Sad Sappy Sucker Explained

Sad Sappy Sucker
Type:studio
Artist:Modest Mouse
Cover:SadSappySucker.jpg
Released:April 24, 2001
Recorded:November 12, 1994 – 1995
Genre:Indie rock
Label:K, Glacial Pace (2010 reissue)
Producer:Calvin Johnson
Prev Title:The Moon & Antarctica
Prev Year:2000
Next Title:Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks
Next Year:2001

Sad Sappy Sucker (or by the full title on its cover art Sad Sappy Sucker Chokin on a Mouthful of Lost Thoughts[1] [2]) is a 2001 studio album released by alternative rock band Modest Mouse. Originally slated to be Modest Mouse's debut album in 1994, Sad Sappy Sucker was shelved for several years until its eventual release in 2001, following the popularity of the band's third album The Moon & Antarctica. Several songs were recorded at Olympia, Washington's Dub Narcotic Studios by Beat Happening frontman Calvin Johnson. The record was officially released by Johnson's label K Records on April 24, 2001, available in both Compact Disc and vinyl LP, and containing nine additional tracks added to the original track listing of 15 songs.

Critical reception

Sad Sappy Sucker was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. Metacritic, gave this release a score of 55 out of 100, based on 8 reviews.

In a review for Pitchfork, Spencer Owen gave the album a 7 out of 10 on release, but after a reissue gave it a 7.2.[3] PopMatters said that "taken on its own merits, Sad Sappy Sucker is pretty good, but the out-and-out strangeness of it all and the fact that it doesn’t hold together as a real album may throw off the uninitiated (and who can blame them?)." Stereogum declared it the worst Modest Mouse album, stating "the album is as grating and undercooked as indie rock debuts come, full of indulgent studio experiments, half-assed sketches, and tunes that sound like a generic sadcore band's demo cassette in high-speed dub mode....Sad Sappy Sucker asks the question: 'How many Built To Spills do we need?'"[4]

Track listing

The first 15 tracks make up the original album Sad Sappy Sucker. Tracks 16-24 come from Isaac Brock's answering machine — he originally had a "Call to Dial a Song" service, similar to They Might Be Giants' Dial-A-Song.

  1. "Worms vs. Birds" – 2:13
  2. "Four Fingered Fisherman" – 2:27
  3. "Wagon Ride Return" – 0:48
  4. "Classy Plastic Lumber" (unlisted on back cover) – 2:03
  5. "From Point A to Point B (∞)" – 2:56
  6. "Path of Least Resistance" – 0:28
  7. "It Always Rains on a Picnic" – 3:01
  8. "Dukes Up" – 2:24
  9. "Think Long" – 1:09
  10. "Every Penny Fed Car" – 3:07
  11. "Mice Eat Cheese" – 2:26
  12. "Race Car Grin You Ain't No Landmark" – 1:13
  13. "Red Hand Case" – 2:37
  14. "Secret Agent X-9" – 1:12
  15. "Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?" – 1:09

Bonus Tracks

  1. "Call to Dial-a-Song" – 0:31
  2. "5-4-3-2-1 Lisp Off" – 0:30
  3. "Woodgrain" – 0:30
  4. "BMX Crash" – 0:28
  5. "Sucker Bet" – 1:19
  6. "Black Blood & Old Newagers" – 0:29
  7. "SWY" – 0:29
  8. "Australopithecus" – 0:29
  9. "Sin Gun Chaser" – 0:27

Personnel

Modest Mouse

Spencer Moody - reportedly the only caller to ever leave a voicemail message on the Dial-A-Song service in 1994, heard on "Call to Dial-a-Song"[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Release group "Sad Sappy Sucker Chokin On A Mouthful Of Lost Thoughts" by Modest Mouse. MusicBrainz. 27 December 2022.
  2. Web site: Release group "Sad Sappy Sucker" by Modest Mouse. MusicBrainz. 27 December 2022.
  3. Web site: Pitchfork Reissue Review. Pitchfork. Greene. Jayson. November 12, 2010. March 28, 2021.
  4. Web site: Modest Mouse Albums From Worst To Best. Stereogum. 6 March 2013. 27 December 2022.
  5. Web site: Sad Sappy Sucker. Bandcamp. 27 December 2022.

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