The Best and Worst of 2009

The Hit List: What was Good in 2009

1. Thirsty Thursdays at Bath PoNaNa: Bringing the craze every week!

2. Supreme A/W09: Their strongest collection in years

3. Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 7: Larry back in full effect

4. Rage Against The Machine Xmas Number 1: The people stand up & vote against the Dumbing-Down of the charts!

5. Kings Of Leon at Madison Square Garden, New York: A truly blistering set from the Kings. It all got particularly messy afterwards though!

6. Entourage Season 6: Never long enough!

7. Wednesdays With Reda: Still the funniest thing on the internet!

8. Supreme x Damien Hirst: Collaboration of the year hands down.

9. Eastbound & Down: Kenny Powers on the ‘reg!

10. The Hangover: The funniest movie I’ve seen in years, even made that dreadful Flo Rida tune sound good!

The Shit List: What was Bad in 2009

1. Superdry: Why does 90% of the country all want to look the same by wearing this garbage?

2. X Factor / Britain’s Got Talent: Television hits rock-bottom with this utter rubbish yet most people seem glued to it!

3. Dubstep: Dull music seemingly made solely for the benefit of posh public school kids.

4. Fixed Gear Bikes: Yeah they look very nice but when did Brakes become uncool?

5. All Saints Clothing: Beyond Tacky!

6. Cheryl Cole the TV Presenter: I've got nothing against her music but on telly Queen of the Chavs is so annoying!

7. N Dubz / Tao Cruz / Tinchy Stryder / DJ Ironik: Irritating corny pop that never seems to leave the airwaves. Channel U has a lot to answer for!

8. Pointless “Celebrities” desperate for media attention: Katie Price / Kerry Katona / Jade Goody / Every Reality TV Goon etc ... Do people really care?

9. The new Southgate Shopping Complex in Bath: Possibly the worst collection of stores ever and do we really need a 4th Sainsburys supermarket in this town?

10. Rain: Why doesn’t it EVER stop?

My Top Ten Sneakers of 2009: 5-1

1. Supreme x Nike Bruin SB.
This year's Sup/Nike collab brought back the Bruin for the first time in years. Suede finish, metallic insoles/swoosh and even an embossed box logo on the midsole made these instant classics.
2. Air Jordan III True Blue.
Great quality reissue of one of Mike's finest.
3. Supreme x Vans Half Cab.
All over mini-checkerboard with a red lining? Yes please!
4. Vans Christian Hosoi Sk8 Hi.
Stunning quality perforated leather from a true skateboarding legend.
5. Nike Dunk Hi SB RESN.
Sam Smyth's 2005 colourway finally saw the light of day in 2009. Worth the wait.

My Top Ten Sneakers of 2009: 10-6

6: Nike Air Yeezy.
The ultimate "Marmite" shoe - love it or hate it you can't deny the impact Nike's first ever non-athlete branded shoe kicked up.
7. Vans Chukka Del Barco LX.
Vans hit the spot with their premium leather take on the boat shoe.
8. Air Jordan V Raging Bull.
The classic AJV given a new spin with this bright red suede finish.
9. Nike Vintage Blazer Hi.
If they were good enough for Tony Alva in the Dogtown-era they're good enough for me!
10. The Hundreds Johnson Mid.
I've never been a fan of this clothing label but I really like this clean & simple shoe.

My Favourite Tracks of 2009

1. Jay-Z: Empire State Of Mind / Run This Town / D.O.A / Thank You / On To The Next One. Basically every track on Blueprint 3 is incredible!!! Jay-Z was the King of 2009 - even his pub serves some of the best food in NY!

2. Kasabian: Fire / Where Did All The Love Go? / The Underdog. Three Massive tunes from a band who grow bigger & better each album.

3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Zero / Heads Will Roll. Perfect Synth-Pop.

4. Vampire Weekend: Cousins. Short, Strange but Catchy as Hell!

5. Gossip: Heavy Cross Fred Falke Remix. FF turns Beth Dito into a soulful diva on this stunning rework.

6. Drake Ft. Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem: Forever. Heavy as Hell debut from (already massive Stateside) newboy Drake. It’s since been butchered & repacked as an Eminem tune for the UK market.

7. The Virgins: Your Love Is Colder Than Death. Been hanging around the NYC l.e.s. scene for a few years & finally got a UK release in 2009 (to much indifference)

8. Paloma Faith: New York. She's bonkers as anything but this is a fantastic song.

9. Kanye West: See You In My Nightmares Rynecologist Remix. Unknown Canadian DJ turns this moody album track into a dancefloor stomper.

10. Lady GaGa: Paparazzi. The best track from a undeniable global megastar.

11. Deadmau5: Ghosts’n’Stuff. Guitar-driven club monster. Sounds so heavy on a good system.

12. Florence & The Machine: You Got The Love The XX Remix. On paper this sounds like a pretentious nightmare or a Shoreditch dream, In reality it was more of a total reworking (than a remix) with simply stunning results.

