As you walk into Today Cloth-

ing, the philosophy that defines 
the store is fairly clear. An elegant 
interior and muted color palette 
are juxtaposed with store speak-
ers softly playing vintage soul 
music, evoking a distinct sense of 
ease and artistry. Racks of men’s 
clothes neatly line the walls, 
eclectic and colorful sneakers 
are tucked in the back and tables 
placed around the store showcase 
what new and notable wares have 
come Today’s way. It calls Fourth 
Ave. its home, Literati its neigh-
bor and is a bit of an anomaly as 
far as Ann Arbor’s storefronts 
go. With its shelves boasting sto-
ried menswear brands like A.P.C., 
wings+horns and Norse Projects, 
one could move Today to one of 
the hipper streets in SoHo without 
anyone batting much of an eye — 
and that’s largely the point.

“Even if I wanted to shop (in 

Ann Arbor), there was nowhere I’d 
be excited to be going. We decided 
that it made sense to change that,” 
said Kevin Pearson, who owns 
and manages Today along with 
Eric Hardin, a fellow Michigan 
native and University of Michigan 
Engineering alum. “I knew no one 
was doing retail well here, or any-
where in southeast Michigan.”

What Hardin and Pearson 

sought to accomplish with Today 
was an audacious task, but its wel-
come presence in the city is the 

thankful product of what they said 
was “the timing being right.”

In addition to Today’s care-

fully envisioned design, Hardin 
and Pearson said they put great 
thought and consideration into 
each and every item that lines 
their storefront.

“We want items that look good, 

but we also want items that age 
well and that our customers can 
wear for years,” Hardin said.

Customers can find colorful 

and playful designs nestled along-
side monochromatic, classic looks; 
wares can range from effortlessly 
stylish and timeless threads from 
menswear brands like Our Legacy 
and Monitaly, to loud and personal 
pieces from the likes of Vans and 
local designer Yoshi, a Japanese 
transplant and former Comme 
Des Garçons collaborator wor-
thy of his own story. Today can 
even say it is one of a few store in 
the United States for many of the 
brands it carries — at the moment, 
Today is the only official stockist 
for A.P.C. products in the state of 
Michigan.

Beyond good looks and crafts-

manship, Today’s inventory is also 
telling of the kinds of people Har-
din and Pearson are. “Our brand 
is a map of who we’ve wanted to 
work with. We’re fortunate to say 
that most of these brands in here 
can be called our friends and we’re 
fortunate to work with them,” 
Pearson said.

On the graces of previously 

established industry connections, 

Hardin and Pearson were able to 
build Today thanks to personal 
relationships they’ve continued 
to foster; for every new brand put 
into consideration, “getting to 
know the brand and its people” is 
an integral process for Today, per 
Hardin.

“We decided to channel a lot 

of our relationships and got seri-
ous about a shared vision” — it’s 
an aspect of Today’s business that 
separates the store from many of 
its retail contemporaries.

Today is a refreshing fixture 

among Ann Arbor’s typical retail 
scene. Fronted by two gregarious 
(and, frankly, very cool) owners 
with an appreciation for all things 
creative and well-designed, Today 
affords its patrons a reasoned and 
tasteful introduction to male high 
fashion. As much as its inven-
tory is an illustration of the duo’s 
personalities, Today is equally 
an earnest homage to the art and 
sophistication of menswear (fit-
ting, considering their space used 
to house an art gallery). No matter 
one’s predispositions to fashion 
and menswear, Today’s contin-
ued contributions to Ann Arbor’s 
cultural landscape are worthy of 
recognition, and its significance 
in Ann Arbor’s retail and fashion 
scene will only grow as time goes 
on. Noting Today’s relationship 
with the city, Pearson said it best: 
“Ann Arbor just felt like home.” 
And for many of the city’s fashion-
able men, Today can function as a 
home in much of the same way.

An A2 store for trendy men

ANAY KATYAL
Daily Style Editor

4th Ave’s Today Clothing outfits the fashionable male

CLAIRE ABDO/Daily

Harden and Pearson, the owners of Today Clothing.

STYLES UPON STYLES

How’s that mic taste?

As the school year gets into full 

swing, I mourn the loss of days I 
could spend watching Netflix and 
eating my body weight in Chipotle 
burritos. As the days get shorter 
and my time spent in the library 
gets longer, I hunt for new music 
to get me through the (recently 
chillier) 
September 
evenings. 

This is where Gabriel Garzón 
Montano comes in. 

Raised in Brooklyn with a clas-

sically trained singer for a mother, 
Montano began playing the violin 
at the age of six and continues to 
play various instruments today. 
His first and only release, Bish-
ouné: Alma Del Huila, features 
Montano playing every instru-
ment and writing all of the music 
for the six tracks. While Montano 
released the EP and toured along-
side Lenny Kravitz in the fall of 
2014, his most recent rise to fame 
occurred when Drake sampled 
his opening song “Six Eight” in 
“Jungle” off If You’re Reading This 
It’s Too Late.

