Down The River Of Golden Dreams: 15 Songs: Modest Mouse

Isaac Brock is a conflicted man. Throughout the years he has been enraged, depressed, happy?, and on and on. But the greatest part of Modest Mouse's output is the great sense of ennui that Isaac feels about the world. God could exists in Isaac's universe, but most likely he doesn't. Isaac could be a genius in his universe, but it's hard for him to believe it.

For the most part, Isaac Brock's, and by proxy Modest Mouse's universe is a ball of clever phrases and surprisingly well thought-out world-views.

Modest Mouse was probably the first band you could say I was obsessed with. Isaac Brock is still my favorite songwriter. So here is my favorite 15 songs by Modest Mouse, in chronological order. Spoiler: it's pretty much all their angriest songs.

All Nite Diner (Interstate 8 EP, 1996)

"I'm just sitting down
Thinking about nothing
Looking at the thin air
Breathing up the oxygen"

Broke (Interstate 8 EP, 1996)

"Broke account so I broke a sweat
I've bought some things that I sort of regret about now
Broke your glasses, but it broke the ice
You said that I was an asshole and I paid the price
Broken hearts want broken necks
I've done some things that I want to forget but I can't
Broke my pace and ran out of time
Sometimes I'm so full of shit that it should be a crime"

Whenever You Breathe Out, I Breathe In (Positive Negative) (Interstate 8 EP, 1996)

"I didn't go to work for a month
I didn't leave my bed for eight days straight
I haven't hung out with anyone
'Cause if I did, I'd have nothing to say
I didn't feel angry or depressed
I didn't feel anything at all
I didn't want to go to bed
And I didn't want to stay up late"

Edit The Sad Parts (Interstate 8 EP, 1996)

"Sometimes all I really want to feel is love
Sometimes I'm angry that I feel so angry
Sometimes my feelings get in the way
Of what I really feel I needed to say"

Dramamine (This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, 1996)

"We kiss on the mouth but still cough down our sleeves"

Tundra/Desert (This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, 1996)

"Awwwwwwwww SHIT" -sorry, just one of my favorite rage moments in all of music

Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset (This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, 1996)

"And I claim I'm not excited with my life any more
So I blame this town, this job, these friends
The truth is it's myself"

Teeth Like God's Shoeshine (The Lonesome Crowded West, 1997)

"Oh! If you could compact your conscience —
and sell it; — save it for another time,
you know you might have to use it…"

Cowboy Dan (The Lonesome Crowded West, 1997)

"You know we need oxygen to breathe, oxygen to breathe
Everytime you think you're walking you're just moving the ground
Everytime you think you're talking you're just moving your mouth
Everytime you think you're looking you're just looking down"

Trailer Trash (The Lonesome Crowded West, 1997)

"Live in trailers with no class
Goddamn I hope I can pass high school means nothing
Taking heartache with hard work
Goddamn I am such a jerk, I can't do anything"

Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright (The Lonesome Crowded West, 1997)

"he said you were right
no one's running this whole thing
he had a theory too
he said that god takes care of himself
and you of you"

Dark Center of the Universe (The Moon & Antarctica, 2000)

"Well, it took a lot of work to be the ass that I am
And I'm real damn sure that anyone can, equally easily fuck you over
Well, died saying something, but didn't mean it
Everyone's life ends, but never completes it
Dry or wet ice, they both melt and you're equally cheated"