“Sleeping Lessons” by The Shins

"Sleeping Lessons" is all James Mercer: he wrote the words and the music, then co-produced it with Joe Chiccarelli, who mixed it too, for Wincing the Night Away, the Shins' third album, which Sub Pop put out in January 2007.

The partnership started as a request for advice. Mercer had been making the record on his own and was frustrated with both the pace and the results; he knew Chiccarelli, a veteran producer, from the man's work with Pink Martini in Portland, and went to him for a fresh set of ears. Advice turned into a job. The two kept some of what Mercer had already cut alone, started other songs over, and spent about two months on the album between Mercer's basement studio, Phil Ek's home in Seattle and Oregon City. It turned out to be the band's last album under their Sub Pop contract.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.