Video of the Week: Tyler Bledsoe - Etnies Highlight

First and foremost, Etnies really should have just worked on a full length video with all the full parts they've been dropping the past months. That being said, I am thrilled about a new full part from Mr. Bledsoe. While it is definitely hard to compare to his Hallelujah part, the fact that he has returned to the radar in a wonderfully stylish fashion is too awesome to be spoiled, even by perhaps some over-prominent product placement by Etnies in the video. Regardless, with a style like Tyler's and some of the sweetest ways of incorporating flip tricks to back tails and back smiths, the part was great. Just look at the pop out of the backside heelflip from the back smith at 1:10. That alone is magical . . . and it was in a line. The back tail 360 flip at 1:44 and the frontside flip into the grass at 2:25 (with a pretty legit rollaway) were both clutch as well. All around, it's great to see new Tyler Bledsoe footage.

I'd feel weird declaring a single trick as Video of the Week, but Derek Elmendorf certainly had me thinking. Redefining gnarly handrail skating years ago, he continues to do so today.

I bought the DVD for Meet the Lurkers not too long ago and was blown away at Dolan Stearns' ender part. Because it technically came out a bit ago, its internet release by Transworld this week doesn't seem fair to give Video of the Week. However, the skating is incredible. Dolan mixes a bit of old and new school style with flairs of extreme gnarliness and complete board control. It's this kind of creative, rad, and gnarly skating that get you psyched to go out on your board immediately. After the kickflip catch on the penultimate trick drops your jaw, do what you can to prepare for the unfathomable ollie to end the part.

Manny Santiago and Dave Bachinsky come through with a really awesome shared part: Salt N' Pepper. Both are beyond good on a skateboard - Dave probably getting my vote for most underrated - and they've been stacking tons of clips.

-Brazil's Klaus Bohms shreds nicely around the world for Adidas. That smith 180 at 0:50!
-Though a year old, Bones released a highlight video of New Ground that is too epic to neglect.
-Tum Yeto tours around with some heavy hitters. Glad to see Corey Duffel still killing it.
-I love Cliche, so I was pumped to see them crash the Active park.
-Even though I think he went pro too soon, Tom Remillard rips hard for his new board on Expedition.
-The city vibes of Traffic Patterns are priceless, much like the Ricky Oyola footage within.

Best Music for a Part #3: Fitz and the Tantrums

There's something about the music that I've heard from Fitz and the Tantrums that simply stays in my memory. The skate videos utilizing their music were all filled with great skating, but nothing in particular that would keep me daydreaming about those parts (such as Westgate's street annihilation in Made or Guy Mariano's technical NBDs in Pretty Sweet). Yet the upbeat songs and good selection of mood changes, for lack of a better description, allow for full-on enjoyment of the video parts.
The first time I remember getting hooked to a video was with Fitz and the Tantrums' "Moneygrabber" in Kenny Hoyle's Madness Bonus Part (above). Kenny's style and trick selection is easily one of my favorites but despite getting used to watching his tricks again and again, I just had to keep rewatching this video so I could repeatedly experience the huge bump to bar heelflip as the percussion dropped. And right as the first verse starts Kenny comes out with a sweet line that keeps the excitement going while maintaining the soothing vibes from the quieter music. Then the switch back heel at 0:50 perfectly times the slow motion with a new underlining sound for the music as it builds back up. Another reason why I was so intrigued by this bonus part and the song was the strange skip at 1:32 that I knew felt out of place at first. Regardless, after wanting to hear the song in full, I would always picture Kenny's great skating when I thought of this melody.
Now most people probably know "Moneygrabber" from Mike Mo's part in Pretty Sweet, which I must say was an instant favorite of mine in great part because of this song. The clever ground-stomping intro as the song fades in depicts Mike Mo's effortless skill all too well. It's cool to see when that first verse comes in (which apparently is the beckoning for the first line in the video part), Mike Mo takes it back to the ledges we know him for. And then at the first major swell for the chorus, he comes out with a pretty surprising switch nosegrind fakie front 360 shove out at a green schoolyard ledge, which sticks out clearly in my mind. Same thing happens when the next chorus comes around: Mike Mo starts off a 3-trick downhill line at a school that he also skated in Fully Flared with a fakie big heel, flawlessly following that up with his impossible late flip, and finishing the line down a nice set of stairs with a gorgeous frontside flip. And at the part in the song with the 1,2,3 count-ups, Mo's trick selection gets rather crazy but is amplified by its pairing with the song for what is my favorite segment of his part.
More recently, Fitz and the Tantrums had their song "L.O.V." featured in Bones New Ground for Trent and Trevor McClung's shared part. Throughout it all, the song is very upbeat and brings out the positive mental attitudes that the brothers have. While showing off their impressive abilities they appear like they're having fun in the process, which is helped by the song. I like Trevor's 5-0 into the long, steep bank at 15:00 because his rolling away speed wobbles match the singing of "tryy-yy". Just a little gimmick that helped me enjoy the part even more. And directly after, the timing of the drums (leaving and then entering) for Trevor's switch big flip down Carlsbad couldn't have been better, as the epicness of the trick is made to stand out. Then at the end as the music slowly fades out, the saxophone solo cordially invites the two bros to a free-for-all of heavy tricks...and they accepted.
Just like in the other parts, Josh Anderson's part in Organika's latest offering of Grow With Us is really made  memorable because of the Fitz and the Tantrums' "Hey Mr. President". The first few piano chords as Josh ollies over the manhole cover and powerslides down the street are extremely inviting for the viewer. The split second of silence when Josh locks into his 360 flip nose stall at a popular ditch around the 4:00 mark acts as a moment for the viewer to catch their breath out of surprise at a pretty rad trick on a rough bank. On top of that, the chanting of "Hey!" and "Ooh!" work well as solid moments for Josh to comfortably stomp his tricks down throughout the part; they also happen to emphasize his slam around 4:42, but it all adds to the likeability of the part.

SOTY 2013 Contender #4: Ben Raybourn

Ben Raybourn came out swinging this year. Early on, he closed out the Bones Video New Ground (his part above) with a bang. From the gnarliest terrain to some of the heshest tranny and bowl tricks, Raybourn pretty much defines thrashing. His ability to boost airs out of even the smallest transitions and at the same time land in the tightest transitions in pools and whatnot is just insane. I still cannot comprehend his ender for the New Ground. And if putting out a banging part wasn't enough, Ben came out with The Raybourn Identity just to show how much thrashing he's actually been doing, including dropping in from trees.
Two heavy video parts and Ben still is getting loads of coverage from sequences to little ads to handling tasks for KOTR. Outside of Thrasher, Ben had a very ripping Rip Clip for the Skateboard Mag, just to show that he just doesn't stop skating and that he is at that level where he can consistently put out quality footage. What's also peaked my interest is that the Rip Clip caption mentioned something about another Raybourn part coming out through The Mag later this year. If that's the case, Ben's run for SOTY is very, very strong.

(Time constraints prevent me from delving into Ben's video parts and ridiculous tricks, which is unfortunate because he absolutely kills it!)