Modest Mouse - Ocean Breathes Salty

What this video is

Released August 23, 2004 as the second single from 'Good News for People Who Love Bad News,' this video arrived during Modest Mouse's most commercially visible moment — a period when indie-rock acts were crossing into mainstream alternative radio and MTV2 rotation without fully abandoning their art-house instincts. Chris Milk's fable-structured visual approach — using a child protagonist, animal symbolism, and a…

Why it matters

A defining example of mid-2000s indie-rock narrative video craft, 'Ocean Breathes Salty' demonstrates how the genre leveraged cinematic fable structures and surrealist imagery to visualize existential lyrical themes. Directed by Chris Milk at a pivotal early moment in his career, the video stands…

The director

Chris Milk (born 1975/1976, Glen Cove, New York) is an American filmmaker, music video director, immersive artist, and entrepreneur. He studied Music and Film at UC Santa Barbara and earned a B.F.A. in Film, Photography and Computer Graphics at the Academy…