Shins lead singer James Mercer discusses fame, 'The OC'

The Shins have been having quite a year. Since the release of their second album, Chutes Too Narrow, in the fall of last year, the band has received a worthy amount of attention -- much of it because of their relationship with soundtracks for major motion pictures.

In addition to having one of their songs ("New Slang") referred to as "life-changing" in Garden State, the band also landed two songs on its soundtrack -- "New Slang" and "Caring is Creepy."

Most recently, the Shins contributed a song to the soundtrack for The Spongebob Squarepants Movie. "They'll Soon Discover" is among songs by Wilco, the Flaming Lips and Avril Lavigne, who performed the movie's theme song.

"We were told that somebody is going to sing the theme song," Shins lead singer James Mercer said over the phone last Wednesday.

"[They said] it was going to be somebody who has just been a major influence on all of us ... There were rumors that it was going to be the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and then it turned out to be Avril Lavigne."

I guess that once you've landed in the company of Avril, you know you've made it big. For the most part, however, Mercer and the rest of the band still feel pretty separated from the moderate fame they have attained.

"It is not as though I walk down the street in my neighborhood [in Portland] and get recognized or anything," he said. While visiting Los Angeles for an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," however, it was clear that they weren't in Oregon anymore.

"There is obviously word out in the sort of Hollywood environment that we are something to check out and stuff so it was different ... Things have changed."

"It is not so bad though," he added. "I think that we are handling it fine. I think everybody is just having a lot of fun."

The band is apparently having enough fun with their success that they are considering performing live on "The OC." Though they haven't been approached by the show's producers for such an appearance, Mercer said that he would be comfortable doing it. The band did, after all, do it on "Gilmore Girls," another TV show known for slipping some indie rock into its soundtrack here and there.

The fact that bands like the Shins have been finding their way into the mainstream media is no secret to Mercer. He has been aware of it since 2001, when the Strokes' debut Is This It paved the way for great up-and-coming bands that actually wrote their own stuff.

"I think back when the Strokes were doing well I remember thinking, 'This has got to eventually be good for the Shins' because they were not nu metal or hip-hop or anything ... They are a band. That is a big difference right there," he said.

While Mercer appreciates the fact that a performance on "The OC" would give them a huge audience, it doesn't mean that he is a fan of the show.

"'The OC' does not seem quite as cool as the 'Gilmore Girls' to me," Mercer said.

"I actually watched it for the first time because of all this talk about it. It seems kind of like 'Knots Landing' or something, like one of those '80s soap operas."

"OC" performance or not, the future looks great for the Shins. Though it's only been a year since the release of Chutes Too Narrow, people are already asking about a new album.

"We are starting to get that question," he said. "I always have to be careful because I think I will say something in an interview and then Sub Pop [Records] will hear about it and they will start making deadlines."