Digging The Shins
The Shins, the indie rock outfit from Albuquerque, New Mexico, moved to Portland and signed with Seattle label Sub Pop. You may have heard them in Garden State, the film about New Jersey that was directed by “Scrubs’” Zach Braff. A pivotal scene for the band occurred when Natalie Portman’s character told Braff’s character that The Shins “will change your life”.
Now, three years after their last release, The Shins are back to change more lives with their happily uplifting and highly anticipated third album Wincing The Night Away.
Zeeks: What took you guys so long to make another record?
The Shins: What happened was Garden State. Suddenly we had a lot of people who wanted us to come and play shows. We got all these new fans and we had to go out there and introduce ourselves.
Zeeks: Did you guys know you’d be an actual plot point and not just a soundtrack band?
The Shins: I remember the headphone thing, though I didn’t remember specifically that our name was mentioned. Someone told me this guy Zach Braff was in a cool TV show [“Scrubs”] and he wants to make an independent film. That’s all we knew. Then they called again and said Natalie Portman’s in the movie. It kept growing into a hit and our whole presence in pop culture changed along with it.
Zeeks: You’ve licensed your music to TV, movies and ads. Does that pay bills better than record sales?
The Shins: Only if you’d exclude Garden State because that caused our records to sell so much.
If you can do it right, it’s a good way to make some money. I wouldn’t want people to be offended, but at the same time I’m pretty pragmatic about the world we live in. And, maybe not as disgusted as some by the mechanics of capitalism.
Zeeks: How difficult was it writing this new album when there were suddenly all these expectations?
The Shins: I don’t think that hindered me. Knowing there was this audience out there waiting actually had a prodding effect. Let’s just say I work hard under pressure and if there’s no pressure I hardly work.
Zeeks: Why is indie music so popular now?
The Shins: I do have a theory on that. We have grown-up in strip malls and Wal-Marts, the food we eat is processed and I think we’re all striving for authenticity in everything in our lives. Indie rock is authentic. It’s not N’Sync. It’s not Britney Spears. These are actual real bands and you can buy it.