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Bits & Pieces
Isaac Brock Hangs in Portland Mayor’s Office
06.04.10
I’ve often wondered how one knows when they’ve reached a formidable level of success, now it seems Isaac Brock may have the answer. A portrait of the Modest Mouse frontman sporting lederhosen and standing before a giant boar resides in the office of Portland, Oregon mayor Sam Adams. That’s right Brock fans, the Portland art hero has reached a status level high enough to warrant a mayor to hang the Alexander Rokoff painted piece on his wall. Want an even bigger weird fix? Check out this video courtesy of the good mayor’s Vimeo account featuring Brock, Adams, and Rokoff unveiling the painting, all the while covered in smiles. Hell yeah! Go Portland!

Lit
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Bits & Pieces
Isaac Brock Composes Music for Cartoon
03.31.10
Guess what Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock’s favorite TV show is. No? OK, well apparently it’s The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, a show broadcast on the Cartoon Network featuring the escapades of a boy searching for candy. In fact, it turns out he likes it so much that he’s been hard at work on composing some music for an upcoming Flapjack special, or so says the show’s creator Thurop Van Orman on his blog (confirmed by Brock’s publicist). Says Orman of the eccentric Pacific-Northwesterner, “He is about the greatest guy around, and is doing some kickass music with us. And Flapjack is his favorite show! Like, crazy!”

MWH
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Bits & Pieces
Modest Mouse Re-Release The Moon & Antartica on Vinyl
03.17.10
Modest Mouse’s classic The Moon & Antartica figures easily in any top rock records of the 2000s list. And for that reason, it’s pretty handy news that the Pacific-Northwesterners are re-releasing it on vinyl for (in which format it has been long out of print) this April 17th, in honor of both its 10th anniversary and this year’s Record Store Day. The jams have been remastered using the band’s preferred 2004 master, but with the original tracklisting, and apparently with the original sleeve design too. The extras on the expanded edition also won’t be there either, but, you know, you can’t have everything in life can you?
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Bits & Pieces
Heath Ledger Directed Music Video Surfaces
10.29.09
Heath Ledger serenades us from beyond the grave as a new music video surfaces for longtime friend and Aussie rapper N’fa’s Cause An Effect. From directing an animated video for Modest Mouse, to this now circulating artistic hip hop clip, Ledger has left quite the pleasant kink in today’s audio quilt. “We shot it in Sydney… and he called me at this crazy hour, saying, ‘I’ve got this idea, let’s make a video!’” recalls N’fa in a ‘making of’ clip. “We found a few different ideas for clothing, a massive sheet and black curtain, and got in touch with two really good makeup artists… and shot it all in his garage. The idea was to keep it really artistic. Heath was basically running around directing the shots… it was a really cool day,” the Aussie rhymer explains. Above and beyond Ledger having directed the piece, it was also produced by his partly owned film and music company The Masses, boasting a debut at the 2009 International Rome Film Festival. “Every day I count my blessings that he directed this piece of art,” says N’fa. “It was a song I was proud to have written but I never expected to have such an immense video made for it. I’d known Heath since we were very young and he was always a creative kind of guy and, in many ways, ahead of the curve.” Alas, another talented man lost before his time.
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CD Reviews
Built to Spill – There Is No Enemy
10.10.09
There Is No Enemy in Built to Spill’s new album, but maybe there is no hero either. The Idaho (no, you ‘da ho… I digress) indie rock band has been recording and putting out tracks since the early 90’s, since the time bowl cuts were in, and we all went around blowing on each other’s hypercolor t-shirts. (more…)
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Concert Reviews
Modest Mouse @ Metropolis – 08.19.09
08.25.09
The issue with having a signature sound is that it’s hard to make it sound, well, different. However it seems Modest Mouse may just have a few aces up there sleeve when it comes to combating such concerns. Simply add an extra drummer, a wooden magical music box, oh, and if you can’t find Johnny Marr, just employ Grandaddy’s Jim Fairchild. But most importantly, whatever you do, DO NOT play the single that made you famous and is probably the reason that 95% of the Metropolis audience paid for the show. Isaac Brock, how very modest of you. (more…)
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Bits & Pieces
Modest Mouse – Last Night @ Metropolis
08.20.09
What do you get when you cross a double headed drummer, a magical wooden music box and a mammoth Montreal crowd? Modest Mouse at Metropolis of course! Comeback shortly for the full review and photographs!
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Bits & Pieces
Modest Mouse – Tonight @ Metropolis
08.19.09
Don’t be shy Montreal as Modest Mouse will bring their squeaky clean indie stylings to Metropolis tonight!

