Today’s Sounds

by Darcy MacDonald

I’m still not certain whether Nas’s 10th album title suggests that life in and of itself is good, or if it is rather a reflection of his state of mind. Nearly 20 years deep into defining his legacy, he’s the only legitimate household name in hip hop who continues to broaden listeners’ expectations of his music. “Daughters” finds Nas musing (read: trippin’) on the options open to his 17-year-old girl. Nowhere near ready to be Grampa Jones by 40, Nas tells his young lady the difference between what boys think and men know, in real terms.

Did you get the demo? Memories of a Vagabond – Broken Destiny

by Erik Leijon

Michel Duguay is a game tester by day and a game creator by night. The Montrealer and his dedicated team of five—they’re called Darklite—are currently working on Memories of A Vagabond – Broken Destiny, a dark, atmospheric Japanese-style turn-based role-playing game that fans of Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger will immediately take a shining to.

Dancehall heads Poirier and the Salivation Army team up for No Vacancy

by Erik Leijon

Montreal clubbing mainstays Ghislain Poirier and the Salivation Army (aka Sarah Bernard) are joining forces for No Vacancy, a steamy new weekly premiering tonight at Royal Phoenix. So what caused the Karnival creator/King of Bounce and Montreal’s reigning dancehall queen to team up? “We both like the same music, and having played a few parties together, we realized that our styles were so complementary that throwing a new night together was the most natural and logical step,” says Bernard.

Rock’em sock’em women? Top 5 roller derby myths

by ALYSSA KWASNY

As an avid roller derby fan, I find myself explaining the rules to curiosity seekers and newbs on a fairly routine basis. Almost always, without fail, the first question is, “So, do they hit each other and stuff?” It’s perplexing, since this question usually comes from people not old enough to remember the second wave of roller derby as WWE-style sports entertainment in the 1960s and ‘70s, which was markedly more violent than the new roller derby of the aughts.

This little foodie went to the market

by JOANNA FOX

There’s no better complement to a gorgeous Montreal summer than a little shopping alfresco at the Atwater Market. With all of the farm fresh Quebec produce rolling in from the fields every day, this is the time of year when local food is at its best. Last year’s expansion led to the addition of an outdoor food court serving everything from satay sticks to lobster rolls. If you haven’t had the chance to check it out yet, here’s a little guide to let you know what’s up.

Mental about movies: Kier-La Janisse’s House of Psychotic Women

by MALCOLM FRASER

The Montreal anglo arts and media scene is very small and incestuous, to the point where the line between “community coverage” and “back-scratching nepotism” is sometimes blurry. And so it was with some hesitation that I approached an interview with Kier-La Janisse—intrepid programmer at Fantasia, Film Pop and the late, lamented underground screening room Blue Sunshine, as well as the author of the new book House of Psychotic Women, published by Fab Press.

Friday, July 20

by Cult MTL

Get your skate — and fixie, slackline and more — on at Jackalope Fest, happening today and tomorrow at the Olympic Park, corner Pie-IX and Sherbrooke. Free.

Peruse Osheaga’s Music on Paper: cool rock posters, mounted. 4220 Drolet, 4-9 p.m., free

Celebrate the launch of a comic book, play classic Nintendo 64 games and listen to 8-bit DJs in one fell swoop at Geek Party II presented by Les Mystérieux étonnants. Pub Brouhaha (5860 de Lorimier), 7 p.m. PWYC

Skank rocksteady at this month’s Pressure Drop. Casa del Popolo, 10 p.m., $5

Fantasia’s exhibit of posters for imaginary classic Canadian horror films, If They Came From Within, launches tonight at Cinémathèque Québécoise (335 Maisonneuve E.), 5 p.m.

Paris is still good at fashion

by EMILY RAINE

A recent trip to Paris afforded me the chance to see an amazing fashion exhibit, and while you might not be able to catch it in person, by harnessing the power of the interwebz, you don’t have to.

Today’s Sounds

by Lorraine Carpenter

Wow. If you thought the last Twin Shadow record was so ’80s, wait till you hear this. George Lewis Jr.’s 2010 debut, Forget, was produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, but here, Lewis sat on both sides of the studio glass (or alone at his kitchen table — whatever) and delved deep into the past. If you told me that “When the Movie’s Over” was a track from a John Hughes movie soundtrack, I’d believe you.

Delta blues: Beasts of The Southern Wild

by ESTHER SPLETT

Director Benh Zeitlin’s first feature film, Beasts of the Southern Wild, is seen through the eyes of a six-year-old named Hushpuppy (played by five-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis) living with her father, Wink (Dwight Henry), in a ravaged southern Delta community called “the Bathtub,” reminiscent of a post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans and based on the culture of the Mississippi.