All Nite Diner — Modest Mouse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWVKiiU50Ag

Modest Mouse was before I knew the subtle, brutish charm of the Midwest; they're from Issaquah, Washington (as is Nate Query of The Decemberists!), but no matter how Pacific-Northwestern they identify as, I'll always relate them to the delightfully un-picturesque ideas of the great American prairies I kept in my head during high school. Something about their sound — the lo-fi, the chants and whispers and talking in the background; the bumping, repetitive basslines; the dynamics and the arrangement, and, most of all, the lyrics about driving and medication and gas stations and leaving and going to and from different small towns. The lyrics mention Triple X and 8-ball and how to avoid premature ejaculation and snaggleteeth, but it's not comedic or dramatic. It's matter-of-fact, like this just how things are and sound and continue to be in small towns in America. The backwards guitar riffs are functional and interesting, not show-offy. As with so much of small-town America, the devil is in the details.