The Shins

"Clapping Butter" (Funny or Die skit)

BY Alex HudsonPublished Mar 1, 2012

James Mercer's music has always had an undercurrent of melancholy, but who knew that the Shins frontman could also be funny? He recently recorded a skit for Funny or Die that parodies the pursuit of the perfect tone during studio recording sessions.

The clip shows Mercer attempting to record handclaps in a studio and eventually using an imagined product called Clapping Butter in order to produce the perfect sound. Is it funny? Well, the concept isn't particularly witty, but we've got to admit that those dance moves he pulls off at around the 1:33 mark are surprisingly nimble and pretty damn hilarious.

The Shins' Port of Morrow comes out on March 20 via Columbia/Aural Apothecary.

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