SKATE OR DIE

[byzerodivide]

ok so here's the deal. i haven't updated in approximately forever, so i'm going to make up for it with the mother of all updates. we're talking potential record length. i'm psyched. so what's happening is, i'm going to post the entirety of a 25+ page paper that i wrote this past semester. the subject of the paper is, in broad terms, skateboarding

Comments

[byzerodivide]

thank you so much for the input... i think you bring up a subject that could fill another 25 pages-- the relationship between punk rock and skateboarding and what each has meant to other. the way i see it, skateboarding and punk rock met at around the same point in time that hardcore was evolving, and i tend to see a closer relationship at that time between skateboarding and hardcore, rather than what was passing for punk rock. arguably the 2 greatest icons of hardcore, ian mackaye and henry rollins, used to skate together in their DC neighborhood. of course, mackaye has hit the nail right on the head in that quote you gave. ask any person who has skated for more than a little while, and they will tell you that they notice all kinds of details and particulars about the world around them that others simply don't catch. i know that i see skate spots EVERYWHERE. i see things i would like to skate on TV and in movies. i imagine what it would be like to skate in the tiniest and hugest spaces... things like skating the transitions in the sink or dropping in on a huge dam. and that attitude of redefinition was, i think, the glue that held hardcore and skateboarding together. hardcore punk musicians wanted to redefine or eliminate the exisiting definitions of punk rock and music in general, and strove to create social, political, and personal change as well. some members of that generation, such as mackaye in particular, continue to do so to this day. interestingly though, it seems as though hardcore has transformed into a largely suburban movement (if one can call it that anymore), both in terms of physical location and ideology. in large part, hardcore contents itself with the status quo, and has taken a visible turn toward the commercial. while skateboarding in many ways has done the same, there remains a strong contingent of urban street skaters still pushing all kinds of boundaries- and these are the individuals that i'm most interested in.
also- yes, the ending is abrupt. that is one thing i would like to fix. essentially, it's so quick because the paper was due and i hadn't really slept too much for the past few days. like i said, there's a lot that remains to be said. so thanks a lot, i appreciate you reading the paper and all of your input. thanks bunches.
an undesirable human element,
peter

[x______________]

the relationship between skateboarding and punk could fill up another 25 pages easily. and probably has.

hmm, mackaye and rollins? i don't know man, i think jello biafra is damn important as well. heh, but yeah. nonetheless, i agree with all that you have to say about hardcore/skateboarding. and really think you're on the right track with your essay. i think if the people that interest you are the ones pushing boundries, you should continue to write about them and it will all be cool.

by the way ... how do you like emerson? i'm thinking of transferring and i'm really interested in emerson. my school's far too white-upper-middle-class-christian-alcoholic-dave-matthews-loving for me. plus the majors offered are pretty limited and not in any areas that interest me all that much.

melissa

[x______________]

boundaries*

[byzerodivide]

well... emerson is not without its flaws but i've really liked it so far. if what you're into is communications or performing arts, then there really aren't too many better schools, especially not in new england. the population tends to be white-upper-middle-class-nicotine addicted- indie rock snobs-- i'll leave up to you whether or not thats an imporvement on your school. at least there's very little of that pesky christianity going around. according to princeton review, emerson is among the top schools for "students ignore god on a regular basis" or something like that... there are a lot of good things to be said about emerson and i've enjoyed it a lot so far. i'd suggest checking it out if it seems like a good fit.

[x______________]

communications and performing arts are steps in the right direction ... and i know a few of those white-upper-middle-class-nicotine addicted- indie rock snobs you're talking about. one of them's transferring because, apparently, he doesn't want to pay so much money for a "community college education." but i don't know ... do you find your classes to be worthwhile? ha. woo lame questions, right? plus it's in boston. which is just awesome.