When Was The Decline of The Basket?

We were having this debate the other day…when exactly did the decline of downtown’s premier outdoor drinking spot for people too poor to go to a bar occur? Most insisted that the summer of 2009 was the beginning of the end — when the Basket’s culture shifted from trios of Mexican laborers individually downing six-packs in under 20 minutes, skateboarders and the occasional overgrown Union Square lurker, to a full-blown NYU college bar and pitstop for shitheads on expensive bikes to debate microbrewery flavors.

Truthfully, it’s 4 Loko’s fault. Put a place where people could drink 4 Lokos outside and meet up with their white dreadlocked weed dealers two blocks from the nearest NYU dorm, and it’s bound to be hell before 8 P.M.

That’s not to say we haven’t kept clinging on to hope for a once-great establishment. Rob Harris makes the case for The Basket’s continued relevancy in this new night session video for DQM. The clip throws a curveball by portraying the Basket as a springboard for a night session, as opposed to its more common role as a deterrent for one. You’re almost positive they won’t make it north of Washington Square Park (the nearest actual skate spot), but miraculously, they make it all the way up to midtown. Features Lee Smith, Keith Denley, and Brian Delatorre.

Loosely Related: There’s also a new DQM / Vans commercial out by Marcus Manoogian, who did those two great Hopps commercials.

Shit Skateboarders Say

Sweet Waste in the world’s greatest tee shirt, and Lil’ Wayne dressed like a 12-year-old girl who just used her $100 Hot Topic gift card from Christmas at the Monmouth Mall. The Wayne coverage on QS has come full circle.

Akira Mowatt’s company, After Midnight New York, just dropped a team montage. The illustrious Geo Moya has the intro honors, so it’s a must-watch.

Portland, Maine isn’t exactly the first (or fifth…or tenth…) city you think of when it comes to skateboarding in the northeast. ’96 Mentality is a new mini-video out of Portland that gives a glimpse into their scene. It’s super well-edited, and the tricks and vibe give it a nineties feel, even though it’s all HD.

Here is the final throwaway clip from the PFP2 video, based out of that region just north of New York City and sponsored by 2nd Nature. You can watch the full first video here. P.S. “Get It On Tonite” is the far superior Montell Jordan single.

It’s sick that outer-borough (Brooklyn) kids can make a ten-minute video, all filmed in New York, but with barely any recognizable spots in it. Just goes to show you how big this city is. Watch the Slime video here. Also, this means the turnaround on someone skating to song off Rich Forever was what, one week?

Want to re-live Tompkins circa 2004? Watch this Super-8 reel. Some of it might look familiar because it was used in Lurkers 2.

Taji, Leo, Billy Rohan, and No Pants Day. Surprising that it has taken this long for someone to skate that fountain gap in front of the 42nd Street Library.

Rob Harris shares his of-the-moment jams on the DQM site. Travie, 2Chainz, Future, and a bunch of other stuff we’ve never heard of (Elvis?) is on there.

There’s not much to say about the Mark Suciu part that hasn’t already been said. (It’s scary that switch backside noseblunts down handrails just get quickly tossed in the middle of parts nowadays though.) Frozen in Carbonite makes an interesting observation though — Is everyone going to forget about it in two days? Is that really the shelf-life of a web video part these days? Do people still talk about the Dylan Reider Gravis part, the Lucas Puig TWS video, or the Torey Pudwill part from the summer?

Quote of the Week: “Autumn is fucking closed and assholes are taking pictures on iPads, the future sucks.” — Francesco Pini, Chief Officer of QS International’s Italian and Scandinavian Branches


Ok, time to watch the Knicks fall behind by thirty points in the first half, and then switch the channel to the Memphis/Chicago game. Stay warm out there. Later.