In The Crib Watching Larry King Live

A late night pandemic savior. Photo by Zach Baker.

Though it’s far from the most #trending skate spot these days, a plan for the renovation and expansion of Union Square was unveiled last week. Just give us a couple République-style planters in the back, don’t kick us out of them, and the city can keep the next two skateparks they were gonna build. Thanks!

Good vibes in this one: “Vlog #1” via Josh Paynter, featuring all winter footy around the city. Footage can never do justice to that backside noseblunt at the L.I.C. D.I.Y. — that one was wild. Bed frame and subway clips are a hoot too :)

We’re living in a high-flying golden age of Instagram compilations on YouTube: Brandon Scott A.K.A. NevaSkimp, Sage Elsesser + Kevin Bilyeu, all just this past week.

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QS Film School — An Intro To Modern Skate Videos With Plots

In Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson’s film about the porn industry of the 70s and 80s, Burt Reynolds’ Jack Horner gives a fateful speech admonishing the advent of home video: “I have a stable of actors and actresses. They’re professionals. They’re not a bunch of fucking amateurs. They’re proven in the box office. They get people in theaters, where films should be seen, and they know how to fuck.”

It is not hard to imagine similar tirades (maybe with a few words switched out) occurring in Powell-Peralta boardrooms as the 80s were coming to a close, and skateboarding was around the corner from a crash. Skate videos of the decade were refined and narrative-driven, and for good reason. There were only like, six tricks invented at the time, so they had to fill up those other 53 minutes in an hour-long skate video with story, personality shots and other shit.

But what would come after skateboarding’s believed-to-be demise was a rebirth. Videos like Snuff, Video Days, Tim & Henry’s Pack of Lies, and Questionable were unrepentant in their progression — they were too busy inventing modern skateboarding in front of your eyes to worry about the extracurricular malarky from the Animal Chin days. New faces and a camera thrown in a backpack was the name of the game. The old mode was dead. But for how long?

Skateboarding draws many parallels to pornography, but one of the most curious ones is an incessant need to add narrative to something that nobody watches for the story. As we will soon learn, plots returned to skate videos as quickly as they went.

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More Spots

etienne

Is E.T. still in Spain? Photo by Zach Baker

New spring goods now live on Alltimers.com. Just don’t expect a text back from Pryce.

but is E.T. still in Spain?

Over the weekend, there was a scare that Shorty’s was being demolished. Although it ended up being a miscommunication between the city and a private company, part of the structure was demolished, but much of the spot remains in tact. The Shorty’s crew met with the mayor of Newark today, and you can read an update here.

Jason Byoun wallies off of snow.

Bunches and bunches of interviews this week…

Super refreshing to see an interview with a nineties pro from the east coast that doesn’t tread the bitter waters that cover so many recollections of that time period. Chromeball interview #99 is with civil engineer, Andy Stone. Anndd Twitter’s saying the newly surfaced footage of him belongs in the Smithsonian.

Speedway Mag posted its extended interview with Josh Stewart about the entire Static series on the occasion of Theories’ ten-year anniversary. (The edited version originally appeared on the Keen Distribution site if some bits seem familiar.)

Pontus Alv interviews Johnny Wilson and then Pontus Alv interviews Bobby Puleo.

Cafe Creme blog interviewed R.B. Umali.

A Minnesotan asks a good question: why isn’t Chicago a bigger deal in skateboarding?

“Elsewhere in Los Angeles, Jim Greco boils.” As discussed last week, skateboarding has doubled down on angst while angsty icons of the 2000s have rebranded themselves with a newfound focus on straightforward skateboarding. Boil the Ocean considers our age of the self-concious comeback in skateboarding.

Consult aforelinked Andy Stone interview for context on why people still fawn over 411 videos. Tennyson comes through with another compilation, this time an eleven-minute mash-up Carl Shipman and Tom Penny, maybe the only guy out there who can keep your attention with twenty-year-old contest footage :)

This Rowan Zorilla Instagram comp is a good time.

The Northern Co. goes all-city in their five-minute “Summer Trip to New York” montage. (Ok fine, they don’t go to Staten Island — has there ever been a truly all-city summer montage though?)

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week Year[?]: Who is James Harden again?

Quote of the Week
Conor Prunty: “It took me like two years to learn how to ollie.”
Jesse Alba: “My dad is still learning how to ollie, he’s been skating for like 40 years.”

dude

Gotta get back on it, sorry :(

Pacific Ocean in the Backyard Looking Sexy

Screen Shot 2014-05-08 at 11.14.06 PM

There are obviously an overwhelming amount of causes that need contributions right now, but even if it’s just a few bucks, please contribute to the construction of the Annapurna Skatepark, Nepal’s first international-standard concrete park.

