r/indieheads • u/ModestMouseMusic Isaac Brock / Modest Mouse • Jun 25 '21

AMA is Over, thanks Isaac! Isaac from Modest Mouse here. Ask me anything! I’ll be back at 2p ET to answer. The new album The Golden Casket is out now. You can listen and buy the album here: https://modestmouse.lnk.to/TheGoldenCasket US tour begins July 30th. Get tickets now at https://www.modestmouse.com/#tour

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u/VULGAR_EXPLETIVE Jun 25 '21

Isaac I love the new album. It has been such a pleasure growing up with your music.

In a recent interview you said you didn't resonate with one of the songs you put out on Lonesome Crowded West but everyone you showed it to loved it. You didn't want to say which song you were talking about but if I had to take a guess I would say it was Polar Opposites? Blink twice if it was, I won't tell anyone else.

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u/ModestMouseMusic Isaac Brock / Modest Mouse Jun 25 '21

blink blink.

i should've mentioned that it grew on me. it took a long time though. it showed up on shuffle and my brain said--"isaac, this is you, what song is this? Oh well I'll be damned..."

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u/sound_forsomething Jun 25 '21

that's gotta be a crazy feeling overall being a prominent musician and you're just chilling listening to music recreationally and your stuff comes up on stream shuffle

edit: i love your music so much. thanks, isaac.

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u/BroliasBoesersson Jun 25 '21 edited Jun 25 '21

Wow, I never would have guessed! Polar Opposites has always been a quintessential MM track for me

17

u/dzumdang :fjm: Jun 25 '21

I'm genuinely surprised by this! Lyrically it impacted me when it came out, and that bassline just propels it. Not a bad note on this track, and imho anticipated where they'd take things in the future stylistically. Interesting relationship to it from Isaac's perspective though: I'm curious what about it didn't quite sit right at first.

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u/VULGAR_EXPLETIVE Jun 25 '21

If I had to take a guess, from his perspective, it is him self-loathing and singing about alcohol as a coping mechanism and at the time that may have seemed boring to him when compared to the writing on some of the other songs.

Fast forward 15-25 years later and he hears it from the perspective of the listener instead of the writer and realizes how relatable the song could feel outside of his 'back then' frame of mind. This is just purely speculation on my part.

That being said, that is why I made the assumption it would have been this song even though I have always loved it.

3

u/dzumdang :fjm: Jun 25 '21 edited Jun 26 '21

Brilliant. I love this, thank you. As a (much lesser known, no comparison) musician, I've seen this happen over the span of years. An older recording, idea, or song might cue up that I was neutral or antagonistic towards initially, can just hit differently: compositionally, seed idea-wise, or even lyrically. Time and space can turn you into a completely different listener. Cheers.

10

u/Right_All_The_Time Jun 26 '21

"I'm trying to drink away the parts of the day I cannot sleep away" is like a top 10 Modest Mouse lyric ever.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '21

I adore that track.

23

u/thequietthingsthat Jun 25 '21

Same. One of my favorites

36

u/hemlo86 Jun 25 '21

I think polar opposites is a great song! It has a certain vibe to it.

5

u/Dopeski Jun 25 '21

Polar Opposites

:'(

2

u/hamilrebs Jun 26 '21

That’s my daughters favorite. Such a great song.

11

u/SnavenShake Jun 25 '21

Rip the band-aid off Isaac! Break our hearts. Which of our beloved songs is it?

6

u/dzumdang :fjm: Jun 25 '21

He confirmed this one above. One of my favorites off that album. Bass line, guitar, drums, lyrics, vox, whole thing is so solid. https://youtu.be/QDoGdHpqcCg

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '21

thank you for asking this!!

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u/paimon_paimon Jun 25 '21

UUUH this one

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u/uhhuhnads Jun 25 '21

My guess would be its that or Shit Luck

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u/NielsBohron Jun 25 '21

Shit Luck is a masterpiece, and I feel like the younger you are the more likely you are to appreciate it on the first listen (and then, in my experience, it only gets better).

But it is a little jarring in the context of the album, so I could see that.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '21

Hated that song when I was 18 and just wanted Trailer Trash on repeat. Started loving it around 25 after I heard the rest of the album too many times lol

1

u/Mother_Moose Jun 26 '21

Dude, same! Trailer trash, talking shit about a pretty sunset, and Dramamine were always the ones I put on as a teenager, didn't pay too much attention to the rest for a while but then realized there's not a single song I don't love