A few Modest Mouse questions

[Rattlehead02]

I recently got into Good News for People Who Love Bad News. It's such a great fucking album I can barely stand it. Ok, now that that is out of the way...

1. In The Good Times Are Killing Me they make it sound like (based on the chatter in the beginning) they were all just jamming out in a studio and this was the recording that came of it. Is that the case? If not, doesn't really matter to me. But, are the backup vocals just other tracks of the lead singer, or is the band really capable of that kind of harmony?

2. In Blame it on the Tetons are Tetons a reference to the Indian tribe in the Dakotas (or wherever)? If so, that's a pretty obscure tribe, I'd think.

3. Where would you rank this album in comparison to the rest of theirs? I got the rest and like them all so far.

I figure with some googling, which I suck at, I could find out the first 2, but I'm lazy and figure there's a good chance someone here will know. Plus I'd be interested in your thoughts on the third as I'm incapable of any worthwhile thoughts of my own.

Thanks,

Jeff

ETA: Spelling. Me dumb.

[hekk]

I can only really answer number 3.

"Good News" is, in my very humble opinion, an awful album, and not representative of the Modest Mouse I knew and loved.

"This is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about" would be my personal #1. Next comes "Baron von Bullshit" (live album), then.. the others ("Sad Sappy Sucker", and others I can't remember the titles to.

"The Moon and Antarctica" is a fun album to listen to, and represented a fundamental shift in Modest Mouses' style.

I haven't heard the newest album, or the single from it, so I won't comment on it.

ETA: "Lonesome Crowded West" is awesome, probably better than "This is a long drive" now that I think about it.

ETA, part deux: "The fruit that ate itself" is reallly good too.

[Ludovic]

Someone who has heard the latest album, how does it compare to the songs on GNFPWLBN? It seems Johnny Marr would really work well if the band were trying to replicate the sound of the popular songs from that album; the deeper cuts, perhaps not so much.

[Argent Towers]

ETA, part deux: "The fruit that ate itself" is reallly good too.

I love "Summer."

"Damn, who's paging me now?"

This song was on a CD that I was playing at work and when it came on, my boss goes, in a very thick Israeli accent, "could you put on a song that's more appropriate?" Come ON! He once played Simple Things by Zero 7, on repeat, literally ALL DAY. I love him anyway though.

As to the OP's first question about "The Good Times are Killing Me," I'll add, what exactly are they talking about in that chatter at the beginning?

"Can we smoke in here?"

"Yeah, Eric's got those pockets."

What pockets? Why would a certain type of pockets allow them to smoke in there?

[Ludovic]

I heard it as:

"Can we smoke in here?"

"Yeah, as long as it's pot."

[Argent Towers]

Nope, I just listened to it, the voice is very clearly saying, "yeah, Eric's got those pockets."

Eric I assume is Eric Judy, the bassist.

[Ludovic]

Weird....well maybe that non sequitor is evidence of their having recently smoked said substance :)