Pitchfork

Somehow I missed the Cast Your Kids in a Shins Video contest, which is a shame, since my kids love them some Shins, but lookee here! The video for the band's "Phantom Limb", first single from Wincing the Night Away (January 23, Sub Pop), thrusts our fair Shins and America's children into the throes of various tragic historical situations. Situations that, yes, changed lives-- but hardly for the better. Irony! Maybe.

Kids and Shins portray Joan of Arc and her army, vile conquistadors, oppressed native peoples, and the ill-fated members of the Donner party in the Patrick Daughters-directed clip. It's rather charming because 1.) the whole thing is set up and dramatized like a play, and 2.) such dire circumstances are pretty much the last thing the Shins' music evokes. Incongruity can be fun.



Also fun: the digital age. And in an effort to reconcile the technological advances our science hath wrought with the rampant nostalgia for all things vinyl, those jolly elves at Sub Pop will package all LP copies of Wincing the Night Away with a magical golden ticket which you may redeem-- at no additional charge-- for Wincing in mp3 format. Not unlike what Merge Records and a bunch of other labels are doing right now. And not a bad idea, if you ask us.

Finally, our boys will wince the "Saturday Night Live" away, appearing on the sometimes funny NBC program January 13, along with Jake Gyllenhaal of Donnie Darko and Brokeback Mountain fame. UPDATE: They'll be performing "Phantom Limb" and "New Slang".

Finally finally, there's a pretty fantastic Shins interview on the main page right now. You know you want to click it.