Emily's Albums A to Z

Listened: Tuesday June 1

Modest Mouse is another touchstone band in my life.  Building Nothing Out Of Something is their album of “castoffs” – vinyl singles, B-sides, and rarities.

This band has some of the best “castoffs” I have ever heard.

All these songs are amazing and so much fun to sing along with. Modest Mouse has a tendency to write really long songs, but somehow they make them seem short and you never want them to end, especially on this album. Interstate 8, Broke, Grey Ice Water, Sleepwalking, and Other People’s Lives are in my top songs of all time list.

Isaac Brock loves his driving metaphors and they abound here – Interstate 8 is about a freeway in the shape of the number 8. The music in Broke is beautiful, plus “Sometimes I’m so full of shit it should be a crime” is a great lyric. Ditto “Other people’s lives are more interesting cos they ain’t mine” – one of my mottoes in life.