Why is The Shins’ Oh, Inverted World on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
I’d tell you, but you need to understand the new slang to get it.
What does The Shins’ Oh, Inverted World mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
Anytime I think about The Shins, “New Slang” from Oh, Inverted World starts playing in my head.
It’s the kind of song that locks into your mind, gets under your skin, but in a good way. It’s pleasant and soothing and gentle while never being at all boring or uninteresting. It’s also very early 2000s and yet oddly timeless at the same time.
There’s also this: time has removed this factor to an extent, but “New Slang” was featured in the rom com-meets-dramedy Garden State, directed by and starring Zach Braff, who at the time was mainly known as the star of the hospital sitcom, Scrubs (which, as a wild aside within a relevant aside, is a beloved TV series of my wife, who happens to be a health care worker, so high praise indeed there).
As a whole, Oh, Inverted World grows on me every time I listen to it. “Girl Inform Me” beautifully updates 1960s garage rock and a Byrds-y vibe with a modern indie rock aesthetic.
I should also point out that the song writing is clever and top notch overall, as evidenced by great song titles like “Caring Is Creepy” and “The Celibate Life.”
“Girl on the Wing” picks up the tempo just a bit to great effect, really fun and dare I say it (indie) rocking song, with great guitar hooks.
Personal stuff that’s somehow related to The Shins’ Oh, Inverted World
Related to Scrubs, that reminds me that when we first moved to southern California – just a few years after Oh, Inverted World was released as it turns out – we would occasionally venture down to the wilds of Hollywood to watch improv comedy shows at the iO (Improv Olympic) West.
The shows were always really fun and at a very high quality level, and I believe the tickets were pretty cheap, $10 or so. The main attraction on the weekend was a show called Beer Shark Mice, if memory serves. One of the cast members in the show was Neil Flynn, who also played the unnamed janitor guy on Scrubs. Super talented, super funny.
Some stats & info about The Shins – Oh, Inverted World
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Lo-Fi
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Oh, Inverted World released? 2001
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #700 out of 1,000
The Shins’ Oh, Inverted World on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.