May 5, 2015

Propeller Shouts and Murmurs

No marquee placement so this photo isn't blowing it.

The Vans portrayal: the skies are sunny and the stoke is on. The Uptown Theater was pretty full and the cushy new-ish seating, along with their new-ish liquor license, were appreciated by many. The movie nearly started on time and we didn't get a Bovee speech, but an exhortation from theater staff to not film the proceedings; Propeller was live on iTunes in three hours anyways.

It's novel, really, to make the video's introduction a useful part of the film, punctuated by an appearance of the company namesake as seen through 'his' kitchen window. There were just enough folks there to get that critical cheering mass going and it was persistent throughout, save for young Curren Caples' part, where the theater saw too much of themselves on screen. Other observations gleaned from a wide-cast net.

•A reflection on the coverage meter: Kids know Jeff Grosso, not Tony Alva.

Chima Ferguson is the dude many sitting nearby had yet to figure out.

•The Santa Rosa park would have been a great place for 32-year-old Tony Trujillo to return, though maybe he's not old enough for that amount of obvious nostalgia.

•Crailtap affiliation heals all and Elijah Berle's grown up. Related:

Chris Pfanner's part was so uniformly gnarly that the cheering lulled.

•Check on Rowley's knees.

•Reports say Andrew Allen is based on a character from "Sk8 or Die."

•It was a two-songer from Gilbert Crockett, who in aggregate did all the hardest shit.

•Definitely overheard Kyle Walker referred to as "White Ishod."

•It's been 15 years and AVE's put out four majors, two openers and two enders, and has evolved into a linebacker. Check the shoulder alignment coming out of one of the more difficult table moves.

Dana "Pizza" Ross, got his name in the credits, verbatim to how it's written here, and says he's made it, finally.

Normally the recommendation would be to head to the shop to pick up a copy, but this one's strictly digital; log on to tune in.

Update:

29 comments:

THE HESH said...

IS THAT PEABODY IN THE BACK WIT BLEACH BLONDE HAIR????????!

THE HESH said...

GONNA X NAY THAT, PEABODY DONT WEAR WATCHES.

Anonymous said...

Deductive reasoning at its finest, Kevin.

jonathan richman said...

that elijah fitzgerald tweet is just not alright, man

Wylie Tueting said...

We have to get further reflections, like: Caples seemed so pure and fair and virginal that he could've been playing a flute for Zeus; Crockett's style seemed a bit too stylized, proven by his extra hunched lands and extra tilted shoulders (whoever said those things were so merely special?); Rowan's part produced infinite happiness, epitomized by his Daniel Boon hat; and lastly, Andrew Allen nearly seemed the most special of all, given his age, socks, shorts, hair, and switch tricks - like that switch big-flip down the double-set - wow!

sprntrl said...

C'mon Bshow. The comments section is where you can leave your non "industry" related review of the vid.

sprntrl said...

and Wylie, you're out there w that Andrew Allen statement

platinumseagulls said...

My concern with Crockett's hands/arms is the accumulation of tats seen through his part, and whether the tats make him skate better. That's an important Q.

Wylie Tueting said...

Crockett now skates as if a spirit were constantly whispering in his ear - Listen, man, your style is so lean and smooth; just do whatever you want; I adore your tats; yeh, yeh, really draw out that nollie-flip on flat while you make 'em wait three secs before your next trick in the line. . . ."
Don't get me wrong; I still like him.

Unknown said...