“Six Eight” opens the EP with 

its sultry and seductive sound, 
setting the stage for what Mon-
tano hopes to accomplish with 

the rest of the album. I first heard 
the song in the closing episode of 
“Last Chance U” on Netflix, but 
aside from providing a soundtrack 
for a crying football team, “Six 
Eight” is passionate and sexy 
with slow, heavy beats and claps. 
The five-minute song boasts only 
four lines that Montano sings on 
repeat; “Rock me real slowly / Put 
a bib on me / I’m just like a baby, 
drooling over you / The things 
you do.” 

Following 
“Six 
Eight” 
is 

“Everything is Everything,” a 
track whose a cappella intro 
becomes its background accom-
paniment. It’s hip and clever, 
using traditional concepts of 
groove and rhythm to create an 
untraditional combination of pop 
and funk. “Naeja” lures listeners 
with light piano and techno beats, 
leaving them slightly uneasy 
when faced with the ominous 
undertones. The lyrics play into 
the restlessness of the steady, 
chorus-less track when Montano 
croons, “Thought I saw the man 
/ Just my own footsteps in the 
sand.”

The difficult to understand 

“Pour Maman” utilizes layered 
vocals, a tinkling piano and heavy 
bass to transform into a new rock 
sound, as Montano murmurs to 

a missing lover. Closing with the 
prophetic lyrics, “I’ll never leave 
you / I’d rather leave you,” “Pour 
Maman” mourns the loss of a 
past life. Transitioning quickly to 
“Keep On Running,” the most pia-
no-heavy song on the EP employs 
its instruments to mimic its title. 
With abrupt and hasty strokes to 
imitate running away from the 
past, its upbeat sound contrasts 
with the bleak lyrics, “Won’t ever 
get away / If you’re living for yes-
terday / Don’t expect things to 
change.” It’s simple and epito-
mizes Montano’s sound through a 
combination of traditional instru-
ments with modern remixes.

Bishouné: Alma Del Huila clos-

es with “Me Alone,” a soulful and 
sensuous song that makes good 
use of a steady drumbeat and 
electronic voices harmonizing in 
the background. Its closing lyrics, 
“Well well what a mighty hard 
life to lead / All this sunshine is 
heavy hangin’ over me / I know 
the grass is greener where the 
angels be,” speaks to the fear of 
loneliness and the starvation for 
touch that comes along with it. 
At the end of the EP, Gabriel Gar-
zón Montano leaves the listener 
with both a respect for a doomed 
past and a renewed sense of hope, 
looking ahead for better days.

CATHERINE BAKER

Daily Arts Writer

Montano makes alluring, light tunes

Classically-trained Brooklyn singer is perfect for short fall days

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
the b-side
Thursday, September 29, 2016 — 3B

 It’s time to herald the 
return of one the best, most 
underappreciated sitcoms on 
the air: “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” 
Created by Michael Schur 
(“The Good Place”) and Dan 
Goor (“Parks and Recreation”), 
“Brooklyn” entered its fourth 
season last week with a 
premiere that continued its 
adventurous foray into more 
serialized storytelling.
 It’s ostensibly a series about 
cops in its eponymous pre-
cinct, but it’s probably better 
described as a workplace com-
edy. The show is a paragon of 
the network sitcom, an ideal 
every such series should aspire 
to. It’s a testament to diverse 
casting, the strengths of 
ensemble comedy and simply 
clever, hilarious writing.
 When the final “Greatest TV 
Duos” lists have been tabu-
lated, chief among the winners 

should be 
the mis-
matched 
cops Andy 
Samberg 
(“Popstar: 
Never Stop 
Never 
Stopping”) 
and Andre 
Braugher 
(“Homicide: 
Life on the 
Street”): 
this unholy pairing is about 
as weird, wacky and utterly 
hilarious as you’d expect. Sam-
berg’s trademark goofiness 
takes a backseat to his ironic 
sensibility and underrated 
charm, and this dynamic plays 
off Braugher’s deadpan perfec-
tion to create the most consis-
tent laughs a network comedy 
could hope to mine.
 The ensemble cast — 
including Terry Crews 
(“Everybody Hates Chris”), 
Chelsea Peretti (“Kroll 
Show”), Stephanie Beatriz 
(“Short Term 12”) and more 
— truly deserves to be in 

the same conversation as 
those of “Veep” and “Silicon 
Valley.” And, as of the past 
season, “Brooklyn” has even 
ventured out of standard 
case-of-the-week plots into 
longer arcs — and done so to 
predictably great success. It’s 
ultimately a shame, then, that 
the show is comparatively 
underappreciated. FOX is 
home to a dizzying menu 
of fantastic comedies — 
“New Girl,” “Bob’s Burgers” 
“Last Man On Earth” — but 
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” is 
what everyone, at some point, 
needs: comfort food.

- NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT

EPISODE REVIEW

A-

“Season Four Premiere”

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

FOX

DEF JAM

Life is like a box of balls.

Admit it: there’s been a time 

(or 100) when you’ve found 
yourself to be in your feelings. 
You feel emo — it happens. 
It’s often unwarranted and 
unprecedented; it may be due 
to lack of sleep and/or food, 
the exam you have on Tuesday 
or the exam you had (and may 
have failed) last Tuesday or 
because you finally found the 
person from your big lecture 
class that you’ve been nursing 
a crush on all year, and you see 
on Facebook that they’ve been 
in a relationship with someone 
for two years. Who really cares 
why you’re feeling emo — the 
point is, you just are.

