Critics have been tearing apart ABC’s new thriller Happy Town and littering their reviews with the brand “cliche.” They’re calling it a cliche of the horror genre and a cliche of the small-town television drama. It’s obvious the creators, vets of October Road and Life on Mars, are heavily influenced by Twin Peaks and Stephen King’s small town yarns, and I really can’t argue that it is filled with cliches. But fuck it, that’s why I found it so enjoyable. That and it’s also filled with bonified actors, clues, and self-consciously bad dialogue. The writers are having fun with these cliches, dummies. Chances are this show won’t last more than half a season but until it’s pulled, let’s just enjoy the campiness that is Happy Town.

The show takes place in a small Minnesota town called Haplin. Everyone there is overly friendly and a good chunk of the population work in the town’s massive bread factory. Crime is virtually nonexistent in Haplin, except for the multiple disappearances and presumed murders (even children) committed by the “Magic Man,” a town myth. The show opens with a grisly murder – the town pervert gets a spike impaled straight through his head. A twenty-something girl, Henley, moves into town to open up a “soy wax” candle shop. She moves into a boarding house run by a creepy old lady who warns that the third floor is strictly off limits. Also residing in the boarding house is Merritt Greaves (Sam fucking Neill), who recently moved into town as well and is opening up a movie memorabilia shop. Sheriff Conroy (M.C. Gainey) wants Greaves out of town for some reason, and a run-in between the two causes Conroy to go apeshit and start screaming about Chloe, who know one seems to know.

So yeah, there’s a lot thrown at us in the first episode. Including CLUES! What’s the significance of the fictional 1923 film Thru the Blue Door? What’s with the question mark/halo graffiti? Why does Sheriff Conroy want Greaves out of town? What’s on the third floor? Why was Conroy screaming about Chloe and why did he…I won’t spoil what he does for anyone who hasn’t watched it yet.

Being one with the Bear I tend to give most bands with “Bear” in their title a listen if they make it across my way. Sometimes there’s absolute winners like Bear in Heaven and other times it’s just utter indifference (see Grizzly Bear, Minus the Bear). But I always give a bear the benefit of the doubt and a quick audition.

Case in point, the Dublin Duo, Solar Bears. I’ll be honest, had they not had Bear in their band name they probably stood about a 1% chance of me hitting play on their Myspace player… but I did and I’m all the more happier for it.

Given the current musical climate, Solar bear would probably fit snugly under the Chillwave/Glo-Fi umbrella, but unlike most of those bands there is something very dark and somber about Solar Bears tracks that while similar to the sunny haze of bands like Neon Indian and Washed Out, also rubs right against the grain. If those bands are the Spring and Summer, well Solar Bears are totally the Winter of our discontent.

Solar Bears have an EP and a full-length in the works, but there is really no solid information on a possible release date or label for either. I’m going to be keeping these guys on my radar and hope either come out sooner rather than later.

Fun random fact: These guys share a name with a now defunct Orlando minor league (IHL) hockey team. Not sure if that’s coincidental or intentional though.

The Delta Mirror – Machines That Listen (2010) [Lefse] // Grade: C+

As if The Antler’s Hospice wasn’t a heart-wrenching enough album, a singular drawn-out tale of loss and coping that turned the most stoic listener to jelly, along comes 2010′s attempted counterpart, trio The Delta Mirror’s debut, Machines That Listen. Combining electronic backing with traditional indie pop rock fare, The Delta Mirror create a somber, conceptual narrative where crunchy beats and airy vocals lead you across a maze of rooms in a fictional hospital.

The sounds across Machines That Listen can never stack up to the power, hurt and confusion with which Antler’s vocalist Peter Silberman imbued Hospice. It’s almost unfair to compare the two releases, but with themes so similar it’s also impossible not to think of Silberman’s voice floating overhead, issuing genuine sentiment when The Delta Mirror only have fiction to offer.

The Delta Mirror may suffer from poor timing, but that doesn’t mean Machines Don’t Listen is worthy of a total write-off. The narrative is well-developed and though this may be the band’s debut, their gift for storytelling is easily asserted. It’s a bold move to release an album this tied to a singular theme as a first introduction and while at times it grows heavy-handed and tiresome, strong lyrics paired with interesting electronic compositions (as heard on “Going To Town”) suggest The Delta Mirror could offer a notable follow-up somewhere down the line.

