The Shins - Know Your Onion!

What this video is

Released April 9, 2002, 'Know Your Onion!' arrived during the first wave of Sub Pop's indie rock renaissance post-Nirvana, situating The Shins as figureheads of a new, introspective strain of American indie. The song drew from a personal family idiom of frontman James Mercer and thematically addressed self-determination and identity — concerns resonant with the early-2000s underground's rejection of late-1990s…

Why it matters

A foundational artifact of early-2000s Sub Pop indie rock, 'Know Your Onion!' represents The Shins at their most raw and pre-commercial. The video, directed by Lance Bangs, typifies the lo-fi performance aesthetic that defined indie music video production of the era — a deliberate…

The director

Lance Bangs (born September 4, 1972, Sacramento, CA) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He founded the Flicker Film Festival (Super8/16mm) in Athens, GA in 1990. His roster includes videos for Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Neutral Milk Hotel, R.E.M.,…