The predictions were true. The quarantine has everyone inside making #content — this was one of the most extensive link lists for a Monday update in a while. How sustainable it is? Who knows. Boil the Ocean is already speculating on what will happen if we enter a COVID-19 induced footage drought, e.g. will Thrasher be forced to only post “Classics” videos like how ESPN plays old games during off-seasons.
Until then…
Illustration by Cosme Studio
This was the decade that the full-length skate video was supposed to die. We began the 2010s with everyone insisting that Stay Gold would be the last full-length skate video. Then, Pretty Sweet was supposed to be the last full-length video. Some people thought that Static IV would be it — the end, no more full-lengths after that. But I feel like I heard someone say Josh was working on something new a couple months back? Idk.
The experience might’ve changed. We’re not huddling around a skate house’s TV covered in stickers to watch a DVD bought from a shop anymore (if this past weekend is any indication, it’s more like AirPlaying a leaked .mp4 file via a link obtained from a guy who knows a guy), but the experience of viewing a fully realized skate video with your friends for the first, second or twentieth time is still sacred.
Just as we asked for your votes for the five best video parts, we did the same for the five best full-lengths: if you could choose the five videos that defined the 2010s, what would they be? The results were a bit more surprising than the parts tally in some ways, given that it felt like independent, regional and newer, small brand videos dominated the decade, yet Big Shoe Brands™ and Girl + Chocolate still made their way into the list. The top-heaviness of some companies or collectives was less of a surprise, in that certain creators loomed large over the 2010s.
Like the installment before it, this list is sans comment for 20-11, and then via favors from writer friends for the top ten: here are the twenty best skate videos of the past ten years.
Graphic by Requiem For A Screen
Skate videos have long been a portal for musical discovery. Except in recent years, it has began to almost feel like …filler. If one editor finds success with an untapped genre or artist, there is always an avalanche of imitators. If you find that “how has nobody skated to this?!”-song, the answer to your question is often “someone has, it was just in some video you missed.” And a popular song? Forget it, it has been in twenty kids’ IG edits since the day it got uploaded to YouTube.
(Don’t even start with the dude editing his “Trip to N.Y.C!” video to Big L right now.)
Choosing a song that makes an impact, and gets people tracking it down is hard when our attention spans are their fickle 2019 selves. We reached out to five people who routinely put out edits (i.e. not the guys dropping one full-length every few years) to get their thoughts on how the process of selecting music in skate videos has evolved.
NJ cutie Josh Wilson via Mike Heikkila ♥
The new Bronze 56k video, It’s Time is now live.
Thrasher has raw files for Josh Wilson and Dick Rizzo’s Quasi vid parts.
All of a sudden you’re only three minutes into a seven-minute-long Black Hubba compilation clip, and realize that you’ve already passed the switch 360 flip lipslide. If you live in New York, you waste at least .5% of your life sitting around at Blubba doing nothing. Here’s a video of all the moments that didn’t go to waste.
“Bronze 56K is all about rolling up switch to the Carlsbad gap after just barely falling off pushing on your skateboard and popping the most brolic switch hardflip.” Japan’s VHS Mag interviewed Peter Sidlauskas on the occasion of It’s Time.
Idk if our editorial board is in the market for a Mid 90s review, but here’s one side of the coin and here is another.
Chachi’s Jenkem date is like Mid 90s but late 2010s. #fastminds.
Theories has a quick feature with Jahmal Williams that runs down the background stories behind some of the old Hopps graphics.
Pete Spooner’s new video is [by chance] named after one of Will Marshall’s favorite observations about skateboarding. Skating is Easy trailer here. Always find it charming when a teaser for a new skate vid is longer than 60 seconds in the Instagram era ;)
2018 has been a mega year for upstate New York skate videos nvm, it’s for a central Pennsylvania video, so let’s just say it has been a mega year for upstate New York spots in videos ;) One Mo’ Gin is another feather in upstate New York’s 2018 cap. At least I think it’s an upstate N.Y. vid…
Someone made a 411 “Rookies” mix of some circa 2010 Brandon Westgate footage, though if we were being literal about things, it should’ve been to his Word of Mouth footage.
