This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About
About This Album
Expanding upon the themes of emotional and geographic isolation found in the band's previous work, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About finds Modest Mouse mixing slow, brooding numbers such as "Custom Concern" and "Talking S**t About a Pretty Sunset" with thrashing guitar workouts like "Breakthrough" and "Head South." The general mood here is one of loneliness and desperation, eloquently expressed through both the lyrics and the rhythmic, sprawling instrumentation. "Dramamine," for instance, with its driving, mid-tempo beat and ricocheting guitar line, sums up the hopelessness of a doomed relationship, while the frantic "Head South" deals with the feeling of "being ashamed of your old space." The mandolin, slide guitar, and cello featured throughout the album give the songs a certain degree of depth that makes them stand out from average indie rock fare. In general, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About is a fine album of guitar-based rock, and Modest Mouse distinguishes itself here with songs whose meanings are simultaneously universal and painfully personal. ~ Brandon Gentry, All Music Guide
nonamehere said, "Metallica would have been a footnote in metal history if not for the "Black Album" Your are crazy! Metallica rewrote metal with Ride The Lightning & ..And Justice For All. They pushed the boundaries into almost progressive-metal realms. I agree with you that the Black Album opened many doors for them for the mainsteam. But Metallica was already in the history books for what they'd done well before the Black Album. They work NOW is a footnote, not their work b 4 Black.
Cogent point. Metallica would've been a footnote in metal history if not for the "Black Album" transition to more alternative and popularly acceptable metal. The Beatles had to put out "Revolver" to get away from the boy band image. Rage, Floyd, Pearl Jam, Jay-Z, Korn, etc. The list goes on depending upon your tastes. However, each band's transition (except maybe the Beatles) did LESS to revolutionize their respective genres than their earlier work; the evolution just sold more of their albums.
Random note to those who don't like the changes in Modest Mouse: It's been 10 years since this album. Do you really believe a band would want to play the same stuff for 10 years? 10 years is a long time. Band evolve, their tastes change, members have new experiences. All of this will make them develop a new sound from the one they started with. And, you know what? I think that's the best part. Hearing the evolution. I'd have more, but I'm reaching the 500 character limit.
Easily one of the best albums of the early 90s. Three guys writing music in a shack by a pond. What shifted their music toward today's MM sound was availability of resources- more money, advanced recording and engineering, "Good News" even incorporated horns, "We Were Dead" added more members to the band, etc. I think MM died with "Moon."
I correct myself its called musical talent and diversity. any old band can spit out a cd that sounds just like the last one. Only the greats can build upon each cd and still stay true to the roots they started off with.