*Moon & Antarctica gets b tier* I just got a message, it says that hell has frozen over, I got a phone call from the Lord, sayin' Hey boy, get a sweater, right now. *B a s s L i n e*
Just found out that Jeremiah, the band's drummer, died on New Year's Eve. He was apparently very recently diagnosed with cancer and it killed him very quickly. Wow. My thoughts go out to his wife and kid. He was a truly phenomenal drummer.
I actually think we were dead is so criminally underrated. Has a few low lights but songs like spitting venom and parting of the sensory are among the best Brock has ever written
It's definitely an A, but it was also my introduction and I really played that CD to death back when I was obsessed with MM. It ended up being the one I got bored of the quickest. I've since revisited it though and it's one of their best for sure.
Agreed, it was also my introduction to modest mouse got it when I was 14. Then I forgot about them for years and in my mid twenties I went and listened to all the old stuff and was blown away.
I really wish my late wife could watch this vid, I wanna hear her take on this. She loved Modest Mouse, and actually had the same birthday as the release of This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Talk About. Her favorite album and the one I’ve listened to most is Building Nothing out of Something; helps me feel her around again💔
It would have been good to see Interstate 8 and Building Something Out of Nothing on here. I think those two also represent how Modest Mouse wasn't just a couple good albums before falling off. They really knew what they were doing in those early days. Interstate 8 is almost a concise look at the style of Long Drive and Building Something showed off their single game before Float On. Edit: I forgot to mention that the main reason I would consider Interstate 8 to be viable for the list is that, with the demos, its longer than Good News. Of course that's all up to perspective.
The fact he doesn't put all significant EPs and comps (especially ones that aren't just "Best-ofs") is kindof a crime, but it's his channel so what can we do? Building Nothing is probably A tier for me.
@@louonthesun3325 definitely not in the modest mouse fandom, I see it get some of the most praise along side TLCW and TM&A. Although hardcore indie fans, yes it mostly gets shit on. Its a good album, just not underrated is all im sayin.
@@JimmyNoKnees maybe it has changed recently. i havent really been in the fandom for a while but back in the day thinking Good News was anything more than an ok album would get you absolutely jizzed on lol and God forbid you thought Float On was a good song.
@@louonthesun3325 that still sorta holds light by gatekeepers. I mean i get shit on for despising STO, but the album just doesnt sit right with me and i like damn near everything leading up to it.
I rented a Lonesome Crowded West CD when I was 14 from my local library because the album cover looked cool and listened to it non-stop for months, collecting all kinds of late fees. Happy to see it wasn't just nostalgia that made this album hit my ears so perfectly.
Leaving out Interstate 8, The Fruit That Ate Itself, Night on The Sun, Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks, and Building Nothing out of Something (and Ugly Cassanova)... so much important music out of MM discography just completely ignored. I get it those are EPs, but to really understand MM you have to include those. Maybe even add on a second tier list for EPs... His current list is just incomplete.
1.building nothing out of something 2. long drive... 3.lonesome crowed west 4.moon & antarctica 5. good news for p... 6. we were dead before the ship even sank 7. strangers to ourselves
@@Lancelot30 I legitimately can't fathom putting Good News over it; thinking that an album with songs as bland as "Dance Hall," "Bury Me With it," and "One Chance" is better than an album with such haunting masterpieces in its deep cuts as "Perfect Disguise," "The Stars are Projectors," and "Life Like Weeds"
Building Nothing Out of Something deserves more love.. It gets overlooked a lot since it's technically a collection of B-sides but it's easily on par with the rest of their 90's and early 00's output
@@Lancelot30 Gonna be honest here. I like that song sonically, but the lyrics are too straightforward for me. I'll probably come around to it eventually, maybe if I'm going through a depressive episode.
I know it's basically a B-sides EP, but Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks has always been my favorite collection of songs by MM. I used to listen to it all the time and even though it's basically just a comp it actually all vibes together and has a cohesive mood across the whole thing that I don't think they've had on any other album.
I've always thought if they took E&HNPT and cut some of the filler out of M&A and put those together you'd have a seriously killer record. Both were around the same time give or take and even the production on a lot of tracks from M&A share a lot stylistically.
@@marjercly8296 I don't know how well these songs would end up fitting, but if you put Night on the Sun and Willful Suspension of Disbelief somewhere on TM&A then the album would have more of a psychedelic feel.
@@RektRL Nah, never said that. I do need to give them another listen, though. I sometimes fall into the trap of seeing a related artist that I listen to, then being underwhelmed because it's not just more of the artist I love, lol. Gotta come at them with a fresh perspective.
Oh shit man, we were dead before the ship even sank is not only my favorite album of theirs, but also pretty high up on my all time favorite album list. The albums entire concept is great and Fly trapped in a jar is legitimately one of the greatest songs ever written imo.
