Best Foot Forward: A Sneaker Series (Part 4)

I’m happy to be back with another part to my Best Foot Forward series which highlights selections from my sneaker and footwear collection. The four pairs on display this week are all very different from one another, and some are very unique or unlike anything else in my collection. I’ve been looking forward to continuing this series since posting part 3, so let’s get right into it.

Pair 1 (Upper Left): Common Projects Achilles Low in Blush

The minimal silhouette and excellent Italian leather used by Common Projects on their famed Achilles Low has made this pair one of the most popular essential luxury sneakers of the past few years. This colorway, specifically, adds a pop of distinct color and flare to my wardrobe that can be paired with any outfit nicely during any of the four seasons. The blush pink is soft and nearly pastel, but also loud and attention-grabbing when paired with the right fit. I’m happy to finally have the confidence to consistently wear pink shoes without thinking twice about it, and lucky enough to be living in a place (Atlanta, GA) which is full of individuals who appreciate eccentricity and self-expression.

Pair 2 (Upper Right): Adidas Ultra Boost 1.0 Retro in Cream

When the sneaker blogs that I follow first announced that Adidas was going to be re-releasing the coveted cream colorway of their popular Ultra Boost model in it’s original “1.0” build, I knew I had to pick up a pair. I was lucky enough to have purchased the all white colorway for their retail price when they first released, but unfortunately couldn’t get my hands on the cream colorway and didn’t want to justify paying the hefty resell price. Now that I have these in my collection, I’m eternally grateful that Adidas decided to rerelease this iteration of the Ultra Boost. Not only are they extremely comfortable, but the unique cream color goes very well with my wardrobe year-round. These may be one of my favorite Adidas Ultra Boosts of all time.

Pair 3 (Lower Left): Rick Owens DRKSHDW Ramones in Black

These are something else. Dubbed by some as “super converse”, and “clown shoes” by others, this pair is one of the most unique in my collection. The exaggeratedly large toe box, full-length side zipper, and general bulkiness of the Ramones are attributes inconsistent the rest of the sneakers in my collection. Pairing these with an all black outfit, especially with a bomber jacket and hoodie on a cold winter day, just makes taking to the city streets feel so satisfying. I’d describe these as one of the most badass pairs in my collection when rocked with confidence, similar in attitude to my Saint Laurent Paris Wyatt boots.

Pair 4 (Lower Right): Converse X Comme Des Comme Des Garçons PLAY

Japanese fashion house Comme Des Garçons is known for their highly unique and experimental runway looks. Their streetwear line, PLAY, is generally more traditional and made easily recognizable by the bright red heart logo. CDG’s collaboration with Converse has very quickly become one of the most essential pairs of sneakers for those living in urban areas. There are multiple styles to choose from in their collaboration, but the high-top beige Chuck 70 with the “hidden heart” pictured here is my favorite of the bunch. A pop of color from the heart logo adds to any outfit, and these are certainly conversation starters as well.

I hope that these posts are insightful and informative as well as entertaining for you! Part 5 will be coming soon - I’m already looking forward to it.

2019 NBA Off-Season - Russell Westbrook To Houston Rockets Reaction

On July 11th, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted another off-season move that had fans and analysts completely shook. That’s right - the Houston Rockets have traded for former NBA MVP and perennial All-Star Russell Westbrook, giving up current point guard Chris Paul and two future 1st-round draft picks. This move came as somewhat of a surprise for me, but it wasn’t completely unexpected after Paul George’s recent move to leave Oklahoma City to join Kawhi Leonard as a Los Angeles Clipper. While many think that the reuniting and pairing of James Harden and Russell Westbrook will be explosive enough to push Houston over the hump, I’m remaining somewhat skeptical before I see how an evolved Harden and Westbrook play off of each other in Houston’s Toyota Center.

These two MVPs once nearly made it to the promised land only to have their championship dreams squashed by LeBron James and the Miami Heat. The two (and Kevin Durant, eventually) went separate ways and have been unable to find enough success to get back to the NBA Finals since. Only Kevin Durant who went to Golden State was able to get himself back to, and eventual win, multiple NBA titles. The trio of Harden, Westbrook, and Durant likely wouldn’t have been able to make it past their Western Conference competition had one of them been absent, but having shared championship experience and MVP quality play over the past years bodes well for both Harden and Westbrook’s recent reuniting. The problems I see for Houston moving forward are the adaptations that Harden and Westbrook have made during their time apart and how well their offensive styles will mesh on the court.

