# The Strange Magic of: The Shins



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I previously noted Incubus as indicating that fine rock/pop was alive and well in the opening decades of this century. The Shins offer an equally excellent example, though the group can best be treated as the creation of founder/singer/songwriter/sometime guitarist James Mercer. Mercer is so full of ideas that he alternates between The Shins and his other and equally fertile effort, Broken Bells, and continuously issues great music with either group. Mercer's lyrics, style and thrust will recall Rush, R.E.M., Incubus, Grant Lee Buffalo. _The Rifle's Spiral_, from the Shins' album Point of Morrow is described by Mercer as follows: "The song is written from the perspective of somebody funding and paying for suicide bombers to engage in that horrible activity. Just the perverse and grotesque thing that that is, and, you know, living in the age we live in and my disrespect and fear of religion in general just fueling that intense hatred and appalling violence."


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

More from The Shins. This is just a simple song (but I like it; The Shins give me a kick )......


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