever, oh yeah
Well a guy shows up he's 25 years old
Always steals kisses, such a mama's boy
He said, and that's what he said
Palm tree houses
I was excited but usually I hate to see them, yeah
On the road
Out of road
Going out
Out of gas
Out of road
Out of car
Out of everything at last
Out, out rent a car
Got yourself a crazy walk
Said, bowlegged walk
Late at night on the side of the road
I'm out of gas and I should have known better, oh yeah
Palm tree houses, way down lane
I was excited but usually I hate to see them, yeah
Out of gas
And nothing left
The lyrics of Modest Mouse's song "Other People's Lives" explore the concept of envy and disillusionment with one's own life. The singer of the song expresses frustration with their life and the desire to escape it. They observe other people's lives and feel that they are more interesting and innocent simply because they are not their own. The singer is out of gas and stranded on the side of the road, feeling defeated and hopeless.
As the night progresses, the singer encounters other individuals who seem to further underscore their dissatisfaction with their own life. The first person they meet is a 25-year-old man who steals kisses and boasts about his experiences in the army and in Thailand. The singer seems unimpressed by this person's stories, as if to suggest that even the wild and adventurous parts of someone else's life are ultimately unfulfilling. Later, a cop shows up and the singer is initially excited but quickly realizes that they usually hate to see them.
Overall, the lyrics of "Other People's Lives" offer a poignant commentary on the human tendency towards dissatisfaction and envy. Through the singer's encounter with these other people and their stories, the song suggests that personal fulfillment and contentment cannot be found by simply seeking out what others have.
Line by Line Meaning
This is how it seems to be
The singer is describing how he perceives reality
Other people's lives seem more interesting 'cause they ain't mine
The singer finds others' lives more captivating because he is bored with his own
Well I'm fed up and I need to go
The singer is discontent with his life and desires a change of scenery
Out of existence or just down the road forever
The artist is seeking a way to escape his current life, possibly through death or by running away
Later that night on the side of the road
This line marks a shift in the narrative to a specific moment in time
I'm outta gas and I should have known better
The singer has run out of gas and realizes he should have been more responsible
Well a guy shows up he's 25 years old
A man who is 25 years old appears on the scene
Always stealing kisses, such a mama's boy
The man is overly attached to his mother and is affectionate towards others
He said, and that's what he said
The artist is recounting what the man said next
He's been in the army and he did some speed
The man has served in the military and has used drugs
He went down to Thailand, and he did the did the deed
The man went to Thailand and engaged in sexual activity
Oh yeah, he did it for the boys
The man had homosexual experiences in Thailand
A cop shows up, way damn late
A police officer appears much later than expected
I was excited, but usually I hate to see them
The singer has mixed feelings about the arrival of the police
Other people's lives seem more innocent 'cause they ain't mine
The singer believes that others' lives appear less complicated than his
On the road
The artist is traveling
Out of road
The road has come to an end
Going out
The singer is leaving
Out of gas
The singer has run out of fuel
Out of car
The artist no longer has access to his vehicle
Out of everything at last
The artist has lost everything he had
Out, out rent a car
The artist needs to rent a car
Got yourself a crazy walk
The singer has a strange way of walking
Said, bowlegged walk
The artist is describing how he walks, with his legs bent outwards
Late at night on the side of the road
The singer is still stranded on the side of the road
Palm tree houses, way down lane
The singer sees houses with palm trees in the distance
I was excited but usually I hate to see them
The singer has conflicting emotions about seeing the houses
Out of gas
The artist is still without fuel
And nothing left
The artist has exhausted all of his resources
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Eric Judy, Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind