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
MMLongDrive5075.jpg
Studio album by
Modest Mouse
ReleasedApril 16, 1996
RecordedOctober–November 1995
StudioMoon Studios (Olympia, Washington)
Genre
Length74:03(Standard)
86:10 (LP)
Label Up
Producer Steve 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.

Contents

Music and lyrics

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]

Brandon Gentry of AllMusic explains that the album's tracks alternate between "slow, brooding numbers" and "thrashing guitar workouts." The album's instrumentation incorporates mandolin, slide guitar, and cello to augment the band's traditional indie rock configuration. [5]

Lyrically, many of the album's tracks focus on traveling by automobile and the loneliness associated with rural life, which Gentry delineated as "emotional and geographic isolation." [5] According to Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork , the album's lyrics "appear completely stream-of-consciousness."

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Christgau's Consumer Guide A− [7]
Pitchfork 6.8/10 (1996) [8]
8.5/10 (2014) [9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [10]

The Albuquerque Tribune called the album "intricate, brainy pop sneaking back into old-time ballads, honky-tonk slide and folk pluck." [11] 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] Brandon Gentry of AllMusic gave the album four stars out of five, and wrote: "In general, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About is a fine album, and Modest Mouse distinguishes itself here with songs whose meanings are simultaneously universal and painfully personal." [5] Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork wrote: "The only problem with this record is that it's impossible to get all the way through it because it's over 70 minutes long. And the vinyl version actually has more songs. There are few bands who can pull that off and honestly, Modest Mouse is not one of 'em. But I guess if they've got the studio time, a little extra music never hurt anybody." [12]

Track listing

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

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

Modest Mouse

Additional musicians

Other

References

  1. 1 2 "This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing ... | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. 1 2 "Robert Christgau: Album: Modest Mouse: This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About". www.robertchristgau.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 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 March 9, 2000.
  5. 1 2 3 This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing ... | AllMusic , retrieved June 21, 2025
  6. ↑ Gentry, Brandon. "This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About – Modest Mouse". AllMusic . Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ "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 July 27, 2023.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "Modest Mouse, 'This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About'". The Albuquerque Tribune. May 30, 1996. p. D9.
  12. ↑ "Modest Mouse: This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About: Pitchfork Review". www.pitchforkmedia.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2000. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
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