This week, I’ll be continuing the theme of past inspirations; focusing on the second decade of my life. Thankfully, I have a much better memory of this era, though I’m going to side-step the teenage angst as much as possible… If you haven’t read part one in this series, you can view that post here.
Album of the week:
The album of the week is Coldplay’s 2008 release Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Though Coldplay has been a polarizing band for as long as I’ve been a fan, this album stands out to me as the musical “aha! moment” of my teenage years. Not only was the music itself refreshingly original, but I loved the way they chose to embrace the French Revolution aesthetic. This was a bold departure from the more angsty, contemporary vibes of X&Y. I should say, more specifically, I’m referring to the slightly later Viva la Vida (Prospekt’s March Edition) with Life in Technicolor II and Lost+ (ft. Jay-Z). Although the two songs that really sold me on the album were Lovers in Japan and Strawberry Swing, on the initial release, there is something about Prospekt’s March as a B-side that makes the experience feel complete.
““Scared of losing all the time”, he wrote it in a letter. He was a friend of mine. He heard you could see your future inside a glass of water; the ripples and the lines. And he asked, “Will I see heaven in mine?”” - Glass of Water, Prospekt’s March.
Visit the band’s website, stream the album on YouTube, or get a physical copy on Discogs.
Live performance of the week:
Admittedly, I never really got into live music in my teens… As I was just getting into high school during the early stages of modern YouTube, I had more than enough studio albums and music videos to keep me busy. However, when I started thinking about live performances, the first one that came to mind is The Hives’ 2006 “Live Medley”, where they managed to weave a thread through songs from Outkast, Compulsive Gamblers, and even Three 6 Mafia. Unfortunately, as this performance originally aired on TV in Sweden, I’ve been unable to find it posted by an official source. However, the internet never forgets, and you can still find it here, or via your favorite search engine.
Photo credit: thehives.com
Vehicle of the week:
This car, continuing with the theme of polarizing artistry, marked a turning point for both my understanding of what car customization could be, as well as the value of independent publications. I’m talking about, of course, Mike Burroughs’ BMW E28 ‘Rusty Slammington’. While aimlessly browsing the internet during class, I stumbled onto what were the early days of both Speedhunters, and Mike’s own Stanceworks, where I discovered Rusty in “his” first iteration: a slammed, rat rod 535i powered by a Toyota 1JZ inline-six. Shortly after Mike buttoned up the car in 2010, it fell victim to a devastating garage fire in 2011. Instead of giving up, Mike completely redesigned the car and built a second iteration; essentially grafting and refitting the charred body panels to a custom, wide-body, tube chassis powered by a built BMW S38 inline-six. Though the end result is certainly impressive, the original Rusty Slammington holds a special place in my heart.
While there isn’t much coverage left of the original car, Mike still has a retrospective article here. You can check out Speedhunters’ coverage of the 2011 garage fire here, and the second iteration’s 2015 SEMA debut here.
Photo credit: Mike Burroughs, stanceworks.com
Gear of the week:
This week, I’ll be talking about the guitar amplifier I acquired at 17; the Marshall AVT150H. After selling off a few Epiphone Les Pauls, and scraping together some Christmas money, I managed to buy a used AVT150 half-stack, and, shortly after, swapped the AVT 4x12 cabinet for a Marshall 1960 Lead 4x12 cabinet (the real, made-in-England version). The AVT150, which translates to “Advanced Valvestate Technology” and a 150-watt power output, is a tube-hybrid amplifier, utilizing vacuum tubes in the preamp section and a solid-state, transistor-based power amplifier. This allowed you to get the classic tube saturation Marshall is known for, while keeping the master volume low enough for, in my case, playing in the basement. This combination was my primary amp rig from 2011 to 2020. Was it the best Marshall amp? I would argue “no”. It was a bit finicky, and, in my opinion, was overloaded with features and effects. However, it served a purpose, sounded good enough, and gave me the satisfaction of seeing that white Marshall script logo every time I walked by it. Sometimes that’s enough.
Photo credit: miltonwares.com
That’s all for this installment of In-Flux. Hopefully, you’ve found something inspiring or thought-provoking to take with you throughout the coming week. If you’d like to stay up-to-date with Stoops Worldwide, and have my posts delivered directly to your inbox, click the subscribe button below. If you’re already subscribed, thank you!
Create without compromise.
-Kurtis