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.
We've Got Everything
Modest Mouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We've got everything
We've got everything down to a science so I guess we know everything
We know everything
We know everything
We know everything was built to expire so I guess we've done everything
If we carried it out to sea
Pushed it over the edge we'd have all been through,
Flat Top Tony got all messed up split his lip chasing cheap perfume
Well look at our boat in the bay it looks like some sad ass little canoe
We've done everything
We've done everything
We've done everything like trial by fire so I guess we'll stop trying now
We've tried everything
We've tried everything
We've tried everything half assed and as liars and that's how we've got everything
If we carried it out to sea pushed it over the edge we could have all been through
Well no one even bothered showin' up but we still did what we should have thought through
We crashed in like waves into the stars Didn't want it didn't need it but we knew that we could see it so we opened up the door
We receded like waves out of the stars
Didn't want it didn't need it but we knew that we could steal it left it dying on the floor
We've got everything
We've got everything
We've got everything down to a science so I guess we know everything
We've got everything
We've done everything
We've tried everything
We've got everything
We've got everything
The lyrics to Modest Mouse's "We've Got Everything" convey a sense of disillusionment, as the singer reflects on the futility of human achievement. The repeated refrain of "We've got everything" suggests that the characters in the song have achieved a level of success or mastery, but the subsequent lines reveal a more complex reality. The line, "We've got everything down to a science so I guess we know everything" implies a sense of arrogance, as the characters believe they have learned all there is to know. However, the next line, "We know everything was built to expire so I guess we've done everything," suggests a more pessimistic view of human achievement. The characters seem to realize that even the most impressive accomplishments are ultimately fleeting and meaningless.
The song takes on a more lighthearted tone in the second verse, as the characters recount some humorous misadventures. The lines "Flat Top Tony got all messed up split his lip chasing cheap perfume" and "Well look at our boat in the bay it looks like some sad ass little canoe" suggest that the characters are not immune to folly and failure, despite their supposed mastery of everything. The line "We've done everything like trial by fire so I guess we'll stop trying now" expresses a sense of exhaustion and resignation. The characters seem to have reached a point where they no longer feel compelled to strive for success or achievement.
The final verses of the song suggest that the characters have come to peace with their limitations. The lines "Didn't want it didn't need it but we knew that we could see it so we opened up the door" and "Didn't want it didn't need it but we knew that we could steal it left it dying on the floor" suggest that the characters have become detached from the material world, and have learned not to place too much value on achievement or possessions. The repeated refrain of "We've got everything" takes on a more ironic tone, as it becomes clear that the characters have realized that true happiness and fulfillment cannot be found in material success or mastery of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
We've got everything
We have everything that we need.
We've got everything down to a science so I guess we know everything
We have perfected everything so much that we believe we know everything.
We know everything
We believe that we know everything.
We know everything was built to expire so I guess we've done everything
We realize that everything has an expiration date, so we have done everything possible.
If we carried it out to sea
If we took all our problems out to the sea...
Pushed it over the edge we'd have all been through
...and threw them over the edge, then we'd all be done with them.
Well first off Gary got drunk fell asleep in his car til about noon
One time, Gary got drunk and slept in his car until noon.
Flat Top Tony got all messed up split his lip chasing cheap perfume
Flat Top Tony got drunk and hurt himself while chasing after cheap perfume.
Well look at our boat in the bay it looks like some sad ass little canoe
Our boat in the bay looks tiny and sad.
We've done everything
We have done everything possible.
We've done everything like trial by fire so I guess we'll stop trying now
We have done everything like it was a trial by fire, so we will stop trying now.
We've tried everything
We have attempted everything.
We've tried everything half assed and as liars and that's how we've got everything
We have attempted everything without putting in our full effort, and thus, that is how we have everything.
Well no one even bothered showin' up but we still did what we should have thought through
No one showed up, but we still did what we should have planned to do.
We crashed in like waves into the stars
We rushed towards our goals recklessly.
Didn't want it didn't need it but we knew that we could see it so we opened up the door
We didn't even want or need what we were going after, but we thought we could achieve it.
We receded like waves out of the stars
We retreated away from our reckless pursuit.
Didn't want it didn't need it but we knew that we could steal it left it dying on the floor
We still went for it, even though we didn't want or need it, and ended up leaving it to die on the floor.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Written by: ERIC JUDY, ISAAC BROCK, JEREMIAH GREEN, JOE PLUMMER, JOHNNY MARR, TOM PELOSO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rebecca Ruano
I can’t turn it up loud enough! 💃💕
Cowboy Dan
This is an amazing video for a great song from my all-time favorite album. Isaac Brock and MM keep raising the bar with every new album and Golden Casket is a masterpiece. I'm lucky to have seen them live; greatest concert I've ever experienced.
Drumm3rMatt
Criminally underrated
Post-Proteus Kitten
I have no idea why this song isn't huge
Jon
I love you, Modest Mouse.
mossmice
woohoo! this is my favorite album :)
Isaiah Rivera
Love you guys !❤️
K Fed
The most modest of mice
Anthony Carreño
GOOOD
yee
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