The lonesome crowded quest - ranking songs 11-15

In the last installment, I revealed songs 16 through 20. There are still six albums or EPs represented as I rank the next five songs. Links to the posts leading up to this point can be found at the bottom of the page. I'll stick to the same format, linking to a video and noting the lyrics. At this stage, every song I eliminate makes me feel like I am committing a crime.


15. Edit the Sad Parts - from Interstate 8

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

If you stand in a circle
Then you'll all have a back to bite
Back logged voices on the seven wonders

We're all so funny but he's lost his joke now
A communication from the one lined joke
A stand up comic and a rock musician
Making so much noise you don't know when to listen

Why are you judging people so damn hard?
You're taking your point of views a bit too far
I made my shoes shine with my coal
But the polish didn't shine the hole

If you stand in a circle
Then you'll all have a back to bite
Back logged voices on the seven wonders

We're all so funny but he's lost his joke now
A communication from the one lined joke
A stand up comic and a rock musician
Making so much noise you don't know when to listen

Think it over
There's the air of the hype of the high rollers
We're coming to getcha
Think it over
You ain't got nothing 'til ya know her

It's raw, introspective, meaningful, heartfelt, and the guitar is awesome. What more could you want from a song? I particularly like the first verse, which contains lyrics that almost everyone can relate to. This song soars at times, and chugs along in determined fashion. The layers reveal themselves after repeated listens and it makes me want to pull out Interstate 8 and listen to it right now.


14. The Stars Are Projectors - from The Moon & Antarctica

In the last second of life, they're gonna show you how
How they run this show, sure, run it into the ground
In the last second of life, they're gonna show you how
How they run this show, sure, run it into the ground

In the last second of life, they're gonna show you how
How they run this show, sure, run it into the ground
In the last second of life, they're gonna show you how

The stars are projectors, yeah
Projectin' our lives down to this planet earth
The stars are projectors, yeah
Projectin' our minds down to this planet earth

Everyone wants a double feature
They wanna be their own damn teacher, and how
All the stars are projectors, yeah
Projectin' our lives down to this planet earth

It's all about moderate climates
You gotta be cold and be hot for sure
It's all about the moderate climates
You wanna be blessed and be cursed for sure

All the stars are projectors, yeah
Projectin' our lives down to this planet earth
All the stars are projectors, yeah
Projectin' our lives down to this planet earth

Everyone wants a double feature
They want to be in their own damn teacher, and how
All the stars are projectors, yeah
Projectin' our lives down to this planet earth

We've got the harder part, you've got the kinder heart
And it's true
I've got the easy part, I've got the harder heart
Ain't that true?

Right wing, left wing, chicken wing
It's built on findin' the easier ways through
God is a woman and the woman is
An animal that animals man, and that's you

Was there a need for creation?
That was hidden in a math equation and that's this?
Where do circles begin?
Where do circles begin?

I could easily imagine Syd Barrett singing this song. The subject matter touches on the really big questions. The idea that the stars are projectors is clever in itself, but there's even more to take in when listening to the song. It's a sprawling journey, with mystical guitar and vocals to match. At nearly nine minutes long, it goes through a number of phases, allowing the band to rock out at times. I still think that it works even better when you listen to the whole album, but it's fantastic on its own as well.


13. Trailer Trash - from The Lonesome Crowded West

Eating snow flakes with plastic forks
And a paper plate of course, you think of everything
Short love with a long divorce and a couple of kids of course
They don't mean anything

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

And I shout that you're all fakes
And you should have seen the look on your face
And I guess that's what it takes
When comparing your bellyaches

And it's been a long time
Which agrees with this watch of mine
And I know that I miss you
And I'm sorry if I dissed you

Eating snow flakes with plastic forks
And a paper plate of course, you think of everything
Short love with a long divorce and a couple of kids of course
They don't mean anything

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

And I shout that you're all fakes
And you should have seen the look on your face
And I guess that's what it takes
When comparing your bellyaches