Russell Westbrook, to me, is a more of a shoot-first player than Chris Paul is. We all know he’s enough of a facilitator to average and break triple-double records, but that also comes from putting up many low-percentage shots and at times playing too aggressively. James Harden has also developed into a strong ISO player who thrives in man coverage situations. Unless the NBA establishes a new rule that introduces a second basketball into play, the Rockets may have trouble keeping all of their role players and stars engaged and involved offensively. A Westbrook-Harden-Gordon-Tucker-Capela lineup (with the possible substitution of Tucker for Andre Iguodala) is an impressive one, but one that I could see having occasional cold games which could keep them from thriving in the playoffs against other deep Western Conference teams.

This new NBA era of strong player duos will be an interesting one. I think that the best teams will be those that play less positionless basketball with more defensive focus and have the best depth instead of the most superstars and all-stars. While the Rockets will still likely be one of the top-seeded Western Conference teams, I don’t know if they have what it takes yet to win it all quite yet. I’m sure that there will be plenty more to analyze and predict as this wild NBA off-season continues.

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Far From Home

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the first film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Far From Home is an inherently important movie because it establishes which direction the MCU will take after losing two of its main heroes and finally defeating Thanos in its most recent film. As a lifelong fan of Marvel comics, characters, and films, I couldn’t be more satisfied in what Spider-Man: Far From Home turned out to be. I grew up watching and have a lot of nostalgia for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films starring Tobey Maguire, but Tom Holland is quickly becoming my favorite of the recent friendly neighborhood castings.

This iteration of Spider-Man is in such a sweet spot for me. MJ is around as a love interest, Uncle Ben is gone but living on through Peter, Aunt May is a strong presence in Parker’s life, and yet us fans weren’t put through another origin story for Holland’s take on the character. Marvel has a respect for its fans’ intelligence that shines through its films and is likely what makes them so popular and highly-profitable. The balance between keeping Peter as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and following in the footsteps of the late Tony Stark is struck perfectly in this movie as Peter is still a high-school student, but who is also discovering the technologies that Stark was so infatuated with for his entire life. At its root, this is still a coming-of-age story about a teen facing stress in finding himself and his place in the world, which is likely why I enjoy these movies and this character as much as I do.

Seeing one of my favorite childhood villains on the big screen in Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio is best described as “Spider-tingle” inducing. The modern take on illusions and misinformation provided by Mysterio was executed incredibly well, and the illusion sequences throughout the movie, specifically one toward the middle of the film, were breathtaking. Gyllenhaal’s chemistry with Holland was very convincing, and the expected twist early in the movie was also done well. Marvel continues to improve the CGI and special effects in these movies, making them more and more immersive. This movie followed Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which was one of my favorite movies last year, very well, not letting me down after the incredible graphics in last year’s animated film.

Pacing issues toward the beginning of the movie and a slightly underdeveloped “villain” presence in the Elementals (which still looked great) knock this film down a notch for me, but Mysterio and Spider-Man made my viewing experience incredibly enjoyable. The recent inclusion of so much humor in Marvel’s films continued here, too, as this movie was very funny at times but serious when it needed to be. All of the performances from top-billing down to supporting cast like Zendaya and Jon Favreau were excellent. The film’s post-credits scene sets things up for another sequel which I will definitely have marked on my calendar. Also, J.K. Simmons reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson from The Daily Bugle just put it over the top for me. Even though I may be biased as Spider-Man is my favorite superhero (which was solidified by this movie), this one was a home-run in my book.

SCORE: 8/10

Album Review: No.6 Collaborations Project - Ed Sheeran

Two years after his critically acclaimed and commercially successful album Divide (÷), Ed Sheeran returns to the new music listings with a highly collaborative album, which seems to have been in development for quite some time. After what was to me a complete flop in DJ Khaled’s recent album Father Of Asahd, I was very hesitant in hoping for anything better than average from this Sheeran project. While it’s far from perfect, this album did more of what Khaled set out to do than he was able to, and I can see quite a few of these tracks getting lots of radio play and social media praise.

What makes collaborative albums so difficult for many artists is managing the cohesiveness of the entire project despite showcasing so many featured artists ranging in genre, mood, and sound. Referencing the fact that this is a collaborative project in the album’s title was a smart move, in my opinion, because there is very little sonic similarity from track to track. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but instead of being one continuous project, it can come off as a bit of choppy at times. The order of the track listing also doesn’t make sense at times, either, like the sudden transition from “Take Me Back to London” which is a rap banger featuring a hard-hitting Stormzy, to a heart-felt ballad in “Best Part of Me” featuring YEBBA. The sudden changes in mood could’ve been avoided by pairing more similar tracks together throughout; a simple change that could’ve really improved the assembly of this project instead of sounding as shuffled as it does.

