The Shins

  The Shins are coming out with a new album called Port of Morrow this year. A few weeks ago the new single entitled "Simple Song" from the album was released.  I listened to the single on repeat for awhile, both entralled with the new energy that the band exhibited and intrigued by the direction they were taking now. It was a slight departure from past material, more bombastic, definitely less low-key.  This change in form makes sense to an extent since The Shins changed almost the entirety of their lineup since their last album, Wincing the Night Away, with the exception of front-man, James Mercer. I was on the fence whether or not I liked the new sound: yes, it is an infectious song that is clearly catchy with the old melancholy of past albums toned down considerably, but was that acceptable within the realm of the same band? I couldn't decide. I was leaning towards yes, if the song is enjoyable then it is enjoyable.

   My intuition was reinforced upon seeing the music video for their single. The video is fantastic, in my opinion. It is comedic, nostalgic, shows great editing, and looks pretty good. The combination of the video and song together erased past doubts in my mind over whether I liked Simple Song, I do. I hope you too will enjoy.

The Shins
Simple Song


oh and happy March!

Summer Solstice Party (Round III)

This past Saturday was busy. I mowed part of the lawn, we went to a city wide garage sale in the town over from us, then went to an art/street fair in Cleveland. At the Art/street fair I got to experience a rock-n-roll flea market which was rad. But wait there's more! After going out to eat we went to the annual Summer Solstice party at the Cleveland Art Museum (past mentions of this can be found here and here). This year they served tacos and little Chines carry-out boxes of noodles and vegetables (chicken optional).

When we first arrived there was a punk-marching band playing, they were pretty crazy! then there were two DJ's, the first had a few hula-hoopers on raised podiums performing, the second DJ had more hip hop style dancers.

For the duration of the night the exhibits were completely open and full of people. One of the the exhibits that was open included a new exhibit with work from Asia(I didn't get a chance to check it out sadly). Did I get yelled at for touching an Andy Warhol piece? Yes, yes I did. Was it squishy and soft? Yes, Yes it was.

All in all it was a wholly fun day and night, I can't wait to see what they have in store for next year. Now for a touch of summery music:

The Shins
Australia