-The New York Times had a piece today about Jay Adams attempts to turn his life around. You know about Adams if you've seen Dog Town and Z-Boys, or more likely but less-accurately, Lords of Dog Town (where he was played by Emile Hirsch).
-Adams is a pioneer not just of skateboarding technique, but of the rebellious attitude that has lead so many of us to seek refuge in skateboarding, so we hope that the statements he makes in this article prove true. It's a good read for anyone interested in skateboarding and skate history.
-In other skate news, someone we kind of know turned pro yesterday, props to Seattle skateboarding.
-NYT via skatedaily
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-We saw the gingham lined jeans in Junya Watanabe's Paris show recently, now we see the commercial application. JW has teamed with Levi's to do create this model. I love when Levi's does designer collaborations because I generally only where Levi's and avoid dropping $300 on designer jeans. I hope they put these out as a 514.
-I'm guessing you can get the higher priced version from JW's own line at his new Hong Kong store.
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-Watching Jason Dill in a skate video or as a house guest on The Osbornes, I never really grasped the enviable breadth of his opinions. If you don't know, Dill is skate legend, but has lately been getting press in the art circle for his photographic efforts. Black Lodge has an interview with Dill up now, it is a bit long, but great read for anyone into photography, the clothing industry, skateboarding, general misanthropy, or reactionary points of view.
-I've extracted a couple excerpts that relate to things we've posted on recently -
Dill on streetwear: "I made a clothing company and I've got fucking skateboard rappers wearing it. And I've got Paris Hilton's latest boyfriend wearing it on the E! Channel or whatever. I don't want that. And people wearing it on the covers of their fucking lame albums. Fucking dumb. I hate everything."
...
"like the Hundreds and Crooks and Castles are putting out such fucking intelligent bullshit. I think I'm going to get a tattoo of a fucking bomb with a face on it....give me a break."
...and on smoking: "You're not going to be able to smoke at a bar in Paris, France? Come on. Fuck you"
-The excerpts don't really capture the rogue spirit that comes through as Dill explains living in transit sans technology. It was one of the most refreshing interviews I've read this year. A great part is when Dill argues that skateboarding isn't a sport, which is a point of view you wouldn't expect form someone who's living has been made entirely off of skateboarding.
-You can download a Jason Dill created Etnies x Fucking Awesome photobook in PDF form here, if this interview interested you, the PDF will as well.
-I saw this originally on skatedaily
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-While we claim to be a college-themed publication, we just can't stop taking you back to junior high. Thus, we must interrupt our 24-hour coverage of all things skateboarding to hype the latest project from our junior high hero, Zack de la Rocha.
-After a successful Rage reunion, Zack joined the Mars Volta's Jon Theodore to form One Day As A Lion, who's self titled release recently landed on iTunes. Their single, "Wild International", sounds pretty much like everything else Zack has done, and thus is worth a listen.
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-In trying to avoid becoming just another regurgitating streetwear blog, I've decided to limit kick coverage to a once weekly rundown of the shoes that caught my eye. Extremely notable collaborations and real (see: non-sneaker) shoe news may be exempt from this feature.
-The four shoes I picked this week are somewhat contextually linked - it goes like this:
-Junya Watanabe has been going nuts this year, and he does it again here with his collaborative boot for Vans. Notice the wingtip, a classic form reinvented in an innovative boot. Speaking of innovative use of the wingtip, we see these Clae sneakers, which meld a classic sneaker form with the even more classic wingtip, bringing a touch of maturity to the sneaker. We continue with these clean red sneaks, also from Clae's 2008 fall/winter line. And we bring it full circle by coming back Vans, and the Sk8-LX Hi. It's always good to have a place to stash something.
-photos via hypebeast
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-While many assumed the above product to be responsible for Nas' startlingly Kanye-esque photo shoot, a Complex interview later revealed that his colorful outfits were simply a one-time tribute to the man who singlehandedly "saved rap".
-As it turns out, Nas won't be betraying his roots any time soon. His signature Filas are set to drop shortly, according to Hypebeast. The self-proclaimed "Nikehead " chose to go with the brand that defined his younger years as a tribute to his late best friend Ill Will.
-Never one to be outdone, Kanye is also harboring a much-hyped signature shoe. The Air Yeezy is one of Nike's custom celebrity ventures, and unfortunately there is no public release date in sight. We are digging their slight resemblance to a Northwest classic we haven't seen in 10 years.
-We have a big week ahead of us, filled with new music, more kicks, and some features that don't involve Nas! Stay tuned...
