13. Knowing They Did Long-Winded Titles Way Before Fall Out Boy
It takes a certain kind of creativity to come up with a clever title. For instance, the title to this entry? Not so great. If Modest Mouse had written it, though, it would probably be much wittier and more entertaining to read than anything I've typed up to this point. It might also be longer. Flashback to the new millennium's Golden Era of pop-punk and it seemed that every band was destined for failure if their song titles weren't super clever and longer than the description of a complicated entree at a high-end restaurant. Fall Out Boy led the charge with songs like "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued" and "I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me." Acts like Panic! at the Disco and Brand New also got in on the act, entering "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage" and "Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have to Do Is Die," respectively. Where did these young, brash fellas learn to distill their creative angst into such cutely-worded titles? From none other than Uncle Brock, of course. Modest Mouse's debut album, This Is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About is about as poignant of an introduction a band can make. And back before they had record label, Brock recorded a couple hundred copies of cassettes to distribute at shows, their first being Uncle Bunny Faces Useless Anology Involving Distance, Freight Trains, and Half Ripe Limes (It Doesn't Matter, Limes Are Sour Either Way). That's quite a mouthful. And speaking of mouthfuls, they also released Sad Sappy Sucker Chokin' on a Mouthful of Lost Thoughts in 1993.