The Moon & Antarctica
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The Moon & Antarctica is the third full-length album by American rock band Modest Mouse, first released by Epic Records on June 13, 2000. The album was the band's first release on a major label and was released on both compact disc and vinyl LP. It has since been reissued twice on CD and once on vinyl. The album peaked at number 120 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart.[1]
The album was praised by critics and fans alike for its in-depth discussion of dense subject matter, as well as frontman Isaac Brock's clever and introspective lyrics. The album was also hailed for being an expansion of the band's unique sound. This was due both to the band's new major label tools as well as the production of Brian Deck.[citation needed] The album's title is a reference to an opening scene in the movie Blade Runner, where the main character Rick Deckard is reading a newspaper with the headline "Farming the Oceans, The Moon and Antarctica".
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Isaac Brock; all music is composed by Isaac Brock, Eric Judy, and Jeremiah Green, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "3rd Planet" | 3:59 | |
| 2. | "Gravity Rides Everything" | 4:19 | |
| 3. | "Dark Center of the Universe" | 5:04 | |
| 4. | "Perfect Disguise" | 2:43 | |
| 5. | "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" | 3:44 | |
| 6. | "A Different City" | 3:10 | |
| 7. | "The Cold Part" | 5:03 | |
| 8. | "Alone Down There" | 2:24 | |
| 9. | "The Stars Are Projectors" | 8:46 | |
| 10. | "Wild Packs of Family Dogs" | Isaac Brock | 1:45 |
| 11. | "Paper Thin Walls" | 3:01 | |
| 12. | "I Came As a Rat" | 3:48 | |
| 13. | "Lives" | 3:19 | |
| 14. | "Life Like Weeds" | 6:30 | |
| 15. | "What People Are Made Of" | 2:14 |
2004 re-release bonus tracks
Isaac Brock was dissatisfied with the final mix and the album artwork for The Moon & Antarctica following its original 2000 release.[2] According to an interview given in Filter in 2004, he intended to remix the album "on his own time, using his own money, simply to have a copy he alone could hear" when the label, Epic Records, offered to finance a new release.[2] The album was eventually reissued in a new mix on March 9, 2004 on a CD with new artwork and four additional tracks from a BBC Radio 1 session.[3] A vinyl reissue was released on April 13, 2010 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the album.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 16. | "3rd Planet" (BBC Radio Edit) | 4:00 |
| 17. | "Perfect Disguise" | 2:59 |
| 18. | "Custom Concern" (Instrumental) | 1:59 |
| 19. | "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" | 3:08 |
Reception
Pitchfork Media ranked the album as the third best album of 2000, trailing Kid A by Radiohead and Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós.[4] In February 2005, Pitchfork named it the seventh best album of the years 2000 through 2004.[5] The Moon & Antarctica was voted the sixth best album of the decade by Pitchfork in October 2009.[6] In 2008, betterPropaganda ranked the album number 23 in their Top 100 Albums of the 2000s.[7] Tiny Mix Tapes placed it at number 51 on their list.[8] The album ranked number 37 in Entertainment Weekly's "The New Classics," a list of the hundred best albums from 1983-2008.[9] Rhapsody ranked the album #4 on its "Alt/Indie’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.[10] In March 2009, the album was certified gold by the RIAA in the United States.[11]
Personnel
Modest Mouse
- Isaac Brock – guitars, vocals
- Jeremiah Green – drums
- Eric Judy – bass
Additional musicians
- Ben Blankenship – lap steel guitar (1,4), banjo (4), keyboards (5,11,14), guitar (8,11,15)
- Brian Deck – keyboards (6)
- Ben Massarella – percussion (5,7,12,15)
- Greg Ratajczak – guitar (7)
- Jeff Kennedy- Lap Steel Guitar (5)
- Tyler Riley – violin (3,5,7,9,13,14)
- Tim Rutili – background vocals (11)
- Chiyoko Yoshida – background vocals (13)
Charting positions
Album
| Year | Chart | Position[1] |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Billboard Heatseekers | 5 |
| 2000 | The Billboard 200 | 120 |
References
- ^ a b "The Moon & Antarctica - Charts & Awards". Allmusic (Macrovision Corporation). Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ a b
Leckart, Steve. "True Glue: John Wayne and a Not So Modest Mouse". Filter. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^
Prevatt, Mike (2004-05-13). "CDVS: Jawbreaker vs. Modest Mouse". Las Vegas Mercury (Stephens Media). Retrieved 2009-10-04.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Top 200 Albums of 2000". Pitchfork Media. 2001-01-01. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ "The Top 100 Albums of 2000-04". Pitchfork Media. 2001-01-01. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 20-1". Pitchfork Media. 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
- ^ betterPropaganda's Top 100 Albums of the Decade: #23 Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
- ^ [1]
- ^ "The New Classics: Music — The 100 best albums from 1983 to 2008". Entertainment Weekly. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ "Alt/Indie’s Best Albums of the Decade". Retrieved 12 January 2010.
- ^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS