Best. Jeans. Ever. Pt. 2 – 45 rpm Indigo

These jeans just arrived in the mail from Japan, since I scored them from Ebay. the seller was telling the truth about only having worn them twice – they feel brand new! The 45 rpm Indigo’s have the heaviest denim I’ve worn before, but it’s a wonderfully soft and organic feeling material. As a result of their one wash, they are nice soft versus the stiff feeling of unwashed raw denim. Considering that these are now my most expensive pair of jeans, it’s kinda quaint to think that denim was ever considered the fabric of the American working man.

Especially given 45 rpm’s artisanal, indigo-dyed denim that draws on Japan’s own textile tradition. Cotton threads are hand-dipped 28 times in real indigo, then woven on shuttle looms purposely slowed so that they produce a more random textured twill reflecting human imperfections. From there, the denim is sewn into the Indigo line, which means it has one wash (hand-done, of course) and retails for a mere $450.

But that’s only the beginning, since 45 rpm also sells custom washes in one-year, two-year, five-year and seven-year versions (also all hand-done) between $750 and $1,500 a pair. Get ’em here.

More pics after the jump…

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Best. Jeans. Ever. Pt. 1 – The Basics

After growing somewhat jaded with the sneaker and wristwatch game, last spring I turned my attention (obsession?) towards the world of fine denim. Much like my hunt for the perfect pair of kicks, my search began in the many boutiques around NYC, looking at and trying on ridiculously over-priced denim.

From there, and as well as online research, I got a sense of the top names in denim. Unlike the sneaker game, which is usually about obscure and/or super limited designs by major companies like Nike or Adidas, the denim game is more about small companies that are for the most part unknown by most people except stylists, fashionistas, and denim-heads. My future posts about denim will spotlight my favorite finds over the last year, but first I feel the need to explain why anyone would want to spend over $100 on a pair of jeans.

So, what makes “premium denim” so special? There are many fine points to consider when discussing denim, but to keep it simple, it’s all about four things: fabric, cut, finishing, and exclusivity.

Get schooled after the jump…
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DJ Yoda – Jewbonics

jewbonics

I recently found one of my most favorite “lost mixtapes” online – DJ Yoda’s classic “Jewbonics” tape, recorded in 1998 for Fat Lace Magazine. “Jewbonics” is one of Yoda’s first releases, coming after “Jews Paid” and “Jews Paid Too.” It’s not commercially available anywhere, and was never released on CD. Since then, Yoda’s built a successful career around his unique style of mashing up underground hiphop with obscure 80’s songs, random bits of dialog from 80’s cartoons, and comedy shows. Paired up with Dan Greenpeace, their “Unthugged” series have been in popular among UK hiphop heads.

Yoda …But in my opinion, “Jewbonics” is Yoda’s greatest work. Yeah, maybe it has something to do with the 10 zillion times I listened to the tape back in the day! I rocked it so much that the tape broke and I had to re-spliced it. Yet, even now I gotta say that Yoda’s turntable work on this mix outshines his later mixes. Plus, it features tracks and freestyles from MF Doom, Mr. Lif, O.C., the Aspects, Jurassic 5, and more. It’s funky, weird, and hilarious.

The rip I found online is pretty good, although it has some small glitches here and there. Having been recorded from the original tape, it’s still extremely iPod-worthy. Compared to the non-stop flow of mashup / remix hipster-hop DJ mixes popping up on blogs these days, this mix will hit you like a breeze of true creativity. Listen to this mix and it’ll make your head bob and put a smile on your face. Tracklist after the jump…

Listen Now:

Click here to download “DJ Yoda – Jewbonics”

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1979-2006: A HipHop Odyssey – 800 Tracks in 48 Minutes!

hiphop mix odyssey

800 hip hop songs from 1979 to 2006 mixed by DJ Jaguar Skills and hosted by Lord Basis Supreme. This mix is truly amazing – for any old school hiphop head this is like… overload, really! But in a good way. Before you even have time to think that you wish you could hear more of a few seconds of a song, it’s on to another great tune. This is a really unique and mind-blowing trip through hiphop, for the true school heads only.

Listen Now:

Download it now.

View the tracklisting here… it’s a long one!