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-As my esteemed colleague so boldly pointed out a few days back, 80% of today's hip hop is in the beats. Everyone is taking their shot at "A Milli", and most of them are upstaging the supposed "best rapper alive" and calling his self-anointed title into question. In reality, the title was never really Wayne's. According to Kanye West (and, more importantly, us), Nas is not only the best alive, but the "best rapper of all time".
-While Kanye himself is famous for bailing on college, Nas dropped out of 8th grade, seemingly heeding Mark Twain's advice to "never let schooling interfere with your education". His independent study of historical and religious texts earned him a spot as the one of the foremost street critics of all time. In the same manner that Jay-Z became the CEO, Nas has become the hip-hop equivalent of a tenured history professor. Untitled is both a lecture on U.S. race relations and a retrospective look at his illustrious career. He quotes James Baldwin, "throws molotovs" for Emmett Till, and continually examines the history of the album's original title, Nigger. The title was eventually changed, but the controversy was discussed by everyone from the corner to Congress. The record is saturated with political and cultural criticism, and even the discussion of Nas' favorite pastime brings out the claim, "I burn so much trees I keep environmentalists angry". According to Nas, "the people will always know what the real title of this album is."
-The first track on Untitled, "Queens Get The Money", is essentially the Anti-"Milli"-- a raw, stripped piano riff over which Nas unleashes some of his best flow since Illmatic. "One Mic" was our generation's introduction to Nas, so we've never doubted his ability to rip up a low-key beat. This simplicity was the basis for East Coast rap, whether in RZA's production of 36 Chambers or DJ Premier's work on Nas' own "NY State of Mind".
-As Untitled progresses, we begin to see more of the radio-ready pop production that has defined the later stage of Nas' career and brought on some harsh criticism. "Make The World Go Round" with Chris Brown and The Game (and production by the latter) is truly the album's guilty pleasure. It's reminiscent of Kanye's "The Good Life", and just as catchy. It's also fuel for the critics' fire.
-Nas made the best rap record of all time when he was 19 years old, and since then he has been hounded for not living up to the high standard set by Illmatic. This has been an unfair demand from the beginning. Nas isn't a teenager anymore, and while Jay-Z is working with Chris Martin and Mobb Deep has been demoted to 50 Cent's entourage, Nas is continually plagued by allegations that he alone "fell off". Realistically, along with Ghostface Killah, he is one of the only original east-coasters to remain relevant. While his approach has changed a bit, the self-taught Street's Disciple is in no danger of losing his title.
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-Daft Punk's directorial debut probably didn't play at a theater near you, but now after running the festival circuit to critical acclaim, the film is out on DVD.
-You can get it and a free poster from Turntable Lab.
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-Supra has been getting a ton of hype this year due to the success of the various releases of it's flagship Skytop model, and I hate to add the fervor surrounding a brand pumped by uber-hipsters like Samantha Ronson and Pete Wentz, but these are sick.
-Maybe two wrongs make a right? Annoying celebrity DJ Steve Aoki has teamed up with Supra to design this high top sneaker, also available in red. The model is part of Supra's fall NS (non-skate) line. I expect these to be pretty hard to find so keep an eye on SneakerFreaker if you're thing about trying to track down a pair for yourself.
-photo from hypebeast
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-As you can tell, we've been intent on hyping the streetwear scene over the past few months. The word 'streetwear' is pretty loosely defined, and in our opinion that is one of its major strengths. In a world full of Stroke clones and militant emo kids, it is refreshing to see a group of small companies competing to see who can make the most original gear and kids competing to see who can find it first. The only problem lies in the fact that these companies rarely make anything but tees and hoodies.
-One People Project is a self proclaimed "blue-collar" clothing company. They're no Carhartt, but since their jeans are under $100 I guess we'll give it to them. What sets the San Diego company apart is their status as a full on cut & sew clothing line. Rather than build their entire company around screened logo tees, OPP's catalog has evolved to include such unique items as cardigans and flannel shorts.
-Despite their diverse catalog, I was initially drawn to One People Project because of a pretty simple tee shirt. One of my favorite movie characters of all time is Radio Raheem from Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. I have been looking for a Raheem tee for years, and it just so happens that One People Project makes one (see below). That's one of the reasons I'm feelin this streetwear shit so much: people design shirts that feature stuff I actually like instead of random monograms.
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-The Secret Handshake has teamed up with the emo-centric but worthy campaign To Write Love On Her Arms to release this summer tee for the ladies. The release comes in accordance with the launch of TSH's Summer of Love tour, featuring Breathe Carolina.
