The Shins kickstarted their Oh, Inverted World 21st Birthday Tour earlier this week. Aside from playing the entire tracklist of the 2001 album that shot them into space, the indie veterans performed few songs the audience couldn’t have anticipated. Among them was a cover of the 1994 Stone Temple Pilots hit, “Vasoline.”
It’s an unlikely pairing —21st-century indie sweethearts meet 90s grunge, but it still makes sense; both bands just interpreted rock differently. James Mercer was seen reading the lyrics off his smartphone while singing, which made it seem like the group decided to perform the song on a whim. It’s not really a reworking of the original, and the Shins just seemed to be having fun with a song they enjoy; the only difference that really stood out was that they sped it up a little.
Check out both versions below:
Photo Credit: Brett Padelford
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