It’s my bet that The Delta Mirror find a welcoming mainstream audience. Afterall, their songs are essentially a combination of Interpol and The Postal Service, adding the brooding atmosphere and vocal tones of the former to the light electronic accompaniment of the latter, as evidenced in “We Got It All”. As a debut, whole package feels a little overly ambitious and at the same time, lacking in uniqueness. The Delta Mirror have co-opted bits and pieces of bands and styles with proven track records and melded the references into an easily digestible, and likeable sound. But through these bland layers still shines a well-written storyline, a spark that is more than enough to carry their music across future releases as their identity continues to develop.

All hail the Montreal Canadiens, for they have slain the dragon. Last night in DC, the Habs became the ninth team since 1994 to eliminate the number one seed in the first round by beating Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals in Game Seven by a score of 2-1 in front of 19,000 shocked fans.

But that simple description doesn’t do Montreal’s historic accomplishment justice. Think about it like this: the Capitals were the President’s Trophy winners, having the league’s best regular season record. So they weren’t just the #1 seed in the East; effectively, they were the #1 seed overall. The Canadiens, on the other hand, squeaked into the playoffs with 88 points – tied with the 7th-seeded Flyers, but sitting below them in the #8 slot. Of the 16 clubs making the tournament, the Habs would effectively be ranked 16th. So the #16 knocked off the #1 – something that’s never happened in the NCAA men’s tournament, by means of comparison.

The Habs’ achievement is even more impressive when you consider the fact that they came back from a 3-1 series deficit to win it all, just the second time in Montreal’s storied, 101-year-long history they’ve done so. Not only did they win three straight, facing elimination each time, two of those wins were on the road. In fact, three of the Habs’ four wins were on the road – mind-blowing when you consider that the Capitals had the league’s best home record. Just makes you realize how different the playoffs are from the regular campaign – and how much DC benefited from beating up on Southeastern softies all year.

It’d be fucked up not to mention the magic of Jaroslav Halak. The man was a beast for the Canadiens, stopping 42 shots while his team put up just 16. I was even getting text messages from my non-hockey-watching people marvelling at the man’s impression of a stone wall. And it’d be even more fucked up not to mention my dude Tony Tanti, manager of Death Adders Fantasy Hockey League team Laraque Obama and the biggest Habs fan I know. He’s probably pretty hungover this morning, but it’s worth revisiting his comment on my playoff preview post from a couple weeks back:

nice picks, but i’ll have to disagree with the choice of the Caps over the Habs. OK i am a terrible habs fan, but i actually think this one will go to 7 games, and it could go either way. Canadiens record vs Capitals this year, 2-1-1, pretty solid for a 8th place team… and Halak already got Ovy once during the Olympics, why not twice.

Tony, you called it, homie. Last night he sent me an email:

Yo Caps,

I really needed to send you an e-mail after this BIG win over the Caps! Not much to say other then… HAAAALAK!!!

Sucks though that your Sabres are out already, I would of love the Halak-Miller showdown. Too bad they got there asses kicked by the B’s.

Enjoy the golf…

Yeah, too bad indeed. My Sabres got their faces shanked by Tuukka Rask’s Bruins.  Deplorable. I have been drinking. But as My Pal the Crook noted on Twitter yesterday, at least now his Devils and the Sabres have company in their misery. Gonna be a long fucking off-season.

Round two in the West is gonna be a blast. Round two in the East? I dunno. Bruins-Flyers? Jesus Christ. More on all that later.

High Places – High Places vs. Mankind (2010) [Thrill Jockey] // Grade: A

The first time I heard High Places was in 2008 over their self-titled debut. That’s not a very original story. Unless you lived in Brooklyn circa a few years ago and caught their rise behind the scenes within the DIY show community, your story of discovering High Places is probably the same as mine. But against a typically boring story of hearing a new band for the first time, I still remember how immediately special I thought they sounded. Back with their sophomore effort, High Places vs. Mankind, the once Brooklyn and now Los Angeles bedroom pop duo prove softness can speak loudly.

I’ve seen High Places vs. Mankind labeled a dance album, as well as a lo-fi album, and it traverses both territories as Mary Pearson’s vague, ethereal vocals shift over  compositions of jingling dub. High Places could have easily followed in the steps of the Chromatics, but their decision to stand by simplistic bedroom production versus embracing a lusher studio sound makes their music that much more interesting. The result is an album that listens from a distance, flitting in and out of focus.

