Modest Mouse: The Sinking Ship We're All On.

Hipsters are like the mean retarded kid with a bullhorn – loud, obnoxious & easily distracted by shiny objects.“But the production values! The production values!”Yeah, you know what? Sometimes it’s okay for good music to actually sound good too. Johnny Marr’s on the record for Crissakes! Be happy already!Ah, that felt good.Everyone has been hit in the head with how upbeat & dance-ready this album is so let’s talk about the real strength of this album- the lyrics.In this, the 21st century, it’s impossible to absorb art in any form and not think it’s political. Instant or subtle, generic or specific, it seems there’s always a comparison or parallel to be made. I can’t help but feel that with We Were Dead…(or WWDBTSES, if you like.) It’s in the lyrics & song titles like FloridaCouldn't quite seem to escape myselfFar enough, far enoughFar from FloridaWe were all drowning in cruise controlFar enough, far enoughWasn't far enoughMissed The Boat Oh, and we carried it all so wellAs if we got a new positionOh, and I laugh all the way to hellSaying yes, this is a fine promotionOh, and I laugh all the way to helland We’ve Got EverythingDidn't want it didn't need it but we knew that we could steal it left it dying on the FloorMaybe I’m wrong about these songs but maybe not.I do know however, for a fact that Dashboard is about Global Warming.Oh, the dashboard melted but we still have the radioand then laterOh, if the world don’t like us, it’ll shake us just like we were a coldAnd of course, the most telling, biting and comical song lyrics (and source of the album title) are from Parting of The Sensory. Here, it’s inescapable.Who the hell made you the boss?We placed our chips in all the right spotsBut still lostAny shithead who had ever walkedCould take the ship and do a much finer jobThis fit like clothes made out of waspsAw, fuck it I guess I lostAnd laterThe weather changed it for the worseAnd came down on us like it had been rehearsedAnd like we hope, but change will surely comeAnd be awful for most but really good for someMakes you wonder, if Dylan recorded The Times, They Are-A-Changin’ with a poppy go-go beat and Bacharach shine if the message would’ve gotten through or been lost in sound.Anyway, what’s interesting to note is that while many are getting caught up in the gossip & being caught off-guard dancing, Modest Mouse are delivering the bad news in a very good way.