So Says I
Encyclopedia
So Says I is a song by American indie rock
band The Shins
, the third track of their second album Chutes Too Narrow
. It was released as a single, one of three from the album, on 21 September 2003 on Sub Pop Records.
The song was written by the band's lead singer, James Mercer
. His lyrics reference and compare life under communist and capitalist
economic system
s.
This song is performed by The Shins
live in the Gilmore Girls
season four episode, "Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' The Twist."
It remains a fan favorite and is often performed as a set closer at their live shows. The song was released for the Rock Band
video game series as downloadable content through the Rock Band Network
in March 2010.
was directed
and animated by Plates Animation Inc. It starts with a 'prehistoric' penguin
extracting a tooth from a walrus (the tooth is symbolic throughout the video, as a metaphor to materialism
). The penguins are divided into Communist and capitalist roles as the video progresses. The 'Red' penguins are in upheaval (similar to actual historic events). Ominously, the 'Red' penguin leaders are moving strategic assets in a war room, focusing their attention to the West
.
The 'Capitalist' penguins (with ties) are oblivious to the world outside their lives. A derelict penguin (sans tie) is begging for spare fish...one penguin finally shows pity and gives a walrus tooth to the homeless penguin. The video closes out with a protest (which mirrors an earlier protest by Red Penguins). Both sets of protesters ironically want the same thing, as many of the signs for both have the same message ( "Let us Fly" and "Free the Penguin").
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band The Shins
The Shins
The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Mercer, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats, drummer Joe Plummer and bassist Ron Lewis. Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, indie rock,...
, the third track of their second album Chutes Too Narrow
Chutes Too Narrow
Chutes Too Narrow is The Shins' 2003 follow-up to their debut album, Oh, Inverted World. The album title comes from a lyric in the song "Young Pilgrims." The album was well-received by critics, garnering an overall score of 88/100 on Metacritic...
. It was released as a single, one of three from the album, on 21 September 2003 on Sub Pop Records.
The song was written by the band's lead singer, James Mercer
James Mercer (musician)
James Russell Mercer is an American guitarist and Alternative rock musician. He is a founding member and lead singer-songwriter of the Grammy-nominated indie rock group The Shins. In 2009, Mercer and producer Danger Mouse formed the side project Broken Bells, for which they released a...
. His lyrics reference and compare life under communist and capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
economic system
Economic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
s.
This song is performed by The Shins
The Shins
The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Mercer, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats, drummer Joe Plummer and bassist Ron Lewis. Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, indie rock,...
live in the Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
season four episode, "Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' The Twist."
It remains a fan favorite and is often performed as a set closer at their live shows. The song was released for the Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
video game series as downloadable content through the Rock Band Network
Rock Band Network
The Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2...
in March 2010.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed
Music video director
A music video director is driven by a given music track. These are called music videos and are then used as promotional tools for popular music singles...
and animated by Plates Animation Inc. It starts with a 'prehistoric' penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
extracting a tooth from a walrus (the tooth is symbolic throughout the video, as a metaphor to materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
). The penguins are divided into Communist and capitalist roles as the video progresses. The 'Red' penguins are in upheaval (similar to actual historic events). Ominously, the 'Red' penguin leaders are moving strategic assets in a war room, focusing their attention to the West
West
West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
.
The 'Capitalist' penguins (with ties) are oblivious to the world outside their lives. A derelict penguin (sans tie) is begging for spare fish...one penguin finally shows pity and gives a walrus tooth to the homeless penguin. The video closes out with a protest (which mirrors an earlier protest by Red Penguins). Both sets of protesters ironically want the same thing, as many of the signs for both have the same message ( "Let us Fly" and "Free the Penguin").
Single track listing
- "So Says I" - (2:47)
- "Mild Child" - (4:28)
- "Gone for Good (alternate version)" - (3:07)
External links
- The Shins official website
- Sub Pop Records
- "So Says I" (music video, Quicktime format)