Ghosts of Christmas Clips Past

Collage by Requiem For A Screen

This past year, nobody else incited as many smiles and reminders of the glorious escapism that skateboarding provides. Thank you Jamal Smith, 2017’s Q.S.S.O.T.Y., for inspiring us to enjoy the world on a skateboard. Sadly, we can’t fly you to Canary Islands like Thrasher can (…not yet), but just wanted to say thanks :)

Iron Claw’s new 11-min video, Not Not a Video, is now online. Shout out Colombia.

Even as an institution that often gets chastised for Rihanna songs in skate clips and bad filming, we gotta chime in here: wtf is with the choppy frame-rate, wtf is up with the darkass clips, and wtf is up with that Morrissey song in Antonio’s new Berrics part? The skating though…is absolutely F U C K E D.

Oddly enjoyed this way more than expected, probably because they skate a bunch of weird shit that nobody bothers with, e.g. they got two clips at the Gristedes on 96th Street — a Weed Maps “Summer Trip to New York” clip with Jaws, Tommy Sandoval and Boo Johnson. I think we ran into Jaws at a rave when he was filming this.

Rolling Stone has a great mini-doc with Josh Stewart about making independent skate videos in 2017, via the lens of Traffic’s Look Left.

Jenkem has a “Day in the Life”-ish feature with The BX’s Public Housing Skate Team.

Style god Jimmy Chung is featured in the new teaser for Chris Mulhern’s upcoming Love Park documentary, 15th & JFK. Anyone know a release date?

“Mean Streets” volume 10 from LurkNYC with more weirdness at Chase.

Boil the Ocean is on entry #6 of its annual “Top 10 Parts of the Year” wrap-up, and Slam City’s blog has some words on the year’s best videos.

…aaannndddd Village Psychic made a “Best of 2017” mix of the year’s ACTUAL S.O.T.Y., regardless of what the yellow t-shirts may have told you.

“Belgrade is the best city I’ve ever been to in my life.” The Rios Crew continues to inspire skateboard travel dreams far outside the conventional Euro destinations with each new clip. “Dunja,” their latest, hits Serbia’s capital, Montenegro and Croatia.

“Platano” is the new montage from our friends down at Andrew Skate Shop in Miami.

Jason Lee’s Video Days part was a starting point for a $3.6 billion crossroad.

Vol. 4 of Elkin raw files. You think Thrasher is gonna give us a Louie “West End” one?

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: It’ll never not be funny that Kyrie was just like “nah, I don’t wanna play with this dude anymore.” He lost yesterday, but this was sick.

Quote of the Week: “You should just make Q.S.S.O.T.Y. ‘The Max Palmer Award.'” — John Choi

Official 2017 end credits song ♥

It’s 3 in the Morning, Take Your Old Ass to Sleep

lehos

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.

Real Chill

astor riviera

Astor & Lafayette, in a galaxy far, far away. Jacked from That’s a Crazy One.

It’s the end of the summer, 100 degrees out, and people are fucking pissed.

“In fact, they feel it was exploitative, that Clark capitalized on the brilliance of the crew while failing to capture the true beauty of their world. They weren’t as sex crazed as the film portrays them, for one. More important, in Kids, it seems all the boys want is to fuck the girls, but in real life, the girls weren’t sexual conquests. The boys and girls ran neck and neck and were best friends.” Ok, so lately been wondering about the origins of the photos from @thatsacrazyone on Instagram, which has tons of early and mid nineties stuff around Astor, Washington Square and the Banks + some same faces from Out & About, etc. (This Loki photo is the coolest a slappy crook on a six-inch curb will ever look.) Turns out its for an upcoming book of the same name, whose website hasn’t been updated in a year-and-a-half, but apparently is still coming out as per this feature in August’s issue of Vice. Really looking forward to this one :)

Byrd Gang videos are my new favorite videos out of New York. Teaser for the new one.

File Jawn Gardner’s Bruns 2 part under: Video Parts That Made Me Yell At My Computer Screen More Than Three Times in 2016.

Probably listened to The War Report more than any other venerated nineties New York rap album as an adult, so this’ll be a nice addition for the wall.

“Rifuckingdiculously Sorry” is the forth and final installment to Flip’s Sorry series, oddly starring a bunch of Canadians skating in Toronto.

The history of skateboarding unfolded pretty much alongside the development of trucks, and plot-twist — women run everything in skateboarding. Part two of Jeff Grosso’s history of skateboard trucks is now live. (Part one went live last month btw.)

Andrew Allen interviews Austyn Gillette.

Village Psychic with another round of strange skater + sponsor match-ups.

Probably the best *sounding* video of all time, Tim Dowling’s Listen, in full.

Speaking of videos that sound like they look, Budapest’s Rios Crew A.K.A. the New Jersey-ians of Europe just dropped a new one called “Nap Mint Nap Volume 3.”

You probably already saw this: Austyn’s TWS cover footage and Brad Cromer front blunting a Seaport bench in Huf’s new NYC edit.

This is six-years-old and has nothing to do with skateboarding, but I read it on the plane twice. “If journalism’s more vital traditions of investigating corruption and synthesizing complex topics are going to be restored, it will never be at the expense of the personal, the sexual, the venal, or the sensational, but rather through mastering the kind of storytelling that understands that none of those things exists in a vacuum.”

