rancid1993's Full Review: Good News for People Who Love Bad News by Modest M...
Man, Modest Mouse used to be a great band. Unfortunately, for us music listeners of the world, this is the point on the MM timeline where they go from being one of the true greats of their time to simply good/average. Much changed for MM in the time between 2004's Good News For People Who Love Bad News and their collectively brilliant trio of opening records, recorded and released in one year intervals from 1996 to 1998. First, six years by itself is a long time, but some of the events in between 1998 and 2004 such as Isaac Brock releasing a side project CD, going to jail briefly, being accused of rape, and drummer from the start Jeremiah Green leaving the band, this CD seems more bitter and pessimistic against the world, which is no small feat as their first three were filled with cynicism and vile. So basically, minus Green's space filling beats, plus a new, more direct drummer, and plus a new guitarist in Dann Galluchi and six years for Isaac Brock to think about what to write for this record, you finally get the end product, which is a bit of a disappointing one.
While Modest Mouse's first three records all follow a more traditional path in terms of the instruments being the usual guitar/bass/drums, Good News features more variety, with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band backing them on a few tracks, Isaac strumming the banjo on a few tracks, and a few others feature multi instrumentalist Tom Veloso, who is now a staple in the band. However, despite all these additions to the band, what was subtracted is what makes the difference. Gone is the strong sense of songwriting that was previously present. Brock's lyrics are as clever and ironic as usual, but the songs don't take all the right twists and turns that the earlier ones did. The songs seem to travel along the same straight line, rarely gaining or losing momentum.
After a hopelessly useless horn intro, you get to jump right into The World At Large, a quiet, subdued opener with surprisingly introspective lyrics from Brock. It's a pretty godd song, but really lacks much replay value. However, the next effort, Ocean Breathes Salty, is the best effort on the record. From the seamlessly intertwining guitars, to the lead and backing vocals, this is the pick of the bunch for me. Fourth and not least, is the song we all know and have mixed feelings about, Float On. The guitar riff and chord progressions are pretty epic, certainly one of the best of recent memory. But really, Brock's vocals are fairly awful and the only moments I really enjoy in the song are the riffs and the sing along chorus near the end. While also being noted as one of the few Modest Mouse songs with a positive meaning, you could easy interoperate the lyrics are saying you basically have little control over your own life and it's often in the hands of others.
As pessimistic as this review has been, there are some other excellent tracks on this record. The banjo led duo of Bukowski and Satin in a Coffin are very enjoyable tracks. More toward the end, the songs become more enjoyable, largely because they aren't too over the top like some in the middle 8 tend to be. The straight forward ballad-like One Chance and the acoustic, soft Blame It On The Tetons are also worth your time to listen to.
But, what really kills the album overall is some of the useless fillers thrown it all too often. Dig Your Grave is a perfect example, 13 seconds of an annoying guitar picking and vocals that adds absoultely nothing positive to the overall feel of the record. I'll also take this time to award the first annual Worst Song Modest Mouse Ever Written to lucky recipient Dance Hall, which has some good guitar and bass riffs, but is completely ruined by Isaac basically raving "Dance Hall, Dance Hall, everyday" repetedly into the microphone for upwards of 3 minutes. To be fair, there are other lyrics, but the delivery is nothing more than inaudible frantic talking. Also sadly, some of the lyrics from this song have been recycled from earlier MM works and Isaac's side project, Ugly Casanova. It's the clearest example of filler I've seen in quite a while.
Final Thoughts
This is the record that brought Modest Mouse mainstream fame, despite it being their stylistically weakest work by far. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, depending on your view, their next record is a further deterioration of their style, but more fame and recognition was gained because of it. Funny music world we're living in, eh?
Horn Intro - * The World At Large - *** Float On - *** Ocean Breathes Salty - **** Dig Your Grave - * Bury Me With It - ** Dance Hall - ** Bukowski - **** This Devil's Workday - *** The View - *** Satin In a Coffin - **** Interlude (Milo) - ** Blame It On The Tetons - *** Black Cadillacs - *** One Chance - ****
Product DetailsOriginal Title:Good News for People Who Love Bad NewsCondition: NEWFormat: CDArtist: Modest MouseLanguage: EnglishGenre: Alternative Ro...More at iNetVideo.com
Produced by Dennis Herring (Camper Van Beethoven), the latest release from the Seattle-based indie rockers sees a return of guitarist Dann Gallucci (l...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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