The Shins "Gone For Good"

The final IP'S PICKS post.

The other day, I walked into one of my go-to local coffee shops in Northern Westchester, LMNOP in Katonah, and I heard one of my favorite songs of all-time playing—“Gone For Good” by The Shins. It’s almost shocking at first when that happens. Like, “Oh shit? Are they really playing this?”

Then, over the weekend, as I began to debate in my head what song to feature in my final IP’S PICKS post, it hit me. “Gone For Good.” Perfect.

“Gone For Good” is a country-tinged breakup song, which makes it an unlikely favorite. But lyrically and melodically, it’s so damn undeniable. Right off the bat, James Mercer sets the scene with the opening lines, “Untie me, I’ve said no vow/The train is getting way too loud/I’ve gotta leave here my girl, and get on with my lonely life.”

He goes on to let her know why it’s not gonna work: “You wanna fight for this love/But hon you cannot wrestle a dove.” Now that’s a man who’s trying to protect his peace.

One more lyric spotlight before we listen to the song. And this time, I’ll let Mercer break it down. It’s on the chorus when he sings, “I find a fatal flaw in the logic of love.” This is taken from an old interview with the AV Club.

James Mercer: I guess I felt that there were too many things that love relied on, or that love required—one of them is physical attraction. I think I was just going through a period where I had this girlfriend who… Whether it’s true or not, I felt that she was attracted to me for the wrong reasons. I was just having issues with this girl, and the thing that I really wanted from her was this pure, sort of regular love. And she was this person who had been through all kinds of shit emotionally, and I felt like she liked me because of the band and stuff. If somebody loved you for your money, it would give you the same feeling.

Then it put me in this state where I just kept thinking about the nature of attraction and of love, and just how basically unfair it is; just how much it relies on the physical side. And that’s such an important part of it, and it’s something that I love about it, but in that situation, I just felt like it was artificial or something. So that fatal flaw in the logic of love would be that love is essentially a selfish act sometimes—it’s something you take from someone, or you seek out because of this very instinctual animal side, the lust side of things.

Therefore it’s inherently unfair. I mean, there are people who won’t be considered attractive, and they’ll be left behind. We have this thing where we think that there’s something universal and true about love, that somehow it’s what’s inside that counts, when in reality, to a certain extent, that’s just not true. It’s not actually what counts the most, and that’s the fatal flaw. It’s a really cynical look at it.

My man James Mercer is spitting some real talk right there about the complexity of love—damn. Okay, let’s listen to the song, off the indie classic Chutes Too Narrow.

IP’S PICK OF THE DAY 5/4/26: The Shins “Gone For Good”

There’s an alternate version of “Gone For Good” that was featured on the “So Says I” single. It’s the recording from this video, which is a little more stripped-down and raw. Definitely dope.

I’m gonna hit two more Shins videos before I announce the winner of the IP’S PICKS GRAND PRIZE and say peace one last time on here.

First, an in-store performance at Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas from 2004 of a non-album cut that I’ve posted on here before, “When I Goose-Step.” I love this song, and not the more-produced Wicker Park soundtrack version! This is the alternate version. My real Shins heads know the vibes.

James Mercer’s melody lines are unmatched. He hits the illest notes on this.

And finally, an in-studio capture of the Port Of Morrow standout “Bait And Switch.” I remember I was working on a list of the Top 20 Shins Songs for Pigeons & Planes back when POM first came out, and I was feeling this song so much that I threw it in the Top 5 off the strength of my first few listens. And I stand by that ranking!

Alright, now to the IP’S PICKS GRAND PRIZE WINNER. Let’s spin the wheel and see who from yesterday’s final PICKS POSSE post is gonna take home a Do Remember! book and mixtape bundle, plus a copy of the Stan Ipcus album Sleep If You Want on vinyl. Shout to Tape Kingz with the cassette and vinyl.

Scro! My G! For those who don’t know, Scro aka DJ Scrotum is a fellow Terp who used to hold me down on the wheels at live Stan Ipcus shows in and around College Park (RIP 94th Aero Squardron). Much love to you my friend, and thanks for always repping the PICKS POSSE.

And shout to everyone out there for subscribing to IP’S PICKS. I appreciate you joining me on this journey. I’ll be moving on to new creative projects, but this will always remain a special time in my life as a music writer.

I hope you take this as an opportunity to explore the nine-plus months of IP’S PICKS archives and put that 1,000-plus song Spotify playlist that was built along the way to work. It’s embedded below.

And to the paid subscribers out there, thank you for the support. Please feel free to drop down to a free subscriber moving forward, as I may use this email list for future communication.

Okay that’s it. All the best, family. Thanks again for everything, and please stay in touch.

Peace!