Singer, songwriter, and producer James Mercer of The Shins wrote “New Slang” when he was living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It came out as a single and then he re-recorded it for The Shins’ debut album Oh, Inverted World, which came out 20 years ago, in 2001. After Garden State came out, featuring the song "New Slang," that album went gold. And the soundtrack for the movie won a Grammy. Nowadays, James Mercer lives in Portland. I spoke to him from his home studio, and he told me how The Shins actually first started as a recording project, a side project, while he was in another band called Flake Music. In this episode, James breaks down "New Slang" and looks back at how his songwriting and his early home recording skills came together to make this iconic song.
For more, visit songexploder.net/the-shins.
Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall
Intro Theme and Thao's Farewell
Meek Mill - Trauma
Bat for Lashes - Kids in the Dark
Jay Som - Tenderness
Slipknot - Unsainted
Raphael Saadiq - Kings Fall
Clairo - Alewife
Brittany Howard - Stay High
Robyn - Honey
Bon Iver - Holyfields,
Sleater-Kinney - The Future Is Here
Denzel Curry - RICKY
Jamila Woods - BALDWIN
Big Thief - Cattails
Sheryl Crow - Redemption Day (feat. Johnny Cash)
Raleigh Ritchie - Time in a Tree
The Mountain Goats - Cadaver Sniffing Dog
The Cranberries - All Over Now
Panda Bear - Dolphin
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