(no specific order on best to last, vice versa)
The two most important parts to a video part is the song and without a doubt, the skater (whether style, trick selection, fluidity). The song is that one thing that distinguishes it from any other video part but yet again, does not necessarily always apply. I can definitely find a video part that does not have a good song (that fits my preference) but has flawless and pure skateboarding at its rawest. In this case, I am listing the parts with the perfect combination (or almost perfect).
1. Kenny Hoyle Expedition One Madness
Song: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes - 40 Day Dream
An epic Edward Sharpe single backed with Hoyle's loose but hardworking style. The song reflects with the sunny filter and glaze of the video. It matches everything! A very well deserved, soulful, first, pro-part.
2. Josiah Gatlyn Full Part 2012
Song: Gorillaz - On Melancholy Hill
The soothing, whistling Gorillaz song that is surrounded by the echoing vocals takes Josiah's technical skating to its best. Switch heels, lasers, perfect tricks man...
1. Kenny Hoyle Expedition One Madness
Song: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes - 40 Day Dream
An epic Edward Sharpe single backed with Hoyle's loose but hardworking style. The song reflects with the sunny filter and glaze of the video. It matches everything! A very well deserved, soulful, first, pro-part.
2. Josiah Gatlyn Full Part 2012
Song: Gorillaz - On Melancholy Hill
The soothing, whistling Gorillaz song that is surrounded by the echoing vocals takes Josiah's technical skating to its best. Switch heels, lasers, perfect tricks man...
3. Marc Johnson Lakai Fully Flared
Song 1: Q Lazzarus - Goodbye Horses
Song 2: Fischerspooner - All We Are
Song 3: She Wants Revenge - Us
Marc Johnson's crazy part to date. He had three songs! Could you believe that? I can't even put out a part with a full three minute song. These three songs are almost completely different. The first single shot out right after Marc's mud treatment scene is Goodbye Horses by Q Lazzarus. This song is so mysterious and symbolic that it makes me want to mentally float away into the far distances of the universe. It's overall a very low but smooth song which compliments the first part of Marc's tech in Euro spots or open schoolyards. The second song, however, is even lower than the first. It just gets more mellow doesn't it? Well kind of, but don't get too excited. This low profile Fischerspooner song matches hand in hand with Marc's vast range of manual tricks. The song gets so low in volume that I actually hear most of the manual reverts in his part! The last but my favorite song of his entire part is Us by She Wants Revenge. It goes from the two low songs to a deep song. Deep as in voice and also...feeling? Marc went through some tough times during the filming of Fully Flared and that last final song sort of sums up all the sorrow and self-destruction he had inflicted. 'All the hushed who and whys, all the fiction and lies, all the tears and the laughs, take a walk in the past, you and I, hand in hand, as we look at this thing called us.' You could feel it through his pushes.
4. Marc Johnson Transworld Modus Operandi
Song: Built to Spill - The Plan
This is the probably the oldest skate video I have actually watched but I enjoyed every moment of it. The song by Built to Spill was full of nostalgic post-punk or just punk feels. It reminded me of the days when I use to listen to punk rock and all that omg Angelo's 'emo', omg he's gonna cut himself type stuff (Don't worry I sustained). It's just pure nostalgia at its best.
5. Marc Johnson Girl/Chocolate Pretty Sweet
Song: David Bowie - 5 Years
I feel like almost every part Marc has put out contains so much soul. I mean some people don't like his style with the arms and all (that's you David) but I personally like it. It's not the mechanical, Nyjah Huston or Chaz Ortiz video parts where I would already get sick of within the first 10 seconds. I want EMOTION when I watch a video part and most of Marc's parts has contained that. Call me what you want but when he pops that backside flip over that picnic table as the song jumps in...wow, just pure serenity. 'Pushing through the market square, so many mother's sighing'. I sigh along with those mothers, just kidding, only at times.
6. Heath Kirchart Emerica Stay Gold Easter Egg Part
Song: Joy Division - Atmosphere
Man, oh man, Heath with his all white outfits just breaks through with pure suave and smooth style. A Joy Division song was used too, that's sick. Stay Gold was a really good video, the editing was the polisher, pretty much. I've got nothing else to say but for you (the audience ghosts) to watch it.
