Twin Peaks
The flaming embers of '60s garage rock, and the flaming hot fire of the 2010s garage punk sound, burn bright in Twin Peaks. The band was formed by four young Chicago natives (vocalist/guitarist Cadien Lake James, guitarist Clay Frankel, bassist Jack Dolan and drummer Connor Brodner) in the early 2010s. The guys had known each other and been friends since elementary school, but only formed a band after the duo James had with his brother Hal split up so Hal could join the Smith Westerns. They began playing together near the end of high school, then went out on tour during their senior year. Before heading out on the road, they had quickly and cheaply recorded an album in James' basement to sell in order to keep them in gas and beer. Titled Sunken, the album caught the ear of Autumn Tone, who issued it in summer of 2013. After graduating, James, Dolan, and Brodner headed to Olympia to attend Evergreen College, but they decided school wasn't for them, so they swung by L.A. to get Frankel and headed back to Chicago. Once there they began working on a second album with producers Andrew Humphrey and Colin Croom. Taking more time to craft their sound, but never losing the wild and loose feel of their live set, the album showed the band's decision to quit school and stick together was wise. Wild Onion was issued by Grand Jury in summer 2014, just a few weeks after the band wowed the crowd at the Pitchfork Festival with their set.
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It follows an investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington. Its pilot episode was broadcast on April 8, 1990, on ABC. Seven more episodes were produced, and the series was renewed for a second season that aired until June 10, 1991.nTwin Peaks explores the gulf between the veneer of small-town respectability and the seedier life beneath. As the series progresses, the inner darkness of characters who initially appeared innocent is revealed, and they are seen to lead double lives. Its unsettling tone and supernatural features are consistent with horror films, but its campy, melodramatic portrayal of quirky characters engaged in dubious activities parodies of American soap operas. Like much of Lynch's work, the show represents an earnest moral inquiry distinguished by offbeat humor and surrealism.nTwin Peaks became one of the top-rated shows of 1990 and was an international critical success. It captured a cult following and has been referenced in television shows, commercials, comic books, video games, films and songs. Declining ratings led to ABC's insistence that the identity of Laura's murderer be revealed midway through the second season. The series was followed by a 1992 feature film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, which serves as both a prequel and an epilogue to the television series.nThe pilot episode was ranked No. 25 on TV Guide's 1997 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. The series was ranked No. 45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002, and it was included in its 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon." Twin Peaks was listed as one of Time's "Best TV Shows of All-TIME" in 2007, and it placed No. 49 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list and No. 12 in their list of the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years."nIn October 2014, it was announced that Twin Peaks will return for a limited series on Showtime in 2016, later delayed to 2017. The series is written by Lynch and Frost and will be directed by Lynch. Many original cast members, including MacLachlan, will return.
The Districts
The Districts are a four-piece indie rock band from the small town of Lititz, Pennsylvania. The group formed in 2009 while members Rob Grote, Mark Larson, Connor Jacobus, and Braden Lawrence were still in high school. The prolific young band released their first EP, Kitchen Songs, in 2011, followed by Telephone, their debut full-length, the following year. The Districts' second EP, the more acoustic-leaning While You Were in Honesdale, was released in late 2012 and the band continued to perform regionally. Their mix of jangly indie Americana and blues-inspired rock caught the attention of Mississippi's Fat Possum Records, which signed the Districts in 2013. In January 2014, Fat Possum issued the band's self-titled third EP, which contained three remastered songs from the Telephone album along with two newly recorded tracks. Just over a year later, the Districts returned with their second album, A Flourish and a Spoil, which marked the debut of guitarist Pat Cassidy -- Larson had opted to go to college -- and was produced by John Congleton. Returning in August 2017, the Districts issued Popular Manipulations, which was partly self-recorded and also featured more production work from Congleton.