Modest Mouse
The Moon & Antarctica

Release Date: 2000 | Tracklist

The Moon and Antarctica is a journey inside our heart of darkness. It is the dim reflection of distant planets, of projections of burnt out stars, of gravity plans, of sub atomic particles, of black matter, of fractal shapes and astral planes and lysergic thought patterns, of the very depths of what we fathom. It as a universe as backwards as the opening of Gravity Rides Everything, where I am you and God is a woman and the cities are made of ashes. So it is as Modest Mouse drags us through black holes and singularities into the darkest oceans of our bodies and the icy depths of distant seas on faraway worlds. It seems as though Cowboy Dan has long since fired his rifle in the sky, killing whatever idea of God you might have conceived. The air has long since filled up and there is nothing left to breathe and our hell comes from inside and our hearts pump dust and we are alone in the coldest parts of the furthest planets. Guitars as delicate as water rise like mountains and crash like tidal waves. The Stars Are Projectors is the voice of God, a place where the human condition is unraveled and we skip stones across the fabric of the universe just as the laws of physic cease to exist. Surely then, in turn, the outro of Alone Down There is the sound of everything finally collapsing upon itself, the first and last question, the beginning and end of all things to come.

If the universe is shaped exactly like the earth and if there is a universe in every atom then is not this multiverse merely a reflection of ourselves, a never ending math equation that is surely the sum of its parts – us? We may only be made of water and ***, but each of us is the beacon burning brightly in the dark centre of the universe as we experience it. Is this not then an obligation for us to be love, to be peace, to be the change we want to see in the world? You might be as small as an ant, standing on a bridge watching all the people you’ve ever been go by, one tiny facet of a pale blue dot in a universe whose vastness is beyond human comprehension. But we are made of every grain of sand, every speck in every pile of dust, every plant, every animal, everything. Its yin and yang, its balance, its Tao, it’s whatever you choose to call it. One can’t exist without the other; we are the universe experiencing itself. Maybe I don’t know. After all, I’ve been told that you’ll never die and you’ll never grow old. But sometimes it can be really god damn hard to remember to live before you die. Forget your nihilistic manifesto. More than anything, The Moon and Antarctica is a reminder to be here now and make the most of every second of my stupid little life.

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4.3 superb

Rank: #13 for 2000