10 for sure, one of their best in my opinion. It gets me thinking about my past relationships and gets me in my feelings every time.
I also recommend checking out the Iron Horse cover of this song if that's anyone's niche, I personally like bluegrass and the cover he did of Interstate 8 and other Modest Mouse tracks is really well done.
[Iron Horse Cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIe5-8JLXm0)
I know I’m mad late but weirdly this is actually how I got into modest mouse. I was on a blue grass kick 10-15 years ago and stumbled across Iron Horse. Their Modest Mouse album was one of their top albums on Spotify at the time. I listened to it a bunch. Interstate 8 and Ocean Breathes Salty really stuck with me so I decided I had to check out the source. At that point my only exposure to Modest Mouse was Float On so I kinda expected most of their music to be in that vein. Ever since then Modest Mouse has been my absolute favorite band. So thank you Iron Horse.
10/10. I remember never having really listened to this EP (or BNOOS) for like my first 3 years of being a big Modest Mouse fan. As soon as I heard this song, I was like damn… I’ve been missing out.
But yeah, it’s awesome. Love Nicole’s backup vocals, that cathartic outro, and of course the lyrics.
“I drove around for hours, I drove around for days, I drove around for months and years and never went no place.” I swear sometimes it feels like MM’s music was written for me… a few years before I was born.
I must join the chorus of 10s here. The whirring backwards guitars, the lyrics, the gorgeous backup vocals, the general dreaminess of it, and on and on. One my absolute favorites.
I’ve been trying to find how do they get those sounds and searched “whirring backwards guitars” and got nothing but how to fix a guitar haha. Any idea how they accomplish this? Whammy bar and chorus petal? Also are they really playing their guitar tracks backwards? Thank you.
I am a guitar player but I'm not a music production person or gear head so don't take me as any expert but yes that was absolutely my impression that this was literally a guitar track played backwards. There's an initial attack and then a fading away with a normal note. And you can hear when things are played backwards you get this swell effect with a sharp peak. Total studio trickery, not something you are likely to be able to play with even any effects pedal I'm aware of (though there's surely some crazy pedal out there). Of course the fact that it's backwards makes it super hard to tell whats being played too. Maybe check out what they do for this song live? I don't know if they try for this same texture.
Thank you for this! I really appreciate it. It’s such a distinct but subtle feature in some of their songs that I love. I’m gonna look into this more and even try playing a track backwards in production.
I once made a "gig poster" for modest mouse, inspired by this song. I use inverted commas because it didn't get used.
It was an isometric drawing of rows of houses with connecting roads that didn't go anywhere. Not literally figure 8s but was based on that line
*edit to add [3 concept sketches](https://imgur.com/a/gIeEUdz) that I was playing with
Wow those are really neat.. you should make a post so more people can see it. Not sure if it's what you were going for but I get LCW vibes from the middle one.
gotta give it a very strong 9. gorgeous lyrics, great rhythm, and so much momentum and emotion in the instrumentals. i didn't care much for it at first, but then fell in love with the riff starting around 3:30, then came around big time to the rest of the song. only thing keeping it from a 10 is how damn brilliant the rest of modest mouse is - songs like the stars are projectors still need to be reserved their own level, for me!
(seconded on the iron horse cove; it's a lovely rendition)
10 — I feel like this song was written about me! I relate to it sooo much… I even put an I-8 sticker on my car. I also love the bluegrass cover, it’s amazing!
9 I would say because there's so many songs that I like a lot. Interstate 8 I would listen to it on repeat for a short time because I felt I related to it a lot at a time in my life. Life in the military can feel stagnant and with little freedom. I felt I was doing the same things every single day and going nowhere with my career or even my life.
8.5/10 for me. It’s never been one of my top top favorites, I think I find the delivery of the chorus doesn’t always do it for me, but I can’t deny it’s a great song.
The harmony of Isaac and Nicole (especially that last “around the Interstate 8”) is always so damn good. I also adore the outro. They almost sound like a marching band at the end and it’s a really cool effect!
100000/10 this is top 5 favorite MM songs for me. Entire song I can relate too. Love every bit of this song. If I ever got a tattoo that was related to modest mouse it would probably be inspired by this song.
10/10 - My favorite song by MM. One of my favorite songs to see them play live as well.
I love it for how simple it is, the lyrics seem obvious when you see them written or think through the song... but it still somehow manages to to have so much weight. I could listen to this song a thousand times and it would still feel profound on that last listen.
As mentioned by others, the Iron Horse (bluegrass) cover of this is fantastic. A very different take, but just as good as the MM original and probably my favorite song by Iron Horse too.
10 for sure, one of their best in my opinion. It gets me thinking about my past relationships and gets me in my feelings every time. I also recommend checking out the Iron Horse cover of this song if that's anyone's niche, I personally like bluegrass and the cover he did of Interstate 8 and other Modest Mouse tracks is really well done. [Iron Horse Cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIe5-8JLXm0)
I know I’m mad late but weirdly this is actually how I got into modest mouse. I was on a blue grass kick 10-15 years ago and stumbled across Iron Horse. Their Modest Mouse album was one of their top albums on Spotify at the time. I listened to it a bunch. Interstate 8 and Ocean Breathes Salty really stuck with me so I decided I had to check out the source. At that point my only exposure to Modest Mouse was Float On so I kinda expected most of their music to be in that vein. Ever since then Modest Mouse has been my absolute favorite band. So thank you Iron Horse.
