Garden State, Garden State, Garden State. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I'd like to keep reminding everyone that The Shins were name-dropped in Garden State, the super-duper INDIE movie that hoisted The Shins' popularity to such great heights. But there's more: Zach Braff, the director and lead dude of INDIE movie Garden State, has joined The Shins. Yes, Braff and his teeth will be replacing Mercer, who evidently decided to date Natalie Portman to blur the line between reality, film-reality, and absurdity... weird!
With Braff and his fans in tow, The Shins are poised to have the best month of all-time. The group is scheduled to appear on Saturday Night Live (January 13), CBS's Late Show with David Letterman (January 23), KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic (January 26), and in Virgin (January 22) and Amoeba (January 26) -- and oh yeah, they're releasing a new album. Titled Wincing the Night Away, the new LP is set for release on January 23 via Sub Pop, though you can stream it in its entirety on MySpace starting January 18.
"You're not the boss of me now, and you're not so big. Life is unfaiiiiiiir":
