Skins: Music and Loss

The second season of Skins is a lot more uneven than the first, that's for sure, but there are still moments that redeem even the most histrionic of turns. Take this episode, for instance, where Sid's family takes center stage, and we find out more about why his father is such a jerkoff (his Da is a Scottish nightmare --let's call him Skinny Bastard).

The whole set up is meant to turn him into more of a sympathetic character, something that Skins seems to do a lot (we're looking at you Tony). But just as we're starting to empathize, he's gone and died in his sleep. All of these plot turns aren't necessarily egregious, but with all the strings being pulled leading up to it our grief isn't earned. That is until Sid explodes in pain at a Crystal Castles concert, sobbing uncontrollably on Tony's shoulder during the caucophony of their song "Alice Practice." It's a scene that's powerful in that it's both a bit off and completely real at the same time. Even the craziest of music can trigger all kinds of emotions, and that scene redeemed all that had happened prior in the episode.



Thankfully, the band was in the scene (along with Bristol band The Hats,) pretending to perform the song live, so they couldn't swap out the music to save coin. But they certainly did elsewhere. One of the best bands to wring agony out of the listener is Sigur Ros, so it's no surprise that they were utilized heavily in this episode (and no surprise that those songs were stripped from the imported episode). Ryan Adams' great "Come Pick Me Up" is the other song we're sad not to see make the cut here.

Skins - Episode 2.03
1. "I Changed My Mind" - Lyrics Born
2. "Takk" - Sigur Ros
3. "85069896" - Fat Segal
4. "Skillers" - The Hats
5. "Alice Practice" - Crystal Castles
6. "Untitled #1 (vaka)" - Sigur Ros
7. "Come Pick Me Up" - Ryan Adams

Previously: Now that's an ending (Episode 2.02)