Ty Listens to the Shins "Heartworms"

Almost 3 weeks ago The Shins released their newest record "Heartworms". I've put off a review until now because I really wanted to give it a good amount of listens.

I'm a Shins fan. I, like most people, first heard of them when they were heavily featured in trailers and on the soundtrack to the movie "Garden State". By the way, that movie does not hold up well. It is melodrama at its worst. Anyway, that is where my love for the Shins began. I know there are people that knew of them well before, but for the most of us, the "Garden State" soundtrack was our entryway into their music.

I loved what I heard from the band. I had never heard pop/alternative music that sounded like the Shins. It was sad and slow, almost folksy, but then they'd play something very upbeat and fun. I liked the change of pace that it brought to the pop/alternative genre. I also really enjoy James Mercer. I have heard and read a lot of stories about how he is a total pain in the ass to work and play music with, but the end result, for the most part, is very good.

After seeing "Garden State" I of course went out and bought "Oh, Inverted World". I loved it too. It had that blend I mentioned earlier that I like, and the record as a whole is very good. One day when I get back to my greatest American band debate, the Shins will be one of the first bands I write about.

After "Oh, Inverted World", I got to listen to "Cutes Too Narrow". It sounded a lot like "Oh, Inverted World", but had a bit more pep in its step. It was fun and more and more people began to become Shins fans. I listened to this record on repeat. After that record was when the stories of working with Mercer became more and more prevalent. He always seemed to be switching and or firing band members because he personally did not like them.

It didn't seem to matter because when the Shins released their next record, "Wincing the Night Away", it was the best they have ever sounded, in my opinion. I saw them live while touring this record. This was the most rock and roll they sounded, and it hit me right where I needed to be hit. The song "Sea Legs" off that record is my favorite Shins song by a quarter mile. Richard Swift was part of the band during this record and tour, and he made them sound so god damn good.

This was when my fandom for the Shins was at its peak. Mercer broke off and did some great work with bands like Modest Mouse and some other indie alternative groups, but his best non Shins stuff was when he teamed up with Danger Mouse and they formed Broken Bells. This was where Mercer started to take more chances with vocals and try new things with instruments. Broken Bells is incredible. That is another band I will bring up during greatest American band stuff.

In between the 2 Broken Bells records, the Shins released another album, "Port of Morrow", and I loved it because it sounded like Broken Bells as a full band. That record really came and went with a whimper though, which was surprising to me.

So, when I heard they were releasing a new record this year, my interest was piqued. Having listened to "Heartworms" multiple times now, I come away feeling full, but not satisfied. The record is good. It sounds like newer Shins, which is my favorite style of Shins, but it all sounds too familiar. The stuff he does with Danger Mouse and Broken Bells I thought would influence this record, and while there are hints of it here and there, it is not on as much as it should be. The music is great. James Mercer is great. The band is very good. But, it all just kind of sounds similar to "Wincing the Night Away" and "Port of Morrow". That is not a bad thing, I have mentioned how much I like both of those records, I just wanted the band to try something different.

The Black Keys and yes they are my favorite band, and I won't say bad things about them, at least try and make their music sound different on each record. They always try something new. Same can be said for other bands I like with multiple albums like Run the Jewels, Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino. I mean, look at what Childish Gambino did on his last album. It is a total departure, and that album rules. Even a band like RTJ, who are straight forward rap, take lots of chances doing different things on each of their three records.

I guess I am kind of just a lukewarm fan of this new Shins album. I really like the first track, but after that, it all just kind of blends together. The record is fine, don't get me wrong, I just wanted to hear something a bit different from a band that I have become a very big fan of. I still recommend the record for fans. I mean, it's a Shins record and it sounds like one. That being said, maybe on their next record Mercer will try some more falsetto singing and the band will take some far out chances as far as instrumentation.

I'd give "Heartworms" a B-, but it could have easily been an A. There is always the next record.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He likes to feel full after music. Sometimes he wants to be full of steak and brussels sprouts and not just day old pizza (which is still pretty good). This record was day old pizza.

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The Greatest American Band Debate: Rick Rubin and Brian Burton

SeedSing is filled with music lovers. We can not agree on who is the best band from the States. The Greatest American Band Debate will be a regular feature where we discuss and compare bands who started in the good old USA. If you have any suggestions of bands we should debate Contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

In lieu of talking about another band today for the greatest American band debate, I'm going to talk about two producers. These guys are legends in the music business and without them, we would never have gotten some of the greatest bands of all time. They're both mainly producers, but one also doubles as a pretty good musician. The two people I'm going to talk about today are Rick Rubin and Brian Burton, AKA Danger Mouse.

