It's hard for me to think of anything worthwhile to say at this moment. The world seems okay when you can be distracted for a day, but it's never long before something like a black man getting suffocated to death by a racist cop or a black woman being pushed off her apartment balcony by a group of cops who conveniently have their body cams off reminds you that our world is so profoundly flawed and basically not worth of existing.
Yesterday I figured that I would put up a Spotify playlist that I had made. Kind of seems trite now, but I don't know what else to do and I guess there's no reason I can't. It's mostly spacey ska/reggae punk songs that aren't actually ska songs. I made it originally because it's a little niche subgenre that I like to put on when it's really hot out and I'm smoking a joint. Some of the songs are anti-cop, so maybe that's how I can tie. Put it on and let's hope that one day a bunch of pigs will get their heads cut off in a public square because that's what they fucking deserve.
ACAB
Friday, May 29, 2020
Sunday, May 17, 2020
No One Keeps Track Anymore
A little blog before I move onto writing something a little longer.
Yesterday while vacuuming my apartment I listened to Braid's post-reunion album No Coast.
I find that I come back to No Coast regularly and listening to it this time had me thinking that Braid made one of the best reunion albums. It's hard for me to not think that bands are just doing it for the money when they get back together. That's fine, use your reputation to get money while you can, but I never feel invested in what comes of it because the shows and songs never have the same ethereal "this is happening now" feeling.
For whatever reason, No Coast more genuine. The songs still feel like Braid, even if they aren't as immediate as Frame and Canvas. It seems like a linear transition from their earlier material and the youthful outlook on heading out into the world is replaced by a wiser retrospective look on life. It also feels like Chris Broach carries a bigger load on this record, and his songs really carry it.
Of all the emo bands from the 90s who have gotten back together, like American Football and the Get Up Kids, I think Braid did the best job of continuing being the band they used to be, in a way that is still genuine, but also not overly nostalgic.
Two things:
1. We must put respect on the lead guitar on "East End Hollows". If that had come out in the 90s, it would be revered as all-time lick.
2. Any time I discuss Braid, I legally obligated to mention Bob Nanna singing the back-ups to "At Your Funeral" from when I saw Saves the Day and Braid play together in 2013.
Yesterday while vacuuming my apartment I listened to Braid's post-reunion album No Coast.
I find that I come back to No Coast regularly and listening to it this time had me thinking that Braid made one of the best reunion albums. It's hard for me to not think that bands are just doing it for the money when they get back together. That's fine, use your reputation to get money while you can, but I never feel invested in what comes of it because the shows and songs never have the same ethereal "this is happening now" feeling.
For whatever reason, No Coast more genuine. The songs still feel like Braid, even if they aren't as immediate as Frame and Canvas. It seems like a linear transition from their earlier material and the youthful outlook on heading out into the world is replaced by a wiser retrospective look on life. It also feels like Chris Broach carries a bigger load on this record, and his songs really carry it.
Of all the emo bands from the 90s who have gotten back together, like American Football and the Get Up Kids, I think Braid did the best job of continuing being the band they used to be, in a way that is still genuine, but also not overly nostalgic.
Two things:
1. We must put respect on the lead guitar on "East End Hollows". If that had come out in the 90s, it would be revered as all-time lick.
2. Any time I discuss Braid, I legally obligated to mention Bob Nanna singing the back-ups to "At Your Funeral" from when I saw Saves the Day and Braid play together in 2013.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
We All Need a Fix at a Time like This
This morning I watched Emerica footwear's newest video Green.
Just wonderful stuff. Immediately after finishing it, I decided to go out for my first skate since the winter ended, so mission accomplished boys.
The video managed to hit at some specific part of my brain, this weird space that connects skateboarding to my sentimental side. Maybe it was the use of "Some Misunderstanding" by Gene Clark at the end. It was probably also due in part to the video starting with fast punk music. Either way, it captivated me and gave me that "I need to go skate right now" feeling.
Context is also important here. Last year, Emerica's most visible and longtime rider Andrew Reynolds, one of my very favourites and one of skateboarding's all-time greats, left the company for the greener pastures of Vans. It's probably difficult for non-skaters to get how big of a deal that was, but rest assured that everyone couldn't believe it had happened. Reynolds was synonymous with Emerica and I wondered how the company would fare with its biggest name and cashcow now riding for another company.
Green is Emerica's first video since the Reynolds departure and I think that this in an undercurrent that runs throughout it. In a bold move, the video only features two parts: the supremely underrated Dakota Servold and Jon Dickson. Other riders from Baker and Deathwish, both of which are closely associated with Emerica, make cameos, but all the action focuses on these two. Both deliver amazing parts that touch on all my favourite parts of skating, valuing spots, style, and gnarliness over technicality. Though it's never expressly stated, having just two riders put out long, great parts to make up the whole video feels like Emerica expressly stating "We'll be fine."
This cycle is kind of how the world works. A new shoe company is built around a young star and achieves its peak with Stay Gold. As he starts to age and settles into the part of his career where he is, with all possible respect in the world, a nostalgia act, the company withers like a tree and the leaves fall off. After this, the tree turns green and starts again.
Just wonderful stuff. Immediately after finishing it, I decided to go out for my first skate since the winter ended, so mission accomplished boys.
The video managed to hit at some specific part of my brain, this weird space that connects skateboarding to my sentimental side. Maybe it was the use of "Some Misunderstanding" by Gene Clark at the end. It was probably also due in part to the video starting with fast punk music. Either way, it captivated me and gave me that "I need to go skate right now" feeling.
Context is also important here. Last year, Emerica's most visible and longtime rider Andrew Reynolds, one of my very favourites and one of skateboarding's all-time greats, left the company for the greener pastures of Vans. It's probably difficult for non-skaters to get how big of a deal that was, but rest assured that everyone couldn't believe it had happened. Reynolds was synonymous with Emerica and I wondered how the company would fare with its biggest name and cashcow now riding for another company.
Green is Emerica's first video since the Reynolds departure and I think that this in an undercurrent that runs throughout it. In a bold move, the video only features two parts: the supremely underrated Dakota Servold and Jon Dickson. Other riders from Baker and Deathwish, both of which are closely associated with Emerica, make cameos, but all the action focuses on these two. Both deliver amazing parts that touch on all my favourite parts of skating, valuing spots, style, and gnarliness over technicality. Though it's never expressly stated, having just two riders put out long, great parts to make up the whole video feels like Emerica expressly stating "We'll be fine."
This cycle is kind of how the world works. A new shoe company is built around a young star and achieves its peak with Stay Gold. As he starts to age and settles into the part of his career where he is, with all possible respect in the world, a nostalgia act, the company withers like a tree and the leaves fall off. After this, the tree turns green and starts again.
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