  Dana and I ventured out to a huge antique sale that was being held in a parking structure in downtown Royal Oak this weekend. We went down there, hoping to find some cool things for our home. It seemed to me when we got there, that it was more like a massive flea market than an antique sale. There was so much junk and crap there. But we did find a couple things that were worth buying for really cheap prices. Dana found a small glass pitcher that she thought would be really cute for serving orange juice at breakfast and also some kind of copper-wire butterfly thing that you stick in the ground somewhere in your garden.
All normal stuff you might find while perusing antiques. Then there was me. With my keen eye, somewhere in all the rubble, I managed to find the kind of stuff that floats my boat: the one single table of DVDs in the whole joint. It was all crap I'd never heard of, b-movies and nudy films. But lying there amidst all the garbage, like a desert oasis, was the urlLink Yeah Right! skate video, glowing bright green and adorned with a round yellow sale sticker, denoting its mere $3 pricetag.
I had heard good things about this video before from a couple different reliable sources. That certainly piqued my interest. But even before that I knew of it as a product of Spike Jonze's masterful direction (well, co-direction). To coin a phrase of my own, "if it was done by Spike Jonze, give it to Mike Jonze. " So, naturally, I scooped it up with my super duper worm-like voracity! Now I don't claim to be a skateboarder.
I tried it when I was younger and I was pitiful. I never was able to learn how to "olly" and I may have even just spelled that term incorrectly. But that doesn't negate the fact that I have always been drawn to the whole skateboarding lifestyle. I wanted a pair of Vision Streetwear shoes in seventh grade real bad . I still love Vans. But, above all, and more importantly, I always thought it would be the best if I could actually skate.
I scorned God for not blessing me with the skateboarding skills. Despite this, I still gave it a few more attempts over the course of my adolescence and even into college. But I just couldn't stick it. I don't know. Maybe I just got discouraged and quit too easily. But no matter how many times I came to the conclusion that I couldn't do it, something would end up coming along and stirring up that desire in me again and I'd go back out there and try it again.
After watching Stacy Peralta's urlLink Dogtown on IFC last week and then picking up this "Yeah Right" video and watching it this weekend, I can sense that feeling coming up in me again. I told Dana last night while we were walking out of church, "I'm gonna get a skateboard. " I can hear those little voices in my head telling me it's a stupid idea. I'm too old to start now. I'm still not gonna be able to olly. But I'm still feeling that urge in me to try it again.
Even if it means cracking my skull on the sidewalk. But whatever happens, I will always be intrigued by dudes that skate. Yeah Right! is a perfect example of why I remain intrigued to this day. The people behind this video have done an incredible job and come up with maybe the best skate video I've ever seen. It's starts out with a dedication via montage to the late Keenan MIlton, with some words from one of Milton's close friends spoken over video of him skating.
It's a touching way to pay tribute to his life and what he did for the skate world. What follows is an hour and 20 minutes of some amazing street skating done by everyone on the Girl and Chocolate skateboard teams, including urlLink Mike Carroll , urlLink Rick McCrank and urlLink Eric Koston (this dude is unreal). I don't think I'll ever fail to be impressed by the inventiveness that skateboarders continue to show, making regular landscapes around them like sidewalks and park benches look like the reason they were put there was to be skated on. Thrown into the middle of all this great skating, there's a pretty amusing cameo by actor Owen Wilson ( Royal Tenenbaums , Meet The Parents , Bottle Rocket ). He does some trash talking that will have you laughing but then he backs it up and you'll definitely be shaking your head in semi-disbelief. It's pretty obvious where the video gets its name.
I can't count how many times you'll be tempted to shout "Yeah Right! " at your TV. I think each skater that's featured pulls one trick where the guys in the editing room add their little touch to make you say this. I mean, these are some unbelievable tricks being pulled by probably the most talented street skateboarders out there today, but the thing that makes this video stand out above others is the tremendous use of special effects and digital editing. It's the most visually impressive skate footage I've ever seen. I won't go into because it's probably better just to see it yourself, but I'm telling you: it absolutely kills.
Spike Jonze's contributions to this video are huge, in that respect. Also, it's got some great music playing behind the skating. I immediately had to find out who it was that re-did the Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" - it's Squarepusher, in case you were wondering. There's a few classic David Bowie cuts, Interpol's "Obstacle" and loads of other good tunes. There was one, I couldn't recall where I recognized it from. Then when the credits rolled, like a slap in the face I discovered it was Le Tigre's "Deceptacon", which was just introduced to me via the urlLink Afterburners' July 2004 CD .
Thanks, urlLink Matt B. ! Another strength of this video is the 24 minutes of outtakes found in the bonus section of the DVD. This is where you'll find all the faceplants and crotch-on-the-rail type stuff that'll have you squirming in your skin. Who can deny that this kind of stuff is a blast to watch, though. I mean, you know they end up fine afterwards. Yeah Right!
proves itself to be an instant classic in the skate video genre and is most definitely worth your money, especially if you can find it for three bucks from an antique dealer. And if it doesn't motivate you to pick up a skateboard, then I don't know what will. 
