Article / Shoulda
SHOULDA
Some of the best skaters there are have never had a video part that had been perfectly paired with the music.
If the part has a general pace to it, a short and semi-energetic track can match reasonably well. Or not. In the case of say a Dennis Busenitz type though, where you have 5 trick lines, a hill bomb and a montage of quick and fancy ledge attacks, a track with a single tempo may not synch so well.
There’s also this task to honor what will indefinitely be a classic part, so should you pair it with a bonified top shelf classic song, or is that too on the nose, or boring even?
What would work then? Editing a part with 20 different clips all worthy of ender is no easy task. Every Busenitz part is a classic in its own right, the skating speaks for itself with or without music.
Some just can’t be pinned down by a single song. Their abilities and trick selection far too fugative. A tribute to their quality, here’s an attempt at a list of what shoulda been skated to that might’ve worked. Or not.
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Being real, if the track isn’t at least 5 minutes long, you’re gonna need more than one. So lets say we start with a short and sweet lead in with, Kraftwerk’s “Metal on Metal”… 2 short minutes of warm up with an evenly paced thumpy consistency that would lead into Del’s bumpy classic. Germany to SF. Try it out. Listen to them, imagine Buzenitz’ name appears across the screen just as the lead into “Press Rewind” ends… POW! Kickflip back tail just as Del’s starts spittin’ and we’re off!
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Speaking of Kraftwerk… Sometimes familiarity of the classic sort is all you need. Not hardly a deep cut but also not the first track that comes to mind. Assuming Buzenitz had last part, what a gem to end on. Meanwhile in any order the smooth-on-all-sides sounds of “The Model” would be bold and punchy enough to match classic sound with classic skating.
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Maybe loose composition, or what might sound like band practice might work. How do you even match a smooth improvisational energy through music? Actually maybe quite easily, but maybe a jazzy kind of piece would only resinate with the initiated.
This Blonde Redhead piece has always stood out to me. Sorta Sonic Youth-ish, but it holds its form throughout where it could have easily unraveled into distorted texture without the required rhythm.
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Another track that might need a short lead in. Start with Polvo’s “Street Knowledge”, classic airy intro, easy breezy out. Then launch into the deliberate and tight drum pattern of “Nothing Left to Lose”. It never reaches too high of a high note or too low on the opposite end. This choice has me empathizing with the music editing process of, Since Day One. The Modern Lovers track is maybe, in my opinion, the best pairing to DB’s skating that we’ve been blessed with. Meanwhile though, again did it match? Maybe? perhaps? Busenitz’s goes unmatched.
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Enough with the two song parts. Assuming Busenitz gave us two and a half minutes of absurdity, you’d need a track with momentum right out the gate. This track has that quality, reminds me of the pump I’d feel for the Knight Rider theme. It just goes and goes. a brief interlude, then RIGHT BACK INTO IT. It wraps before you know it, leaving you wanting more.