Track Listing

1. Never Ending Math Equation
2. Interstate 8
3. Broke
4. Medication
5. Workin' On Leavin' The Livin'
6. All Night Diner
7. Baby Blue Sedan
8. Life Of Artic Sounds
9. Sleepwalking
10. Grey Ice Water
11. Whenever You Breathe Out I Breathe In (Positive Negativ e)
12. Other People's Lives

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45593 in Music
• Released on: 2000-02-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Single
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Customer Reviews

Best non-album Modest Mouse release...
Building Nothing Out of Something is different from many non-album releases by bands, in that while the tracks come from varying places and times, it would be impossible to tell these tracks weren't recorded together just by listening to them. A great example is the transition form "Medication" to "Workin on Leavin the Living".

As always with Modest Mouse, it is Isaac Brock's talent for songwriting which is the driving force. Most of the songs are insular and downbeat in tone, but almost every one displays Brock's great wordplay and them ability to say things about the 'bigger picture' with simple sentences or lyrics.

Building Nothing Out of Something reveals a young band whose non-album tunes deserve the same respect as their full-lengths. And somewhere behind the occasional angry vocal or musical outburst, or the barely concealed frustration in Brock's voice - it is clear that at the heart of this album is some fantastic pop songs and a rarely surpassed knack for melody.

Highly recommended.

Speechless
I have alredy posted a long review hailing the wonders of "the Lonesome Crowded West" and the talent of Modest Mouse, so I won't go over it again at length. Yes, this band is just UNBELIEVABLE, and this album only confirms it.
I own all their releases and even though it's hard to say which is better than the other, "Building..." has a special place in my heart (and my music collection). "Broke" is probably one of the best songs I have EVER heard, with both amazing lyrics ("broke a promise cos' my car broke down/ it's such a classic excuse it should be bronze by now/ broke up and I'm relieved somehow/ it's the end of the discussions that just go round and round and round and round and round...") and what fantastic guitars. And if you get a chance to see them live then go, they just rock.
Yes, this album is a truly outstanding piece of work, but that's Modest Mouse for you. If you're new to them, my advice here is to be a little patient and give it quite a few spins before making hasty judgements: diamonds can look like ordinary stones before you work at them. Oh, and buy this album too!