7. Jason Dill Alien Workshop Mindfield
Song: Animal Collective - In The Flowers
Yet, ANOTHER part with pure emotion. This wasn't emotion in a sense where I felt sympathy or even empathy. It's the type of 'society sucks, I can only skate, they dont' really understand' type of emotion. I mean hopefully some of you understand what I mean so I don't sound like a passionate emotion freak. It's the Animal Collective song that springs out just before Dill pops an ollie over this street bump. The whole Mindfield video itself, the abstract, artsy pieces of footage just makes my artsy hipster side go crazy.
8. Mikey Taylor Alien Workshop Mindfield
Song: Dinosaur Jr. - Crumble
Dinosaur Jr. is probably one of my favorite bands of all time (much thanks for my friend, David, who truly opened my eyes to them). This song crumble is also the most touchy, feel-y, emotional type song. I mean if you listen to this, it doesn't make YOU the touchy, feel-y, weak guy like me, you're still the Dinosaur Jr. guitar-loving ripper, don't worry. I'm considering using this song for my part since it's such a great song and represents so much soul (there's that word again). Okay, now back to the part. Mikey Taylor mentioned in a Transworld Mag interview that during the filming of Mindfield, he wasn't really the person he was. He was pissed off all the time and not truly enjoying skateboarding which is the main reason why we all get into it. The line from the song 'I got nothing where I've been, will you bring me there again? no one ever understands...' just summarizes his troubles at the time and maybe symbolically of a skater's life too haha. Interpretation is all up from you.
9. Jerry Hsu Enjoi Bag of Suck (Second song part)
Song: Sonic Youth - Superstar
Jerry Hsu has always been one of my favorite skaters and his Enjoi Bag of Suck part was just pure...Jerry. It was full of switch, nollie, 5-0's, nollie back heels, the Jerry type of skating that is just distinguishing. His second part of his video part had the Sonic Youth song, 'Superstar'. It was the most low, sad song ever. I mean just look at the lyrics and you'll know what I mean. Jerry's skating suited the song perfectly though. Long ago...
10. Brian Hansen Fallen Ride The Sky
Song: Pentagram - Last Days Here
Song 1: Q Lazzarus - Goodbye Horses
Song 2: Fischerspooner - All We Are
Song 3: She Wants Revenge - Us
Marc Johnson's crazy part to date. He had three songs! Could you believe that? I can't even put out a part with a full three minute song. These three songs are almost completely different. The first single shot out right after Marc's mud treatment scene is Goodbye Horses by Q Lazzarus. This song is so mysterious and symbolic that it makes me want to mentally float away into the far distances of the universe. It's overall a very low but smooth song which compliments the first part of Marc's tech in Euro spots or open schoolyards. The second song, however, is even lower than the first. It just gets more mellow doesn't it? Well kind of, but don't get too excited. This low profile Fischerspooner song matches hand in hand with Marc's vast range of manual tricks. The song gets so low in volume that I actually hear most of the manual reverts in his part! The last but my favorite song of his entire part is Us by She Wants Revenge. It goes from the two low songs to a deep song. Deep as in voice and also...feeling? Marc went through some tough times during the filming of Fully Flared and that last final song sort of sums up all the sorrow and self-destruction he had inflicted. 'All the hushed who and whys, all the fiction and lies, all the tears and the laughs, take a walk in the past, you and I, hand in hand, as we look at this thing called us.' You could feel it through his pushes.
4. Marc Johnson Transworld Modus Operandi
Song: Built to Spill - The Plan
This is the probably the oldest skate video I have actually watched but I enjoyed every moment of it. The song by Built to Spill was full of nostalgic post-punk or just punk feels. It reminded me of the days when I use to listen to punk rock and all that omg Angelo's 'emo', omg he's gonna cut himself type stuff (Don't worry I sustained). It's just pure nostalgia at its best.
5. Marc Johnson Girl/Chocolate Pretty Sweet
Song: David Bowie - 5 Years
I feel like almost every part Marc has put out contains so much soul. I mean some people don't like his style with the arms and all (that's you David) but I personally like it. It's not the mechanical, Nyjah Huston or Chaz Ortiz video parts where I would already get sick of within the first 10 seconds. I want EMOTION when I watch a video part and most of Marc's parts has contained that. Call me what you want but when he pops that backside flip over that picnic table as the song jumps in...wow, just pure serenity. 'Pushing through the market square, so many mother's sighing'. I sigh along with those mothers, just kidding, only at times.
