The Lonesome Crowded West

The Lonesome Crowded West
Studio album by Modest Mouse
Released	November 18, 1997
Recorded	Moon Music, Olympia, Washington, except tracks 1,6,7 at Avast Studios, Seattle, Washington Winter/Spring 1997
Genre	Indie rock[1]
Length	73:58
Label	Up UP027
Producer	Calvin Johnson, Isaac Brock, Scott Swayze
Modest Mouse chronology
The Fruit That Ate Itself (1997) The Lonesome Crowded West (1997) Night on the Sun (1999)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
NME	(6/10) link
Popmatters	(Very positive) [1]
A.V. Club	(Very Positive) link
Pitchfork Media	(8.9/10) link
Sputnikmusic	link
Robert Christgau	(A-)[1]
Rolling Stone	link

The Lonesome Crowded West is the second full-length album recorded by indie rock^[1] band Modest Mouse.

The album was released on Up Records on November 18, 1997, on both compact disc and vinyl LP.

Many consider the album to be one of the best indie rock albums of the 90s: Pitchfork Media ranked it #29 in their list 100 Greatest Albums of the 1990s,^[2] and the song "Trailer Trash" number 63 in their list of the 200 Greatest Songs of the decade.^[3] Spin ranked it #59 in their list the 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005,^[4] and Entertainment Weekly included the album in their list The Indie Rock 25.^[5] The A.V. Club has described the album as the band's breakthrough recording.^[6]

The two towers that adorn the album's cover are The Westin Seattle.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Modest Mouse. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Teeth Like God's Shoeshine"	6:53
2.	"Heart Cooks Brain"	4:03
3.	"Convenient Parking"	4:08
4.	"Lounge (Closing Time)"	7:03
5.	"Jesus Christ Was an Only Child"	2:36
6.	"Doin' the Cockroach"	4:18
7.	"Cowboy Dan"	6:14
8.	"Trailer Trash"	5:49
9.	"Out of Gas"	2:31
10.	"Long Distance Drunk"	3:42
11.	"Shit Luck"	2:22
12.	"Truckers Atlas"	10:57
13.	"Polar Opposites"	3:29
14.	"Bankrupt on Selling"	2:53
15.	"Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright"	6:53

Vinyl edition

The double-vinyl edition released on Up Records includes an extra track, "Baby Blue Sedan", and a slightly re-ordered track listing. Rather than having a gatefold cover to house both records, or putting both records in a single cover, the double-vinyl release was shipped in two different covers. "Baby Blue Sedan" was later included on Building Nothing Out of Something, a 1999 compilation of non-album tracks originally released from 1996-1998.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Teeth Like God's Shoeshine"	6:53
2.	"Heart Cooks Brain"	4:03
3.	"Convenient Parking"	4:08
4.	"Baby Blue Sedan"	4:04

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Doin' the Cockroach"	4:18
2.	"Cowboy Dan"	6:14
3.	"Trailer Trash"	5:49
4.	"Jesus Christ Was an Only Child"	2:36

Side three
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Out of Gas"	2:31
2.	"Long Distance Drunk"	3:42
3.	"Shit Luck"	2:22
4.	"Truckers Atlas"	10:57

Side four
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Polar Opposites"	3:29
2.	"Bankrupt on Selling"	2:53
3.	"Lounge (Closing Time)"	7:03
4.	"Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright"	6:53

Personnel

Modest Mouse

• Isaac Brock – guitar, vocals
• Jeremiah Green – drums
• Eric Judy – bass
• Dann Gallucci – guitar on "Trailer Trash" and "Bankrupt on Selling"

Additional musicians

• DJ K.O. – turntable scratching on "Heart Cooks Brain"
• Nicole Johnson – vocals on "Lounge (Closing Time)" and "Long Distance Drunk"
• Scott Swayze – guitar on "Convenient Parking" and "Lounge (Closing Time)"
• Tyler Reilly – violin on "Jesus Christ was an Only Child"
• Chris Setton – vocals

Additional personnel

• Brian Weber – bartender
• Produced by Calvin Johnson with Isaac Brock and Scott Swayze
• Engineered by Scott Swayze
• Photography by Pat Graham and Isaac Brock
• Design by Pat Castaldo

Dedications

• Dedicated to Jack Raymond

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Robert Christgau: Album review
2. ^ "Pitchfork Media Top 100 Albums of the 1990s, page 8.". http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/8/. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
3. ^ "Pitchfork Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 20-1.". http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7851-the-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s-100-51/4/. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
4. ^ "Spin's 100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". http://www.spin.com/articles/100-greatest-albums-1985-2005. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
5. ^ "Entertainment Weekly, The Indie Rock 25.". http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20184315_13,00.html. Retrieved 2010-10-22. 
6. ^ "It Was 10 Years Ago Today: 18 Reasons 1997 Might Be The Next 1967.". http://www.avclub.com/articles/it-was-40-10-years-ago-today-18-reasons-1997-might,2038/. Retrieved 2010-10-21.