‘Shrines,” the debut album from Montreal’s Purity Ring, calls to mind the old line about monkeys and accidental Shakespeare: given enough time, a million indie-electro duos will eventually stumble upon the quintessential blog-wave buzz record. This is as close to that ideal as we’ve heard in some time.

Q. Has the game changed much since your time with Liverpool?

A. Yeah, I think it has changed. It’s obviously quicker, the pitch is like carpet now, the balls are lighter, the boots are lighter. Add all that together and the game is quicker. But there’s still 11 people on each side, the pitch is still the same size. But I think it has changed. People say to me, “Could you play in today’s game?” I think great players can play in any year, that’s why they’re great. A lot of it is down to the mental approach.

We love a nice summery drink when we’re sipping on the beach, double-fisting at barbecues, or hanging on the front porch as much as the next guy in jorts. But for many of us, it’s during the colder, darker winter months that the best drinking is to be found. Trouble is, you don’t want to break out the hot Scotches, fortifying brandies, robust red wines, or heavy porters when it’s sweltering out. So we found a few options that summerize favorite winter drinks. Think of it like putting your favorite tipple in a bikini and taking it to the beach — although not as weird as that sounds....more

I’m the biggest cynical asshole I’ve ever met (see: everything I’ve ever written on this site). But man oh man, this remix of the late beloved PBS painter Bob Ross from PBS Digital Studios almost makes me want to open my heart to the magic of the universe. “Believe that you can do it, cause you can do it,” Ross sings here, sounding like a less-douchey version of the guy from the “Fireflies” song....more

It used to be that when a restaurant opened it would have a grace period to find its groove and traditional reviewers would wait until things had settled to render a verdict. Now that we're all reviewers, firing off images of dishes to Instagram and chiming in on the glut of industry blogs, that's no longer the case. Complicating things for the Tip Tap Room, which opened last month, is that the establishment has been so busy from the jump that it's had to work out its issues on the fly.