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Amazon.com: It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment Modest Mouse started sounding like a real band. For the longest time, singer-songwriter Isaac Brock seemed to exist solely to defy the established rules, forging forward on sheer momentum and ingenuity. Even Pavement looked relatively ordinary in comparison to the band's early releases like 1996's This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About and 1997's The Lonesome Crowded West. But on Good News for People Who Love Bad News, the frontman sounds like he's finally touching the earth, and the band--minus founding member and drummer Jeremiah Green--follows suit. A relaxed mood prevails, not so much in volume but in attitude. On the follow-up to the group's 2000 major label debut, The Moon & Antarctica, big sloppy melodies battle it out with brass on punky epics like "Float On" and "The Ocean Breathes Salty." The lyrics are simpler, the arrangements tamer, but the vitality remains. The prevailing mood is that Modest Mouse has pulled off something extraordinary here: a well-rounded, lovable record that doesn't sound anything like David Gray. --Aidin Vaziri Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-02
Went up a notch
This is Modest Mouse on a whole new level and some of their fans don't like it but I think they're really rockin'. Previous efforts were stuck in that hillbilly indie plunkin' rhythm thing that's so popular with those who want music they deem "authentic" but hey even The Clash learned to play their instruments and rose to a higher level and I think that may be what's happened here. The musical energy seems more vital to me although I admit to loving the gentle "Blame it on the Tetons" as much as that pop dance hit "Float On" that so many reviewers tend to dismiss perhaps because it's just so damn good and the supposed fans preference is still for music that is what I think of as awkward. I'm amused that so many "fans" dismiss what I consider remarkable lyrics as inferior. I think Brock is one of the most outstanding songwriters we have at this time and everyone concerned is performing on a higher level than they did in the past ten years. This cd rocks and the follow up cd We were Dead rocks even more. Rating:
Date: 2008-04-03
Good News For Any People
Top to bottom, 'Good News for People Who Love Bad News' is an exceptional album. The songs are original, sometimes catchy, and always interesting.
However, it is an album with a learning curve, if you're not quite used to music that embraces a certain amount of dissonance. Chances are, though, if you like later Pixies albums, you'll dig 'Good News' (though I'm not necessarily comparing the two bands too closely).
The high spots can probably be tiered. There are extremely good fast/aggressive tunes, like 'Bury Me With It', 'Black Cadillacs' and 'Dance Hall' - which are very Pixies-esqe (sorry) - and more mellow, philosophical songs, like 'Blame it on the Tetons', 'One Chance', and 'The Good Times are Killing Me'. All of them are good, even the singles, which, if you can get past how popular they became at one point, you can probably get back into.
I highly recommend this whole album. It's excellent.
Rating:
Date: 2008-02-08
Great
I love Modest Mouse!!! This was the album that got them into the mainstream market, and generally that means a sellout of sorts. It's a great album, that's why it's popular. Rating:
Date: 2007-12-21
It was all worth it just to learn some slight of hand!
I must confess this was my intro to Modest Mouse (thank you corporate radio!) , however I had only heard Float On. I took a chance and bought it and after a few listens (Those horns are really stupid); I fell in love with Modest Mouse or Timid Turtle, whoever. The great lyrics and twists in musical styles and tempoes, etc. Going back now having the other CDs this is their thing. If you want a concept album, or another "Tommy" or "Quadrophenia"; they are not your band. Each track might fit on another album and tie in with other songs the band has made but they fit together like adopted children. Different and yet each one great. The whole album is witty and sardonic to say the least. My absolute favorite is: The View (not the show), Float On, Satin in a Coffin, Bukowski, Blame it on the Tetons. If you like the Who, Shins, Soul Coughing, Pixies and Smiths I would recommend this band/album. Rating: 
Date: 2007-10-03
Aidin Vaziri is a dumbass
"It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment Modest Mouse started sounding like a real band."
were they a fake band before? if anything they were more real before they started sounding like everything else. there's something positive to be said about questioning the 'established rules.' working on your own terms for what you believe in, instead of following these 'established rules,' is what creativity--the central nervous system of music--is; it is how steps forward are made instead of circling the same path forever.
where would the human race be without the individual and our ability to think and act for ourselves? modest mouse's view on life is healthy, however those people like Aidin Vaziri who do not know how to live their own lives can go ahead and follow the flock of society. |
