RJD2 has posted up a full length track from his upcoming album The Colossus.
In addition to the track with Kenna, he has also posted snippets of other tracks from the record, which is out on January 19th. It’s big, check it out below:
So this Max Schaaf Real deck dropped into my lap the other day and I must say it’s bloody lovely. I’m the first to admit that I am the fussiest person ever when it comes to deck shapes and unless the nose and tail are the exact same shape, I go all A.D.D. and blame every non-make on my board.
Crafted out of Deluxe’s world-renowned wood and coming in at a very comfortable 8.25”, it’s surprisingly snappy and agile for a larger lady. Somehow in my ten years of skating, this is the first time I’ve ever skated a Real board, or even a DLXSF board for that matter, and I’ve just had the epiphany that everyone else has when they step onto their decks. Solid as anything, and you’ll never go back. The concave isn’t too deep but the rails are high enough for your toes to get a nice purchase on for flips. I even started chucking myself down stairs on this thing, something I never do, confidence in my deck inspiring me to try tricks I’d normally sack off for a frontside slash any day.
Max Schaaf is an utter legend in skating, and his recent Epicly Later’d will get you up to speed with his no nonsense approach to life. This deck comes adorned with a gorgeous ‘4Q’ graphic, a nod to Schaaf’s motorcycle conditioning company, where he spends hours crafting some amazing classic bikes. You can tell that the same effort was put into this board design and shape too. Real state that all their decks are made from the exact same wood and exact same shapes as their team rides. Not every company does that and quite often you end up with a deck that just doesn’t cut it. Not here. The wood quality is excellent and feels like it’ll take a serious pounding without any trouble.
This is the second time I’ve found a deck that is literally perfect. The first time it happened I went and bought another three of the same deck just to make sure I could skate it for as long as possible. I’ll certainly be on the hunt for at least ten more of these, stockpiled ready for when this Harley Davidson of decks finally has to be retired to the junkyard. I’ve got a feeling that won’t be for a while though.
Click here for the latest Real catalogue if this floats your boat.
Moose
Harlow’s most hyperactive and keen to travel skaters Mr. Mark ‘Radman’ Radden has had some serious grief with his knee for some time to a point where getting up in the morning is a challenge in itself! Radman showed us his commitment by waiting until the Crossfire Xmas Jam was out of the way until going under the knife.
To show our appreciation for such commitment to skating against all the physical odds, we are giving Radman a Fresh Blood feature for the New Year and a massive get well soon over the Christmas period!
Look forward to seeing you shred next year mate!
Keep up with his recovery over on the Death Blog.
For those of you out there who love your music laid back and doused in folk you will be enchanted by the incredible sounds of Musee Mecanique. Usually a 5 piece, the band consisting only of singer/songwriters Micah Rabwin (vocals/guitar/musical saw/keyboard) and Sean Ogilvie (vocals/keyboard/guitar/accordion/melodica) recently graced Europe with wonderful live shows alongside Laura Gibson that left a lot of people blown away. The Portland Oregon duo have an album out early in 2010 titled Hold This Ghost, have a slice of what’s on that here live from Paris this weekend and look out for them.
HibOO d’Scène : Musee Mecanique “Under Glass” (Live @ La Flèche d’Or, Paris – 10.12.2009) from Le-HibOO.com on Vimeo.
The video from this weekend’s Xmas Jam has dropped online this morning, watch it here and look out for a full feature tomorrow.
Face the facts out there right now, it’s bloody freezing. To combat this problem I have caved in and reverted to wearing gloves when i’m skating this year. I always thought gloves were for pussy footballers in the summer and not exactly the most needed item first on the wish list of a skateboarder but now i have them i’m not turning back.
Made from simple black cotton and available to buy online for just £5, these gloves from Who? Clothing don’t get in the way, flap about in the wind or make your palms sweat, but just simply provide an extra layer to fight that bitter cold weather on a street sesh.
