A Closer Look at Modest Mouse's The Moon & Antarctica (original) (raw)

Welcome to our latest author Q&A, where we chat to the writers behind new and upcoming 33 1/3 books! Today Zac Petit tells us more about his 33 1/3 on Modest Mouse’s The Moon & Antarctica. He shares his favorite moments from the book, things that didn’t make it into the final draft and how he approached the writing process.

How would you describe your book in one sentence?

Hypnotists; Chicago ruffians and broken jaws; Blood Meridian; an 8,000 square-foot-studio filled with gems, guitars and taxidermy; Modelo Cheladas; Isaac Brock, Eric Judy and Jeremiah Green; and the story of “hands-down, one of the greatest records ever made” (NME).

What drew you to this album?

For me, it was always that the whole thing seemed so enigmatic. As a listener, I wanted to unravel it. As a journalist, I realized that I might actually be able to attempt to do it.

Early on my friends asked me a fair amount why I didn’t write the book on _The Lonesome Crowded West_—and it’s a fair question! I was ultimately drawn to _The Moon & Antarctica_’s big existential themes, and how Modest Mouse’s first major-label record turned out to be one of their strangest (in the best possible way). I think it was also a very interesting turning point for the band, and indie music at large at the time, which I tried to seize on here and there in the book.

The great thing about The Moon & Antarctica is that it covers a wide variety of sonic terrain, and there are entry points for lots of different people. I’d go with a given listener’s genre/music style of choice, and expand outward from there. There are the accessible and addictive touchpoints like “3rd Planet” and “Paper Thin Walls”; there’s the more vibey stuff like “Tiny Cities”; the mellow “Gravity Rides Everything” and “Wild Packs of Family Dogs.” I probably would not start with “The Cold Part” or “What People Are Made Of.” [Laughs.]

How did you approach writing your own 33 1/3 book?

Some of my favorites include Ryan Pinkard’s Boxer (coincidentally, Ryan actually edited my book!) and Joe Gross’ In on the Kill Taker. I love 33 1/3s that take a documentarian approach versus the entries that are more academic or esoteric. But ultimately, my favorite thing about the series is that there is no established paradigm or template. My goal was to (try to) keep myself out of the book as much as possible, and let the people who made the album tell the story.

What was the process of writing the book like?

Since my approach hinged on the band, producer and others telling the story, I had to make sure they were on board for doing interviews. Luckily they were. After the book was greenlit, I traveled to Portland and spent a fair amount of time with Isaac in the band’s nerve center, Ice Cream Party. After that I interviewed Eric Judy and others, and eventually went to Chicago to interview producer Brian Deck. (I even managed to track down his intern/assistant from that era.) After that, I transcribed the many hours of interviews, and began to build an outline for the book (for me, the most time-consuming part—and the place where you can tank the whole thing if you’re not careful). Once that was done, I believe I wrote the book in a few weeks or a month.

Did you learn anything new about the album that you didn’t know going into the project?

So much. For example, the well-known lore around the album is that Isaac got his jaw smashed by a kid in a park, and as he was recovering, his jaw was wired shut and he obsessively layered guitars and other sounds, building out the record we know today. But that’s usually where the anecdote ends. I talked to different people who were there that day/night/the following day, and it was fascinating hearing the different recollections of a single cataclysmic event—and the context of the mood in the neighborhood at the time that fueled the whole thing. Some of those recollections made it into the book, showing that it’s possible to plum the depths of a well-worn story and come to the surface with something new. I tried to follow rabbits down holes as often as possible.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

The fact that memory is nebulous—if there even is any. At this point, it’s been about 25 years since the recording, and the collective memory is naturally hazy. Luckily, it’s possible to build a mosaic from lots of fragments.

Do you have any favorite moments in the book?

When I got to Portland, Isaac told me he had a hypnotist lined up to try to help him remember the recordings. Spoiler: It didn’t work. But it’s probably my favorite part of the book (and the first scene).

Are there any stories that didn’t make it into the final book?

There are. But the biggest is Modest Mouse founding drummer Jeremiah Green. He died on Dec. 31, 2022, at 45, and the book got greenlit a couple of weeks later. He is the one big missing piece of it. I would have loved to have spent time with him and told his story. Isaac described how Jeremiah, Eric and others each hold unique core aspects of a memory—and collectively, they form the whole. When one is gone, that part of the story is gone.

If you got the chance to write a 33 1/3 about another album… what are you picking?

Probably a Mogwai record—maybe Rock Action? From the same era. Strange. Enigmatic. But ultimately, largely wordless. (And thus maybe a terrible record to write about—or a fantastic one.)

Zachary Petit

is an independent journalist who has covered the arts, design, and history for a variety of outlets, including Fast Company, Smithsonian, Eye on Design, National Geographic properties and PRINT, where he served as editor-in-chief of the National Magazine Award–winning publication. This is his third book. For more, visit zacharypetit.com.

Modest Mouse’s The Moon & Antarctica is available to buy in bookshops and online, including at Bloo msbury.com.