And it's been a long time
Which agrees with this watch of mine
And I guess that I miss you
And I'm sorry if I dissed you

It's obvious during the 13-second intro that Trailer Trash is going to be an incredible song. If it has a fault, it's that the lyrics are repeated in the second half of the song, but they are great observations on life. Picture Brock as a man in his early 20s, trapped in a grotty existence. He sings about things that people usually don't realize until middle age, if ever. It's a damning account of life in a trailer and the desperation of some of the people who live that way. He escaped it by becoming a musician, but many never have that chance. The opening verse is some of the best writing in any Modest Mouse song, and that's saying a lot. As for the music, it ranges from laid back guitar to soaring anthem by the end of the song. It's a classic.


12. Tundra/Desert - from This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About

Every sick, fickle fucker
Childhood's what makes ya
Till they treat ya like tundra
Weigh those opinions more like air than lead

Every planned occupation
Surefire disappointment up ahead
Till they treat ya like desert
See mirages of friendship, face turns red

Here's the soon to be anchor
Build bridges to nothing, you'll get nowhere
Every governor's mother knows
That their bread is buttered by Sam

And what about science?
They find proof and let you make your own decisions
Every child star wonders
If they have a future up ahead
Every kindhearted banker
I don't think there is one

Every winning opinion
I wish I had one
Every winning opinion
I wish I had one
Stand on platforms in water
Filling jars full of silence you'll get nowhere

Here's a song that seems directionless during the opening vocals, but it explodes into chaos after about 90 seconds. The wild guitar borders on insanity, but it just about holds itself together. Modest Mouse can produce structured songs with beautiful segments, but some of the songs can surprise you with their raw energy. I like it all.


11. Dark Center of the Universe - from The Moon & Antarctica

I might disintegrate into the thin air, if you'd like
I'm not the dark center of the universe, like you thought
I might disintegrate into the thin air, if you'd like
I'm not the dark center of the universe, like you thought

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 no one ever completes it
Dry or wet ice, they both melt and you're equally cheated

Well, it took a lot of work to be the ass that I am
And I'm really damn sure that anyone can, equally easily fuck you over
Well, an endless ocean landin' on an endless desert
Well, its funny as hell, but no one laughs when they get there
If you can't see the thin air than why the hell should you care?

Well, it took a lot of work to be the ass that I am
And I'm really damn sure that anyone can, equally easily fuck you over
Well, I'm sure you'd tell me you got nothing to say
But our voices shook hands the other day
If you can't see the thin air what the hell is in the way?

I might disintegrate into the thin air, if you'd like
I'm not the dark center of the universe, like you thought

Well, it took a lot of work to be the ass that I am
And I'm really damn sure that anyone can, equally easily fuck you over
Well, an endless ocean landin' on an endless desert
Well, its funny as hell, but no one laughs when they get there
If you can't see the thin air than why the hell should you care?

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 no one ever completes it
Dry or wet ice, they both melt and you're equally cheated

Well, it took a lot of work to be the ass that I am
And I'm really damn sure that anyone can, equally easily fuck you over
Well, I'm sure you'd tell me you got nothing to say
But our voices shook hands the other day
If you can't see the thin air what the hell is in the way?

The perfectly placed Dark Center of the Universe is one of the highlights on an album which doesn't contain a weak track. It begins quietly, with a meandering guitar intro, which helps to set the mood. The lyrics are somewhat repetitive, but the song succeeds because the driving guitar makes it so compelling. Like most of the band's songs, there's a lot hidden in the layers. Pick out the individual instruments and take note of what they are doing and you'll see what I mean.

Well it took a lot of work to rank the songs that I have
And I'm really damn sure that most of you think
That you easily could have ranked them better
The problem is they're all damn great
And every one them is a masterpiece
Try it and you might not feel so cheated

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 7 
Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded Quest - Ranking the Songs Part 8