--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I started The Shins, it really was…" description: "\"When I started The Shins, it really was just me, alone, but it was still The Shins. I was totally recording stuff and writing songs as The Shins and al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/james-mercer-10889_alone_when-i-started-the-shins-it-really-was-j_1257132.png" --- # When I started The Shins, it really was just me, alone… ![“When I started The Shins, it really was just me, alone, but it was still The Shins. I was totally recording stuff and writing songs as The Shins and all of that. So the beginning inception of the whole thing was some sort of a lie, I guess.” quote by James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/james-mercer-10889_alone_when-i-started-the-shins-it-really-was-j_1257132.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/james-mercer-10889_alone_when-i-started-the-shins-it-really-was-j_1257132.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/james-mercer-10889_alone_when-i-started-the-shins-it-really-was-j_1257132.png) > “When I started The Shins, it really was just me, alone, but it was still The Shins. I was totally recording stuff and writing songs as The Shins and all of that. So the beginning inception of the whole thing was some sort of a lie, I guess.” [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The band's origin was a solitary effort that felt like a collective, creating a paradox of individuality within a group identity. **In simple terms:** Solo work felt like a band. Key Takeaway Embrace both personal and collective creativity. Themes identity creativity collaboration Mood introspective artistic Type musical philosophical When to use this quote - songwriting - band formation - solo projects Key Concepts music industry psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain personal voice in a group? - What defines the band's identity? A Different Perspective Balancing ego and group can cause tension. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Guess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guess/) [Inception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inception/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Just Shins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-shins-3983631/) [Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Recording](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recording/) [Shins Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shins-beginning-3983627/) [Shins Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shins-really-3983630/) [Some](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/some/) [Songs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songs/) [Songs Shins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songs-shins-3983628/) [Sort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sort/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Started Shins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-shins-3983629/) [Still](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Totally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totally/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing songs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-songs/) ## Related quotes > [If critics and fanboys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armond-white/if-critics-and-fanboys-weren-t-suckers-for-simplistic-nihilism-and/) [Armond White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armond-white/) > [In Nine Inch Nails, I've been the guy calling the shots since inception. 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Coming of age before or during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/most-of-us-don-t-have-mothers-who-blazed-a-trail-for-us-at-least-not/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [Since the inception of Gym Class in 1997, every member has had another musical outlet, if not three or four.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travie-mccoy/since-the-inception-of-gym-class-in-1997-every-member-has-had-another/) [Travie McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travie-mccoy/) > [We must be part of the general staff at the inception, rather than the ambulance drivers at the bitter end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lane-kirkland/we-must-be-part-of-the-general-staff-at-the-inception-rather-than-the/) [Lane Kirkland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lane-kirkland/) > [The calculus was the first achievement of modern mathematics and it is difficult to overestimate its importance. I think it defines more unequivocally than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/the-calculus-was-the-first-achievement-of-modern-mathematics-and-it/) [John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/) > [Television from its inception had the number one goal to alienate as few people as possible. That's why if you look at 1950s, 1960s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/television-from-its-inception-had-the-number-one-goal-to-alienate-as/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [The gas tax has been the backbone of the transportation system since the inception of the Interstate highway system in the 1950s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-foxx/the-gas-tax-has-been-the-backbone-of-the-transportation-system-since/) [Anthony Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-foxx/) > [Everybody has something now. It's become very over-saturated, and it's hard to weed out what's good, what you should watch and what you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-helberg/everybody-has-something-now-it-s-become-very-over-saturated-and-it-s/) [Simon Helberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-helberg/) > [Conservatism has had from its inception vigorously positive, intellectually rigorous agenda and thinking. That agenda should have in my three pillars: strengthen the economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/conservatism-has-had-from-its-inception-vigorously-positive/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Hindustan had become free. Pakistan had become independent soon after its inception but man was still slave in both these countries -- slave of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadat-hasan-manto/hindustan-had-become-free-pakistan-had-become-independent-soon-after/) [Saadat Hasan Manto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadat-hasan-manto/) > [I tried to watch 'Inception,' but I fell asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-gibbs/i-tried-to-watch-inception-but-i-fell-asleep/) [Freddie Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-gibbs/) > [I think the inception of my interest in arts was when I was around 9 or 10 and I started dancing. I was really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wright/i-think-the-inception-of-my-interest-in-arts-was-when-i-was-around-9/) [Robin Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wright/) > [I work very much on the principle that anything created by mankind has mischief and error hardwired into its inception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/i-work-very-much-on-the-principle-that-anything-created-by-mankind/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) ## More by James Mercer > [I do like talking with friends about big concepts, you know, the stuff that will ruin a party. 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He's such an icon, and I was such a fan of Jane's Addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/meeting-perry-farrel-was-kind-of-cool-he-s-such-an-icon-and-i-was/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [My dad and I get into it all the time. He loves to discuss politics much more than I do and we have pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/my-dad-and-i-get-into-it-all-the-time-he-loves-to-discuss-politics/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [For the longest time, I didn't even want to admit I was serious about music. 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But skating is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/if-you-re-14-and-you-re-skinny-you-can-t-be-on-the-football-team/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [I think that what's funny is that I seem to be taking up the roles that I remember my dad having - for some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/i-think-that-what-s-funny-is-that-i-seem-to-be-taking-up-the-roles/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [One thing that I've struggled with has been a certain amount of animosity toward the whole human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/one-thing-that-i-ve-struggled-with-has-been-a-certain-amount-of/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [For some reason, it seems like pop writers, it's like they just get worse or something over time. And then you're really jealous of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/for-some-reason-it-seems-like-pop-writers-it-s-like-they-just-get/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [I think that was going on with bands like The Strokes was that the idea of the band, a real band, was making a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/i-think-that-was-going-on-with-bands-like-the-strokes-was-that-the/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) [Explore all 63 James Mercer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) ## More Alone quotes > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' 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