there are times i watch this and think everything else i listen to is a compromise, untrue of course but i think of the teenager in me that first heard this, equipped with the no label for this sound, some strange melodic punk, that had me hooked within the first 30 seconds. A singer with opinions and the brains and the band to back him up.
watching this from time to time always makes me have these overpowering emotions of wanting to smash everything around, scream at the top of my lungs and makes my eyes well up a bit. It makes me think we had a chance to change the world and make it less generic and more original and creative. Popularity is a strange thing...... why do the purists feel they have to run or disown something they "liked since the beginning" when it gets "too popular". Own up to the things you love, your probably not as original as you think. If it's good people are going to want it, those same people want so much garbage too, but that's theirs to live with.
I've skateboarded since i was about 10..... theres no question that i was born to skate, it found me and the story goes from there, it was not POPULAR at the time, in a way it was just another toy... and it was free because the board was left in front of my house. But that toy quickly became a tool, a tool get lost in. A tool used for expression, releasing young angst, bullshit detector, friend maker, jock pisser offer, tribe former, pain maker, and endless possibility device. Laughter, travel, my new voice, and the narrator of my new life..... came from that fucking skateboard.
Iv'e dealt with endless clowns, hang arounds, mongo mongoloids, wanna be's, verbal vomiters, trend humpers..... but all i had to do was move around them, push down the road and look ahead. I'm using all these labels, and fuck them because they don't matter. I'm a fool for trying to explain it. Skill level never mattered.... it was the look in the eyes. Rich, poor, blessed with talent, or born a cave man.... none mattered.... lets got SKATE.
Motorcycles...... the same thing in a way, but more convoluted. More bullshit. More testosterone or that lack there of being made up for by HAWG. But once again, goddamn they can be cool, and goddamn you can express yourself with your bike. Living in the NOW is nearly impossible but somewhere right between you hands on your handlebars you can fine that place.
So that leads me to this..... I've been Surfing, and I'm horrible at it. Anonymous dork with KOOK tattooed across his sunburnt forehead. Perfecting the nose dive, the over paddle to wave passing me by technique, and the shore break body bag. Don't let me fool you though, I've caught some waves and "gone down the line" my left calf has been fully tubed and I've starred in a few of my own movies showing only inside my head when i'm in the middle of a good ride on a mediocre wave. It started as one day a week, then two, now it's three. I know locals by name, i've learned a few surf terms, i've gone through a few bars of wax. I laugh at young bohemian long boarders that look like they're trying to do ballet on their boards but really look like they're shooting the duck on roller-skates..... it's that trying to hard to be something you're not thing. Skating gave me that intense bullshit detector. Like the new biker guy in the denim vest with all the patches and the chinese chopper parts all over his 2014 harley. It's too much. Just be a KOOK, trust me its rad. Paddle out in the world, realize your a grain of sand on whales ass and go for a ride.
I don't know, this is a ramble, but this song, this band, the recording of this show.... it has something in it that was not forced, did not need to labeled..... it is just perfect to me. Beautiful and original a complete mood maker.
blah........
19 comments:
Yeah Max. Right on.
Amen.
Nailed it! Little kids get it. My daughter cries when she's sad, laughs when something's funny and dances like a maniac when she hears something she likes. Snoopy is the coolest thing in the world for her and she doesn't give a fuck what anybody what thinks about that. I think everyone could learn from that, I certainly have.
Another great post, dude. Brings many things to my caffeinated mind:
1. So long as everyone’s comfortable, it’s possible that music may never be this important again.
2. Skateboarding chooses us as much as we choose skateboarding.
3. The parallels between skateboarding and motorcycles are bottomless. But in my little bubble, many of today’s bikers remind me of 1990s skaters – a uniform look replete with rampant vibing and oneupsmanship/something to prove.
4. Anyone who dislikes anything after it succeeds will never really know themselves anyway.
5. "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” -Pascal
Damn Sheabones you fucking nailed it too. The parallels between today's chopper scene and 90's skateboarding is dead on.
Jesus, always takin me back Max..i can remembering hearin that as a kid from some older skaters i was with and some other songs and wondering how to hear it again, Salinas had a shitty music scene then and it took me a few years to get my hands on the Good Stuff, took work, no instant gratification , made it better...i suck at all the above but love them more than anything...good stuff Max...keepin it 100 as usual...i bet youll be shreddin on that board if yer not already...
rad , great read & i needed this .
Good read.
you nailed it once again - i need a KOOK patch for my denim vest
Yes. best show maybe- ever. saw em at the grind in Sac. Ian and Guy sat and watched me skate the bowl. i dont mean for 5 minutes as a courtesy call either they were fucking into it. Having Fugazi cheer on my skating was a vibe you can relate to. they get it. you get it. lots of us get it. lots of us just eat up all the good air out there. i agree with you, if you were there first then stake your claim. were old in the skater dude mall rat world, still seen as kids in the harley world somehow ( Ill take it)..and as far as surfing goes..keep at it. I know your gonna kill it, probably already are. xo
Well said!
Awesome post Max. Beyond that holy SHIT this video rips.
Another one that found me as an adult....Ian was 26-28-ish when he wrote this. I was 8/9-ish then...well before my time....i had a friend in my early 20s who knew what was what with the hardcore scene back then. he had a good ten years on me at least...am totally grate full for the intro to this music....i was't there for any of it, but man i feel it....kinda crazy to think of what i was doing at his age when he wrote this stuff..just cooking away behind a hot stove...wiki says he's 53 now...fuck...makes me feel good that at 36 i still have lots to learn/grow/give.
Always liked Fugazi, but only recently did I see this for the first time. I was dumbfounded with the earnestness of the audience. Awesome recording!
As for your stab at surfing, I find it good for the soul to be a clueless novice at something you know you'll probably end up sticking with and getting better at. The bumble humble.
I really feel all your words there, Max. You're true blue, and an admirable kook.
Been a fan for a long time, Max. I don't know shit about motorcycles, I'm just a voyeur and would feel a total poseur if I started pretending at this point but surfing and skateboarding, I know about. Surfing can be the ugliest pissing match. People get bummed so easily and yearn for the 'good old days.' So few waves, so many people, so many opinions and so much entitlement blah blah. But, like you said, step back and remind yourself how fucking incredible it is to do the act itself and how much of a god damned privilege it is to be in a position to even skate, surf, ride etc... Thanks for the continued inspiration. Live free.
really appreciate all the comments on this post,,, everyone!
;) thanks for everything max.
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