In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Seattle had a problem. Many of its music stars had died. Record executives had mined the region of all its musical acts and there was veritable carnage left behind in the wake of the death of Kurt Cobain. Later, big name artists like Layne Staley and Chris Cornell would also succumb to depression and drug use. So, the city’s music community needed hope.
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Enter: Modest Mouse. While some might point to Ben Gibbard and his band Death Cab for Cutie as the saving band of the region that broke out and brought new sounds to the fore, it’s actually Gibbard who credits Modest Mouse and frontman Isaac Brock with that revival. Brock, Gibbard has said, refocused the region and got it back to its weird roots. No longer was grunge the top of the sonic mountain, now it was off-kilter songs like those from Modest Mouse.
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But which are the best Modest Mouse songs today? How can music fans who are unaware of the Issaquah-born band, which formed in 1993, get involved? Well, dear reader, that is the subject of today’s inquiry. So, here below, are the five best Modest Mouse songs.
1. “Float On”
From the band’s 2004 album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, this Grammy-nominated song is likely their most famous. But that’s what happens when you write a track about accidentally hitting a cop car. With hundreds of millions of streams to date, this upbeat track was written just for that reason: positivity.
2. “Lampshades on Fire”
From Modest Mouse’s 2015 LP, Strangers to Ourselves, this song was both a popular and critical hit. The track peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard U.S. Rock Airplay chart and hit No. 1 on both the Adult Alternative Songs and Alternative Airplay charts. It’s got verve, energy, growl and rhythmic stickiness.
3. “Coyotes”
Another from the 2015 Strangers to Ourselves, this song was less of a major well known track, but it stands the test of time. The acoustic-driven song talks, in its own way, about natural dangers and mankind hurting the wild. And the music video shows a coyote, cute and mild. It’s simply beautiful.
4. “Dashboard”
This song from the band’s 2007 LP, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, is a rousing, propulsive track that hit No. 5 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. Part-frantic-frenetic, part-modern rock dance tune, the song is a perfect representation of the power and strangeness that Modest Mouse brings to the proverbial table.
5. “Ocean Breathes Salty”
This track from the 2004 album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News features droning electric guitars and dreamy sound effects. On the song, Brock sings with his falsetto bring bouncing back to his rubbery growl on the chorus. Part-circus song, part-rock heavy-hitter, this is a fan favorite.
Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images
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