The lonesome crowded quest - ranking songs 6-10

After a week of intense writing, plus a lot of soul searching and associated anguish, I'm ready to rank songs six through 10. For those of you who need to know, the remaining 10 songs come from four albums and one EP. There are three songs on the list that I know for sure belong in the Top 5, so my initial task for this round was to listen to the other seven to decide which five to cut. Then, of course, the almost impossible task of ranking them.


10. Tiny Cities Made of Ashes - from The Moon & Antarctica

We're goin' down the road towards tiny cities made of ashes
I'm gonna hit you on the face
I'm gonna punch you in your glasses, oh no

I just got a message that said, "Yeah hell is freezin' over"
I got a phone call from the Lord sayin'
"Hey boy get a sweater, right now"

So we're drinkin', drinkin', drinkin', drinkin', coca coca cola
I can feel it rollin' right on down, oh right on down my throat
And as we're headed down the road towards tiny cities made of ashes
I'm gonna get dressed up in plastic gonna shake hands with the masses oh no

Does anybody know a way that a body could get away?
Does anybody know a way?
Does anybody know a way that a body could get away?
Does anybody know a way?

We're goin' down the road towards tiny cities made of ashes
I'm gonna hit you on the face
I'm gonna punch you in your glasses, oh no

I'm wearin' myself a T-shirt that says "The world is my ashtray"
Our hearts pump dust and our hair's all gray
And I just got a message sayin' that hell has frozen over"
I got a phone call from the Lord sayin'
"Hey boy get a sweater, right now"

Does anybody know a way that a body could get away?
Does anybody know a way?
Does anybody know a way?

We're drinkin', drinkin', drinkin', drinkin', coca coca cola
I can feel it rollin' right on down, oh right on down my throat
And as we're headed down the road
Towards tiny cities made of ashes
I'm gonna lay down in the spa
Where they coat you in molasses, right now

Does anybody know a way that a body could get away?
Does anybody know a way?
Does anybody know a way that a body could get away?
Does anybody know a way?

I'm a little bit surprised that Tiny Cities Made of Ashes didn't crack my Top 5. When I sent a friend a track to introduce her to the band, this was the one I chose. Her interest was definitely piqued. Maybe I subconsciously sent something more suited to her taste? This is not a typical Modest Mouse song. The bass is more prominent than on most tracks, and it's full of little gimmicks. The vocals range from ranting to calm and reasonable. The guitar spirals and weaves in and out of the song. What I really like is the way the intricate guitar overlays some of the vocals. If you focus on what is going on in the background, you'll hear what I mean. The outro is pretty great too. I love the song, but apparently there are nine I love more. If it has a fault at all, maybe it's that it contains one gimmick too many?


9. Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset - from This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About

Oh noose, tied myself in
Tied myself too tight

Looking kind of anxious
In your cross-armed stance
Like a bad tempered prom queen
At a homecoming dance

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

I'm trying to understand myself
And pinpoint where I am
I finally get it figured out
I've change the whole damn plan

Oh noose, tied myself in
Tied myself too tight
Oh noose, tied myself in
Tied myself too tight

Talking shit about a pretty sunset
Blanketing opinions that I'll probably regret soon
I've changed my mind so much I can't even trust it
My mind changed me so much I can't even trust myself

This song always reminds me of my friends. They suffer from a fetish that makes them move house about once a year. The latest move had them swooning at how beautiful the sunset was, as if the sun was theirs and everyone else has an inferior version. It's certainly nothing to do with the scenery around their property. Oh, and now they are moving again, so who knows whether the sunset will be as pretty? That memory aside, I love Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset for a number of more personal reasons. It's beautiful musically, but what really makes it stand out is the honesty in the lyrics. This is about a young man realizing that he has the power to change his life, and that he can't trust his decisions. On more than one occasion, I've been close to tears listening to the song. What an image the bad tempered prom queen conjures up! Great lyrics, and music that flows beautifully throughout the song.


8. Heart Cooks Brain - from The Lonesome Crowded West

Slow walk
It's a land mine
It's a coal mine
It's a bad thought

I'm on my way to god don't know
My brain's the burger and my heart's the coal
I'm trying to get my head clear
I push things out through my mouth but get refilled through my ears
I get refilled through my ears
I get refilled through my ears

I'm on my way to god don't know or even care
My brain's the weak heart, and my heart's the long stairs
My heart's the long stairs, my heart's the long stairs

Inland from Vancouver's shores
The ravens and the seagulls push each other inward and outward
Inward and outward

In this place that I call home
My brain's a cliff, and my heart's the bitter buffalo
My heart's the bitter buffalo

We tore one down, and erected another there
The match of the century: absence versus thin air

I'm on my way to god don't know
My brain's the burger and my heart's the coal
In this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow
The days go so slow
The days go slow

I'm on my way to god don't know
My brain's the burger and my heart's the coal
I'm trying to get my head clear
I push things out through my mouth but get refilled through my ears
I get refilled through my ears
I get refilled