Slapmagazine420 @ gmail shared this amazing Jim Greco flow chart. What’s ur fav?

Congrats to Yaje on his Transworld cover. 1) Is it safe to say the easiest way to land on the cover on a major magazine while skating a spot in New York is via the Columbus Park rail. 2) Why does the cover layout of TWS now look like TSM?

“I’d rather watch Kenny do a backside 180…” The same wonderful remixer who treated us to post-Pretty Sweet remixes of Jesus and Carroll went ahead and put together a feel-good George Benson x Kenny Anderson pairing.

Always nice to break free from the L.E.S. Park industrial content complex on Monday Links :) Bill$ is a new, 11-minute video from Angel Fonseca and The Bronx boys.

Choppy Omega was the first one to ollie the Love Gap, Vinny Ponte was the first to document it, and Reynolds is the first one to piss people off for flying in to just get one trick and bounce. Vern Laird and Jimmy Gorecki wax on about the days when not everything at Love Park was on film.

Even though it was only partially based in New York, Last of the Mohicans was a 2008 that further propelled the typical mode of skating this city into deep outer borough crust. Joe Perrin and OJ Wheels put together Relapse of the Mohicans, a 13-minute video with parts and cameos from the entire original cast.

The Bunt’s latest is with Bastien Salabanzi.

Boil the Ocean furthers expands on the concept of professional skateboarding as professional wrestling by weighing its potential future as a Pay-Per-View spectacle.

Spot Updates: 1) The building further knobbed everything at CBS, to the point where you can’t even skate it as a keyhole ledge anymore. 2) M2M closed down / is moving.

Anyone go into Think Coffee on Mercer and looking to make some extra money?

think coffee

Stop shaming night owls you squares. The case for going to bed at 2:30 A.M.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: 6′ 3 180 pound Russell Westbrook over … 6′ 11, 270 pound Demarcus Cousins.

They could’ve given an Oscar to Network because apparently it came out yesterday.

‘If you can’t be the sun be a star; It isn’t by size that you win or fail — Be the best of whatever you are’

king

#interesting: How Stevie Wonder & Gil Scott-Heron campaigned to turn MLK Day into a holiday.

Snacks hid inside the mattress

Um, what?

#TRENDWATCH2016: Prop street skating hehehe ;)

New edition of Lurk NYC’s “NY Times” series, featuring a bunch of Cee-Lo extras.

No thinktank in #modern #skateboarding has changed the way people skate via Instagram as much as the Blobys have. They’re like the French New Wave of skateboard Instagram dude. After a Vince-based IG mix a few weeks back, someone put together a full, fifteen minute mix of all [most?] of their IG videos.

“Whether he knew it or not, a Bowie song in a skate video was more than just another song in the credits ━ you had to fucking earn that song.” Can’t say another artist’s passing has ever resulted in such an outpour of reflection from skate media outlets.

New Pete Eldridge footage! New J.B. Gillet footage! The Cliché team in Paris, unfortunately sans Lucas. Despite having seen that Créteil brick bank spot in videos for two-plus decades, there hasn’t been really much footage of people skating it like a halfpipe (way harder than it looks tbh.) All the footage is super fun :)

Is it even fair to have Antonio in All City Showdown anymore? You probably caught the “Best of” on Thrasher already, but holy hell, that line at the Williamsburg monument. Also here’s some bonus footy why not? Antonio heavy warm up at Gardner via Dre.

The city of Philadelphia is pathetic.

Quick, sorta legible bit of the Jake Johnson interview from the GX1000 article in the new Thrasher. x3 on the whole only switch tricks in 2015 down Hooters rail thing.

Behind the scenes of Jenkem’s Tim O’Connor Show, how New Jersey gives you #perspective, and the increasing ubiquity of the skateboard podcast.

Have a suspicion that Tiago Lemos’ secret is a bit more sophisticated than “rice, beans and lots of acai,” since half the skaters with jobs in New York live off that stuff…

[Fucking Awesome + Hockey] x the early 2000s ON Video Magazine.

Gigliotti is skating in Cali dude. Shout out 235 E. 5th Street.

New Cell Jawn video from the Brooklyn Nike park.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Can’t wait for that Spurs-Warriors WCF.

Quote of the Week: “Damn, did Sierra Fellers fall off?” — E.J.