I haven't tried a Top 100 countdown with any other bands that I like, but I would guess that it would be a lot easier than this one. I'm already struggling to rule out songs and we are not even at the halfway point. There were ten songs on my list of possible cuts for this round and it took about an hour to decide which five would be in this installment.
Here we go (subliminal clue to one of the choices):
60. Satin in a Coffin (Good News for People Who Love Bad News)
You were laying on the carpet
Like you're satin in a coffin
You said, "Do you believe what you're sayin'?"
Yeah right now, but not that often
Are you dead or are you sleepin'?
Are you dead or are you sleepin'?
Are you dead or are you sleepin'?
God I sure hope you are dead
Well you disappeared so often
Like you dissolved into coffee
Are you here right now
Or are there probably fossils under your meat?
Are you dead or are you sleepin'?
Are you dead or are you sleepin'?
Are you dead or are you sleepin'?
God I sure hope you are dead
Now the blow's been softened
Since the air we breathe's our coffin
Well now the blow's been softened
Since the ocean is our coffin
Often times you know our laughter
Is your coffin ever after
And you know the blow's been softened
Since the world is our coffin
Well now the blow's been softened
Since we are our own damn coffins
Well everybody's talkin' about their short lists
And everybody's talkin' about death
You were laying on the carpet
Like you're satin in a coffin
You said, "Do you believe what you're sayin'?"
Yeah right now, but not that often
Are you dead or are you sleepin'?
Are you dead or are you sleepin'?
Are you dead or are you sleepin'?
God, I sure hope you are dead
Whenever I see a banjo appear at a Modest Mouse concert, there's a fair chance that I'm about to hear Bukowski or Satin in a coffin. It's weird to see Brock without a guitar, but I like the effect that the banjo brings to the sound. The song sounds like one of those wind up Jack-in-the-box toys with its staccato delivery.
As it chugs relentlessly along, I think of the punchline, "Are you dead or are you sleeping, God I sure hope you are dead." I also think about how in control of our lives we are. Sure, there are accidents and some illnesses out of our control, but many of us abuse our bodies and shorten our potential lifespan. What we are doing to ourselves and to our surroundings is shortening our lives.
I like the venom in Brock's delivery. I wonder if it was aimed at someone in particular?
Here's a live version. I suspect he wears a tie about as often as I do.
59. Shit in Your Cut (Strangers to Ourselves)
I'd hate to be the shit in your cut
But the package is gonna be late
I buried it in an abandoned lot
When I was young this was where I'd played
Dug under the fence with my claws
Smelled the cool dirt on my face
I'm waiting till the hands fall off the clock
Spending dollars at the nickel arcade
I think I'll ride this winter out
I guess I'll ride this winter out
You echo from side to side
Pacing in your clumsy ballet
Based on the books and clothes on the floor
I don't think this is even your place
When the doctor finally showed up (oh boy!)
His fur was soaking wet
He said that "this should do the trick"
We hadn't told him what the problem was yet
(Kaw kaw kaw kaw!)
We'll have to ride this winter out
This time we'll ride this winter out
With the strain and the comforting you know everyone needs to go
But don't everyone go, don't everyone go at once
Expulsion from an exoskeleton of our mothers we arrive
Soft sticky and cold we arrive and then start to cry
All those insects that I sent are trapped in my window once again
Empty their pockets out and I'll sort it at the table
Line 'em up then shoo 'em off
Sure as hell they'll all get caught in our window
Pockets full as they are able
The signs all flicker and buzz all night
Passing by you can hear them say
"Hey, please won't just come on in?
Won't you please just go away?"
This time we'll ride this winter out
I guess we'll ride this winter out
(With the strain and the comforting you know everyone needs to go)
(But don't everyone go, don't everyone go at once)
(With the strain and the comforting you know everyone needs to go)
(But don't everyone go, don't everyone go at once)
(With the strain and the comforting you know everyone needs to go)
(But don't everyone go, don't everyone go at once)
I think I'll ride this winter out
I guess we'll ride this winter out
I guess we'll ride this winter out
It's hard to hear a new song played live because you miss so much due to how unfamiliar it is. I remember hearing the album version of Shit in Your Cut for the first time and hearing guitar parts and backing vocals that I missed when I heard it live. It added so much depth to the song and it's kinda brilliant.