13. MSTRKRFT Ft. John Legend: Heartbreaker. Piano driven house tune + JL’s soulful crooning over the top = win!

14. Bat For Lashes: Daniel. One of Britain’s finest voices with a possible ode to the Karate Kid!

15. Jack Penate: Tonight’s Today. Balearic vibes on a record that surpassed all expectations.

16. Sebastien Tellier: Kilometer A-Trak Remix. A-Trak did so many great remixes this year but this is my favourite.

17. The Big Pink: Dominos. Despite being caned on a TV commercial & re-released however many times this still sounds great.

18. Empire Of The Sun: We Are The People. Madmen from Australia offer to fill in the gap before the next MGMT album.

19. Beyonce: Sweet Dreams. Ole Bouncy goes dark & moody with spectacular results.

20. The Gaslight Anthem: The 59 Sound. Springsteen-sounding stadium sound from New Jersey

21. Bloc Party: One More Chance. Amazing early 90s sounding piano house from the irritating band.

22. The Prodigy: Warrior’s Dance. It’s 1989 and we’re at a free warehouse rave - woo woo!

23. Mike Snow: Animal. Great debut from the Swedish duo.

24. 50 Cent: Baby By Me. The mumbler returns with a track that gets better with every listen. Fiddy traditionally pulls out 1 decent track per album - I guess it’s downhill from here then!

25. Julian Casablancas: 11th Dimension. JC without The Strokes? Sounding awesome against the odds!

Chanel Surfboards & Snowboards

Now that's Money Baby!

Tokyo by 13th Witness

Underground Vibes from 13thWitness™ on Vimeo.

Here is a stunning video from 13th Witness featuring two of my favourite things - Skateboarding and Tokyo! The beautifully shot footage gives you a true feeling of what it's like cruising round one of the greatest, most vibrant & fascinating cities on the planet.

Acapulco Gold OG New Era

Here's an amazing new twist on the 59FIFTY from New York upstarts Acapulco Gold. The Clash's Joe Strummer on the bill ... O.G indeed!!!

Where The Wild Things Are

Here is the breathtaking trailer for Spike Jonze's adaptation of, one of my favourite childhood books, "Where The Wild Things Are". The use of the old Arcade Fire song "Wake Up" is inspired and gives the trailer a truly spine-tingling feel. I've always admired Spike Jonze's work with Club Homeboy, Freestylin' Magazine, Girl Skateboards, Jackass, Grand Royal, his Photography, Music Videos and some of the greatest Skate Films of all time but I've never been a fan of his Feature Films so hopefully this one will live up to my expectations.

Classic Kicks - New Logo

Here's the new logo from my friends at New York's friendliest sneaker boutique Classic Kicks. This time they go with a nice homage to Mr. Zog's Sex Wax (not quite sure what the relevance of surfing to downtown Manhattan is but it looks real nice!) . . . See you guys in January

Kenny Powers

"I'm just an average man with exceptional hair"

Old & New

Head Porter iPod Case

I'm loving these new animal print iPod cases from Head Porter. I noticed that in Tokyo nearly everyone seems to carry some form of Head Porter accessory; from business men to school kids!

The Beatles x Bathing Ape

Following on from The Beatles x Comme Des Garcons project comes another collaboration with the Fab Four's estate, this time with another Japanese label - A Bathing Ape. Nigo has always been a very public Beatles fanatic so the only thing surprising about this new line is the fact it took so long! For me it's the first appealing product I've seen from the Apes for a few years.

Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 7

It's so good to have Larry back and more painful than ever! The Season 7 story arc is based around a Seinfeld reunion special which sees the famous four back together for the first time in over 11 years ... Gold!

Supreme x Thrasher

Been a long time coming!

Fracture

Some really nice apparel & accessories from local skate brand Fracture. Check out their full range at: http://www.routeone.co.uk/Store/Brands/Brand-is-Fracture/

Lil Wayne "The Carter" Documentary

This looks like a fascinating documentary following a truly insane maverick. Like most small movies, of this nature, it'll probably never open in UK cinemas so looks like a long wait until the dvd.

New Promos

I have so much new stuff to work my way through, it's a bit like homework!

The Art of Shoe Stores

Some independent footwear retailers are more like art galleries than retail outlets, here is a small selection of some stunning interior design.

La Renard

Billy Rohan Supreme Mini Ramp

A couple of months ago Supreme set up a temporary mini ramp in their Soho base. It's now been dismantled but here's some footage of Billy Rohan just before it was taken down...

Supreme Collection Pt.2

Sean Cliver

Great interview with Skateboard artistic legend Sean Cliver. Check out his book "Disposable" for a skate graphic history lesson.

Spongebob Bearbrick

Spongebob Squarepants is a ledge but this is some seriously freaky vinyl right here, I think it would give Rudy nightmares!