This album is very lyrically generic and radio-friendly, and again that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but also isn’t ideal to me. Many of the tracks will get the plays and streams needed to perpetuate a pop-genre that is becoming more and more polished and less and less experimental in nature. It even at times feel like some of the songs on this project were generated by an AI which listened to every popular radio-hit in recent memory and was told to make songs of its own. I’m looking at you, “I Don’t Care" (with Justin Bieber) - not the highlight of the project to me.

Some of the project’s highlights that make it above-par to me are certain features that stand out above the rest. Khalid, Camilla Cabello, Travis Scott, and H.E.R don’t seem out of place like some of the other features do, but instead play off of Ed Sheeran very well. Sheeran’s ability to step out of his comfort zone and embrace a more rap-influenced style, even spitting the occasional halfway-decent bars throughout this project, is impressive and commendable considering that he could’ve easily played it much safer here. “Antisocial” is the biggest gem from this project to me, but that may just be because of how much I enjoy Travis Scott’s presence on any track. The song’s eclectic music video also reassures that neither Sheeran nor his collaborators took anything too seriously when creating this project, which is probably a good thing.

Overall, I find this album to be an enjoyable collection of radio-friendly summer tracks. There are questionable moments throughout, but enough positive counterbalance to call this a successful project from Sheeran. I’m interested to see if working with artists from genres other than his own will have any influence on his solo work moving forward - we will see. What did you think of this project?

SCORE: 5/10

I Think My Taste In Music Is Changing... And Why That Isn't A Bad Thing

If you had asked me in either middle or high school which musical genres and artists I enjoyed listening to at the time, I would’ve quickly and resoundingly responded with rap and listed whichever rappers were popular at the moment in the music scene. While a bulk of what I was listening to at the time is completely radio-driven and surface level, some of the artists I listened to back then still hold a place in my musical library. Those artists, Kendrick Lamar for example, are still relevant to me today because of the lyrical complexity in their music and their willingness to take risks in sound and production. If you ask me what kind of music I’m listening to now, I have a different answer for you. The only rap that I listen to is introspective, lyrically complex, and has a message bigger than anything surface level. What I’ve been discovering recently is newer hip-hop and rap music just isn’t delivering the emotional depth, story-telling, and soul that I look for in good music, but there are other genres that do supply just that. In short, my tastes are changing.

I first heard Father John Misty’s music when he was a guest on Saturday Night Live in March of 2017. His chilling performance of “Total Entertainment Forever”, one of my favorites of his, intrigued me because it was lyrically complex and unlike anything I had heard before. Misty’s indie folk music performance that night opened a door for me to the rest of his brilliant discography and before long I was at the front row of one of his concerts singing along to every word of every song. Spotify’s recommendations led me to similar artists like Fleetwood Mac, Jason Isbell, and Sara Bareilles, and over time my tastes were slowly moving away from rap and hip-hop. Don’t get me wrong, I still love and listen to a lot of rap music like Travis Scott’s Astroworld and BROCKHAMPTON’s SATURATION trilogy, but these and similar offerings often don’t paint pictures as vivid as a lot of the Americana, indie, folk, and old country music (none of that country pop crap and especially not Old Town Road, don’t even get me started on country rap) that I’ve been listening to lately. For example, Jason Isbell’s “Anxiety” hit me in an emotional spot that no rap music has been able to in a very, very long time.

The point I’m trying to make in this post is that middle school Andy never would’ve pictured that his music tastes could change so dramatically and so quickly, but they have, and that is a good thing. As we garner new life experiences, meet and make connections with new people, and develop in character, our tastes grow and change to reflect that. I find comfort in the fact that I’m maturing and evolving as a person to be able to appreciate new art and music that causes me to feel things and relate to artists that have gone through similar experiences. If you aren’t really listening intently to the music that’s playing, why listen at all? Sure, some music can serve as good background noise at times, but I now think that I relate more with the overall message and contents of the folk/Americana/indie I’ve been listening to than I do with rap, and that is completely okay.

Linked below is a playlist I’ve made featuring the kind of music I’ve been listening to lately. I may be biased, but I highly recommend it. Some of the artists include Father John Misty, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, Sara Bareilles, Chris Stapleton, Fleetwood Mac, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, and many more. Enjoy, and don’t be afraid to evolve!

SPOTIFY LINK: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0rBGrVqtatPXMLPUnbPqiz?si=SMsdK5pnSkWU-le2ELYQdA