Quote of the Week: “They make MTV music that I want to listen to.” — Pryce Holmes’ Sremmlife 2 review

The Neighborhood’s Changed, But the Beers Are Still Cold

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Godspeed Wavy’s. Although you got a bit too live these past few years, I wouldn’t take back the hours I wasted standing around doing nothing if I could. Wouldn’t be caught dead standing in front of Spring Mart. R.I.P. to one of the final remnants of that neighborhood. Photo via Zach Baker.

“Knowing a lot about something little, and caring about it deeply – even something as ridiculous as grown men making four wheeled planks balance on two wheels – provides a microcosm within which we understand the consequences of those big, nebulous issues.” Didn’t expect this to pop up anywhere: Caught in the Crossfire with an insightful breakdown of the Brexit results, and how they will effect skateboarding.

The Complete History of the 12th & A Rainbow Curb: April 2016 — Later in April 2016.

“It’s 50/50; it’s hard to see, but if you want to live your passion then you have to learn to live with it, or you find a regular job and you go skate on the weekend.” Lucas Puig on making adult decisions that impact skateboarding for a living.

Is Rodrigo TX the new Rodrigo TX?

Literal, on-the-nose #musicsupervision usually get the side-eye at this point, but always thought “Baltimore” would make a great video part song, and also all this Jason Spivey footage is awesome. Is the audio jacked for everyone else though?

Village Psychic travels back to the moonboot era when there’d be seven logos on one shoe, and does a wear test of the DC Relay with John Shanahan ♥ Daytime midtown footage 4 ever ♥ (Is Columbus Circle mellow to skate again?)

NY Skateboarding has pics of the McCarren Park renovation if you haven’t seen it yet.

The internet has a tendency to desensitize us from having to confront other people’s unfiltered brains and emotions, and unfortunately, that played out a bit on the skate internet last year as Billy Rohan, an incredible person who has done a ton for skateboarding in the city, went through it. Like the quote says, “depression is a flaw in chemistry, not character” and sometimes, there’s a lot more going on than somebody “acting crazy.” ANYWAY, Vice caught up with Billy, who’s been doing much better, for a video short on what he’s been through.

An interview with the filmer behind the Rios Crew. Not skating the same spot twice sounds exhausting ;)

Do you believe in life after Love? Go Skate Day 2016 in Philly, via the Sabotage boys.

Rockaway excursions and sweaty summer vibez in Genny’s new iPhone clip.

Taji did the whole awkward Vice host thing with Gino Iannucci for “TAJCAM.”

Dude remember Nadia footwear? Of course you don’t, but guess who does? :)

Chill lil’ Barcelona montage with five Penny tricks at the 1:21 mark.

This is weird. ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT..

Quote of the Week: “Until we elect Trump, the British are the dumbest people on the planet.” — Dylgr

Shout out to my man Torey Goodall for skating to “June 27th” twelve years ago for a Baby Steps B-roll part. Who else you know can go from Van Morrison to Big Moe in the same video? Also shout out to all my Cancers bro.

First Day Out

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Late start to the week bc of the holidays :)

Attn: Hot new trendy country Canada — Blue Tile and Antisocial have new QS gear in.

The I-Beam is the hottest T.F. obstacle since the Tombstone.

Like every facet of American life, skateboarding was hit hard by the 2008 recession. Lurker Lou has an oddly insightful glimpse into the industry of the pre-recession, pre-iPhone era by giving a 2007 Thrasher a last look. “Respect the Machnau.”

Here’s post-Love Park life in Philadelphia, with a Grandpa cameo in Cell Jawn #26.

Yo for like a casual, pre-premiere session around the Lower East Side and Chinatown, this clip of the Volcom team before the Holy Stokes screening has some jams in it. Nobody’s ollied those two double bump-to-bars on Madison before, right?

Fakiehillbomb went skating with QS-favorites, the Hungarian Rios Crew in Budapest for two weeks, and came back with this bit of low-def photojournalism.

I mean, for a varial flip on a l*ngb**rd, it’s perfect.

What you know about skateboarding in Nicaragua bro?

The Green Zine interviewed John Shanahan about #fits and the resurgence of shove-it reverts, and Venture remixed a good bit of his LurkNYC footage.

Even if you skate zero transition, there are certain skate landmarks you gotta pay a visit to just because (think Burnside, the Christiana bowl, etc.) The La Perla pool in San Juan, Puerto Rico is on that list. Monster Children did a quick story on the spot’s history, and how it slowly revitalized one of the slummiest parts of San Juan.

As per the note re: everyone still wanting to see Todd Jordan skate in Lou’s segment, here’s his gem of a “Wheels of Fortune” section, checking off every box of late-90s/early-2000s New York skate nostalgia:

The Canal Wheels section from Transplants is now online.

Cafe Creme has an interview with multiple People’s SOTY winner, Dennis Busenitz.

Dane Vaughn skates some New York rooftops.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Gotta be Steph’s 4-on-1 off glass lay-up to close out the first half last night? What’s everyone thinking, Warriors in six? Durant leaves?

Quote of the Week
Inquisitive Gentleman: “Have you ever seen a shark out in the water?”
Dave Dowd: “I don’t believe in sharks.”