Modest Mouse

Judy and the Loadies, “I’m Not Drunk”

I am, Judy and the Loadies!

Lambchop, “Steve McQueen”

I’ve poked fun at some artists for cloying strings, but somehow Lambchop’s syrupy approach to same never bothers me. I suppose the reliably languid pace of things probably makes it feel better, but I think they’re just good at making them seem organic to the song and not just bolted on.

The Meters, “Stormy”

The Meters taking it slow on their first album, albeit without any strings involved. As always, the Meters rule, you should listen to them.

Two two twenty two. Neat date!

Guided by Voices, “Hot Freaks”

Bee Thousand, the Guided By Voices breakthrough record, isn’t really notably different from their previous records. It’s as ramshackle and distracted as their previous albums, with the same penchant for memorable melodies floating in as frequently as they stagger out. Just as soon as a tune gets going properly, it’s on to the next. The hit rate on this album is higher than the previous records, so it’s probably the apotheosis of their early approach. After this, they’d slowly start getting more professional, so if you want the raw shit, this is your starting point, and then you can work backwards as far as you can stand.

Jurassic 5, “Gotta Understand”

Feedback is one of the most disappointing albums I can remember buying. I adored the first couple LPs from J5, and then this album just kind of thudded to the ground. It seemed so leaden and joyless at the time that I just listened to it a few times and shelved it. Honestly, it’s due for a re-visit, and this track is pretty good. Maybe I’m just a dope?

Modest Mouse, “Tundra/Desert”

Before what I consider their breakthrough, The Lonesome Crowded West, Modest Mouse was making jagged, interesting music that sometimes was too much of a mess to really be great. But, I have to say, the older I get, the more I appreciate the early stuff. This is from Interstate 8, released in 1996, which is an “EP” because it’s just five new studio tracks. But, there are also six live tracks, so it’s also kind of a full album’s worth of music. Anyway, if you haven’t really listened to their pre-fame catalog, it’s worth your time.

Nirvana, “About A Girl”

“About A Girl” might be the song on Bleach that would best fit in on Nevermind, which makes it a little surprising that it didn’t get a single release at the time. It did eventually make it out as a single, but from the Unplugged album.

Modest Mouse, “Fire It Up”

This is one of the standout songs on We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, inasmuch as it’s one of the few songs on that record that my brain will occasionally just call up out of nowhere. That’s the real mark of quality, after all.

Modest Mouse, “Fire It Up”

I really need to go back and re-evaluate this record. Given how much I like the previous three albums from them (and the various EPs), it wasn’t really fair to kind of dismiss the record after only a couple listens. Sometimes it’s easy to just move on when a record doesn’t click right away, especially for a band that you love, because you expect to love it right away.

Modest Mouse, “3rd Planet”

The opening of The Moon & Antarctica, “3rd Planet” sets the expectation that Modest Mouse had moved beyond the sound of The Lonesome Crowded West to a little bit more of a melodic place. While this is still unmistakably the same band, it’s a cleaner, more mature sound. It suits them very well, and the album fulfills the promise of this first song.

Phil Ranelin, “Vibes From The Tribe”

Another cut from Soul of a Nation, this falls squarely into music I’m not qualified to talk about. But goddamn, just listen to that!

Modest Mouse, “So Much Beauty In Dirt”

This comes from the 2001 EP Everywhere and His Nasty Parlor Tricks, which in turn pulls a few songs from an earlier EP and adds a few new ones. This is from the peak Modest Mouse period, from their three album run from The Lonesome Crowded West through Good News for People Who Love Bad News, so it’s good stuff.

Mudhoney, “Here Comes Sickness”

If there’s one album I’d point to that defines grunge to me, it’s not Nirvana’s Nevermind. Sure, that’s the commercial breakthrough, but I’d instead point at Mudhoney’s first, self-titled record as really being the heart of grunge. It marries the energy of punk and the power of metal, with a certain grime that really sets the genre off. This is basically the sound that so many bands were chasing in their own way before grunge got huge and changed into sour grunting.

Hepcat, “Marcus Garvey”

Y’all, it’s ska weather right now in Seattle. It’s still sunny, but not oppressive, and some breezy tunes to go with it is just perfect. I’ve had Hepcat on while making dinner a few times recently, and it’s going down niiiice. Right On Time is my favorite record from them, but Scientific (which provides this song) is excellent as well.

Mudhoney, “Twenty Four”

Mudhoney’s singles were pretty great, kind of across the board. They’d pretty consistently turn in either bruising performances, excellent covers, or fun larks. As a result, March to Fuzz, a collection of those singles, is a very good time. The guitar tone is just all-time on this song.

De La Soul, “Rap De Rap Show”

There’s a concept of a “difficult second album”, which is mostly just a farm for confirmation bias, but hell, let’s talk about De La Soul’s difficult second album. Their first album was a huge smash, a groundbreaking album, and an artistic statement that truly came from left field. But the flower power personas that De La Soul wore during that record began to feel stifling pretty quickly. They set out to break that mold on the next album, starting with the name of the album, and proceeding with rejecting the hippie approach throughout. The results are rough in spots, a little overly laden with filler and skits, but there are also some legitimately amazing tracks on the record. This, alas, is not one of them.