The booming bass at the start reminds me of PJ Harvey's To Bring You My Love album, but it soon becomes something that only Modest Mouse would produce. I love how sinister it sounds. Again, it highlights the various styles that the band experiments with, and it's great that the albums don't just stick to a proven formula.
I can't think of another song that includes the word 'exoskeleton'.
58. The View (Good News for People Who Love Bad News)
Your gun went off
Well, you shot off your mouth
And look where it got you
My mouth runs on too
Shouts from both sides
"Well, we've got the land
But they've got the view"
Well, now here's the clue
Life, it rents us
And yeah, I hope it put plenty on you
Well, I hope mine did too
As life gets longer, awful feels softer
Well, it feels pretty soft to me
And if it takes shit to make bliss
Then I feel pretty blissfully
Your gun went off
Well, you shot off your mouth
And look where it got you
My mouth runs on too
Shouts from both sides
"Well, we've got the land
But they've got the view"
Well, now here's the clue
We are fixed right where we stand
Life, it rents us
And yeah, I hope it put plenty on you
Well, I hope mine did too
We are fixed right where we are
As life gets longer, awful feels softer
Well, if feels pretty soft to me
And if it takes shit to make bliss
Well, I feel pretty blissfully
For every invention made how much time did we save?
We're not much farther than we were in the cave
As life gets longer, awful feels softer
And it feels pretty soft to me
And if it takes shit to make bliss
Well, I feel pretty blissfully
If life's not beautiful without the pain
Well, I'd just rather never ever even see beauty again
Well, as life gets longer, awful feels softer
And it feels pretty soft to me
For every good deed done there is a crime committed
We are fixed
For every step ahead we could have just been seated
We are fixed
As life gets longer, awful feels softer
Well, it feels pretty soft to me
And if it takes shit to make bliss
Well, I feel pretty blissfully
We are fixed, we are fixed
We are fixed right where we stand
The View opens with whistling and a Talking Heads style riff, but it's soon transformed by Brock's definitive vocals. Plenty of insight in the lyrics as is often the case. Here are two of my favorites:
"For every good deed done there is a crime committed"
"If life's not beautiful without the pain
Well, I'd just rather never ever even see beauty again"
Most good movies need conflict to overcome in order for us to feel good about the story. We take so much for granted. It's also true that experience with suffering over the course of our lives makes it easier to deal with any future problems we might have. There's a huge contrast between the upbeat tempo of the song and the darkness present in the lyrics.
57. Ansel (Strangers to Ourselves)
(Here we go!)
I took a train down to New Mexico
With my father and brother, Ansel
You can't know, well, you can't ever really know
Was I really supposed to know?
How the hell would I know?
(There it goes!)
I made a mess of myself and the trip on the whole
My father stayed patient with me; why? I don't know
You can't know, you can't ever really know
That's the last time I'd see my brother, Ansel
(There he goes, so)
Troubles on the head winds, troubles on the tail winds
Troubles on the head winds, troubles on the tail winds
Me and my sister we hung on the phone
Watching the news as they looked for Ansel
On top of that mountain, underneath the snow
Their dogs were sniffin', I guess you never know
You can't know, well, you can't ever really know
Would you really want to know?
How the hell would you know?
On gears around an uncaring sun
It doesn't know what it gave
As the bone moon winds 'round again
Again this allows one sphere's heart to pump
Pumping waves of hearts that come and go
And then come and then
You can't know, well, you won't ever really know
Would you really want to know?
No, you can't know
The last time that you'll ever see another soul
No, you never get to know
No, you don't know
Talking of dark lyrics and taking things for granted in our lives, here's a song that embodies those feelings. I'm on the verge of tears just reading the lyrics. The song is reportedly about Brock's memory of losing his brother (not named Ansel) in a accident.
The lyric that initially jumps out at me is:
"The last time that you'll ever see another soul
No, you never get to know
No, you don't know"
At some point, I'll interact with people I love for the last time. It might be in person, in an email, or on the phone. It might be me that is no longer around, or them. It's a concept that is almost too big to fully appreciate. I do try to tell people that I care about them, and I try to make the best of every day, but I don't think anyone can be totally prepared for a big loss. I remember losing my grandfather. I knew for a couple of years that the end was near, but the reality hit me harder than I expected.