6. Heath Kirchart Emerica Stay Gold Easter Egg Part
Song: Joy Division - Atmosphere
Man, oh man, Heath with his all white outfits just breaks through with pure suave and smooth style. A Joy Division song was used too, that's sick. Stay Gold was a really good video, the editing was the polisher, pretty much. I've got nothing else to say but for you (the audience ghosts) to watch it.
7. Jason Dill Alien Workshop Mindfield
Song: Animal Collective - In The Flowers
Yet, ANOTHER part with pure emotion. This wasn't emotion in a sense where I felt sympathy or even empathy. It's the type of 'society sucks, I can only skate, they dont' really understand' type of emotion. I mean hopefully some of you understand what I mean so I don't sound like a passionate emotion freak. It's the Animal Collective song that springs out just before Dill pops an ollie over this street bump. The whole Mindfield video itself, the abstract, artsy pieces of footage just makes my artsy hipster side go crazy.
8. Mikey Taylor Alien Workshop Mindfield
Song: Dinosaur Jr. - Crumble
Dinosaur Jr. is probably one of my favorite bands of all time (much thanks for my friend, David, who truly opened my eyes to them). This song crumble is also the most touchy, feel-y, emotional type song. I mean if you listen to this, it doesn't make YOU the touchy, feel-y, weak guy like me, you're still the Dinosaur Jr. guitar-loving ripper, don't worry. I'm considering using this song for my part since it's such a great song and represents so much soul (there's that word again). Okay, now back to the part. Mikey Taylor mentioned in a Transworld Mag interview that during the filming of Mindfield, he wasn't really the person he was. He was pissed off all the time and not truly enjoying skateboarding which is the main reason why we all get into it. The line from the song 'I got nothing where I've been, will you bring me there again? no one ever understands...' just summarizes his troubles at the time and maybe symbolically of a skater's life too haha. Interpretation is all up from you.
9. Jerry Hsu Enjoi Bag of Suck (Second song part)
Song: Sonic Youth - Superstar
Jerry Hsu has always been one of my favorite skaters and his Enjoi Bag of Suck part was just pure...Jerry. It was full of switch, nollie, 5-0's, nollie back heels, the Jerry type of skating that is just distinguishing. His second part of his video part had the Sonic Youth song, 'Superstar'. It was the most low, sad song ever. I mean just look at the lyrics and you'll know what I mean. Jerry's skating suited the song perfectly though. Long ago...
10. Brian Hansen Fallen Ride The Sky
Song: Pentagram - Last Days Here
This is definitely a different approach since most of the video parts I like are full of this 'emotion' but I really liked Slash's Ride the Sky Fallen part. It was just the most hardcore, handrail, eating it, type of skating you could imagine, just pure gnar. The song complimented his part perfectly too, it makes me want to skate handrails (even though it takes me 50 tries just to roll up to one that's like knee-high but not even get a proper try, like actually getting onto it). I still need to watch his new Deathwish part.
11. Rick Howard Lakai Fully Flared
Song: Echo and the Bunnymen - Cutter
Rick Howard, this guy, the brainchild behind Lakai. Lakai is, honestly, one of my all time favorite footwear companies, I'd back them any day. This reputation was mainly built up from their Fully Flared video and actually the quality they deliver with their footwear. Ok, so back to his part. Let's start with the song by Echo and the Bunneymen. It is probably the most cheery/happy/mess around song in my entire list of video parts here haha but I loved it. It showed Rick's personality and his unique style of skating. I remember there's this manual trick he does but he pops out with a fs halfcab (it's front halfcab trust me, not fakie front 180, call it what you want) onto a slightly higher pavement, that was so sick. Not just another drop in the ocean..
