I have a feeling that those who are complaining about Modest Mouse being on a major label do not have quite the same conception of a major label as I do. Do you really think that Isaac is going to be getting THAT much money from Epic? Keep in mind that Modest Mouse is an almost unheard of band, especially when you get out of the west coast. Furthermore, when they come around to record their first album with Epic, I can bet that they will be at ease to choose their own producer without Epic getting in the way. I think people overestimate the power of a record label with an artist creatively. With bands like the Backstreet Boys the producer will be like "Do this, We'll sell this", but with SY, Pavement, MM it's quite a different story. Especially since they've already established a loyal crowd who expects them to keep their music honest. The record is likely to be cleaner sounding, obviously, because they'll have a nicer studio. Epic signed Modest Mouse, though, because they like the band right now, not because of some vision of what the band could be. I think that we should be a little more optimistic; I dont feel that Modest Mouse will disappoint with their next offering. Tyler
