The Shins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
The Shins
The Shins performing in London, March 2007
The Shins performing in London, March 2007
Background information
Origin Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Genre(s) Alternative rock
Indie rock
Indie pop
Years active 1997–present
Label(s) Flag of the United States Sub Pop (2000–2009)
Flag of the United Kingdom Transgressive (distributing label)
Flag of Germany Cargo Records (distributing label)
Website www.theshins.com
Members
James Mercer
Martin Crandall
Dave Hernandez
Eric Johnson
Jesse Sandoval
Former members
Neal Langford
Mikael Yeung

The Shins are an American indie pop group comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Russell Mercer, keyboardist/guitarist/bassist Martin Crandall, bassist/guitarist Dave Hernandez, drummer Jesse Sandoval, and Eric Johnson of the Fruit Bats. Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, alternative country, and folk. The Shins formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but are now based in Portland, Oregon.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] From Flake Music to The Shins (1992–2000)

The Shins began in 1997 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a side project of Mercer (previously of Blue Roof Dinner) and Neal Langford, both members of the lo-fi musical group Flake (formed in 1992). By 1999, Flake (now Flake Music) had disbanded and its former members became The Shins. (The name was based on a fictional family in the Broadway show The Music Man, a favorite of Mercer's father.) The band released two 7" singles, "Nature Bears A Vacuum" (1998) and "When I Goosestep" (2000) — and embarked on a tour with Modest Mouse.[1] During the tour, they were met in San Francisco by a Sub Pop representative, who eventually offered to release their debut album.

[edit] Signed to Sub Pop (2001–present)

The Shins' first album was 2001's Oh, Inverted World, released to critical acclaim for its lyrically deft and jangly pop sound. The song "One by One All Day" was featured in the 2003 film A Guy Thing, starring Jason Lee. Two other songs from this album, ("Caring Is Creepy" and "New Slang") were featured prominently in the 2004 film Garden State, starred and directed by Zach Braff, exposing the music of The Shins to a much wider audience. Their music was also featured in the television series Gilmore Girls. Dave Hernandez, former member of Scared of Chaka, joined the group following the departure of bassist Neal Langford. In 2002, the band relocated to Portland, Oregon.

Chutes Too Narrow followed in 2003 to much fanfare in indie music circles, featuring even more multi-layered lyrics, as well as a musical approach that explored new genres, song structures, and levels of production fidelity. During live shows, the band members (particularly Crandall and Hernandez) are known to frequently swap instruments.[citation needed] Oh, Inverted World appeared at #71 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of 2000–2004[2] and Chutes Too Narrow appeared at #47. In 2006, the band helped to curate an edition of the British All Tomorrow's Parties festival.

An enhanced single release in 2004 included a live version of "New Slang" recorded with Iron and Wine, a studio mix of "Fighting in a Sack," a multimedia tack of "So Says I," and a cover of the Marc Bolan song "Baby Boomerang". The Shins have also recorded a cover of "We Will Become Silhouettes" by The Postal Service, which was released on that group's 2003 single "Such Great Heights".

In 2007, the band contributed a t-shirt design to the Yellow Bird Project, and donated the profits from their t-shirt sales to the Nature Conservancy.

In a Pitchfork Media interview, Mercer announced that Eric Johnson of fellow Sub Pop band Fruit Bats had joined the Shins.[3]

The band's third album, Wincing the Night Away, was released on January 23, 2007. It debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart with 118,000 copies sold in its first week, the highest sales week and chart position an album released solely on Sub Pop has ever achieved. The album was leaked to the Internet on October 20, 2006 and was available for pre-order on iTunes, with an extra track.[citation needed] It was nominated for a 2008 Grammy award in the category of Best Alternative Music Album.[4]

In 2007 the band did a Take-Away show acoustic video session shot by Vincent Moon, and recorded a version of "Little Boxes" for the Showtime series Weeds.[citation needed] On November 27, 2007, the group was featured on a Darfur charity album released by Waxploitation.

On January 24, 2008, "The Past and Pending" was played at the funeral of Heath Ledger.[5]

On June 20, 2008, the band announced that they were leaving Sub Pop Records for James Mercer's own label, Aural Apothecary.[6]

The Shins' New Slang will be available for download on Rock Band 2.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Singles

Year Song US Hot 100 U.S. Modern Rock U.S. Main- stream Rock UK singles Album
2001 "New Slang" - - - - Oh, Inverted World
2001 "Know Your Onion!" - - - 154
2003 "So Says I" - - - 73 Chutes Too Narrow
2004 "Fighting in a Sack" - - - 94
2006 "Phantom Limb" 86 16 - 42 Wincing the Night Away
2007 "Australia" - - - 62
2007 "Turn on Me" - - - -
2007 "Sea Legs" - - - -

[edit] Other releases as Flake or as Flake Music

  • (Flake) 7" Mieke 1993 Resin
  • (Flake) 10" Spork 1995 Science Project
  • (Flake) 7" split with Henry's Dress 1995 Omnibus Records (Henry's Dress/Flake 7")
  • (Flake) 7" Been There Done That compilation 1995 Science Project (80's covers)
  • Sue Defender 7" 1996 Headhunter/Cargo
  • When You Land Here, It's Time to Return 1996
  • 7" split with Scared of Chaka 1997 702/Science Project
  • 7" compilation w/ Luxo-champ, the Rondelles, and more...Pocket Protector Records

[edit] Compilations

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.theshins.com/
  2. ^ Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of 2000-2004 on Lists of Bests
  3. ^ The Shins | Pitchfork
  4. ^ 50th annual Grammy Awards nominations - Entertainment News, Award Central News, Media - Variety
  5. ^ Kent, Melissa. "Heath's goodbye is a celebration of life". The Sydney Morning Herald. Feb. 10, 2008. http://www.smh.com.au/news/heath-ledger/heaths-goodbye-is-a-celebration-of-life/2008/02/09/1202234225490.html
  6. ^ The Shins Releasing Next Album On Frontman's Label

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Shins


v • d • e
The Shins
James Mercer · Martin Crandall · Dave Hernandez · Jesse Sandoval · Eric Johnson
Neal Langford
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Related articles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shins"
Personal tools