The Smiley Smile Message Board

:O I searched for a Shins thread and couldn't find one, so I'm resolving that...

It seems that they're working on a new album (check out the "#shinstagram" here (https://www.instagram.com/theshins/?hl=en)), so discuss that here!

I suppose we can include any of James Mercer's solo work + Broken Bells.

I'm also on the hunt for good Shins interviews, if anyone has any suggestions for that :).

I've always said that they sound like they designed their entire sound around the one song "Girl, Don't Tell Me"

They actually do a nice cover of it live. The audio is a bit shoddy in the footage though.

That's a pretty good description, now that I think about it. :D

I've seen that video. Not the greatest audio, yeah, although it looks like they're having fun up on the stage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAU8PFJlZ0w

I've seen Broken Bells live, and I can also attest that Mercer has a beautiful voice.

"Simple Song" is brilliant in its Beatle-like majesty and has a permanent place on my iPod! I never get tired of hearing this song!

I somehow found my way to After the Disco and learnt that BB's eponymous debut was in fact stronger. So I listened to that first album on YouTube and loved it.

I believe I have a Shins CD somewhere----I must seek it out some time...

A friend of mine was obsessed with their debut, Oh, Inverted World, right upon its release, insisting it was among the greatest albums of all time. I disagreed, but I did like it. I thought, and still think, Chutes Too Narrow was one of the best albums of the '00s. The other two proper albums did less for me, though especially Port of Morrow struck me as really well done.

I think what's happened with them for me is that a lot of the songs blend into a kind of sameness to my ears. This doesn't come from some actual analysis, and I'm sure there is plenty of uniqueness across them to successfully refute my impression. But something about the general sounds, Mercer's voice, maybe even his compositional voice, just ends up making a lot of it--be it guitar-heavy, synth-driven, or whatever else--sound like, well, more Shins.

That said, I've purchased each album so far and will at least check out the next one, whenever it arrives. I do like his voice.

Yeah I loved to death Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow. Wincing The Night Away was very decent and had some highly rated tracks in my opinion, particularly "Sea Legs", being my favorite, but I suppose I was growing out of them a bit at the time, moving backwards into ONLY music from 60's and 70's... Port of Morrow I honestly haven't checked out but I liked some of the Broken Bells first album and the second was very.. Bee Gees. Which is alright, but the album in general came off a tad hipster-ish to my ears. It's really hard for me to get into new music these days.

"A tad hipster-ish"

That could almost sum up the entirety of the Shins, if you ask me. Point of Morrow does sound really good, though. So you should check that out.

You didn't ask (nor should you), but if there is anything I would ever advise anyone against doing in their musical self-education, it's "moving backwards into ONLY music from '60s and '70s." I more or less did that from roughly '93 or '94 until roughly the turn of the century. While obviously there is a ton of great music from that era that takes an eternity to absorb, you inevitably miss plenty of great current stuff, however horrible it seems at the time.

The Past and Pending is one of my favorite songs.

I know, I know. I actually made my New Years' resolution (last year) to only listen to contemporary music for the entirety of the month of January. I only lasted until 01/04/2015. Perhaps I didn't try hard enough, perhaps there's just too little to grasp onto. I do like a select handful of modern artists, but they're slim pickin's.

There's no right answer, of course. In my opinion it's just about keeping all doors open.

Well, if you need help getting into today's music, I'm always ready to give suggestions ;D. A lot of people on here have great music taste (captain, Bubbly Waves, john k to name a few).
Actually, as much as I love the '60-70s, I think I've been listening to mostly modern music myself. I suppose we should switch places for a bit, haha.

Another way of getting into contemporary music is just checking out the local music scene. There's just something cool about supporting a band that's in the same neighborhood as you, and seeing them slowly gain some recognition.

I like the Shins more than Broken Bells, I guess because I don't usually prefer synth-y, electronic-y music.

I am delighted to appear on your short list of people with great taste.

I (surprise, surprise) agree with the Captain on something--this time it's the Shins. I think Chutes Too Narrow is their best album. I bought Wincing the Night Away after first enjoying Chutes Too Narrow and found it to be a bit of a letdown. When "Simple Song" came out, I had a friend who played it frequently, but I never liked it. Then Port of Morrow came out, I bought it (I also got some sort of acoustic EP), and found that to be an out-and-out disappointment. To be fair, I've never been as big a fan of the Shins as my friends are, but even they're not impressed with the last one. I hope they can turn it around with the next one.

I hear that. One that really caught me off guard was Tame Impala's new record being so synth-heavy. Suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised since that's the common trajectory of most great modern bands, unfortunately. I dig a lot of it but it's just not the same as his previous masterpieces. I'm hoping on the next outing it'll return a bit more to the source.

And yes, I'm always open to recommendations. I long for a contemporary masterpiece like nothing else - if you know something I don't, please share!

8)

Yeah, and for the most part, electronic isn't my go-to. I don't mind some, like Washed Out's Paracosm is fantastic in my opinion.

Also, despite what I just said, I really do love Currents. I think "Let it Happen" is one of the best songs of 2015. I guess my music taste is just picky when it comes to synthy stuff.

Off the top of my head, I would currently recommend Fleet Foxes. Very Beach Boys-eqsue harmonies.
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Returning to the Shins, what do people think of the song they did for "Wish I Was Here," "So Now What?"
I personally love it, although I wish it was a tad better.. produced? I don't know why but some sounds sound muddled to me.

I actually really did like Wish I Was Here when I heard it on the film. Definitely seemed like a return. Twas a classic move since they were so prominent in Garden State. It didn't come out on a proper album, right? Just the soundtrack?

^ Yup, just the soundtrack. But perhaps it's a hint of the direction their sound is taking. If so, then I'm not disappointed.

For those who are curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7-DjDF1MRM

I've seen Garden State but not WIWH yet. Garden State just has a fantastic soundtrack.

I'd be happy to give you suggestions (as would a few others, I'm sure), but I don't want to hijack M's thread to do so.
I have an inkling of an idea for a thread that might work.

Paging Yonderhillside to the The Recommendations/Suggestions Thread (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,23461.0.html).

My new friends (some guys that live in the floor above me) are into music, too. I bonded with one of them over Oh, Inverted World. Music is such a fascinating thing. I love how it's made me closer to my friends.

Also, "Girl on the Wing" is my jam lately.

I'm a huge fan. Very few albums are more dear to my heart than the first 3 Shins LPs. Fourth record was 'okay', looking forward to a new one. Won't ever be the same Shins again, though.. James Mercer is the only constant, and some of his recent output I like, other stuff doesn't do much for me.

I'll always treasure this incarnation:

(http://i.imgur.com/VK9QHkD.gif)

So... the most recent shinstagrams have been promising. I'm particularly fond of this snippet:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHpcLmZjR-e/?taken-by=theshins&hl=en

I'm curious as to what all of these weird lights in the videos are. They seem to be like music visualizers... Mercer, stop teasing us.