How I discovered Modest Mouse!

I've always found it fascinating the bands/artists that some people reject, and the ones that stick for a long time. In my case, Modest Mouse was a band I rejected at first. Looking back on it, it seems insane now that I could reject a band I like so much now. The first few songs I heard by them, I felt like I didn't "get" really, like I wasn't part of the club that understood Modest Mouse. I separated the people who did, and the people who didn't. At the time, I didn't feel like I was missing out on much. I heard "Out Of Gas" and thought, "Eh, that guy's voice is kind of weird. They're OK." The only song I ever liked was "Baby Blue Sedan", but it kind of came and went.

Then back when I was living in Santa Rosa, circa late 2003/early 2004, someone sent me The Moon & Antartica. From the first chord of "3rd Planet", I was hooked. I couldn't understand why Modest Mouse was clicking now as opposed to earlier when I hadn't been interested. I listened to that album a lot while I was living in Sonoma County. Then Good News For People Who Love Bad News came out. I passed up on the chance to go to the release party at my favorite record store, and in hindsight regret not attending. Little did I know what a great and wonderful record it was. I remember buying the new CD at Target for $9.99 and feeling kind of silly. This band I had previously rejected was slowly but surely becoming a favorite! To this day, I think my copy of their last album is one of the most abused albums I've ever bought. I can't believe it has held up this long. Of course, like with all other bands I love, I had to seek out more material. I got Lonesome Crowded West and loved it even more than the other two I had.

I can't explain exactly what clicked with Modest Mouse in late 2003, but since then, I've been a big fan. I think Isaac Brock is a fantastic songwriter and the band has a real chemistry I haven't heard with many other bands. I eventually bought the first record, This Is A Long Drive... and found that I loved that too. Now I listen to "Out Of Gas" and enjoy it. It's further proof that as with many other things, timing is everything. I wasn't ready for Modest Mouse before 2003, and then one album got me hooked. What can I say? I love the Mouse!