Let's first start with Brian Burton. Danger Mouse bust onto the music scene with the legendary "Grey Album". This was a "mashup" of the Beatles "White Album" and Jay Z's "Black Album". This record was incredible. He perfectly blended Beatles with Jay Z. We had never heard anything like this before. Now, it's commonplace for DJ's and producers to do "mashups", but Danger Mouse was one of the first. This record was also impossible to come by. He didn't get permission from the powers that be to make it, so the few that got released were hard to get your hands on. You had to know someone who knew someone that had a copy just so you could get one. It's a masterpiece.

With the acclaim that followed "The Grey Album", Danger Mouse was in high demand. He began to work with a lot of artists. He, along with Cee Lo Green started the band Gnarls Barkley. An awesome concept for this band. Green did the vocals and Danger Mouse did everything else. They put out two awesome albums. The way he met Green was working with him on the "Danger Doom" album. This was Danger Mouse and MF Doom. MF Doom is an awesome, but under appreciated rapper. Their "Danger Doom" record is an excellent concept album. They used Adult Swim cartoons as their base and wrote rap songs to go along with it. Some Adult Swim people that appear are Master Shake, Harvey Birdman and Meatwad, to name a few.

Later on, Danger Mouse was called upon by the Black Keys, one of my all time favorite bands, to be the first outsider to produce one of their albums. He came to work with them on "Attack and Release", their first real ambitious album. He's since worked almost exclusively with them, making their sound more complete. He's added bass where needed and piano as a cherry on top of their unique sound. He was one of the driving forces behind their most recent and most ambitious record, "Turn Blue", and I will be forever grateful to him for making the Black Keys take some much needed steps to further their sound and push the limits.

Danger Mouse also has the band Broken Bells. This is him and Shins frontman James Mercer's side project. This is a great platform for Mercer to step away from the indie rock sound and really take some big vocal chances. He has to hit so many high notes with Broken Bells and he does great. That's something he would have never done in the Shins. Broken Bells is great.

Danger Mouse has also done work with a lot of other famous artists, Jack White, Norah Jones and Sparklehorse among many, many others. Danger Mouse is probably the second most in demand producer right now, and everything he's done so far has been pretty great. He's a top of the line producer.

The only guy that may be more in demand than Danger Mouse has got to be Rick Rubin. I mean, the dude co created Def Jam Records first of all. Just google Def Jam and look at all the ultra famous people that have been on that label, it's astonishing. He and Russell Simmons created an empire. They both created probably the best rap label of all time. Bands like Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and Run DMC owe their fame to Simmons and Rubin. Even a guy like LL Cool J they made famous. Rubin is a total recluse, but when he emerges from his cocoon to work, this guy never disappoints. He was the producer on the "Black Album", Jay Z's best in my opinion.

Rubin has worked outside of rap music as well. His clientele includes  the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, the Avett Brothers, the Dixie Chicks, Adele, Rage Against the Machine, Slayer, Mars Volta, Mick Jagger, the list could go on for days and days. He's even done stuff with Lady Gaga, Shakira and Ed Sheerhan. He has definitely expanded his grasp on all music.

The one thing you hear when people talk about working with Rubin is what a great professional he truly is. He has a knack for hearing and knowing great music. Before him, the Avett Brothers were just another run of the mill folk group. Rubin made them great. Same thing can be said about the Dixie Chicks. He produced their only listenable record. Rage Against the Machine knew they were working with a legend and let him do his thing, ending with great results. Lady Ga Ga, Shakira and Ed Sheerhan should thank their lucky stars that Rubin agreed to work with them. That's a huge compliment. Slayer and Mars Volta made their best stuff with Rubin on board. He's a genius, there's no other word that better describes him. Rubin's talent was on full display when he  got the absolute best out of an almost dead Johnny Cash. Those last two albums of his are masterpieces and a lot of that has to do with Rick Rubin being the producer.

They may not be a band, but we cannot talk great American music without mentioning these two guys that have helped produce so much of it. I can't wait to see what Danger Mouse and Rick Rubin do next.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. As a kid he thought Puff Daddy was the only producer in music. He has since become aware of others. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.