“New Slang” by The Shins

"New Slang" was the first single from Oh, Inverted World, the Shins' 2001 debut, and it was the song that caught Sub Pop's ear in the first place. James Mercer wrote it and produced it, and underneath that gentle strum it's a snapshot of his late 20s in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he was low most days and drifting away from his friends and the local scene.

You'd never guess the gloom from the surface. It's a hushed, loping tune with Mercer's voice floating high over the top like he's singing to himself on the back step, and the angst only creeps in when you lean closer. The critics fell for it, and the buzz it stirred up gave the album a running start.

Then the song found a second life. From 2002 it turned up on television and even in a McDonald's ad during the Winter Olympics, but the real turn came in 2004 with Garden State, where Natalie Portman's character, Sam, swears it will change your life. It never charted anywhere, yet the band's sales and profile climbed on the strength of that scene. Lance Bangs shot the video in Albuquerque and Portland, Oregon.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.