A few ideas for the next tier list: Prince Spoon Pavement Ghostface Pink Floyd Sleater-Kinney Stereolab Ween PJ Harvey Edit: Did not expect this many likes
I have an original pressing of This is a Long Drive (with the misspelling of Dramamine) and it’s my most prized possession. It is easily one of their best - S tier for me.
I felt similarly about strangers initially but honestly it’s grown on me so much over the years, I honestly think it’s worthy of revisiting. Coyotes, The Ground Walks, Tortoise, Be Brave, and Lampshades are all some of my fav MM tracks at this point.
Moon and Antarctica at B is the most blasphemous thing I've seen Fantano do in all my years of watching. If anything Good News is B, Moon is S and everything else is right.
Moon and Antarctica in my opinion is one of the most dull and unexplosive albums that exist in the discography. Not only is it more focused on the slower ways in the music, it’s also at a point where Isaac broke his jaw and sounded absolutely nothing like he actually does. So it’s completely impossible that you’ll ever hear moon and Antarctica played accurately live, because it simply doesn’t sound like any of the other mouse discography. - Personally, I’d rate moon lower than we were dead because it’s really just a low point in the band that experiences something so drastically different it sounds nothing like modest mouse in the future or the past.
Most moon fans usually just say “yeah the atmosphere of it is great” and ok, that’s cool. However that basically just means that you think it’s better to get high and listen to for most of the album.
@@Hans-yo2cq I mostly agree with you (only in comparison to other MM albums; it's still a very good album), but 3rd Planet is a contender for best MM song.
Other peoples lives is the most underrated MM song. Building something out of nothing isn't technically an album, but would have loved to see Anthony mention it.
Moon & Artic is considered by many to be "their" best sounding album and also like baldy mentioned their most "artistic" with the acoustic guitar over dubs and themes of "losing faith in god/Idea of heaven being fake/Ressurection" in their songs(even tho brock claims he atheist, he plays with that idea the most on this album and many listeners related), Fun fact Issac got his jaw broken during the recording sessions of M&A by some guys in the parking lot of the studio while he was on a alcohol/drug binge and he re-recorded all the guitar riffs/sections and said that he had to fill in the empty spots of the record with more guitar over dubs because his jaw was wired shout for 6 months. I personally would Rank it in the S category.
that’s why its overrated its ironically worshipped by the pseudo artistic atheist of the early 2000s they're the same direction less trust fund women who listen to phoebe bridger today
I really didn't like it when it came out which was a crazy shock to me as a huge MM fan. It took probably 6 months or so of regular-ish listening before it really clicked and I genuinely love it now.
i honestly think We Were Dead is a bit underrated. it has some of their best songs imo, especially Spitting Venom also how is moon in b tier that album is better than sex
We Were Dead is a sentimental favourite of mine. While it might be less unique in some ways, it does have a very distinct sound that I get often get pretty nostalgic for. I also find that it has some of MM's best songs on it.
@@MikeL-gt2wz We Were Dead came out in middle school when modest mouse were my favorite band and I listened to it constantly for a year. March Into The Sea especially is an unsung hero, so much fun
a lot of my love for we were dead is middle school nostalgia but it's also genuinely a great record. like, I went back & listened to this bullet for my valentine album I loved from around the same time & was like "wow, this is really really crap".
Agree. It's not a move forward, but it's not a step back either. It's just a really cohesive, listenable album; it doesn't have a single bad track and the album as a whole just has a mood (as all MM albums do) that sometimes you just wanna get caught up in.
Hey Anthony, just wanted to let you know you accidentally put The Moon and Antarctica in the wrong category! Obviously it belongs at the very top! thanks bb 😘💗💕
I was trying to describe We Were Dead to someone and I said "yeah they had some guitar player on loan that I think was in some other bands." I didn't realize how much of an understatement that was until I looked up Marr's career.
You're so right about Good News being looked at as not that good for the simple fact that it got so big. All the indie snobs turned their nose up at it for that reason I know cause I was one of those people but in fact it is an amazing album.
This is a Long Drive is an amazing album. Sometimes it's hard for me to listen to it, not because it is inaccessible to me, but because how easily it depresses me. Beautiful and Meditative, yet Bleak and Soul-sucking. Not a lot of albums like it.
I’ve always been super interested in diving into Modest Mouses catalogue after hearing their more popular tracks so I’m excited to use this as a jumping in point
My ranking: S: The Moon & Antarctica, The Lonesome Crowded West A: This is a Long Drive, Good News B: Building Nothing Out of Something, We Were Dead C: Strangers to Ourselves, Sad Sappy Sucker D: N/A E: N/A F: N/A
@@braedonsdayoff9409 It would’ve been A tier for me, but there’s tracks on there that annoy the shit out of me and just don’t belong. Specifically Workin’ on Leavin the Livin’ and All Night Diner which I’ve never understood the praise for.