On that note, Tombo uploaded another “Raw Deals” clip with more classique French guys than you’d expect. More on that later this week hehehe.
R.I.P. St. Dymphnas A.K.A. Yellow Bar A.K.A. Same Difference. You were never anyone’s favorite bar, but you were the best cheap bar by Tompkins when it started raining, and for that reliability, you will be missed.
QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Knicks fans are in for yet another soul-crushing season of false 8th seed dreams, and we’re avoiding all temptations of having the first regular season Play of the Week be related to Rondo V.S. Chris Paul, so here’s a cool Tim Hardaway J.R. pass to Kanter that you can overreact to.
Quote of the Week: “Those guys make me feel stupid for not having kids when I was like, twenty. They’re all just doing ecstasy with their kids now.” — Torey
Haven’t been in a proper headspace to um, “process” a Juice WRLD and Future mixtape over the past few days, but feel compelled to come clean on here that this is one of the most oft-played songs at the QS office since it came out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Zaytoven deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Watched this guy Ruben Spelta skate at Milano Centrale this past summer and it was insane. Dude is a good follow on Instagram, but this compilation video should bring you up to speed for now. Who’s everyone got for best steez 2k16 award?
“I wish Brandon Turner was wearing a Bronze tee when he switch Hardfliped Carlsbad in the Guilty video.” Skateboard Story interviewed Peter Sidlauskas from Flipmode Stick Up Kids Bronze. Link to the “How I’m Living” video please :)
“And I guess I’m also saying that Tiago, if you care bud (which hopefully you don’t) you should maybe consider changing your name to Trevor, switching from Mountain Dew to beer, and getting on Anti-Hero or something.”
Taylor Nawrocki’s Spirit Quest part is now playing over on the TWS site, and Free Skate Mag has an extensive interview with Colin Read about the project itself, in addition to a minute of extras that got left out from the video.
Place interviewed Alex Olson, the guy whose office is a floor below Alltimers.
“There is no reason that a campaign born out of the streets cannot be intelligent and incisive.” Something that is probably going to come in handy in Tr*mp’s litigious America: Love Live Southbank’s Guide to Saving a Skate Spot. (The city of Barcelona is restoring Sants, by the way *side-eye Emoji*)
Hey did you know that there was a moment when Dill and A.V.E. might’ve got on Aesthetics at its inception? Sal Barbier got Chromeballed.
“Don’t put this in one of your stupid edits, dude.” “NY Times Vol. 20” via LurkNYC.
“Tood” is the new one from Rios Crew, Hungarian skating-with-backpacks devotees.
R.B. just uploaded some raw footage of Zered, Eli, Westgate, Tierney, Dela, et al. skating around the city from a summer or two ago.
Part two of the Right Coast Tour with Freddy and Quim is now live.
Zach Moore’s Transplants video is now online in full.
Did you know there was a time when John Cardiel had a pro snowboard, and Burton advertised in Thrasher? Our bud Alex Dymond just released a book entitled Snow Beach, which chronicles an era when snowboarding was very much an offseason activity for skaters, with tons of crossover via fashion, style, etc. from skateboarding.
The new Watermelonism video, “Keep Biting,” is premiering at 2nd Nature on Thursday. Flyer here. Music by the world famous DJ Thando of “Needed Me” remix fame.
“Dipset: The Movie” — a big topic around here some ~ten years ago — is back and is actually still great. “You’re so ugly I could hear it through the phone.”
QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Sooooooooo, ANYWAYYYYYY…
Quote of the Week: “I just found out through Google that I have chlamydia, I should bounce.” — Name Withheld
Today marks ten years since the release of The Inspiration, which was 95% of the way as incredible of an album as TM101, this website’s founding piece of scripture. (Even did a tribute post to it the day it leaked online, and distinctly remember listening to nothing else that winter.) There really is no greater three-peat of motivational speaking than the first three Jeezy albums. The guy has nothing left to prove #jeezysaves.
