"Well, we know we had the good things but those never seem to last..."

I was driving home from a pre-Thanksgiving Mongolian barbecue dinner with some friends when I flipped on the radio to a request hour broadcasting from a local NJ rock station. I don't know who had called in, but two listeners back-to-back made excellent choices. Listener 1 asked for Modest Mouse, and listener 2 requested The Presets.

Modest Mouse, while not at all high on my personal lists of favorite groups, remains a band close to my heart. Ocean Breathes Salty helped me cope with the passing of my grandmother 2 years ago, and I respect the direction that they take both lyrically and melodically. Despite being pegged as band to watch by dozens of major media outlets (MTV, Rolling Stone, etc) in the past years, they have held on to the sound and quirks that are unique to them. They do not let others dictate their image yet still manage to evolve in a positive direction. The song that was played on the radio is a smooth and graceful, yet distinctly Modest Mouse tune. However, with the addition of The Shins lead singer on backing vocals, a listener can distinctly discover the influences of the Shins not only on the lyrics, but in the way the song continues instrumentally and atmospherically towards the end of the song.

Anyway, here's the Modest Mouse selection that was on the airwaves earlier tonight.




Modest Mouse - Missed the Boat from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank




And just for kicks:
Modest Mouse - Ocean Breathes Salty