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The Shins.
Last time I spoke with James Mercer he was a quiet, somewhat guarded chap, still conflicted about whether he was letting his parents down by pursuing a musical career. His band Flake Music had failed to set the world alight, although the self-recorded album for his side project The Shins had proved a surprise hit for Sub Pop, leading to a second (also self-recorded) long player 'Chutes Too Narrow'. He hoped people liked it and that their Australian tour in early 2004 was going to go OK.
What a difference a year makes. 'Chutes Too Narrow' became an
almost unanimous favourite with critics worldwide and sold by
the bucketload (allegedly becoming Sub Pop's highest selling
album ever), shows were sold out all over the globe and The
Shins suddenly found themselves less an underground band from
Albuquerque and more something approaching mainstream players.
Their songs were scoring scenes in 'The OC'. They were invited
to contribute a song to the soundtrack for 'The Spongebob Squarepants
Movie'. 'Garden State' had Natalie Portman's character playing
Zach Braff New Slang, claiming it would change his life.
Unsurprisingly it's a much more relaxed and confident sounding Mercer that's I'm speaking to on the eve of their second Australian tour, almost exactly a year after the first.
"We're excited about coming to Australia," the still-charming Mercer enthuses. "It was a lot of fun and a beautiful place - we almost look at Australia as being a vacation, really."
The band are still effectively touring 'Chutes Too Narrow' over a year since its release: a year that's been by far the busiest of the band's life. "It's been big," he says, sounding almost as though he still can't take it all in. "The 'Garden State' thing was a huge boost to us. All of the movie and media stuff that we were scared to do has really helped us expand our audience."
In fact, while radio play has eluded them until fairly recently, the visual arts have been a godsend for The Shins. I tell Mercer how surprised I was when a Shins song cropped up during a frustrated evening's channel surfing, especially when it dawned on me that it was playing during 'The OC'. "Yeah, I have to say I agree," he chuckles when I suggest it's a somewhat incongruous match. "I mean, 'The OC'? I think maybe they just have a music supervisor who's determined to get as many hip bands on the show - and that's fine!"
At least there's a precedent: there were few odder television
moments than when The Flaming Lips played She Don't Use Jelly
on 'Beverley Hills 90210'. "Yeah, that's right - and did you
hear that we played [live] on 'The Gilmore Girls'?" He laughs
incredulously, then shrugs. "It's a great deal for bands, really.
As an indie band you don't have many things on your side, and
if you've got somebody in a position in Hollywood who's willing
to expose people to your stuff..." he trails off, the words
"sell-out" hanging unspoken in the air. "I think indie bands
nowadays are a little more pragmatic about the whole thing and
don't worry too much about looking like... well, like sell-outs:
they've realised that you've got very few avenues to get your
shit out there. I mean, mainstream radio is just starting to
turn around [in the US] with the success of Modest Mouse's latest
record."
Another parallel with the 'Lips is that both bands were invited to write songs specifically for 'The 'SpongeBob Squarepants Movie'. "Steve Hillenberg, the guy who created SpongeBob, is a big indie music fan - he comes to Shins shows and sees a lot of bands," Mercer explains. "He was very motivated about having a cool soundtrack."
So how did Mercer, a fairly introspective and personal writer,
get into the mindset of an anthropomorphic sponge in order to
write They'll Soon Discover for the soundtrack? "What
was difficult, I think, was just not being able to just let
my mind wander. There was a simple restriction on what I could
write about: it had to have something to do with this undersea
world and the movie, which we'd seen. It was the first time
I felt I was limited in that way, and it was an interesting
challenge.
"I sent lyrics to Steve so he could see what I was doing; he very much loves his SpongeBob project and he makes sure that everything's just so, but he loved the bands who were on the soundtrack and just wanted us to do our thing. Which we did. And it worked out well."
SpongeBob and 'The OC' aside, it's been 'Garden State' that's really changed the band's fortunes in the US. "We do a lot of independent films, and you figure it's the way that somebody's going to hear your song; it's free advertising, basically. It also seems to be a great way to make connections with people who are creative and dynamic; we do a lot of these things, and nobody knew that 'Garden State' was going to be such a successful movie, so when it started to expand and critically it was doing so well, it was real exciting. And it's done wonders for our record sales."
Well, it helps when you write a song that changes people's lives.
"Yeah!" he laughs. "That's what Natalie Portman actually says. I guess if you're going to believe anyone you've gotta believe Natalie Portman."
She certainly has that certain quiet authority that comes with leading the free galaxy against the Seperatist menace.
"Totally!" Mercer insists. "We should be grateful!"
Andrew P Street
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dB Magazine proudly presents The Shins at Fowlers Live on Fri 11 Feb with Even and Pharoahs.
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