I'm on my way to god don't know or even care
My brain's the weak heart, and my heart's the long stairs
My heart's the long stairs, my heart's the long stairs

Inland from Vancouver's shores
The ravens and the seagulls push each other inward and outward
Inward and outward

In this place that I call home
My brain's a cliff, and my heart's the bitter buffalo
My heart's the bitter buffalo

We tore one down, and erected another there
The match of the century: absence versus thin air
Absence versus thin air

In this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go slow
The days go so slow

It's slow and repetitive, but strangely hypnotic. Heart Cooks Brain could be the soundtrack to a documentary about exploring another planet. It sounds inquisitive and seems to be searching for something. I'm glad that the bitter buffalo hasn't jumped off the cliff yet. Like Tiny Cities Made of Ashes, there's a lot going on in the layers beneath the lyrics. The scratchy guitar adds texture and weight to the song. Incidentally, it's perfectly positioned on the album, offering a reflective pause between the rants of Teeth Like God's Shoeshine and Convenient Parking.


7. Dramamine - from This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About

Traveling, swallowing, Dramamine
Feeling spaced breathing out Listerine
I'd said what I'd said that I'd tell you
And that you'd killed the better part of me

If you could just milk it for everything
I've said what I've said and you know what I mean
But I still can't focus on anything
We kiss on the mouth but still cough down our sleeves

Traveling, swallowing, Dramamine
Look at your face like you're killed in a dream
And you think you've figured out everything
I think I know my geography pretty damn well

You say what you need so you'll get more
If you could just milk it for everything
I've said what I've said and you know what I mean
But I can't still focus on anything

What can I say about Dramamine? The 75-second intro may be the best on any Modest Mouse song. It makes me enter an almost dreamlike state. That mood is broken slightly by the way the lyrics are punctuated with louder bursts of noise, but the overall journey still retains that escapist vibe. I'm shocked that it isn't in my Top 5. The loops at the very end of the song don't really work for me, and I would rather the music had just faded out. That's a minor quibble because Dramamine is close to perfection.


6. Spitting Venom - from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

We were spitting venom
At most everyone we know
If the damned gave us a road map
Then we'd know just where to go

Now let it drop
Let it all drop
Let it all drop
Oh, let it all fall off

Well you were talking soda pop
You were talking quite a lot
The opinions that I do not give
The opinions I ain't got

So let it drop
Let it all drop
Let it all drop
Let it all fall off there, oh

Well, you were spitting venom
At most everyone you know
If you truly knew the gravity
You'd know which way to go

Well, let it drop
Let it all drop
Let it all drop
Oh let it all fall off

My ears were pressed so firmly
Right against your mouth to hear
When you tried to spit the venom out
Your words were not so clear, now drop

Hold on to what you need
We've got a knack for fucked up history
Hold on to what you need
We've got a knack for messed up history

Well we went downtown
And we sat in the rain
Both looking one direction and waiting for a train of thought over
Thought over

I didn't know you kept track
I didn't know there was a score
Well it looks like you're the winner and I ain't gonna play no more
It's over, game over

Well we walked real stiff and our canes tapped the ground
You hit me with yours
And said "you're gonna' stare me down"
It's over, oh it's over

You can say what you want but don't act like you care
It takes more than one person
To decide what's fair
It's over, think it over

You were spitting venom
At most everyone you know
If the damned gave you a road map
Then you'd know just where to go

So we carried all the groceries in
While hauling out the trash
And if this doesn't make us motionless
I do not know what can is to be said, so's to say

What a rotten thing to say
Such an awful thing to say
I didn't mean to bite you so really
What always did, what always did, what always had to sling

So let it drop
Let it all drop
Let it all drop
Oh, let it all fall off

Let it drop
Let it all drop
Let it drop
Oh, let it all fall off

Cheer up baby
It wasn't always quite so bad
For every venom then that came out
The antidote was had

Cheer up baby
It wasn't always quite so bad
For every venom then that came out
The antidote was had

Cheer up baby
It wasn't always quite so bad
For every venom then that came out
The antidote was had

Spitting Venom may be the most complete song Modest Mouse has released thus far. It was stuck in my head for days when I first heard it. I'm absolutely certain that it is my favorite track from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The stark presentation of the lyrics in the song's opening work wonderfully, but when the full band kicks in at the 87-second mark, it becomes a different beast entirely. Brock's lyrics come thick and fast, with urgency and (sorry) venom. The song ends with a symphony of sound, that sometimes feels too long, but somehow always leaves me wanting more. There are five songs better than this in the band's catalog? Yes, I think so. They will be revealed in the final installment.

Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded Quest - Ranking the Songs Part 1
Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded Quest - Ranking the Songs Part 2
Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded Quest - Ranking the Songs Part 3
Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded Quest - Ranking the Songs Part 4
Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded Quest - Ranking the Songs Part 5
Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded Quest - Ranking the Songs Part 6
Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded Quest - Ranking the Songs Part 8