I finally listened to the new Shins track
I am usually about a day behind on things that come up on the internet. And in a world where that already means these day-old things are obsolete, that almost makes me some kind of internet archaeologist. This is partially because most of my reading of blogs and twitters is on my phone, and I am usually hesitant to click links or don’t want to subject the other people around me to the songs I want to listen to. It’s also because I’m a little skeptical of things. I don’t really like the disposable nature of buzz bands. So if I’m going to like something, I like to know that I’m actually going to like it. Marc Maron said something about someone telling him he was “late to the party” on getting into Arcade Fire. And he said he was glad to be late to the party. It meant something more somehow.
All this to say: I finally listened to the new Shins track, “Simple Song.” And it’s pretty good. My interest in The Shins waned after Chutes Too Narrow and the whole Garden State thing. Again, maybe as an aversion to buzziness. But now I am ready to fall back in love with this band. “Simple Song” is that song that makes me ready for this. It’s got sort of bigger-than-necessary production for a song that could be supported on just a one man singer/songwriter platform, but I am not going to hold it against The Shins if they want to sound huge. Excited to hear the rest of the record.
