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.
Way Down
Modest Mouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And if you asked them how, they couldn't say how they got there
And if you want them now you could just pull on the lever
And say, "I'm hung up on gravity."
You move your mouth and you start to talk
You close your eyes and then lose the thought
What's mine is mine and what's yours you probably got
And we all fall
And if you asked them how, they'd say gravity's how they got there
And if you want them now you could just pull on the lever
And say, "I'm hung up on this decade."
They found some shelves on a school's sand house
They created pagers to collect all their calls
What's mine is mine and what's yours and we all always fall
And we fall
The lyrics of Modest Mouse's song "Way Down" paint a vivid picture of individuals on a downward spiral. The song starts with the line "On the way down they saw a lot they don't remember," setting the tone for the rest of the song. These individuals are lost and don't even remember the experiences and situations that led them there. The next line, "And if you asked them how, they couldn't say how they got there," emphasizes this point further. The individuals are so far gone that they can't even explain how they ended up in this dark and hopeless place.
The chorus of the song describes the feeling of falling and losing control. The line "You move your mouth and you start to talk, you close your eyes and then lose the thought," speaks to the feeling of being unable to articulate oneself and losing focus. The line "What's mine is mine and what's yours you probably got, and we all fall," is a commentary on the inherently competitive nature of humanity, and how it often leads to people falling down.
The second verse continues with the theme of feeling lost and disconnected, as the individuals discover shelves on a school's sand house and create pagers to collect their calls. These items are completely useless in the context of their situation, highlighting how lost they truly are.
Overall, "Way Down" is a poignant portrayal of individuals lost in their own downward spiral of despair, unable to remember how they got there and feeling completely disconnected from the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
On the waydown they saw a lot they don't remember
During their descent, they encountered various sights that they are unable to recall.
And if you asked them how, they couldn't say how they got there
When questioned about how they arrived, they cannot provide a definitive answer.
And if you want them now you could just pull on the lever
If you desire their presence, simply activate the mechanism to summon them.
And say, "I'm hung up on gravity."
Express your attachment to the force of gravity that is currently holding them down.
You move your mouth and you start to talk
Speech begins to emanate once you initiate vocal movements.
You close your eyes and then lose the thought
Ideas slip away once your eyes are shut and your mind begins to wander.
What's mine is mine and what's yours you probably got
I possess my own possessions while assuming that you have what is yours.
And we all fall
All of us experience a descent at some point.
On the waydown they saw a lot they don't remember
While plummeting, they witnessed numerous events that they cannot recollect.
And if you asked them how, they'd say gravity's how they got there
When questioned, they would attribute their decline to the pull of gravity.
And if you want them now you could just pull on the lever
To summon them, use the lever that triggers their arrival.
And say, "I'm hung up on this decade."
Declare your fixation with the current time period in which you all exist.
They found some shelves on a school's sand house
By chance, they discovered shelving within the sand-covered structure of a school.
They created pagers to collect all their calls
To manage their communications, they devised devices to receive all incoming calls.
What's mine is mine and what's yours and we all always fall
We retain ownership of our possessions, but we all regularly experience a decline.
And we fall
Our trajectory is downwards, resulting in a descent.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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