The Shins’ James Mercer on ‘New Slang’ at 20: ‘I Was Able to Pull the Rabbit Out of the Hat’

This week, Billboard is publishing a series of lists and articles celebrating the music of 20 years ago. Our 2001 Week continues with an interview with Shins singer/songwriter James Mercer, as he looks back on the song that took him from a struggling Southwestern musician with an uncertain future to frontman for one of the biggest indie bands of the 21st century: “New Slang.” 
In the late-’90s, James Mercer was a twenty-something guitarist/vocalist, building tracks on