I picked up Modest Mouse’s Good News For People Who Love Bad News the other day, thinking that I might as well check it out cause a lot of people I know really raved about it. My musical tastes are different from theirs, so I was thinking I might not be too impressed, but I was. Now, given that this is completely different from my usual listening material, I’m curious what else is out there that I might like. Any recommendations?
Their album The Moon and Antarctica is considered their masterpiece. You should get that.
You might also like The Flaming Lips. The Soft Bulletin is an excellent album.
#include Link to KEXP
Franz Ferdinand (it’s the name of both the group and the album) is good.
I think “good news…” is pretty weak; definitely check out The Moon and Antarctica, their finest moment, and even their “this lonesome crowded west” and “this is a long drive…” are excellent. Also check out “building nothing out of something.”
As for what next - it depends. What about/why do you like MM? If you like the more introspective moments, I suggest the Microphones.
You might like Wilco’s new album, A Ghost Is Born. Also, Neutral Milk Hotel’s classic In the Aeroplane over the Sea would probably be to your liking.
I’m a MM fan, as well as Franz Ferdinand and I my recommendation would be The Shins Chutes Too Narrow. It’s a little mellow, but it’s somewhat in the same retro-vein as MM and FF. It has a lot of pretty melodies, too.
“Why do you like this?” has always been a tough question for me to answer, but I guess I should give it a shot here. What I liked about this album is that it’s accessible and catchy while maintaining a little bit of complexity and the occasional hint of an edge. I also like that the songs represent a wide variety of musical styles but fit together as a coherent whole.
By and large, I don’t care much about lyrics, so I don’t even really know what you’d consider the introspective parts. And accessibility isn’t a big deal for me, but I guess it’s nice.
I went and listened to Amazon’s samples for all of the non-Modest Mouse albums mentioned in this thread. So far, Chutes Too Narrow is the only one that really stands out to me. But I definitely appreciate the suggestions–keep 'em coming, folks.
For what it’s worth, I’m a huge fan of the Talking Heads and I think Radiohead was pretty good up through OK Computer but I have no interest in checking out their later stuff.
Ugly Casonova is made up of the lead singer of Modest Mouse and some other indie musicians. Their album **Sharpen Your Teeth ** is pretty good and sounds a lot like Good News, so you might want to check it out.
I think this one is sure fire for fans of MM. Check out Built to Spill. Their sounds are quite similar, though BtS is far more melodic and less aggressive. Lyrically both are amazing bands, as well as musically. Doug Martsch of BtS is the driving force behind the band. Lead vocals, lead guitar and song-writing are all up to him. I saw them at a local club where they had a guest rhythm guitarist (whose name escapes me), and at one moment in the show the audience, and the band, were all watching him in complete awe as he rocked out. An amazing show.
IMO their best albums are Keep It Like A Secret, and There’s Nothing Wrong With Love, which is an earlier, slightly simpler, yet fantastic album. Perfect From Now On is also excellent, but I wouldn’t recommend it as an introduction.
Much like MM, they require a few listens to really get into, but once you do you’re hooked. I’ve always preferred slightly heavier, more angry music, so I suspect if I had heard Modest Mouse first I might have been inclined to dismiss Built to Spill as a weaker version. Seriously though, give them a chance and you’ll be hooked!
Again, sounds like a description of the Flaming Lips.
I’d say it also applies to The Shins. I don’t see where people are coming up with Franz Ferdinand though, they’re more dancish.
Here’s a recommendation I’m sure you don’t want to hear: The Beatles. 
Possibly a huge stretch, but may I suggest Tears for Fears? They’re much more mellow than MM, but I know several people who really like both. I highly recommend the song Call Me Mellow.
I’ll second Built to Spill and Neutral Milk Hotel and add Guided by Voices, The Ocean Blue and The Wake. You might also like The Magnetic Fields, although they’re quite different.