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

Bloc Party "Mercury"

Myspace // "Mercury" [Buy]

It's up in the air as to whether or not this song will end up on Bloc Party's third album. First off, this video is weird, and the song comes off like a distorted version of "She's Hearing Voices." There's been a lot of smack already talked about this, but since BP is the type of band that likes trying on a few different hats, this should be taken with a grain of salt. By no means the band's best song, it is a solid tune from a band that is almost obsessed with not being categorized.