Johnny Marr Joins Modest Mouse: Exclusive

We've known for a while that Modest Mouse leader Isaac Brock and former Smiths guitarist/genius Johnny Marr were collaborating on MM's next record. But guess what? Marr is now officially a full-on member of Modest Mouse, Brock recently told us. According to Brock, Marr's membership is so unequivocal, he will tour with MM in support of their next record, tentatively titled We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank that's due this fall. "He made a cautious commitment to write and record with us, and then the tighter we got, he was like, 'OK let's tour too,' " Brock said. "Then he was pretty much a member of the band — not pretty much. He's a full blown member of the band. It's really fuckin' nice."

Some backstory: When it came time to start work on the follow-up to 2004's indie-rock marvel Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Brock found himself sans guitarist and enlisted Marr to help write and record. "I took a long shot really," says Brock. "I was like, 'You know, I really like that guy's guitar playing. There's no chance in hell he's going to say yes, but why not give him a call?' So I did." Maybe Morrissey should borrow Brock's little black book? "Eventually it all came together, and it was a really good fit, which I think actually surprised all of us," Brock adds. Finally, Marr, Brock and Co. went down to Sweet Tea studios in Mississippi (the same joint where Good News was recorded) to lay down tracks for We Were Dead, which Brock describes as a nautical balalaika carnival romp. So what's the gist? Get ready to have your mind blown by Modest Marr's crazy-dark sailors-and-gypsies whimsy.

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Song Stories

“All Along the Watchtower”

The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 1968

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

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