With special guest: The Duchess and the Duke
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Bits & Pieces
Coming Soon… Modest Mouse
08.12.09
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CD Reviews
Modest Mouse – No One’s First, and You’re Next
08.08.09
$Modest Mouse - No One\'s First, and You\'re Next$

From the creator’s of such captivating albums as Good News For People Who Love Bad News & We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, comes an EP of leftover gold that just couldn’t sit on a dark shelf, in a dark room at Isaac Brock’s house. No One’s First, and You’re Next is the name of this eight song game, and Modest Mouse is looking to win. (more…)
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FROM THE CORNER comes...
Darla Farmer
07.01.09
by Canyon

If there was ever a modern day record to be listened to on a gramophone its Rewiring the Electric Forest, Darla Farmer’s newest album. To properly describe the eclectic 7-piece’s sound, let me first set the mood. Remember that time your parents took you to the fair when you were young and you got lost because you needed both your hands to eat your cotton candy, so you let go of your mother’s hand for just a brief moment? This album epitomizes the emotions experienced in the instant you realize you are by yourself: the thrilling sensation of freedom, the excitement brought on by the blinking lights and sounds of the rides, or the intense fear of being lost forever in a sea of smiling unfamiliar faces. The music is so powerfully evocative the lyrics almost become secondary. At times what starts off as a beautiful somber ballad, closes with what feels like a battle for control of musician versus instrument. Just as a house of mirrors, Darla Farmer’s music is a complex maze-like puzzle, both exhilarating and unsettling. For anyone with a fear of clowns, I challenge you to listen to the track Dirty Keys and not have nightmares of a face-painted grinning fool chasing you with a flamethrower.

Genre: Rock
Latest Album: Rewiring the Electric Forest
For Fans Of: Modest Mouse, Cursive, Man Man
Listen To: Darla Farmer
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Bits & Pieces
Limited Edition Modest Mouse Photos
06.15.09
Considering Pat Graham’s been pointing a camera at Modest Mouse since 1996, it’s logical for one to assume that there would be a whole mess of delectable photos spawn from such endeavours, and one would be correct. Now following his original limited release, Graham is once again offering another pack of exclusive photos for photo album number two. The well treated piece, slated to hit shelves July 4th, has been edited by Graham and Modest Mouse’s front man Isaac Brock, and as with the first effort, includes stories and anecdotes to accompany each photo. This photo book extravaganza will not end with a simple two part effort but continue into a definite third instalment which will reportedly feature only Polaroids, as well as maintaining the rigid 1200 copy per issue rule.
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CD Reviews
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
05.31.09
Don’t judge an album by its cover. There is Art and then there is Craft. There has always been debate about where the line is drawn and Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest steps unapologetically on the side of craft after spending the past far left in the “arty than thou” neck of the woods. (more…)
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FROM THE CORNER comes...
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
03.18.09
by Canyon

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band’s unconventional inception is the result of a promise frontman Benjamin Verdoes made to his adopted kid brother Marshall a few years ago. Now 14, Marshall is MSHVB’s drummer and an instrumental part of the multi-generational five-piece he named. These Seattle rockers first got noticed with their off the wall public service announcement style video teasers for their “world premiere” posted on MySpace. But since the release of their first full-length record last week and their upcoming performances at SXSW, the attention has shifted from their wacky antics to their evocative anthems. Although this eclectic bunch hails from the West Coast, their sound is reminiscent of the Montreal indie-rock scene. From mellow to energetic, playful to soulful, the moods are as varied as the talented musicians that form it’s core. Check out the track Cheer For Fate, a relevant song for the season, about falling in love in the springtime.

Genre: Pop/Rock
Latest Album: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
For Fans Of: Modest Mouse, Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire
Listen To: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
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Bits & Pieces
Modest Mouse And The Ghost of Ledger Past?
03.13.09
Not only was Heath Ledger tied to an unfinished Terry Gilliam-directed The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus prior to his passing, but with his Oscar win at this year’s Academy Awards it’s only fitting that a buzz about Heath should resurface with a Modest Mouse music video as the hot topic. In a 2007 interview, back when the idea of a Ledger directed Modest Mouse vid first surfaced, Isaac Brock had this to say, “Heath Ledger’s been wanting to do a video for one of the songs that didn’t make it on the record, King Rat. Terry Gilliam is going to help animate it.” While being on a boat relaxing with some mutual friends Ledger and Brock discussed the idea. “He’s got a video production company and was interested in working on something. We were talking back and forth for a while. The idea seemed sort of dropped, but then he just sent me an email saying that he wanted to do it. And I love me some Terry Gilliam.” Unfortunately the whereabouts of the buzzing video for King Rat, a bonus track off We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, are unknown. Good news is the long awaited Modest Mouse EP No One’s First and You’re Next, should see the light of day for August 2009. Which is great… but where the hell is that music video???
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Bits & Pieces
R.E.M. – Tonight @ Molson Amphitheatre
06.08.08
R.E.M. are doing what they do best tonight at Molson Amphitheatre. Be sure to catch all the pics & the review next week.

With special guests: Modest Mouse + The National
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