-The graphic resembles a lot of TSH art and references the lyrics to TSH's infectious electro-pop anthem "Summer of 98."
-Despite the trillions of kids you see in TWLOHA shirts at Warped, I still think it's a good cause. Be like me and pick a design other than the standard black with white text and you'll stand out at least a tiny bit while supporting a meritorious organization.
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-I don't even know why I did this, but I put together a little diagram (aka resized 6 photos) of the tunes I'm digging as of late, complete with super mini-reviews. Click to make it bigger.
-I've been listening to Emarosa's first E.P. for awhile now, mainly because they use a microKORG, the greatest instrument ever invented. The new album, Relativity is really, really good. If you like Circa Survive or Saosin, but you know, you're sick of Anthony Green's ridiculous whine, check this disc out.
-The KiD CuDi mixtape has been buzzin lately and I heard about it from my guy Yeezy, it's dope. Nuff said.
-The new Ratatat, LP3 is fucking nuts, game over status, ridiculous, amazing. I read somewhere that they recorded in some southern 70s style studio with analog gear, and you can definitely hear the groove vibe on this one.
-I've talked a lot of shit about Girl Talk in the past, mostly because I could do what he does if I had the time and money, but I'm starting to come around. Not only to I give props for going the Radiohead route and releasing a digital album, after checking out the complete list of insane samples, and reading a bit about this album, I give props to a budding musical genius. But not too many props.
-Rising Down, The Roots' latest disc, is kind of old, but I just got it (finally) and it may be the best Roots disc ever. Everyone loved Game Theory but I didn't really like it. This album has great beats, and great collaborations, including a track featuring Saigon, the Entourage alum and undisputed most underrated rapper in the game.
-The Cab is gonna blow up soon. Check out "High Hopes and Velvet Ropes." It might be the first radio hit not from Akon and T-Pain to artfully (and subtly) use autotune.
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-We've stayed away from all the Wayne hating and Wayne hyping that's been going on in the last couple months. There's just too much you could say and too much you could argue. I don't want to get into the debate, I just want to throw this ridiculous mix at you. This mix is just another punctuating point in my argument that producers are 80% of hip-hop, not MCs. Listen to how well the gremlin growl sample fits on the Wayne crazy jibberish.
I saw this the turntable lab blog
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-Jadakiss "Jada, the name is filthy. So what? The motherfucking game is filthy" has been one of my favorite MCs since way back. His solo debut, Kiss of Death was one of the most complete rap albums in a decade. Unfortunately, his sophomore effort fell a bit short, now Jada has ditched the Ruff Ryders crew and has signed with Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella, so be on the look out for the next Jada album to be nuts. In the mean time check this A Milli (I know there's been a million, but this one's good) freestyle. And check this interesting tidbit about the source of the now infamous 'a milli' sample.
"Probably think I won't murder you the way I smile but, I'm a take a lotta shots A.I. style."
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The last few months have been pretty hectic as far as the NBA is concerned, and we haven't done the best job of keeping our readers up to date. While we were busy praising Akomplice for their NBA-conscious streetwear, another company took it to a new level. UNDRCRWN is obviously more on top of it then we are, so we welcome their help in recapping the latest hoop developments:
-While our PDX affiliates couldn't seem to care less, us 206ers are still reeling from the loss of the Sonics. They can take Robert Swift, but they can never take away those glorious years before Shawn Kemp gave up basketball in favor of weed and fatherhood.
-While the Supes were on their way out, the new Celtics dynasty got to hang a banner in the Garden. Since I'm from Boston originally, I was stoked enough to forget about the Sonics for a few days. Apparently UNDRCRWN decided to get nostalgic with this one, but I can't complain.
-This one speaks for itself. Genius idea, but as we've said before, there is only one. Unfortunately, Nas tees tend to be either impossible to find or pretty much unwearable. We'll be reviewing his new album, Untitled (sort of), later on this week.
-Finally, UNDRCRWN teamed with adidas to design a series of tees for the 2008 NBA Draft, including this one of our boy Jerryd Bayless. Bay is killin it in summer ball like he's got two states on his back. Dare I say, I could get used to this.
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-Skate decks have long been an under appreciated mecca of modern art. With more and more artists and companies seeing the skate deck as an equally important artistic and athletic vehicle, it was perfect timing for a exhaustingly comprehensive examination of the history of skateboard design.
-Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art accomplishes the task brilliantly. Told from the perspective of legendary artist Sean Cliver as he made his way in the skateboarding world, starting at the epochal Powell Peralta powerhouse. The book includes countless interviews, anecdotes, and photos as it relentlessly details the construction of an industry.