12. Mike Mo Capaldi Lakai Fully Flared
Song: Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
Mike Mo, haha every kid's favorite skater but this part is a million times better compared to his half-assed (sorry for language) Pretty Sweet part (sorry Mo). First of all the song...Arcade Fire is definitely a very soulful band, it has so many different instruments to pretty much measure your feelings. No Cars Go is still my favorite song from them behind the crazy happy ones like Sprawl II or the pump up ones like Ready to Start or Wake Up. It fit Mo's skating, I'm telling you. It was like this smooth line of music that followed the path of his skateboarding lines, that's pretty much how I describe every other song that matches with the video part in this whole blogpost! But the skating, it was just so raw. It wasn't a bunch of tricks that he had already knew how to do and have them on lock like in Pretty Sweet, he had a large variety. Tricks ranged from Hardflips, Switch Heels, Nollie Flips, Nollie Big Flips, fakie front crooks (Technically fakie front suskis haha), switch back tails and in Pretty Sweet he just stuck to his comfortable frontside flips and old footy from the Lakai days. Don't get me start on the song choice for Pretty Sweet either, sorry but ABD (already been done), Kenny had it used for his Extra for his Madness part. Okay, no big deal but c'mon Mo! He has so much potential...Don't know where we're going.
13. Austyn Gilette Thrasher Unlimited (First song part)
Song: Future Islands - Tin Man
The first thing that comes to mind for Austyn is that this guy has perfect, SMOOTH style, no joke man. This guy has board feel like a gamer has prestige in COD. A lot of my content sounds really repetitive but sorry that's just how boring and bland I am (also another reason why I have a horrible grade in English). Ok so they song was by Future Islands. Future Islands has become one of my favorite synth-pop bands (see, synthpop does not equal to pop). The beats, strong shooting sounds backed with the deep vocals of Samuel T. Herring makes it seem Austyn is skating through problems, but nothing holds him back. I really don't know where I'm going with these reviews, they are so boring...sorry. Just watch his Unlimited part and hopefully you get an idea of what I mean.
Hope you guys endured,
Angelo
Song: Echo and the Bunnymen - Cutter
Rick Howard, this guy, the brainchild behind Lakai. Lakai is, honestly, one of my all time favorite footwear companies, I'd back them any day. This reputation was mainly built up from their Fully Flared video and actually the quality they deliver with their footwear. Ok, so back to his part. Let's start with the song by Echo and the Bunneymen. It is probably the most cheery/happy/mess around song in my entire list of video parts here haha but I loved it. It showed Rick's personality and his unique style of skating. I remember there's this manual trick he does but he pops out with a fs halfcab (it's front halfcab trust me, not fakie front 180, call it what you want) onto a slightly higher pavement, that was so sick. Not just another drop in the ocean..
12. Mike Mo Capaldi Lakai Fully Flared
Song: Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
Mike Mo, haha every kid's favorite skater but this part is a million times better compared to his half-assed (sorry for language) Pretty Sweet part (sorry Mo). First of all the song...Arcade Fire is definitely a very soulful band, it has so many different instruments to pretty much measure your feelings. No Cars Go is still my favorite song from them behind the crazy happy ones like Sprawl II or the pump up ones like Ready to Start or Wake Up. It fit Mo's skating, I'm telling you. It was like this smooth line of music that followed the path of his skateboarding lines, that's pretty much how I describe every other song that matches with the video part in this whole blogpost! But the skating, it was just so raw. It wasn't a bunch of tricks that he had already knew how to do and have them on lock like in Pretty Sweet, he had a large variety. Tricks ranged from Hardflips, Switch Heels, Nollie Flips, Nollie Big Flips, fakie front crooks (Technically fakie front suskis haha), switch back tails and in Pretty Sweet he just stuck to his comfortable frontside flips and old footy from the Lakai days. Don't get me start on the song choice for Pretty Sweet either, sorry but ABD (already been done), Kenny had it used for his Extra for his Madness part. Okay, no big deal but c'mon Mo! He has so much potential...Don't know where we're going.
13. Austyn Gilette Thrasher Unlimited (First song part)
Song: Future Islands - Tin Man
The first thing that comes to mind for Austyn is that this guy has perfect, SMOOTH style, no joke man. This guy has board feel like a gamer has prestige in COD. A lot of my content sounds really repetitive but sorry that's just how boring and bland I am (also another reason why I have a horrible grade in English). Ok so they song was by Future Islands. Future Islands has become one of my favorite synth-pop bands (see, synthpop does not equal to pop). The beats, strong shooting sounds backed with the deep vocals of Samuel T. Herring makes it seem Austyn is skating through problems, but nothing holds him back. I really don't know where I'm going with these reviews, they are so boring...sorry. Just watch his Unlimited part and hopefully you get an idea of what I mean.
Hope you guys endured,
Angelo
