When Brocks And Marrs Collide
SPIN's cover story for April traces the romantic story of when Johnny met Isaac. After reading Marr's words, all we can say is ... Brock's got balls.
SPIN: So Isaac Brock just called you out of the blue?MARR: Someone from his record company had contacted my manager first.
And then I bumped into Franz Ferdinand's manager, who said, "I hear you've joined Modest Mouse." And I said, "'Scuse me? I've never spoken to them in my life!" Then Isaac called and asked me if I wanted to join.SPIN: Join?
MARR: That's what he said, pretty much -- he was talking about me moving to Portland and getting an apartment. So I knew the guy was serious.Bet he's not kidding. Turns out "Dashboard" was born out of Isaac and Johnny's first jam session, "throwing guitar riffs back and forth while Brock freestyled lyrics ('Like nothing I've ever seen,' Marr notes.)" -- a songwriting style that stands in stark contrast to the Smiths approach: Marr submitted a cassette demo of a finished song, Moz added the Moz.SPIN: Did you know his music?
MARR: I had some songs on my iPod. "Dramamine." "Float On," of course. "Satin in a Coffin." And I really liked him, just from talking on the phone. So I did a little research, asked some folks about him -- which I don't know if he knows about. And in spite of that...[Laughs] Ah, just kidding!
What does the guitarist think of We Were Dead...? He puts it with The Queen Is Dead and Mindbomb by the The as records he's done that "hit the ceiling creatively." Johnny also reveals that, despite appearances to the contrary, he is not "officially" a Modest Mouse member (they haven't asked him yet!) -- but he'll take a cut of the songwriting proceeds. Should be a tidy sum. Now he can finally afford to buy that apartment in Portland!
[Pic from Modest Mouse @ Webster Hall 11/14/06.]
Posted at 9:30 AM
Tags: Johnny Marr | Modest Mouse
I wonder what a Brock freestyle session is like?
"Bluelight special, only $14.99, minivans, trucks, all you can eat. Big Mac, Whopper, Nike, Budweiser."
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I remember reading quite some time ago that there was going to be another Johnny Marr + The Healers album. Whatever happened to that?
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That isn't exactly how the Smiths always worked, as the book The Songs That Saved Your Life can attest to.
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You can read more of the cover story here:
http://www.spin.com/features/magazine/2007/03/0704_modestmouse
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oh SPIN, you're so needy these days
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the new Modest Mouse is growing on me and pretty strong, its a shame Johnny with all that talent hasn't really put out much material since the Smiths broke up in 1987, I saw him with The The in Boston January 1990 and it was magical. the SPIN article is pretty interesting
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the new Modest Mouse is growing on me and pretty strong, its a shame Johnny with all that talent hasn't really put out much material since the Smiths broke up in 1987, I saw him with The The in Boston January 1990 and it was magical. the SPIN article is pretty interesting
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best SPIN interview i've seen in a long time. i hadn't read the mag in years but just read this issues and last cover to cover. while they have issues to work on, the main two main stories in each were written pretty well. i hate FOB and the article about them was engaging. hopefully this is SPIN getting better, but i'm not holding my breath.
The new Modest Mouse is Classic-bound and anyone who doesn't think so by now is in denial or trying to be an asshat.
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The new MM is not even close to the Queen is Dead. Not even close.
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brock freestyles??? thats awesome. mucho cool
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It seriously fucking pisses me off when boring and totally undeserving bands like Modest Mouse sell 100,000 copies and go straight to #1 while the most beautiful and artistic bands like Paavoharju, Panda Bear, and Embrace The End go unnoticed.
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+1000000000000 to Tofu Man. Thank you! Also, fuck Sigur Ros, those Paavoharju wannabes.
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honestly, i never had the wildest dream about this [seemingly disparate] union - BUT - sometimes the best music is born out of unlikely pairings.
it's johnny marr for effsake!
reading the most recent rolling stone interview with brock was great because he admitted to putting on shitty shows due to addiction.
my husband & i bought tickets excitedly last year only to witness one of the shittiest shows i have seen in l.a. they played the wiltern which is one of the finest places to play accoustically [chicago theatre in chicago vies with it] & they [he] fell flat on his face. couldn't even remember the lyrics?!?
hello, we paid how much to hear someone forget the lyrics we knew?
i am happy - like mr. tweedy - that brock has pulled himself out of the hole. modest mouse is truly talented. the addition of johnny marr will only expand this.
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