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This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About

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This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 16, 1996
RecordedOctober–November 1995
StudioMoon Studios (Olympia, Washington)
Genre
Length74:03 (Standard)
86:10 (LP)
LabelUp
ProducerSteve Wold
Modest Mouse chronology
Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?
(1994)
This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
(1996)
Interstate 8
(1996)

This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About is the debut studio album by American rock band Modest Mouse. It was released on April 16, 1996, through Up Records.

Musical style

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This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About is an indie rock[1][3] album that incorporates elements of punk rock,[3] grunge,[3] heavy metal,[3] twee pop,[3] surf rock,[3] jazz,[3] and chamber music.[3] Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork remarked that Modest Mouse show influence from Pixies and Jane's Addiction.[4] with certain elements on the album also drawing comparisons to Built to Spill[3] and Pink Floyd.[3]

Lyrically, many of the album's tracks focus on traveling by automobile and the loneliness associated with rural life.[citation needed]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Christgau's Consumer GuideA−[6]
Pitchfork6.8/10 (1996)[7]
8.5/10 (2014)[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]

The Albuquerque Tribune called the album "intricate, brainy pop sneaking back into old-time ballads, honky-tonk slide and folk pluck."[10] Robert Christgau remarked that Modest Mouse are "so insularly indie they're incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't been softened up by Wowee Zowee and the Meat Puppets".[2]

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Isaac Brock; all music is composed by Modest Mouse

No.TitleLength
1."Dramamine"5:42
2."Breakthrough"4:06
3."Custom Concern"4:28
4."Might"1:30
5."Lounge"6:34
6."Beach Side Property"7:00
7."Ionizes & Atomizes"4:21
8."Head South"4:22
9."Dog Paddle"2:02
10."Novocain Stain"3:42
11."Tundra/Desert"5:24
12."Ohio"6:00
13."Exit Does Not Exist"4:57
14."Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset"5:50
15."Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds"6:04
16."Space Travel Is Boring"1:53

Vinyl edition

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Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Dramamine"5:42
2."Breakthrough"4:06
3."Custom Concern"4:28
4."Might"1:30
5."Lounge"6:34
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Beach Side Property"7:00
2."Ionizes & Atomizes"4:21
3."Head South"4:22
4."Dog Paddle"2:02
5."Novocain Stain"3:42
Side three
No.TitleLength
1."Tundra/Desert"5:24
2."Ohio"6:00
3."Exit Does Not Exist"4:57
4."Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset"5:50
Side four
No.TitleLength
1."Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds"6:04
2."Space Travel Is Boring"1:53
3."Edit the Sad Parts"7:04
4."A Manic Depressive Named Laughing Boy"5:03

Personnel

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Modest Mouse

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Additional musicians

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  • Steve Wold – slide guitar, mandolin, guitar, backup vocals
  • Brent Arnold – cello
  • Nicole Johnson – vocals on "Custom Concern", "Ionizes & Atomizes", and "Head South"
  • Calvin Johnson – extra vocals on "Head South"

Other

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  • Produced by Steve Wold
  • Engineered by Scott Swayze & Steve Wold
  • Photography by Isaac Brock

References

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  1. ^ a b "This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing ... | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ a b "Robert Christgau: Album: Modest Mouse: This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About". www.robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Howe, Brian. "Modest Mouse: This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About/The Lonesome Crowded West". Pitchfork.
  4. ^ "Modest Mouse - This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About". Archived from the original on 2000-03-09.
  5. ^ Gentry, Brandon. "This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About – Modest Mouse". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Modest Mouse: This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. p. 208. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  7. ^ "Modest Mouse: This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About: Pitchfork Review". Archived from the original on March 9, 2000. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  8. ^ Howe, Brian (November 5, 2014). "Modest Mouse: This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About / The Lonesome Crowded West". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  9. ^ Harris, Keith (2004). "Modest Mouse". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 551. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  10. ^ "Modest Mouse, 'This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About'". The Albuquerque Tribune. May 30, 1996. p. D9.
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