An alternative to these Welsh wonders is a Peacock pocket warmer made from the heat of lighter fuel inside a platinum-catalyzed glass fibre burner. Simply light your wick, sink into your pocket and keep your bollocks warm for up to 30 hours depending on the size of your tool. Made for skaters too apparently, what a choice.
Davis Spencer
Imagine walking up, trousers round your ankles, tooth missing, tiger in the bathroom, baby in the closet, hospital bracelet on your wrist and a stolen police car in the garage…oh and where is the groom?
They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. This is certainly true when you wake up with a migraine and the lack of memory over the previous nights events. This is the case for four lads on a bachelor party they will not be forgetting, for the lack of forgetting.
Viewers are taken on a roller coaster of a ride as they follow the groom party on a mission to remember what happened the night before and where they could have lost the main man. The Hangover is the type of movie you know has been depicted from events that have happened to some poor soul (probably more than one) in the past. Wild night in Vegas, someone gets married, someone loses a tooth and the police have to get involved eventually.
As far as comedy is concerned, there are bucketfuls, like marrying a stripper, kidnapping the head of a Chinese gang and then there is the vision of Mike Tyson singing while looking for a stolen beloved pet. There is also some action with the groomsmen attacked by armed gangsters for casino chips.
The actors have been brilliant in making you believe they are actually in the situation rather than acting out a script. You don’t get to see much of Justin Bartha as Doug with the being missing and all, but you have Bradley Cooper as Phil, the married and confident schoolteacher, but when out of the building he is a party man on a mission to make his best friend have the time of his life at his bachelor party. Ed Helms as Stu is the boring dentist that calls himself a “doctor” who puts up with a woman that orders him around like a dog, but after a few drinks becomes a fun loving, “go for it” kind of fella. Lastly there is Zach Galifianakis as Alan, the funniest of characters. He is the strange soon to be brother-in-law that cannot be taken seriously or trusted,, mainly due to his looks, behavior and persona. These four characters have such different personalities and watching them combine their efforts is hilariously funny.
If this is not enough to be content with, the DVD has extra content including a gag reel to have you in stitches and a Map of Destruction where you can re-trace the antics of the night before. This is by all means one of the best comedies around.
Michelle Moore
Four Letter Word is officially The Band that Would Not Die ™. They’ve been through so many line-ups and bust ups in the past 18 years it would surely take a Tony Robinson lead Time Team styled excavation to unravel this South Wales bands turbulent history. But here they are, back again, another line-up, a brand new album, and still roaring a familiar battle cry.
Singer Welly is the only constant, and, in a recording capacity, Leatherface growler Frankie Stubbs, who has now handled production duties on all 4 FLW albums. You can imagine those two at the mixing desk, gargling on tankards of gravel and whiskey, exchanging tales from brutal campaigns on the frontline…
And it’s tales that these songs tell, crisp and punchy tuneage with biographical narratives spanning adolescent days of being put down and maligned, to present day anger at an increasing Orwellian landscape, fuelled with bitterness and frustration at a punk rock scene the wordsmith decrees too competitive and merely built on flash-in-the-pan 5 minute fashionistas. He has a point, but we’re living in different era now, a million miles away from the heady days when folk like Welly cut his chops. And those times are not coming back.
The theme of reflection weighs heavy on this album, and goes right on thru to passionate closer “Street Where I Grew Up”… “counting cracks in the pavement in the summer sun, chip off the old block, my father’s son”… sentimental discourse, and, dare I say it, all part of the maturing process. I can relate.
I thought FLW reached their pinnacle with 2005’s cracking “Like Moths to A Flame” album, and sure enough this collection of 10 songs didn’t immediately make similar impact. But subsequent plays have seen them grow on me, with pace. All told a tidy piece of work.
Pete Craven
The Brian Jonestown Massacre have announced a UK tour for 2010.
The band, who release their new album Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? on January 22nd will play the following dates in May:
14th – London Shepherds Bush Empire
16th – Birmingham Academy 2
17th – Manchester Academy 2 & 3
18th – Glasgow ABC
19th – Belfast Spring & Airbrake
20th – Dublin Academy