Part 1
These high-powered videos don't come along very often any more, so why not cast some stones from the jaded peanut gallery? So my bitter thoughts...first I grapple with the length. I've always preferred a longer video to the short promo format (your job is to fly around with your friends and a filmer--film a fucking part)...with the caveat I like the whole thing. Unfortunately for me the people I want to see for an hour + are dead or gave up. Except for AVE, who came through once again. Yes, I understand very well I am far, far removed from the demographic this thing is aimed at. That said, I question if today's kid is as hyped on today's Van's offering as I was when, say, Questionable came out. Interesting to think about. Back to the length...I will admit that 15 minutes in I was already in the bored daze reserved for the too-long 411 Euro sections. Both instances find me lost in "really-good-skating-but-could-care-less" indifference. No good reason for my indifference beyond occasional kids with weird, intentionally goofy arm positions 10 seconds after a trick is landed (note: Dylan Reider can pull that off, you can't Coonskin Cap) and obnoxious sweaters. It's an awesome thing when Ray Barbee has most surprising trick of video with bluntslide heel. Lame he didn't have a full part, as it sure as hell looks like still has the skill and joy to do it. I think marketing-wise, all generations would appreciate a part from him today (judging from how well a handful of companies are doing today with a Converse All-Starred rehash of Ray's Ban This part). And for the record Mr. Barbee is the only dude I want to see smile after making a trick or pushing on video...it looks very contrived when anyone else does it. Further-more, if you are into the no-comply thing, why not watch the dude that does them best, looks the best doing them and isn't doing them because it's a trend. I'm not behind the scenes, but I'm going to blame Van's because I bet Ray would've put a part together if they got behind him doing it.

Unknown said...

Part 2
Anyway, back to what WAS in the video. Agree with plat' editorial staff the intro was a very clever way to tie in the legacy dudes. I take exception to whoever it was that had a guest trick from guy who just had a full part (yes, I know I'm guilty of same thing personally but y'all had your chance to call me on it years ago). And why did Grosso show up in Phanner's part? At least think it was his part, whoever it was I spent rest of part trying to sort out why. Hate to do it, but have to call out Rowley, (maybe more Hunt?) for 75-80% of the part involving riding down a bank. If you are doing 5-10 tricks into the same bank, I don't need to see the full roll away all 5-10 times. Show how gnarly the bank is once & that will suffice--everyone knows Rowley is a man and didn't jump off halfway down the bank on the rest of the makes. Hunt always does a great job, but the creative well maybe ran a little dry if he's doing a Minefield/Propeller double-dip using Smith Triangle for his artsy lifestyle shots? Certainly there was at least one other location on earth that looks interesting enough to plop down the boys for the token grainy b&w shot? Minor complaints. Maybe not so minor complaint was seemingly/possibly 1/2 hour into video without a single manual or ledge trick? Let's just move on to AVE & all complaints are wiped away. Power, speed, tech, gnarl, precision, etc, etc. See kids, it is possible to skate everything. You don't just have to be tech guy, you don't just have to be wallie guy. For all the personal shit he went through (skating & personally) to come through with the ender in the biggest video of 2015 (and maybe 2-3 year time frame around 2015) is amazing. It's simply quality, creative skating. Not creative as in a gimmick (listen to Tim O'Connor's on-point rant about it in the Wenning interview podcast). Creative in taking a really good skater and pushing himself to do new stuff. Not the hardest new stuff like Shane O'Neill or Mariano, or bigger stuff, but new stuff for him. I think I counted 5-6 tricks I have never seen him do before and that's what I want to see from a video part. While Chima's part was amazing there wasn't one trick I thought "shit, I didn't know he could do that!" The surprise is the funnest part of watching a new video. The actual reality sinks in after many views and time tells how a video stacks up. With everyone so good and expectations absurdly high it IS hard to pull off some surprises. Thanks to AVE (and Ray) for somehow pulling yet another rabbit out of the hat.

Unknown said...

Part 3
Conclusion, it was a great video that could digest in with the greats, though I think a lot of that timelessness will ride on the staying power of the kids on the team. 5 years down the road you shouldn't be able to look back and say "who is that?" There should be something for everyone in the video (unless you want a Shane O'Neill type guy). It's a gritty team. And no comment is really needed on production quality of a Hunt/Van's video as you know it will be first rate. Minor editorial choices/flaws are merely my opinion understanding full well next dude would be pissed if they didn't show every ride out down a bank. They put a video out...that's all that matters at the end of the day & gave us something of enough merit and quality to bicker about.

Wylie Tueting said...

I totally support Dan's frankness of opinion!, excepting the part about the "Coonskin Cap."
That was Rowan Zorilla - our newest of funky inspirations - sporting the same cap that Benjamin Franklin wore when he visited France.
Need I say Dylan probably wears the cap too? Totally.

platinumseagulls said...

AVE's shearling coat has been generating a lot of heat on Twitter, it must be said.

