Lampshades on Fire

Album: Strangers to Ourselves (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The lead single from Modest Mouse's 2015 album Strangers to Ourselves, the band first played this live back in 2011.
  • The danceable tune finds vocalist Isaac Brock using an extended partying metaphor comparing the destructive acts of the human race to the party life on the road where places keep get trashed:

    Pack up again, head to the next place
    Where we'll make the same mistakes
    Burn it up, we'll just chop it down
    But this one's done so where to now?


    Brock concludes the song by singing about having wreaked havoc on earth, humanity will be forced to search for another planet, where inevitably the same mistakes will be made.
  • Modest Mouse performed this rambling rocker about climate change during the March 17, 2015 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. No actual lampshades were set on fire during their performance. It was the band's first late-night TV appearance since 2009.
  • The video stars Natasha Lyonne. We see the Orange Is The New Black actress leading a debauched punk house party where Modest Mouse are performing the song. There are also shots of drunken revellers piercing their cheeks, tongues in mousetraps and the flaming lampshades referenced in the song title.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Jules Shear - "All Through The Night"

Jules Shear - "All Through The Night"They're Playing My Song

Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.