The Lonesome Crowded West

The Lonesome Crowded West
Studio album by Modest Mouse
Released November 18, 1997
Recorded Moon Music, Olympia, Washington, except tracks 1,6,7 at Avast Studios, Seattle, Washington
Winter/Spring 1997
Genre Indie rock[1]
Length 73:58
Label Up UP027
Producer Calvin Johnson, Isaac Brock, Scott Swayze
Modest Mouse chronology
The Fruit That Ate Itself
(1997)
The Lonesome Crowded West
(1997)
Night on the Sun
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic link
NME (6/10) link
Popmatters (Very positive) [1]
A.V. Club (Very Positive) link
Pitchfork Media (8.9/10) link
Sputnikmusic link
Robert Christgau (A-)[1]
Rolling Stone link

The Lonesome Crowded West is the second full-length album recorded by indie rock[1] band Modest Mouse.

The album was released on Up Records on November 18, 1997, on both compact disc and vinyl LP.

Many consider the album to be one of the best indie rock albums of the 90s: Pitchfork Media ranked it #29 in their list 100 Greatest Albums of the 1990s,[2] and the song "Trailer Trash" number 63 in their list of the 200 Greatest Songs of the decade.[3] Spin ranked it #59 in their list the 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005,[4] and Entertainment Weekly included the album in their list The Indie Rock 25.[5] The A.V. Club has described the album as the band's breakthrough recording.[6]

The two towers that adorn the album's cover are The Westin Seattle.

Contents

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Modest Mouse

No. Title Length
1. "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine"   6:53
2. "Heart Cooks Brain"   4:03
3. "Convenient Parking"   4:08
4. "Lounge (Closing Time)"   7:03
5. "Jesus Christ Was an Only Child"   2:36
6. "Doin' the Cockroach"   4:18
7. "Cowboy Dan"   6:14
8. "Trailer Trash"   5:49
9. "Out of Gas"   2:31
10. "Long Distance Drunk"   3:42
11. "Shit Luck"   2:22
12. "Truckers Atlas"   10:57
13. "Polar Opposites"   3:29
14. "Bankrupt on Selling"   2:53
15. "Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright"   6:53

Vinyl edition

The double-vinyl edition released on Up Records includes an extra track, "Baby Blue Sedan", and a slightly re-ordered track listing. Rather than having a gatefold cover to house both records, or putting both records in a single cover, the double-vinyl release was shipped in two different covers. "Baby Blue Sedan" was later included on Building Nothing Out of Something, a 1999 compilation of non-album tracks originally released from 1996-1998.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine"   6:53
2. "Heart Cooks Brain"   4:03
3. "Convenient Parking"   4:08
4. "Baby Blue Sedan"   4:04
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "Doin' the Cockroach"   4:18
2. "Cowboy Dan"   6:14
3. "Trailer Trash"   5:49
4. "Jesus Christ Was an Only Child"   2:36
Side three
No. Title Length
1. "Out of Gas"   2:31
2. "Long Distance Drunk"   3:42
3. "Shit Luck"   2:22
4. "Truckers Atlas"   10:57
Side four
No. Title Length
1. "Polar Opposites"   3:29
2. "Bankrupt on Selling"   2:53
3. "Lounge (Closing Time)"   7:03
4. "Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright"   6:53

Personnel

Modest Mouse

Additional musicians

Additional personnel

Dedications

References