Youth Crew
Long live HxC and hanging out.
Happy NBA playoffs to all who celebrate.
Ever since the Nets left Jersey, I have been a man without a country… Tom Hanks in The Terminal, when I should be Chet Hanks in Meadowlands Arena, swinging a towel around my head and yelling MORE FIYAH! at Sly The Silver Fox with every bucket.
Anyway, I root for the Knicks now. (Who cares, but I’m going somewhere with this.) You may remember their late ‘90s trade for Latrell Spreewell — inventor of the spinning rim sneaker, better known for choking out his coach on the Warriors, PJ Carlesimo.
Before PJ discovered the trachea-related side effects of taking his college coaching style to the National Basketball Association, he ran an instructional youth camp.
I spent a summer there with some neighborhood friends; in spite of everyone’s best efforts with the 33” training ball, my jump shot did not get any wetter (I remain a passionate yet tragically undersized rebounder). The Seton Hall stay was worth it just to discover their campus radio station, 89.5 WSOU — “Pirate Radio,” the Garden State’s home for all things heavy.
I was glued to their spot on the FM dial from that moment on. You could tune in and catch Orange 9mm or Alice In Chains or “Mr. Crowley” at any point in the day. Monday nights were extra special, because they played local bands and sometimes literal classmates on the “Hardcore Reality” show.
Decades later, there’s still nothing that beats friends coming together to shred riffs and yell about stuff.
And what a time for it!
It’s been sick to watch Turnstile become a (well-deserved) arena act and festival mainstay over the past few years; it seems like their success in the world of palm-muted power chords is paving the way for others to blow up. Trash Talk too! Their pop culture crossover in no way detracts from the efforts of DIY bands, labels and promoters who’ve always kept this sound alive, but a rising tide lifts all pits.
I’ve been enjoying my own little playlist of new-ish hardcore and adjacent groups: Scowl, Gel, Jesus Piece, Mindforce, No Pressure, Soul Glo, Never Ending Game, Buggin, Zulu, Spaced, Speed, Gouge Away, Lifecrusher… the list goes on.
The excellent hate5six YouTube hosts multiple live sets from each of them, plus all the surviving ‘90s/00s moshers still dragging their gear to VFW halls around the country.
There are many NBA jerseys to be found throughout.
The Lawnchair Youth channel’s B&W white cyc performance is their version of the hanging-mic rap video — which, in all fairness, can get generic at times. Same for those drum-mount camera live clips mentioned earlier.
But when it connects, it crushes.
Right now I’m stuck on this Vampire Mansion clip. Song’s cool, less screamy than the others (I remain a sucker for melodically supercharged quiet / loud crunch) but it’s all about the background menagerie: dude in a Weezer ringer checking his phone, mustache guy eating pizza, several girls with unique bangs and coaches’ jackets… masked duo with belt knives?!?
Like all good videos, it feels like hanging out with them.
Can’t trust a band without a crew…
If your bros (gender non specific) don’t rock with you, who else will?
Helmet Betty 30th Anniversary — while we have the distortion pedals out, let me praise the reassessment of Helmet’s weird-ass follow up to their major label breakthrough. Fully agree that it’s among 1994’s most overlooked, and loved this deep dive on the recording process with drummer John Stanier.
Spice 1 Tone Glow Interview — more Substack Q&A action on the etymology of “Break Yourself,” collecting ninja swords and much more.
PPJ Circoloco Radio DJ set — big vibes from my fav Brazilian beat maniacs.
Brett Hart 2001 Canadian Pizza Commercial — “hey Hitman, how ‘bout a second extra large for only a toonie?”
Emily Schubert Beauty Of The Beast — delightful new book of bugged-out looks from the makeup artist responsible for Duck Sauce’s descent into body horror.