Many of High Places vs. Mankind‘s ten tracks are practically begging for remix treatment. Most immediately, “On Giving Up”, the danciest of the album’s selections. It’s our first chance to hear Pearson’s voice really boom as she closes the gap on her normally distant vocal melodies over repetition and a driving dub line. The pared down production of slow-burner, “The Most Beautiful Name” again brings to light the clarity of Pearson’s voice, hinting at her potential to play vocal contributor and muse to whichever electronic producer is smart enough to catch onto her talents first.

High Places vs. Mankind ends on a glimmering note with “When It Comes”, a hazy fog of gorgeous words and ambling balearic beats. While they’re still far from polished, High Places creep in the shadows of multiple genres, developing a new piece of themselves with every release. I predict Mary Pearson’s voice will take her far, both in and outside of High Places.

April 29, 1992. Angelenos symbolically shrieked their civil discord by stealing electronics, smiting Reginald Denny, violently pillaging local businesses, and burning their own neighborhoods down. Sparked by the acquittal of a crew of thug cops who beat every squirt of shit out of a PCP fueled low-life, the LA RIOTS were the ultimate kick off to the new era our society was entering…The Information Age.

When we saw real video of Rodney resisting arrest and the flat foots who abused their power, it was an absolute phenomenon of grassroots vigilance …YOU MEAN SOMEONE SHOT VIDEO OF THIS? You remember how atrociously cumbersome video cameras where back then, right? Civilians creating news independently of the networks simply wasn’t a concept back in ’91. This was a raw as fuck account of what was really happening in the world…and it was all captured in crystal clear VHS tape! Is it arguable to say that the Rodney King video was the first blog?

My intention isn’t to trivialize the tensions felt in the streets and ghettos of LA, what do I know about that darkness? I grew up on the backlot of Scarface and Miami Vice. But what happened? This wasn’t any sort of prolific message from the tired, cheated, and scorned… it was a bunch of low-lifes just like Rodney who desecrated an opportunity to truly revolt against a corrupt system. For that week, we had the power to keep civil servants regulated to OUR standards of society. Police the Police! Los Angeles…this was time to change the game. The whole world was watching in astonishment and what did the rioters do? Steal TV’s so they could watch too!

Nothing changed except some store fronts. Darryl Gates died comfortably, Rodney King parlayed his stature into a failed reality TV career and more arrests, while the LAPD are still accused of using excessive force. So to answer my own question, NO. The Rodney video wasn’t the first blog…it was a sex tape…porn to hold us over until Pam and Tommy ushered in the Perez/TMZ age or whatever this reeking pit of an era we’re in is called. I Love LA.

We love it.

EPMD – Crossover

Keith Murray – The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World

Erick Sermon – Music

K Solo – Fugitive

Hurricane G – Somebody Else

I’m not sure how heavy the rotation has been on M.I.A.’s newest video ‘Born Free’ but I just saw it for the first time yesterday and it’s worth the watch for conversation’s sake at the very least. It’s directed by Romain Gavras who is the same guy who made the most literal video interpretation of Justice’s ‘Stress‘ next to maybe, La Haine.

This video is steadily being flagged and removed all across the internet for its graphic content. M.I.A. is so punk. Am I the last person to see this?

Don’t get too excited, it’s not that good…actually it might be a grower…Too early to call…Ok it’s starting to win me over at the three minute mark…Goddamn you Interpol, you’ve done it to me again!

Anyway, just hit play on the little applet up above and input your age and email address to receive a download of “Lights”. While you wait for it to arrive in your inbox why not enjoy Interpol’s snazzy new 3D logo? Moping in the third dimension.

New Мишка x Rebel8 Tees & Crews Now Online!

A few weeks back we put up our stash of Мишка x Rebel8 tees for sale. Today, joining the Magenta and Sea-Foam gang is Rebel8′s own Orange and Black versions of the Harley inspired design. Mike Giant absolutely killed it with his rendition of Simon. That’s just a tattoo begging to happen!

But that’s not all! You see Rebel8 totally one-upped us and made these awesome raglan crewnecks featuring a Simon on the front chest and the entire rocker graphic on the back. I wish we thought of that…Doh! Either way, both styles are now available online and in our Brooklyn store along with our collaborative denim and leather New Era cap.

Мишка
350 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY
718-388-1725

J/M/Z to Marcy Ave.
G to Broadway
L to Lorimer