I was about to chastise the usual Fantano shitposters for not saying anything when Anthony was talking about nudity and intimacy and putting it in the A, but you, sir, you answered my call before it was made. Thanks, Obama!
Life long Modest Mouse fan. Thank you for posting. I think this was a good list and challenged me in a good way. I disagree with putting Good News above Moon and Antarctica but you definitely made a solid case for putting Good News where it is. I’d just switch them on tiers. The Lyrics and headspace Moon puts you in takes a while but slowly became my favorite. Rest of the list is spot on.
wym long drive has a sound that was never captured again, lonesome crowded west has a similar sound. they're like a pair, long drive is the rural version and lonesome crowded west is the city version
I have actually been waiting for years for this. As a Patreon supporter who just memes in your comment section, I want to say I appreciate this. Thank you orange fanta.
Honestly, we were dead before the ship even sank is pretty underrated imo. I really like it, it may not be as 'experimental' or 'focused' as previous releases, but it just makes me so happy every time i listen to it, It just has incredibly nice vibes to me, super catchy and laid-back, it's just a really pleasant listening experience for me. Its certainly not my favorite by them, but personally, I'd probably put it in the high B - low A tier.
Great video dude. I love how you gave some context for the culture of indie music at the time. Lots of good stuff was being underrated at the height of hipsterdom just because it got radio time (or use in advertising).
I definitely agree with most of this, but in my opinion We Were Dead deserves higher than C. It hits a different emotional chord than some of their other stuff (which is all amazing for the reasons you described). That being said, it's also the album that took the longest to grow on me.
Strangers To Ourselves is honestly extremely overlooked. I think it's easily one of their better records. Songs like Strangers to Ourselves, Shit in Your Cut, Tortoise and the Tourist and Of Course We Know are spine shivering. It's not as raw, production wise, as their other records but the song writing is really good and the record has a weird ominous energy to it.
It's fucking great. I really feel like every album has been its own little experience/type of genre/feel and I think they delivered with this as much as any other album but also feel like they manage to get a more intricate type of sound with every album in a way I feel I really enjoy. I know some people think what makes them is their "simplicity" or "rawness", which personally I still think all their albums still have bits of that, but people also have to understand bands have to do something to keep it fresh for them and keep evolving their sound so they don't just end up making the same album 10 times... Which is honestly what it seems like lots of people would prefer for some reason
Honestly... Thank you, Melon. After watching this 6 months ago, I listened to MM for the first time starting with The Lonesome Crowded West. I fell in love... Thank you again.
I really think this would have been a perfect list to have extended plays on. Modest Mouse is significant for having deece EPs with beloved songs on them.
A wild pack of family dogs Came running through the yard As little Cal played The dogs took him away And I guess he was eaten up, okay Yeah, he was eaten up, okay My Melon's crying melon juice now My melon's crying melon juice now Melon put Moon in B-tier now
We Were Dead at C is crazy. I prefer it to Moon and Antarctica. Sure it sounds more straightforward and clean, but there are so many fantastic ideas, great production, a fun theme. Not an S but a very solid A for me.
I found Fantano’s complete disdain for it baffling. Only a couple songs maybe I’ll skip (especially the Ground Walks which sounds like a weaker, extended version of Dashboard), but overall so many cool ideas and catchy tunes. Sugar Boats, the Best Room and Of Course We Know would be my faves. Also credit to Pistol for being one of their strangest songs (and inspired by the guy who killed Versace!)
Love these tier lists, I agree with everything. Long Drive and Good News are my favorites. Would love a Pink Floyd list but doubt that would ever happen. Keep up the good work melon
I'm going to put mine here before watching and then see how they compare. Not including EPs or Making Nothing out of Something but they have had some great EPs, so I wanna say Interstate 8 and Fruit that Ate Itself would top the list if they counted. Best to Worst: Lonesome Crowded West > Moon and Antarctica > Good News etc > Long Drive > Sad Sappy Sucker (not sure if it should count as a full length album either, though) > We Were Dead > that one with Lampshades on Fire
Awesome video, is there any Chance you could do a tier list of The Decemberists? I know you tend to only do tier lists of bands that are very well liked and respected. Dunno if they fall into that category for you
Damn really happy to see this video. MM is my dad's favorite band so when I was growing up he collected every record he could find of them and their live shows are great! I don't know if you've seen them live but every time it's been incredible for me and a great family memory. Also, if you were to throw in Sharpen Your Teeth by Ugly Cassanova on this, where would it fall?
