Skins: Series 3

Myspace

Tomorrow night on E4 (in the UK), the third season of Skins premieres at 10 pm (GMT). Outside of Effy (Tony's younger sister), the entire cast is new, as the whole lot is starting fresh at Roundview College. Although the second season may have been very dark, it was also some of the best television this decade, and I am glad that BBC America finally brought the show to these shores late last year, albeit edited and with subtitles. Like with the other seasons, I'll most likely be trolling torrent sites for the episodes, but it will be worth it as the word is that the premiere episode is one of the best yet.

Skins on BBC America

Myspace // "Skins" Playlist

I touched on it earlier this week, but forget the illegal downloads and dealing with the poor exchange rates -- "Skins" is finally available in the States on BBC America. The show is airing Sunday nights at 10pm EST/9pm CST. To simplify it, "Skins" is a British teen dramedy focusing on a cast of sixth form college students (ages 16-18) in Bristol that is at times like "Gossip Girl" or "The O.C."


"Skins" trailer

While the first season has just begun to air in the States, two seasons have been shown in the UK with a third slated for early '09, albeit with a different cast. Read more about that here. Not only is acting and writing top notch, but the music is excellent, featuring the likes of Bloc Party, The Decemberists, Cat Stevens and most noticeably, The Gossip, whose "Standing in the Way of Control" has become an unofficial theme song for the show. In season two, a few bands made appearances on the show, including Crystal Castles, Born Ruffians and longtime Exitfare favorites Foals.


The cast talks about music

Munch Munch

Myspace // "Endolphins" [mp3]

Last year, I got hooked on the British teen drama Skins and while I was in the country this May, I picked up both of the series on DVD. It was nice to finally sit down and watch all of the episodes in order, uninterrupted, without trying to track them down in seedy corners of the internet or catching them in ten minute bursts on YouTube.

I hadn't thought about the show in months until last night when I stumbled upon the first series being shown on BBC America, albeit edited for cable television consumption. What am I getting at here? Well, the show is based in Bristol and I started to wonder what good bands were from that city.

Munch Munch are a quartet hailing from Bristol, and they've been a band for roughly two years. The band revolves around Thomas and Richard, who record in their bedroom using whatever they find lying around, creating spectacularly shambolic music that's much like a house of cards. If you touch it, then it just may fall down. They're an excellent outfit that don't deserve to exist in any kind of normal universe -- good time party music for all of you misfits.