I learned in my musicology 

course last year that listening 
to sad songs while you are sad 
actually does make you feel 
better. It makes you feel as 
though whatever it is you’re 
feeling is valid, and after you 
belt your heart out (or just cry 
and listen) to your sad song of 
choice, you undergo a sort of 
catharsis that leaves you feeling 
cleansed. Plus, the act of singing 
releases endorphins, so singing 
when you are sad will make you 
feel happier. With that in mind, 
if you do happen to find yourself 
in the feels for no apparent 
reason, check out the songs 
below:

“Ivy” — Frank Ocean
It begins with a reverberated 

guitar melody that progresses as 
Ocean’s soothing yet powerful 
vocals build. Then, it pierces 
through all the walls and all 
the bullshit that you have 
worked to hide behind. Ocean 
perfectly begins soft and low, 
so when only 30 seconds in, he 
skips up an octave into a more 
exasperated, emotional tone, 
the listener is ready to let go 
of the strength and composure 
they feel they must uphold. 
This build up is expert, and is 
executed at a level that isn’t 
often heard, even from artists 
of the same caliber. With ease, 

Ocean juxtaposes an angsty and 
nonchalant tone, representing 
the whiplash of the constant 
battle of feeling and caring too 
much and not at all (“If you could 
see my thoughts you would see 
our faces” vs. “It’s quite alright 
to hate me now”). His lyrics are 
nostalgic, constantly referring 
to “back then” — a time that 
every listener has, a time that 
every listener thinks of and a 
time that every listener, at some 
point, wants to return to.

“Don’t Think Twice It’s 

Alright” — Bob Dylan

Dylan’s 
apathetic 
yet 

powerful lyrics, combined with 
his soft-spoken singing, are 
like a stream of consciousness 
within your own head. With 
lines such as “I ain’t saying 
you treated me unkind / You 
could’ve done better, but, I don’t 
mind, / You just kind of wasted 
my precious time, / But don’t 
think twice, it’s alright,” Dylan 
succinctly puts the hardship 
of breaking up with someone, 
even after reluctantly realizing 
that neither the relationship 
nor the person was perfect, into 
words. The matter-of-factness 
in Dylan’s tone that basically 
says “you suck, but it’s seriously 
fine!” allows you to easily sing 
along and convince yourself 
that maybe it really is seriously 
fine.

“Michicant” — Bon Iver
Listening to Bon Iver feels 

like sitting on a rock in the 
middle of a moving river, with 
your feet in the cool-but-not-
too-cold water, with the sun 
hitting your chest and the smell 
of trees filling your olfactory 
senses. It’s like being where you 
are most comfortable, with a 
warm blanket and a cup of tea, 
with your favorite book and your 
favorite person and a glass of 
your favorite kind of expensive 
alcohol. This song is one of my 
personal favorites from Justin 
Vernon, for the harmonies of 
his voice and the entrancing 
instruments. I don’t quite even 
know how to describe his music; 
it is hopeful and yet bittersweet. 

There is something about it that 
can mend a broken heart, a bad 
day or a disappointment.

“Yes I’m Changing” — Tame 

Impala

The first time I heard this 

song — to put it frankly — I 
was like, “Yaaaaas.” Taking 
in the ambient vocals and 
synthesizers 
combined 
with 

the strong beat of the bass and 
drums will inadvertently have 
you nodding your head. The 
lyrics are dreamy and matter of 
fact; they have a way of relating 
to different aspects of life that 
make this song applicable to 
almost 
any 
situation. 
This 

song is cathartic, with hopeful 
lyrics such as “There is another 
future waiting there for you” 
or “There is a world out there 
that is calling my name / And 
it’s calling yours too,” and the 
electronic, psychedelic track 
consumes your being, allowing 
your mind to get a break from 
the war within.

“Love is a Losing Game” — 

Amy Winehouse

These 
lyrics 
are 
poetry. 

Winehouse’s voice is poetry. 
The music is poetry. Without 
any 
music, 
the 
words 
are 

incredibly sad, beautiful and 
real. And Amy Winehouse, well, 
she could be singing the phone 
book and I would probably 
still be sitting on my bed and 
crying. The combination of 
her voice, the words and her 
musical choices are enthralling, 
with each breath, vocal run and 
carefully chosen accented word 
or note bringing meaning to the 
song that is deeper than what’s 
on the surface. You don’t only 
feel the pain Winehouse brings 
forth through this song, you 
share it with her. Written by 
Winehouse herself, the lyrics 
and music are so cohesive; the 
words are deep and thought 
provoking, while the music 
is repetitive and simple. The 
simplicity of the music makes 
the song raw. Winehouse forces 
you to listen to everything she 
is saying and feel it completely; 
she leaves you no other choice.

ALLIE TAYLOR
Daily Arts Writer

A mixtape for unexpected rushes of 
intense emotional turmoil, drama

Actually less depressing than the headline leads you to believe

UOFMIXTAPE