Ansel has a simple structure, but the ideas within it are extremely complex. One verse is almost a poem:
"On gears around an uncaring sun
It doesn't know what it gave
As the bone moon winds 'round again
Again this allows one sphere's heart to pump
Pumping waves of hearts that come and go
And then come and then"
Not many songwriters are capable of that level of thought.
That's two more songs gone from the latest album. If you think I didn't like it, you couldn't be more wrong. It's just that the remaining songs are so good and I have more memories attached to them.
56. Custom Concern (This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About)
Their custom concern for the people
Build up the monuments and steeples
To wear out our eyes
I get up just about noon
My head sends a message for me
To reach for my shoes and then walk
Gotta go to work, gotta go to work, gotta have a job
Goes through the parking lot fields
Didn't see no signs that they will yield
And then thought, this'll never end
This'll never end, this'll never stop
Message read on the bathroom wall
Says, "I don't feel at all like I fall"
And we're losing all touch
Losing all touch building a desert
I remember being thrilled to hear Custom Concern played live last year. It's one of those songs with the perfect structure. Brock's vocals are suitably subdued to match the atmosphere of the song. I sometimes judge albums by the first three songs, and this was a great way to follow Breakthrough and Dramamine on the band's first album release.
Thanks for reading. I'm busy with work and Thanksgiving over the next few days, but I'll do my best to get the next installment ready. The next part will conclude the first 50 songs.
Here's the story so far:
100. Birds Vs Worms
99. Fire It Up
98. We've Got Everything
97. Dukes Up
96. Out of Gas
95. Strangers to Ourselves
94. Of Course We Know
93. Space Travel Is Boring
92. Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright
91. Dance Hall
90. She Ionizes & Atomizes
89. Other People's Lives
88. Whenever You Breathe Out, I Breathe In (Positive Negative)
87. One Chance
86. Polar Opposites
99. Fire It Up
98. We've Got Everything
97. Dukes Up
96. Out of Gas
95. Strangers to Ourselves
94. Of Course We Know
93. Space Travel Is Boring
92. Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright
91. Dance Hall
90. She Ionizes & Atomizes
89. Other People's Lives
88. Whenever You Breathe Out, I Breathe In (Positive Negative)
87. One Chance
86. Polar Opposites
85. Might
84. Pups to Dust
83. Sunspots in the House of the Late Scapegoat
82. All Night Diner
81. March Into the Sea
80. Coyotes
79. Blame It On the Tetons
78. The Good Times Are Killing Me
77. Perfect Disguise
76. A Life of Arctic Sounds
75. Satellite Skin
74. Ohio
73. People as Places as People
72. The Waydown
71. Guilty Cocker Spaniels70. Florida
69. Missed the Boat
68. The Cold Part
67. Whenever You See Fit
66. Wicked Campaign
65. Lives
64. Beach Side Property
63. Bankrupt On Selling
62. Shit Luck
61. Little Motel
60. Satin in Your Coffin
59. Shit in Your Cut
58. The View
57. Ansel
56. Custom Concern
Building nothing out of something (overview)
Building nothing out of something - songs 100 to 96
Building nothing out of something - songs 95 to 91
Building nothing out of something - songs 85 to 81Building nothing out of something - songs 95 to 91
Building nothing out of something - songs 80 to 76
Building nothing out of something - songs 75 to 71
Building nothing out of something - songs 70 to 66
Building nothing out of something - songs 65 to 61
Building nothing out of something - songs 60 to 56
Building nothing out of something - songs 55 to 51
Building nothing out of something - songs 50 to 46
Building nothing out of something - songs 45 to 41
Building nothing out of something - songs 40 to 36
Building nothing out of something - songs 35 to 31
Building nothing out of something - songs 30 to 26
Building nothing out of something - songs 25 to 21
Building nothing out of something - songs 20 to 16
Building nothing out of something - songs 15 to 11
Building nothing out of something - songs 10 to 6
Building nothing out of something - the Top 5
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