#20 - Phil

Modest Mouse

Good News For People Who Love Bad News

2004

Modest Mouse is living proof that you can be a talented band for many, many years… but until you put out a hit song the mainstream community will never hear of you. Good News For People Who Love Bad News is Modest Mouse’s sixth – yes, sixth – studio album. The boys from Washington already had several critically-acclaimed records to their name, most notably the cult classic The Moon and Antarctica. But it was this record that put them on the mainstream map, and, in my opinion, it’s their most ambitious work to date.

The album opens with a “Horn Intro,” which is the perfect way to get the listener’s attention for what they’re about to hear. The songs on Good News are rich with energy, quirkiness, and multifarious instrumentation. “Ocean Breathes Salty” is one of the album’s greatest tracks; its warm, summer-feel is sure to put any listener in a great mood. But what makes me love this album so much is what Modest Mouse does going forward. The very next song, “Bury Me with It” showcases lead singer Isaac Brock’s abrasiveness as he continuously screams the phrase “Please, bury me with it!” over and over again. Two songs later, we have “Bukowski,” an accordion-driven rant questioning God’s existence: “If God controls the land and disease / Keeps a watchful eye on me / If He’s really so damn mighty / My problem is I can’t see / Who would want to be, who would want to be such a control freak?” Finally, “Blame It on the Tetons” is a beautifully-soothing track towards the end that reminds me of late-night bonfires from high school. The first “indie-rock” album I ever loved. -P.W.

I was always somewhat surprised that this album made it so big. For quite some time Modest Mouse was a staple of the underground indie scene and suddenly, they burst into the mainstream with their summertime single, "Float On." I remember the first time I heard the record, it opened with the screeching horns and I wondered what I had purchased. But I definitely had this CD playing repeatedly in my car for several months. Great pick. - Ryan

Not many albums have been tarnished for me by women. This one sorta has. I only spent a month and 1/2 thoroughly listening to this album, simultaneously while I was figuring out the terrain of my first girlfriend. As first-time things are wont to do, the relationship severed and now I'm left with the recollection of buying this at Co-Op Records, spinning it with her in the car and the incessant playing of it in her room. The tunes here are great and definitely contain some of my favorite selections from Brock+Co. If nothing else it does have "Ocean Breathes Salty" and the over-the-top vocal delivery on "Bury Me With It". Fun album. - Steve