The Shins Make Basement Tapes

The Shins will release their second album, Chutes too Narrow, on October 21st.

For the follow-up to 2001's Oh, Inverted World, the Albuquerque, New Mexico, four-piece stuck with a proven method: It recorded in singer James Mercer's Portland, Oregon, basement. "I live in a rough neighborhood," he says. "The basement isn't pleasant, but it only costs sixty bucks to buy deadbolts for the doors. It was cheaper than a real studio."

Mercer's favorite new songs are "Kissing the Lipless," which he says "starts out with these jerky hits on the guitar that sounds like Wire or something and then it goes into this sort of heavy drum space thing that reminds me of My Bloody Valentine," and the softer, acoustic "Pink Bullets."

Having cut ties with a bad relationship and a bad job, Mercer says his songwriting reflects a broader perspective as a result. "We have better stuff," he says. "My frame of mind has changed, but it has nothing to do with the band. It seemed like I wanted to change everything in my life I wanted to change. Now I'm a lot happier. I wrote about sad stuff, but I also wrote silly pop songs."

The band also scored a minor claim to fame this summer when Shins keyboardist Marty Crandall's girlfriend, Elyse Sewell, won third prize on America's Next Top Model. "She wore three different Shins T-shirts on the show," says Mercer.

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Song Stories

“Time to Pretend”

MGMT | 2008

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”

More Song Stories entries »

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