-Chris from Skate Daily summarized the effect of the book with a great quote in his review, "Anyone who has skated for even a brief period of time can remember the graphic on the bottom of their favorite deck. The artwork became a part of your story…why you picked that board to skate, and why it spoke to you. This book is an extension of that feeling."
-My first deck was a Zero deck with a very uncharacteristically Zero graphic of ships falling off the edge of the Earth, I wish I still had it. In addition to that board, I think back to my red Muska silhouette, the one from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. I wish I had those decks now, not to skate (I skate blanks like a real skater, duh) but to hang on my wall .
-Take a tip form Dyrdek and the next time you're looking of some fresh art to adorn your walls, head to your local skate shop and pick up a piece of modern art for around $50. A little bit more on the subject after the jump.
-Thinking back to when I was first getting into skating, I was always drawn graphically to Alien Workshop. The chronicles Mike Hill, the mastermind behind many early AWS decks, as well a s many other artists who were instrumental in shaping the way decks look today.
-This is the only photo I could find of that iconic Muska deck. Someone find me a photo of the actual deck. Fuck, that was a sick deck. I don't even know what happened to it.Muska is one of the most hated skaters in the industry, but I love him.
Oh yeah, the photo in the original post, the vision deck, thats by Andy Takakjian. From the disposable site. Check it out. oh yeah i heard about this originally form the Turntable Lab blog.
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-I saw The Dark Knight last night and was planning on doing a review today, but eh, I felt maybe I'd get barraged as the only person in the world who didn't think it was amazing? Maybe just because Batman Begins set the bar so high, not just for Batman, but for all superhero movies to come.
-My friend Corbin Smith, who's movie opinions I hold in the highest esteem, is wrote the kind of TDK review I'd expected from most people. But Paul Constant (who we interviewed once) wrote a review in The Stranger expressing all the things I'd like to express in a review, but (probably) with much more eloquence than I've got the energy to muster. So read his.
-Or if you're too lazy, here it is really quick: Yes, Heath was amazing, this performance makes his death all the more lamentable because it was a glimpse of the great things he could have accomplished in the future. Bale, though, gets lost. But there was a preview for the new Terminator movie that Bale's in, so yeah. Anyway. Echkhart wasn't as good as most people are saying, I like the comic's version of the Harvey Dent storyline better. Anyway. Maggie Gyllenhaal looks like a 60-year-old woman.
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-The other day Gawker had a blurb about this site, Wordle, which turns text you copy and paste into a box into something they call a 'word cloud', with words that appear most often in the text appearing more prominent in the cloud. Gawker used it to examine how repetitive their page was, but we found a better use for the site, measuring the cliche-ness of your favorite emo songs!
-See it's fun! This one (above) is Mayday Parade's "If you wanted a song written about you." More by us after the jump. Go to Wordle and do you your own and upload and put it in the comments section. (Note, you have to click 'save to gallery' before it will give you the code you can copy and paste into a comment. Do it! Now!
-This one's a classic, Dashboard Confessional "This Brilliant Dance." We made a music video for this song in video productions, fuck I wish I still had it. It was edited on linear! Before computer editing! Crazy.
-I wanted to a see a little bit of a darker song so this is A Skylit Drive's "My Disease."
-I really hope people do this, I want to see some fun shit.
-Kanye and T-Pain, the underrated "Good Life"
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A lot of people don't realize the extent to which Albert Hammond Jr. has influenced their "personal" style. The Strokes' guitarist was the mastermind behind the group's disheveled minimalism, which, according to CityFile, "redefined contemporary hipsterdom". Hammond's stylistic choices were also the driving force behind the Converse resurgence and the overwhelming success of Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, and the millions of kids who look like they woke up on a couch in the East Village have him to thank.
While his stylistic and musical contributions to The Strokes are continually overlooked, Hammond's solo work has been receiving high praise as of late. His 2006 solo album, Yours To Keep, stripped away some of the pretentious lo-fi fuzz that made his band famous, replacing it with earnest pop hooks that conjured images of a downtown Brian Wilson. The July 8th release of his second solo record, Como Te Llama?, brought about a diverse handful of new tracks that finally showcase the true depth of Hammond's talent. We'll see if it gets him the recognition he deserves.
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-I''ve got music A.D.D. I'm always looking for new, genre bending tunes. I flip through reviews in Filter, check Pitchfork, MySpace Music, and Purevolume at least once a week looking for bands to cure my voracious musical appetites. I get bored quickly, and I don't listen to something unless I love it, I can't listen to music that I am indifferent about.
