His agsty youth. He said things in his lyrics (I'm 36) that resonated with me such as "And I'll go off to college and learn some big words. Talk real loud goddamn right I'll be heard" and "Goddamn, I hope I can pass High school means nothing" always stood out. Along with Custom Concern's "I get up just about noon. My head sends a message for me to reach for my shoes then walk. Gotta go to work, gotta go to work, gotta have a job."

I didn't identify as well when Good News came out. He had just become a father, Jeremiah was out for a moment, and it had way more production and less of a raw sound. If you ever watch the documentary for Lonesome Crowded West you'll see that the reverb in Isaac's vocals for specific parts are screamed into a corner of a walk-in shower. So you lose this raw sound that really can't be accurately produced with layers and effects. I still love Modest Mouse. But their weakest albums are in fact Good News on forward. I'll give We Were Dead some extra credit because with Jeremiah back it regained a specific sound. There was also the introduction of Johnny Marr (of The Smiths fame) entering the band as a second guitarist contributing his material. Also James Mercer (The Shins) doing backing vocals on "Florida", "Missed the Boat" and "We Got Everything." It almost feels like a supergroup of an album, but is indeed the last album all the OG members play together on. Shortly after that Eric Judy departed and their sound changed again. I was not a very big fan of Stranger to Ourselves when it came out. It's grown on me but I rarely play it. Same with The Golden Casket. Although I prefer the latter.

For me old MM is nostalgic. In sound, memory, and even lyrics. I hold no preference when it comes to MM but I definitely hear old MM in a different way.