Saturday, August 08, 2009

i get it! oh i get it.

the shins are trying to turn their band into a reality show: last shin standing. i am fairly certain i watched that. they could follow former band members after they get tossed, so we'd be able to see whether they moved on to new projects or miserable failure. i used to avoid reality shows, but i spent over forty minutes friday night (note: in lieu of actual social activity) watching people throw some type of acid at whaling boats and then act incredulous when the whalers used sound weapons on them. i'm against whaling, sound weapons, and throwing acid at other people's boats, so it's a tough show for me to watch. last shin standing would not be tough to watch, especially if they had a show focused on how james mercer secretly wants to destroy the fruit bats. "please eric, please forget your silly nerd-folk band and join my vastly successful indie pop group. look at it this way: you are a professional musician with a record contract and no wikipedia page. together, we can change that. well, at least you'll get to be on our page. also, i will allow you to take walks on the beach with me, make me eggs and toast, and potentially you will be able to pen one strange little song per album. in other words, it's better than toiling away in your band getting heckled opening for son volt. oh, and we'll be getting rid of jesse at some point, btw. you wanna help with that? could be fun!"

i would also look forward to the episode where jesse sandoval talks about getting kicked out of the band for being a lousy drummer. oh wait...he actually did say that they got rid of him because he couldn't play well? i hope there were cameras watching. when i read about it, i thought it made some sense. after all, while i don't know whose fault it is, the shins definitely are one of the worst live bands i've seen. i mean this in the relative sense; obviously it's easy to be a terrible band, but it's hard to write great material and be uninspiring live. possible new example: the antlers. i was shocked when i saw how well their new record was reviewed, such that i had to go back and actually look at my ticket stub to make sure it was the same band. you knew there was a reason to save those, didn't you? the antlers were the first of 3 bands that played, and around 10 people were there to see them. i had listened to some of their stuff and found it intriguing, so the bad show was a surprise. i doubt i will bother seeing them again, unless they start a reality show.

No comments: