Oh, the Shins
posted by on January 11 at 8:00 AM
Went to Everyday Music the other night (open until midnight every night of the week—God bless America!) to buy something and, in the course of buying that, bought picked up the new Shins single Phantom Limb. I am a pre-Garden State fan of the Shins. I got on the Oh, Inverted World bandwagon back when it was their only album, and you know it’s a pretty trusty bandwagon, rides well, holds up. We have a lot of miles behind us now, Oh, Inverted World and I, and we still like each other. I have seen the Shins in concert a lot. I have said to Annie Wagner (hater of the Shins) such things as, “How can you NOT like the Shins?” Oh, Inverted World continues to be amazing. And if you don’t like the album you probably still like, you know, that one song in the middle. Second album, Chutes Too Narrow? Also good.
[Here Wagner gets up and walks over to Frizzelle’s desk and explains, for the hundredth time, that she likes their albums but she doesn’t like the Shins in general because when you see them live their banter is “annoying.”]
Anyway, I’m at Everyday Music. I’m buying Phantom Limb. I ask the lady if she’s heard it. She says, “Oh, I’m sick of the Shins.” That’s her answer. Oh, I’m sick of the Shins. People who aspire to work at record stores—are you taking notes? Look at this statement. Look at what she does there with so few words. It’s like the ur-example of a record store non-answer. First of all, she doesn’t answer the question. Second of all, she knows I’m buying it so she’s dissing me. Third, she’s undoubtedly heard something about it—she works at a music store in Seattle—and yet she’s refusing to be helpful. Fourth, I’m sure Oh, Inverted World is sitting in the store somewhere, she could recommend that. I wanted to shake the lady. We finished our transaction in silence.
Took the single home and put it on. My first thought was: You know, maybe I’m sick of the Shins. Almost called the store and apologized to the lady for wanting to shake her. The cold truth is that “Phantom Limb” is a weak song. You listen to it and think: This is the single? You listen to it 10 more times and you think the same thing. It’s a weaker, drawn-out version of whatever the weakest song is in their existing body of work. Couldn’t Sup Pop have run “Phantom Limb” through that machine Malcolm Gladwell wrote about—the one that tells you if you’re song’s a hit or not? Now, the second song on the single, “Nothing At All,” that’s very catchy. How come that’s not the single? How come that’s not going to be on the album?
(On a related note: isn’t it weird that in Brian J. Barr’s Seattle Weekly piece that, um, advertises the Shins album from the point of view of the business putting it out, he writes on and on about whether this album is going to sell, whether it’s going to be big, whether it’s going to be the thing Sub Pop’s been working toward all this time, but he fails to mention whether the album is any good? Seems like that’s sort of relevant to whether it’s going to make tons of money. Is he hedging, so as not to piss of all the people at Sub Pop who sat for interviews and photos? Hey, Brian, is what “Phantom Limb” tells me about the album true? Is it kinda weak?)
First off, I'm a HUGE fan of the Shins. Like HUGE.
I too have felt the backlash against them recently. Or -- evenmoreso, the lack of interest. I still think they are one of the greatest bands out there. I was also a pre-Garden State fan. The Garden State thing didn't change my opinion of them (just made me hate some of their "fans" for a while).
But I'm one of their biggest cheerleaders, because they still excite me as a band. However, my enthusiasm is oft met with shrugs from my peers...and I can't figure out why.
I challenge you to find more eloquently written lyrics than Mercer's lot. Trouble is, most people don't really listen to the words. I know TONS of people who own both of their albums who have NO IDEA what any of the words are - they just see the songs as catchy "feelgood" tunes - even though some of the lyrics are kinda dark and at times depressing.
I also think they shine musically. They are such a coherent, tight group. I like what each member brings to each song. The marriage of their music plus great lyrics plus their playfullness makes for a great band.
I think they deserve more attention, quite honestly. But don't confuse "press" with "attention". I mean, I think that all those people who cast them aside because they got "successful" should pay closer attention to that which they are dismissing, Ms. Wagner included - allthough that's hardly the first time I've ever disagreed with her stance on things. Not liking a band because of banter? For real?
Not surprisingly, I disagree with you on Phantom Limb. I think it's a gorgeous song. The first time I heard it, I wasn't even sure it was them and I thought it was amazing. Particularly the Beach-Boys-esque quality that song has. I was stoked when I discovered it was the Shins first single off their new album. Sleeping Lessons is another track I've heard that I thought was amazing upon first listen.
However, I'm not jumping up and down over EVERYTHING they've ever recorded. I've heard some stuff I don't like. In particular, so far I've heard a few tracks off "Wincing" - and I don't think I'm very fond of "Australia". It sounds like a song from some sorta sequel to "the Lion King" or something. It's kinda cheezy and Disney and I keep expecting some kind of crazy cartoon monkey to pop out everytime I hear it (I've only heard it live, though - I'm patiently waiting for the real album to come out, I'm no leak-freak).
It's easier to get sick of something than to continually appreciate it. I'm not complaining though, I'd love to weed out more of their fans cause I'm still so very sick of hearing people sing along LOUDLY to New Slang ONLY everytime I see a show.
poor annie, the onstage banter is what makes the Shins's live show all the more worthwhile.
I like "Phantom Limb", but there are several stronger tracks on Wincing the Night Away and one curveball ("Sea Legs") that will have everyone scratching and possibly nodding their heads. Far from being "kinda weak", the album is really growing on me. It's different enough to feel fresh, yet still recognizable as a progression from the Shins of old. [the whole thing was streaming at Scenstars on Monday, probably illicitly]
As for Brian Barr's feature, I realize it's your job to snipe at all things Weekly, but I thought that it provided an interesting perspective on the band and an important local label. He does have a paragraph or two about the record, but that really wasn't the point of the article.
