... and we were the lucky ones.

Modest Mouse's recent album is wonderful.  I loved it before I even listened to it.  The title of the album is the same as this post's.  And, when you open the liner notes, it says the first line up there.  I know exactly what he means.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Modest Mouse.  What's weird is that I saw them in 1999, and I didn't think much of them.  I walked a block from my apartment in San Francisco to see them at the American Music Hall on the hottest night of the year.  I was also sick.  Some guy I was dating* bought tickets and invited me.  I thought they were blah.  Maybe it was the 90 degree weather sans air conditioning.  They seemed slow and boring.  Weird, huh?

Now they are in my top ten ... probably.  Usually, I like a band's early album and start hating them the closer to *now* we get, but not with Modest Mouse.  I love the grungy immediacy of their early stuff *and* I love the slick catchy new stuff.

This album is super-wonderful, but I think I still like Good News For People Who Love Bad News better.  Seriously, the song "Dig Your Grave" has just the lyrics "I really do.  I hope you're dead." repeated in a whisper three times.  Oh!  Sometimes I know exactly how he feels.  He's the most exuberant misanthrope I've encountered.

* I went out on a million-and-one dates during my 2+ years of online dating in San Francisco.  I wish I'd kept track, but I'm sure I went out with over 100 guys.  This particular guy lasted for 3 dates.  He didn't tell me his last name nor did he give me his phone number (or where he worked or where he lived).  He wasn't the first (or the last) secretive guy.  Really, I was in no hurry to spill all my personal info, either.  We had fun on our dates, so I cut him some slack.  At the end of our last date I kissed him on the cheek when he dropped me off at home - that was the extent of our physical involvement.  The next day I emailed him to tell him about something I thought would interest him.  He responded with an email saying he wasn't comfortable with how fast everything was moving.  Um, OK, weirdo.  I never emailed him back.

[title is the name of an album by Modest Mouse]