Unknown said...

If it's negative heat for shearling coat, the twittersphere needs to review the flair rulebook, which clearly states: "anything goes if in moderation and used as occasional accent." Mr. van E understands this rule perfectly. Coonskin Cap does not, as evidenced by multiple appearances in his part. Furthermore, the coonskin is a skate video ABD (was it one of those Foundation-ish dudes from the southeast? Daniel Haney?).

Wylie Tueting said...

Calls for "rulebook" etiquette can be useful, but they can't erase the feelings a man can stir in another man, and when I saw Rowan in that Coonskin Cap - doing a line in a raggedy schoolyard on a grey day, and doing a nollie bs-lipslide on its handrail - I felt a deep peace about mainstream skating.
But when I watch Matt Berger - who obeys the "rulebook" quite well - I just can't find that feeling.

jonathan richman said...

dang, wylie snapped.

Wylie Tueting said...

Oh!, y'all take me to seriously.
I mostly seek smiles, or a laugh at best.
And to you, Jonathan Richman, whether or not you're "the" Jonathan Richman of the brilliant Boston music career, I'd like to meet you sometime. I like your style.

Wylie Tueting said...

. . . *too* seriously, I mean . . .
(I swear I'm done.)

sprntrl said...

Amazing that the good majority of this convo is all about what clothes or hat someone is wearing. Talk all the smack on Rowan's hat you like, the kid rips. I think a lot of the older heads are really starting to act ridiculous when it comes to the new generation of kids. Least we forget we ALL looked like fools with size 42 jeans on (not mention 42mm wheels). But hell, the nature of skateboarding was birthed in rebelling against the "norm". Dare I say some of us have become the norm?

Unknown said...

Hmmm. If not clear enough, a JOKE about a hat not following a flair rulebook should have been somewhat obvious given the fact there was a reference to a non-existent rulebook? Guess not? Apparently that overshadowed fact he was referred to as a really good skater in my review. Back to our regular program of everything everyone does is awesome...since I know the plat message board contingency has never had anything remotely negative to say about another skater, regardless of what "generation" they come from.

sprntrl said...

Is that rule book really non existent? It's all good Jacal, merely wanted to point out the fact that much of the discussion of the video was around clothing and not so much the skating. No harm, no foul

Anonymous said...

This is a bit reminiscent of the Fobia message board days, in the best possible way.

Unknown said...

That kind of goes back to part of my initial point. The skating isn't much to talk about because it is all really, really great skating. Same as new Plan B vid, same as (insert any other video from last 5 years, except Glue Factory videos). How many times can you say skating was mindblowing before you stop talking about it? So, with all skating being good, the only fun thing left to talk about is the extra stuff like gear & style. With my favorite skater being Dill, I certainly have had my ears filled with comments about his gear, many by the same people that would knock me for pointing out too many coonskin caps. And yes, Anonymous, this is the kind of stuff that has been missing (in the best possible way).

sprntrl said...

Wait a minute. Fobia message boards? How did I miss that?!

Wylie Tueting said...

I'm thrilled that this conversation is still running.
So, to add onto the point at hand, I totally agree that it's hard figuring out whether to judge skaters for their tricks or for their paraphernalia.
Which is why I've decided to start viewing skaters holistically, whatever the hell that means.
But to give one example: when I watch Tabari Cook doing a skillful trick, I don't just value the trick; I also value the way he tosses back his dreadlocks so he can see.
( . . . I love the way Tabari does that. . . . For me, it's just as distinct to his style as are his smooth tricks.)

Jonathan Richman said...

Wylie needs to film a Plat part this summer.

Wylie Tueting said...

I'm totally down "to film a Plat part this summer"! What's more, I've been dreaming about it.
It'd have skating as revolutionary to your mind as Grady Moquin's skating in "Dexterity in the Dark" was to mine . . . which is to say, rather revolutionary.
For one thing, I'd do a line at The Basilica - I repeat: a line at The Basilica - in which I fs-180 the double-set awfully loosely, then do a revert-slide, then push titanically down the narrow path to prepare for a ragged kickflip on flat.
And you know I'll start planning the enterprise this weekend. Best,

COAS said...

Video of the decade IMO