I read the Weekly feature last night and I really liked it. I'll decide for myself wether the record is any good. So I wasn't that concerned wether Barr was going to convince me of that.
Didn't mean to snipe--Brian's a nice guy and we've worked together before. As a fan of the band, I just wanted to know more about the album than what James Mercer and the execs at Sub Pop think of it.
I think the album is okay....I really liked OIW the best....but every artist should do what they want.
I don't like the way SP is trying to make it huge. Street Team? That is amateur stuff. Please don't shove it down people's throats. If the album is strong enough it doesn't need to be sold so hard.
It's one thing to be popular, but to become obsessed with being huge and overselling a record is kind of strange and puts fans like me off.
I don't want a teenager postering my neighborhood telling me when I can buy Wincing the Night Away. It is off putting. Megan Jasper, Jon Poneman, and others should be quite frankly a little shrewder.
I love the Shins. I think they are one of the most talented group of individuals around right now. I also enjoy their attitude because it makes them even more likable in my eyes. But, more than that, their lyrics continue to be amazing and the harmonies are reminiscent of a time when music was good.
I have a hard time with people who are ashamed of what they like. It is certainly a Seattle phenomenon that I have noticed. This example of the stoic music store snob who wants to be obscure just for the sake.. is exactly what I am talking about. I never asked for your opinion on what I like and what I don't like.
I still listen to the Beach Boys and the Beatles on a regular basis...not sick of them because they are amazing...mr. store clerk....Mr. Negativity....Mr. or Mrs. Know-it-all.
(okay, now I am getting carried away).
The new single is decent, I have other favorites on the album which might have been better single choices. I too am puzzled that "Nothing At All" did not make the album, great song.
The Shins are on that line many bands before them have been on, where fans will say "I liked their first album" and Pre-Garden State. That's the way it goes. It's all good, and so still are The Shins.
The Weekly's music section is kicking the Stranger's ass right now.Compare Brians Barr's well researched and informative article on Sub Pop and The Shins with Trent Moorman's stinky feature on how to retardedly compare My Morning Jacket to Band of Horses last week. They just added Hannah Levin to their already solid group of music writers, in my opinion the only consistently good local rock writer you had on staff.
Also, the writers at the Weekly don't have to resort to subjecting their readers to endless shit-talking about the other weekly paper in town, they seem to want to actually cover music.
step it up Stranger!
Hey, I obtained a copy of the whole and it is very good. Don't be turned off by the single. The music feels a bit lighter than Chutes to Narrow, and less vocal than Oh, Inverted. In the first track they use a "vibaphone" (don't even know what that is but it sounds cool).
Way? I thought she hadn't written for them since 2001?
I'm sure everyone in the know has already heard this, but if you go to the iTunes store and search "shins", you can purchase all of Wincing the Night Away-- albeit, song by song. I am cheap, so I only listened to the samples. I'll pick it up for real on the 23rd.
I love The Shins. I've spent hours with my guitar playing and singing half a dozen songs from Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow.
But, alas, Phantom Limb is a ho-hum song. Hope there are at least a couple of gems on the new album.
I love The Shins. I've spent hours with my guitar playing and singing half a dozen songs from Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow.
But, alas, Phantom Limb is a ho-hum song. Hope there are at least a couple of gems on the new album.
I love The Shins. I've spent hours with my guitar in my basement singing songs from the first two albums, which are equally great in my opinion. I've cried listening to The Shins.
But Phantom Limb is ho hum. I hope that's not a omen of the rest of the album.
Sorry for the double post (triple including this one), but I got an error message (something about "rebuilding") after the first attempt.
i thought brian's article was great. whether he -- or any writer, for that matter -- likes the record doesn't interest me whatsoever. my ears work just fine.
sub pop has a storied past and this record is a big deal. brian took the smart route with the piece and, rather than make it a fluffy feel-good oh my god aren't the shins great? puff piece,
i think he offered a decent look at how a label the size of sub pop deals with what is a pretty extraordinary circumstance.
@8 I'm glad somebody else mentioned the MMJ/Band of Horses article from last week. I read that and was really wondering what is the point of this? "Band of Horses kind of sounds like My Morning Jacket. Some people can tell them apart, some people can't. But that's okay, because sometimes groups sound like other groups. And Band of Horses could kick MMJ's ass..."
agreed. that MMJ/BoH article was the most facile, amateurish article i've read in the stranger in a long time.
The Shins are terrible. They're like Diet Coke: you're thirsty, and you don't want water, but a Coke would be so sweet and overwhelming and nasty, so you're like, hmm, glug, glug, glug, hey, that's pretty good....oh, ugh, hey, wait a minute, I feel kinda shitty, not in a 'oh, I feel really bad' kind of way, but in a creeping, unsettling way that makes your bones feel like they have all been dipped in formaldehyde. That's what the Shins are like. They are like the Decemberists would be if they weren't so 'eccentric' and couldn't play their instruments as well. And that's pretty bad.
They aren't as bad as the movie Garden State, though, I'll give them that.
Now Grant, they're nowhere near as bad as The Decembrists. I think your problem lies less with The Shins and more with Diet Coke.
Back in late november, a friend of mine blessed me with a bootleg copy of Wincing the Night Away, and I've been enjoying it ever since. And when it comes out in the next week or so, I'm going to buy it. I do agree however that Phantom Limb is weak compared to other songs on the album. The poetry of Sleeping Lessons alone begs air play, but today's ears don't like to hear something they need to think about. I would have gone with Australia as a single because it's just so damn catchy.
Also, I would ask to anyone who's heard this whole album and listened to it while walking through some wonderful cool weather, is this not the perfect album for winter weather??
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