The Moon & Antarctica is the third full-length album by indie rock band Modest Mouse, first released by Epic Records on June 13, 2000.

The album was the band's first release on a major label and was released on both compact disc and vinyl LP.

It was praised by critics and fans alike for its in-depth discussion of dense subject matter, as well as frontman Isaac Brock's clever and introspective lyrics. The Moon & Antarctica was also hailed for being an expansion of the band's unique sound. This was due both to the band's new major label tools as well as the production of Brian Deck.

Pitchfork Media ranked the album as the third best album of 2000, trailing Kid A by Radiohead and Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós. In early 2005, they named it the seventh best album of the years 2000 through 2004.

Track listing

All songs written by Isaac Brock and Modest Mouse, with tracks 10 and 13 written exclusively by Brock (words and music).

1. "3rd Planet" – 3:58
2. "Gravity Rides Everything" – 4:19
3. "Dark Center of the Universe" – 5:02
4. "Perfect Disguise" – 2:41
5. "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" – 3:41
6. "A Different City" – 3:08
7. "The Cold Part" – 5:00
8. "Alone Down There" – 2:21
9. "The Stars Are Projectors" – 8:46
10. "Wild Pack of Family Dogs" – 1:45
11. "Paper Thin Walls" – 3:01
12. "I Came as a Rat" – 3:48
13. "Lives" – 3:18
14. "Life Like Weeds" – 6:30
15. "What People Are Made Of" – 2:14

2004 re-release bonus tracks

Isaac Brock was dissatisfied with the final mix and the album artwork for The Moon & Antarctica following its original 2000 release. According to an interview given in Filter in 2004, he intended to remix the album "on his own time, using his own money, simply to have a copy he alone could hear" when the label, Epic Records, offered to finance a new release. The album was eventually reissued in a new mix on March 9, 2004 on both CD and LP, with new artwork, and four additional tracks from a BBC Radio 1 session.

16. "3rd Planet" (radio edit) – 4:00
17. "Perfect Disguise" – 2:59
18. "Custom Concern (instrumental)" – 1:59
19. "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" – 3:08

Personnel

Modest Mouse

• Isaac Brock – guitars, vocals
• Jeremiah Green – drums
• Eric Judy – bass

Additional musicians

• Ben Blankenship – lap steel guitar (1,4), banjo (4), keyboards (5,11,14), guitar (8,11,15)
• Brian Deck – keyboards (6)
• Ben Massarella – percussion (5,7,12,15)
• Greg Ratajczak – guitar (7)
• Jeff Kennedy- Lap Steel Guitar (5)
• Tyler Riley – violin (3,5,7,9,13,14)
• Tim Rutilli – background vocals (11)
• Chiyoko Yoshida – background vocals (13)

Charting positions

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2000	Billboard Heatseekers	1
2000	The Billboard 200	120

External links

• The Moon & Antarctica lyrics at Lyricwiki