-I usually don't throw up quick music recommendations on here, probably because I take the professionalism of this blog more seriously than I should, but today I stumbled upon a band I feel is worthy of dedicating a post to. They're called Paper Route.
-Those of you who know me may be surprised, I don't usually like tunes that could possibly be described as "sleepy." Maybe it's just today, but Paper Route is really appealing to me. Their genre is listed as indie/ambient/electronica, which doesn't do justice to the depth of their sound. It's folky, but not the kind of folky I usually detest - college hippie folky. It's big, the production is full, but in an unpretentious, understated way. Not big in a Coldplay, overstated/overproduced because we can sort of way; Each element seems both wisely chosen and necessary. I imagine Paper Route's sound as what might have happened if Thom Yorke had grown up in the Midwest and signed with Saddle-Creek. But anyway, the band's latest E.P. Are We All Forgotten is available now on iTunes.
photo by Tec Petaja
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-After one remarkably shitty quarter as an Econ major, I promised to never think about the subject again. I was ultimately forced to go back on my ultimatum upon discovering Elizabeth Currid's book, The Warhol Economy. The book traces the economic roots of New York's downtown art scene all the way back to the days of Warhol and Basquiat, focusing on fashion, art, music and their respective and combined effect on the city's economy. Don't worry, the book is more about name dropping than it is about supply and demand. However, the economic aspect puts an interesting new spin on the downtown scene, and serves to remind young creative types that there really is a way to make money doing what you love.
-In related news, only two weeks remain until the first official Class Act Field Trip. I will be bringing the NW to NY for a few days, so if you know of any can't-miss shit that's going down, let me know in the comments section. For snaps, clothes, news and reviews straight from the Big Apple, stay tuned...
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-We'd already gotten a bit of shit for not posting about the death of revolutionary fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent, and then we failed to comment on the passing of legendary comic George Carlin. Not to mention the untimely deaths of Tim Russert and Tony Snow, which, as journalism students, some of you may have expected us to note.
-Maybe we're just not good at dealing with deaths. Or maybe, as I'll make it seem with this post, we were just waiting for Northwest connections to aid us in offering pertinent posts.
-Seattle based premium skate brand Manik has helped us out this time by releasing this commemorative George Carlin "7 Last Words" tee. On the back of this shirt are Carlin's famous 7 words that prompted the Supreme Court decision that ruined public media for the rest of eternity. Available now at 5 & a Dime.
-We promise more timely death coverage in the future.
news via hypebeast
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-I know what you're thinking, "Didn't fashion week end like 2 weeks ago?" and "Didn't your half-assed coverage end like a week ago with V&R?" The answer?--Yes! Well kind of, but we have an excuse! My interweb has been really cool lately and like um, not working. And you know, it's not like I could expect my lazy ass co-editor to pick up the slack while my shit was down. But anyway, Junya was the last show I was going to cover, and here it is, and it's good. Also, Hypebeast has some JW news today, so it's all timely and what not.
-You know the drill (don't you?), photos and analysis of our favorite looks after the jump.
-Ditch those high socks and this is a great look. Notice that the air-tie has been in almost every single show. What I really like about this show, which I maybe should have probably touched on in the intro was the overall theme: Even though JW comes from the Comme des Garçons Japanese fashion empire, the show had a real American, western travel/work feel to it.
-Short pants like we've been seeing a lot. 
-I don't really have a comment on this look accept that seersucker is and always will be a spring classic. What's really sick though is the heavy luggage, I'd love to see people rocking huge, unpractical square baggage.
-More takes on the rolled pants and confluence of modern elegance and classic blue collar.
-I really like that there are good jeans here. The runways shows don't usually have a lot of jeans, but JW knows that that's what people wear most often, even with their jackets now days. The recurring plaids keep changing in this show, really highlighting the versatility of the pattern as a either a focus or an accent.
-I've mentioned a few times how adding a synthetic piece to a look can really add to the effect of nonchalance.
-This one is cool because it's a bit of a take on 70s with the big collar, but the pant has a short break and a narrow cut to keep it modern.
-The plaid under the cuff of the jean is a great detail, I think we'll see various takes on that idea soon.
-This show has made me want to break out the vintage plaid jacket that I've never worn.
-Again the plaid lining of the jeans, great detail.
Overall, this was one of my favorite shows. It was maybe the most accessible of all the shows to a casual American dresser. A fitting end to our coverage. Word.
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