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.
Workin' on Leavin' the Livin'
Modest Mouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In heaven everything's alright
In heaven everything is fine
In heaven everything is fine
In heaven
Workin' on a livin', I'm workin' on a leavin'
I'm workin' on a leavin' the livin'
Loved it more than anything
Loved everything more than anything
Workin' on drinkin', I'm workin' on drivin'
I'm workin' on drivin' my dreams so
Workin' on a livin', I'm workin' on a leavin'
I'm workin' on a leavin' the livin'
In heaven everything is fine
In heaven everything is fine
In heaven everything is fine
In heaven everything is fine
In heaven everything's alright
In heaven everything is fine
In heaven everything's alright
In heaven everything is fine
In heaven everything's alright
In heaven everything is fine
...
At its core, Workin' On Leavin' The Livin' is a song about finding meaning and purpose in life. The singer recognizes that they are stuck in a cycle of working to survive, while simultaneously trying to chase their dreams. The opening lines, "In heaven everything is fine / In heaven everything's alright," juxtapose the difficulties of earthly life with the idea of an idealized afterlife where everything is perfect. This longing for something more is echoed later in the song when the singer says, "I love you more than everything / Loved it more than anything / Loved everything more than anything."
The chorus of the song repeats this idea with variations, emphasizing that everything is fine in heaven and that the singer is working towards leaving the "livin'" behind. This repetition gives the song a hypnotic quality that emphasizes the cyclical nature of life and the struggle to break free from it. The lines "Workin' on drinkin', I'm workin' on drivin' / I'm workin' on drivin' my dreams so" demonstrate that the singer is actively pursuing their goals, even though they are also tied down by the necessities of daily life.
Overall, the song is a commentary on the universality of human struggles and the difficulty of balancing the need to work to survive with the desire to pursue one's dreams. It suggests that perhaps the only true freedom comes with leaving behind the trappings of earthly life and accessing a more peaceful existence.
Line by Line Meaning
In heaven everything is fine
The singer envisions heaven as a perfect place where everything is just as it should be.
In heaven everything's alright
The singer sees heaven as a place that is free from any problems or troubles that might exist on earth.
Workin' on a livin', I'm workin' on a leavin'
The singer is striving to improve their life and leave behind a difficult or unpleasant situation.
I'm workin' on a leavin' the livin'
The artist wants to escape the mundanity and struggles of daily life.
I love you more than everything
The artist is expressing a deep and intense love for someone, placing that love above all other things in their life.
Loved it more than anything
The singer previously loved something more than anything else, but now that has changed.
Loved everything more than anything
The singer previously gave every aspect of their life equal importance, but now they have found something more meaningful.
Workin' on drinkin', I'm workin' on drivin'
The artist is working on finding a balance between indulging in pleasures, like drinking, while still being responsible and driving safely.
I'm workin' on drivin' my dreams so
The artist is putting in effort to pursue and achieve their aspirations and goals.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Eric Judy, Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind