I’ll never forget the wildest grip job I ever saw.
At the local park, this dude had clear grip with a collage of pornographic photos underneath. This raised a few questions. First, where the hell does one still buy physical pornographic magazines?
Next, the why. Did this particular pastiche of photography stoke him out like nothing else? Were these women his muses, like a current-day version of those paintings on WWII bombers and shit?
Maybe he needed to look at naked ladies 24/7.
ANYWAY, you may have noticed a plethora of new griptape brands sprouting up in the past year. Griptape is the one skateboard component we are in contact with (visual and/or tactile) almost 100% of the time. Just like Narcissus stared into his reflection until he died or turned into a flower or whatever, we stare at our griptape until the deck eventually dies — either broken or devoid of pop. It also functions as a canvas onto which one can project one’s psyche: the serenity of plain black, an inside joke, or a call to arms.
Skaters reserve some of their most hardcore gear opinions for this seemingly innocuous piece of sandpaper. With all this in mind, we present the The Politics of Griptape.
It’s wild that this thing reached a level of being skated-enough to where the city actually went out of their way to knob the ledge. This photo certainly does the spot the most justice out of all the coverage you’ve seen on it • 📸 Mike Heikkila on the photo, Thomas Dritsas on the board.
Enjoyed “Whistle” a lot — a Washington D.C. video by Eddie Gutierrez that at once feels nostalgic while firmly of the moment. A lot of unfamiliar faces to those outside the D.C. scene, though it’s hard not to wish you knew who some of them were (to the chagrin of the position that homie videos should have titles.) Skate Jawn has an interview with Eddie about the video’s creation as well.
Shawty Lo died in a car crash early yesterday morning. No, Lo has no place in the canon of skate video music supervision. In fact, he’s exactly the sort of artist whose music geriatric skater types will insist you are using “ironically” in YouTube comments.
Quartersnacks has often utilized a #musicsupervision approach akin to a video like Trilogy: a 1996 video full of songs released in 1996, mirroring what the people involved in making it were actually listening to during the time. For that same reason, there has always been a special joy in major videos using songs that soundtracked a summer, or helped us power through a winter. I had an ear-to-ear smile on my face the second I heard the “I Love It” beat at the start of Biebel’s Fully Flared section for the first time. Even in those middle school years when RJD2 was cool, there was something validating about hearing it in Mosaic.
That same joy of skate videos using songs that pushpin memories into your mind doesn’t exist anymore. A mixtape will come out, and by the end of the week, there are three Insta clips to songs off it, and at least one new video in your YouTube subscription feed using the same tune for a trip clip. Nobody is going to skate to “Brocolli” in a major video next year, and if someone does, who cares.
It was the the start of 2008, and Jeezy hadn’t released an album in over a year. This was when he was at the height of his powers — the most effective motivational speaker on a desperate planet approaching a recession, and in need of a spark. To hold us over, he dropped Ice Cream Man Part 2, which included the remix to Shawty Lo’s “Dey Know.” The regular version was everywhere at that point: the horns were infectious, and the initial beat drop is the sonic equivalent of when the ball swishes through the hoop for the win at the buzzer. The remix gave it a second life, soundtracking every skate trip car ride that spring, and essential at the parties that we were able to sneak into.
Most skaters in 2008 didn’t take the Trilogy soundtracking approach. They’d rather edit to a Big L song, or a remix of a Big L song, or a remix of a remix of a Big L song remixed by a guy who specializes in remixing Big L songs. Someone skating to “Dey Know” in the year it peaked would’ve been massive; it’s the perfect fit for the second part of a video. In 2009, it would’ve been cool. Nobody skated to it until 2013.
Theotis’ part in the Shake Junt video isn’t particularly seminal or even well-edited. It looks like they slapped it together with what they had, but it’s the only thing I remember from that video. It made me remember those spring night drives to skate the Bridgeport ledges, and those nights skating midtown with the “Dey Know” remix on the iPod. Hearing those horns over any sort of skating gave me the same feeling of first hearing “I Love It” in Biebel’s part, even if Theotis’ part in the chicken bone video was nowhere near the generation-defining event Lakai’s was.
There hasn’t been as profound of a moment for one of those songs that encapsulates an entire season in much the same way since — probably because they only muffle under skate noises from iPhone speakers now, 60 seconds at a time.
The Pittsburgh homies from One-Up did a cross country trip this past summer, and have started to upload doc-style clips from it in small pieces. The first installment is for Minneapolis. It’s not too heavy on actual skate footage, but serves as a good reminder that it’s never too early to start planning a summer road trip, even at the onset of winter.
Two newteasers for the Poisonous Products video. The Rob Campbell cameo and abundance of Leo Gutman appearances make this video look real promising. It’s available on DVD for $7.99 over at the Color site, but “Allow 4 weeks for shipping” sounds a bit crazy in this day and age. That’s longer than the iPhone 4S waitlist.
There’s an art installation on 46th Street and Eighth Avenue right now, described as “a massive sculpture that represents suburban over-development and its effect on our natural landscapes.” Given that people skate on cars, in abandoned water parks (that Grant Taylor part in the SB video is insane), and other absurd obstacles nowadays, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone broke in to get a clip on it. (Or arrested.) Overhead view here.
Quartersnacks shot/edited Black Dave’s newest music video for his song “One Take.” He’s in skateboarder form, rather than his Black Donald Trump alter-ego, but B.D.T. is set to make a comeback sooner than later.
If you don’t personally know the G Man, and have only been able to gather a composite of his character based on his skating and endless Quote of the Week appearances, watching his latest Flip Cam clip is the best way to get to know him without actually having a conversation. A lot of ditch footage, piglets, flowers, llamas getting shaved, strippers, and a Future/Travis Porter/French Montana soundtrack that encompasses 90% of the music that matters in 2011.
YouTube redesigned its channel pages and made them slightly less cluttered. So, subscribe to Quartersnacks on YouTube if you have yet to do so, and browse through some of the oldies.
Attempting to out-do the infamous MTA montage, the Mandible Claw crew put out a “Rush Hour” clip centered around skitching, and skating on motor vehicles. Considering there are no Jackie Chan or Chris Tucker cameos, they should’ve just named this “Arrest me, please.” Cops seem pretty content to kick people’s asses for no real reason these days, so God bless Colin and the rest of the crew for risking themselves for our entertainment.
The underground king of Queens, Rob Campbell, has a new “Day in the Life” clip up for his company, New Breed skateboards.
Will skateboarders ever get tired of editing things to songs from Jeru the Damaja’s first album? Probably not. Back tail stall at the Bubble Banks is real sick though, and Future’s debut album, Pluto, drops on 01/31/12.
In an effort to remedy “soft music” criticisms stemming from their first throwaway clip, the “Death Video” crew called upon the services of Cameron Giles and put out an “ignorant edit” promo. Why would anyone want to ollie off that small hut at the Queensboro Bridge downhill ledges?
Spot Updates: 1) Who’s the genius that decided to knob the ledges — yes, the ledges — at Brick Nine? “Why are they still skating here? I thought they were supposed to stop skating?” 2) You obviously can’t skate World Trade anymore because of the protests, but Chase is also blocked off on account of them.
Quote of the Week: “Yo, Chinatown is crazy. I feel like I’m in Tokyo.” — E.J.
