Siteseeing

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/11/2014 (3944 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

High Maintenance

bit.ly/high_maintenance

IF you still think most shows on the web aren’t worth your time or money, High Maintenance may change your mind. Packaged in short, easy-to-consume episodes that centre around the interactions between a likeable Brooklyn pot dial-a-dealer and his eclectic clientele, High Maintenance is as good as most things you see on conventional TV.

Where Lena Dunham’s New York-based Girls has a fairly close circle of characters, High Maintenance is the embodiment of the diversity of the borough. Sure, the hipster stereotypes are there at times, but how could they not be? On the show, written by husband-and-wife team Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld, Sinclair plays “The Guy,” the nameless delivery man who shows up on his bike and integrates himself into the lives of his customers. This character-driven web series is more about the people he deals with than the marijuana he sells to people in the comfort of their homes.

“We long had this dream to create something — a film or a short, or a web series — to get out all these weird stories that have happened to us over the years,” Blichfeld says. “If something felt false to us, if we hadn’t experienced something ourselves, or didn’t have a first-hand account for experiencing something, we didn’t feel comfortable portraying it.”

With the first four seasons available free on Vimeo, for Season 5, Sinclair and Blichfeld are trying an experiment to sell streams of the show through Vimeo at US $7.99 for the season. With a built-in audience, a lean approach to production and an anthology-style presentation that utilizes New York and the clients’ locations as a backdrop and keeps costs to around $1,000 per episode, High Maintenance seems like the perfect type of show to seek crowdfunding as a funding and distribution method. Having the people who are into the show kick in a small amount to support the development seems to make sense, seeing how well the other episodes have been received. By partnering with Vimeo and getting a cash injection into the show, Sinclair and Blichfeld can continue to tell the types of stories they want and have a bigger production budget to execute their ideas.

 

Stream of the Week: The Hours — Miss Emerald Green

thehours.bandcamp.com

ALREADY turning heads with their slow-burning two song digital EP on Bandcamp, Winnipeg’s the Hours are wrapping up the recording of their anticipated self-titled debut album. Along with unveiling a series of videos prior to the expected release of the album in early 2015, the group is debuting Miss Emerald Green on its Bandcamp site this week.

Your next chance to catch the Hours live will be in the new year, as they have a number of upcoming dates that will be announced shortly.

 

Video of the Week: Caribou — Pitchfork Music Festival Paris

bit.ly/caribou_live

ALONG with releasing one of the strongest albums of the year, Caribou has always had a powerful live show. Recorded at the recent Pitchfork Music Festival in Paris, Dan Snaith, along with his well-oiled touring band, put on a mesmerizing performance that shows off his latest album, My Love.

 

Anthony Augustine is a freelance music, technology and pop culture writer who spends way too much time in front of a computer. Got a site you think he should see? Email him at anthony.siteunseen@gmail.com or follow him at twitter.com/anthonya.