This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About is the first proper full-length album by indie rock band Modest Mouse. The album was released on Up Records on April 16, 1996, on both compact disc and vinyl formats. The vinyl release contains two extra tracks, "Edit the Sad Parts" and "A Manic Depressive Named Laughing Boy". "Edit the Sad Parts" was later included on Interstate 8 while "A Manic Depressive Named Laughing Boy" remains available only on the vinyl edition of This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About.

The album itself was critically well received and garnered praise for its lush instrumentation, unconventional vocal delivery, and topical subject matter. The instrumental arrangements on This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About are at times hollow and ghostly and at others full-bodied and rich. The band achieves this effect through the juxtaposition of jagged guitar, fluid bass lines, and erratic drum beats with cello, mandolin, and slide guitar arrangements. Isaac Brock's vocal delivery was equally innovative. Heavily influenced by Pixies front-man Black Francis, Brock's screams, rapid-fire delivery, and lisping voice almost mirror the desperation conveyed by the band's lyrical content. For the most part, the subject matter of This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About follows the theme of the album's title. Many of the tracks focus on traveling by automobile, desperation, loneliness, isolation, and the emptiness associated with suburban life.

Track listing

1. "Dramamine" – 5:42
2. "Breakthrough" – 4:06
3. "Custom Concern" – 4:28
4. "Might" – 1:31
5. "Lounge" – 6:33
6. "Beach Side Property" – 6:59
7. "She Ionizes & Atomizes" – 4:21
8. "Head South" – 4:22
9. "Dog Paddle" – 2:02
10. "Novocain Stain" – 3:42
11. "Tundra/Desert" – 5:24
12. "Ohio" – 6:01
13. "Exit Does Not Exist" – 4:57
14. "Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset" – 5:50
15. "Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds" – 6:04
16. "Space Travel Is Boring" – 1:53

Vinyl edition bonus tracks

17. "Edit the Sad Parts" – 7:04
18. "A Manic Depressive Named Laughing Boy" – 5:03

Personnel

• Isaac Brock - guitar and vocals (drums on "Dog Paddle")
• Jeremiah Green - drums (bass on "Dog Paddle")
• Eric Judy - bass (guitar on "Dog Paddle")
• Steve Wold - slide guitar, mandolin, guitar, backup vocals
• Brent Arnold - cello
• Nicole Johnson - vocals on "Custom Concern", "She Ionizes & Atomizes", and "Head South"
• Calvin Johnson - extra vocals on "Head South"
• Produced by Steve Wold
• Engineered by Scott Swayze & Steve Wold
• Photography by Isaac Brock

External links

• This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About lyrics at Interstate-8