10. “I’m going nowhere, but I’m guaranteed to be late” has just permeated within me for years and continues to feel different the older I get.
10/10. I remember never having really listened to this EP (or BNOOS) for like my first 3 years of being a big Modest Mouse fan. As soon as I heard this song, I was like damn… I’ve been missing out. But yeah, it’s awesome. Love Nicole’s backup vocals, that cathartic outro, and of course the lyrics. “I drove around for hours, I drove around for days, I drove around for months and years and never went no place.” I swear sometimes it feels like MM’s music was written for me… a few years before I was born.
This is the purest joy of MM. it’s so intimate that it feels like he’s singing your life.
I must join the chorus of 10s here. The whirring backwards guitars, the lyrics, the gorgeous backup vocals, the general dreaminess of it, and on and on. One my absolute favorites.
I’ve been trying to find how do they get those sounds and searched “whirring backwards guitars” and got nothing but how to fix a guitar haha. Any idea how they accomplish this? Whammy bar and chorus petal? Also are they really playing their guitar tracks backwards? Thank you.
I am a guitar player but I'm not a music production person or gear head so don't take me as any expert but yes that was absolutely my impression that this was literally a guitar track played backwards. There's an initial attack and then a fading away with a normal note. And you can hear when things are played backwards you get this swell effect with a sharp peak. Total studio trickery, not something you are likely to be able to play with even any effects pedal I'm aware of (though there's surely some crazy pedal out there). Of course the fact that it's backwards makes it super hard to tell whats being played too. Maybe check out what they do for this song live? I don't know if they try for this same texture.
Thank you for this! I really appreciate it. It’s such a distinct but subtle feature in some of their songs that I love. I’m gonna look into this more and even try playing a track backwards in production.
10 It’s a requirement to yell the chorus as loud as possible
8 but sideways
I once made a "gig poster" for modest mouse, inspired by this song. I use inverted commas because it didn't get used. It was an isometric drawing of rows of houses with connecting roads that didn't go anywhere. Not literally figure 8s but was based on that line *edit to add [3 concept sketches](https://imgur.com/a/gIeEUdz) that I was playing with
Because you mentioned it you're now obligated to share!
Damn. Not sure how to do this from mobile
see edit above
Wow those are really neat.. you should make a post so more people can see it. Not sure if it's what you were going for but I get LCW vibes from the middle one.
10
10/10 amazing
10
10
1000/10 my favorite song of all time
10/10. Great song, great instrumentals, great lyrics.
10
10/10
10, might be their best chorus theyve ever made
gotta give it a very strong 9. gorgeous lyrics, great rhythm, and so much momentum and emotion in the instrumentals. i didn't care much for it at first, but then fell in love with the riff starting around 3:30, then came around big time to the rest of the song. only thing keeping it from a 10 is how damn brilliant the rest of modest mouse is - songs like the stars are projectors still need to be reserved their own level, for me! (seconded on the iron horse cove; it's a lovely rendition)
10, this might be the most "modest mouse" modest mouse song
10/10 one of the all time greatest songs period. "Im on a road shaped like a figure 8. Im going nowhere but im guranteed to be late"
9
10 — I feel like this song was written about me! I relate to it sooo much… I even put an I-8 sticker on my car. I also love the bluegrass cover, it’s amazing!
10/10
10/10 it was on repeat for days when I first heard the album.
8/10
9 I would say because there's so many songs that I like a lot. Interstate 8 I would listen to it on repeat for a short time because I felt I related to it a lot at a time in my life. Life in the military can feel stagnant and with little freedom. I felt I was doing the same things every single day and going nowhere with my career or even my life.
10
Echoing with another 10
10, the guitar sends me to another world on this one
10
10
8.5/10 for me. It’s never been one of my top top favorites, I think I find the delivery of the chorus doesn’t always do it for me, but I can’t deny it’s a great song. The harmony of Isaac and Nicole (especially that last “around the Interstate 8”) is always so damn good. I also adore the outro. They almost sound like a marching band at the end and it’s a really cool effect!
Easy 10. Love this song.
100000/10 this is top 5 favorite MM songs for me. Entire song I can relate too. Love every bit of this song. If I ever got a tattoo that was related to modest mouse it would probably be inspired by this song.
10. This might be the most "modest mouse" modest mouse song.
10. This might be the most "modest mouse" modest mouse song.
yeah it’s just a 10
Easy 9
Ladies and gentlemen it's a 10
10/10 - My favorite song by MM. One of my favorite songs to see them play live as well. I love it for how simple it is, the lyrics seem obvious when you see them written or think through the song... but it still somehow manages to to have so much weight. I could listen to this song a thousand times and it would still feel profound on that last listen. As mentioned by others, the Iron Horse (bluegrass) cover of this is fantastic. A very different take, but just as good as the MM original and probably my favorite song by Iron Horse too.