Billabong x Andy Warhol x a surf masterpiece.
Sometimes a piece of surf writing sparks across the digital sky so brightly, so brilliantly, that it is a sin not to stand and stare. And I present Stab’s Morgan Williamson’s Andy Warhol x Billabong party description from yesterday. Each sentence, each use of the passive, each run-on sings to me. It is art. It is poetry. It is a towering achievement in surf writing.
Read every phrase slowly. Let each roll around in your mind. Savor. Go back through and re-read. See if you can’t find a different, more subtle rendering. Pick a favorite. Pin it on your wall.
And without further ado ladies and gentlemen… Morgan Williamson.
There’s always an excuse for a few too many before the weekend hits, and the Billabong Warhol Launch Party served as just that.
Across the tainted boardwalk of Venice, hand-painted signs condemning Snapchat’s IPO and overall presence in Venice, at the Rose Room, the collection premiered.
Tracy Bryant, Sextile. Roya, Reverberation Radio and Aquarium Drunkyard provided the tunes and House Beer, Deep Eddie Vodka and Bacoo Rum provided the social lubrication.
Chords were plugged in, bands played, and the Thursday night folk timidly shuffled to the beat–it started slow, as 7 pm was for the awkward loosening up, post 9 pm was for becoming unscrewed.
Maybe it was a product of the free alcohol, music, or the factory vibe presented by the Warhol Collection–whatever it was, a pre-weekend shindig worthy of the workday hangover came to fruition.
Taj Burrow, Tyler Warren, Paul Fisher, Tai Graham and other notables rolled through.
We shot, we drank, and wrote and edited the above clip while a little dizzy when we got home last night.
So, here’s to the weekend, Friday in the US, Saturday in Oz–there’s no better cause than nothing at all…
Mic drop.
I don’t get the fascination with Warhol. All he did was take already popular imagines and add wacky colors and duplicate imagines. I suppose the irony is clear for bong to repackage a repackage. I get it now…I think.
Yep, about as interesting as a can of Campbell’s Soup!
“Only A Surfer Knows The Feeling” – Andy Warhol
i didnt think i could h8 the surf world more. thanks bong and warhol. a new low.
Just watched that cunt David Haye get the shit beat out of him, reminded me of wiggs treatment of poor Morgan in the Stab comments section. But, and it’s a big but, Morgan won my eternal respect when he posted that video of his surfing up on stab for all to critique. I’m not good at anything, and that’s ok, I’m certainly not very good at surfing but heaven help the cunt that points that out to me, and shit when Ando gets his surfing ripped to shit in the comments, for Morgan to volunteer for the inevitable hazing, well that is Hemingway level bravery from a surf scribe!
That is the exact moment when my chortle at Morgan became a full gasp of respect. That vid represents the very height of bravery. And I can’t wait to buy him a drink.
Chas, quick question for you which needs a quick response, out on the beer with a good friend who is leaving the country, he has a massive wad of cash in his wallet, and he is adamant he is heading for the casino! He’ll lose all his money, it’s a months wage, I suggested he leave some of it behind but he is “fuck you this is one of my last nights here”, should I let him at it, or should I intervene, two pints ago he was talking about having an early night!
Son of a bitch…… let it ride always!
You should have an agony aunt column on here!
I actually though the Bong/Warhol collab was fake noos.
It’s for real and people are getting paid to write about it…….thats , thats …….something.
Yeah I thought it was fake too
Why would I want to buy an Andy Warhol Billabong shirt? That was a weird sentence to type
What? You want a surf company employing hordes of ‘designers’ to come up with something original when there is so much retro to be mined?
Wait for fluro to make a comeback.
How about Billabong just dig Andy Iron’s corpse out of his grave and market that? … oh wait a minute, done that already, whoopsy
it’s like that movie “The Fly” when the two completely unrelated creatures get in a matter combining device and out comes, well god knows what really
ah write about Quik being high ,and an iragashi youth brand or BB being a groovy new Hipster brand, so who’s on the money$$??
Being a Bitch is an artform
Jesus Stababong, please leave the good people from Aquarium Drunkard (Drunkyard?) out of this.
Looks like William Finnegan is ghostwriting for Stab now. I could really feel myself drowning in alcohol to hide the insecurities of mingling with such beautiful people
After that total piece of shit you posted yesterday about Warhol doing air reverses or whatever, I’d be wary slamming anybody else’s writing.
How is this considered a slam? It is art!
Aloha Akbar !
Chas, always punch above your weight class.
Did you not find it absolutely brilliant?
Imagine if Bruce irons started sarcastically posting clips of Dave cathels and laughing at him. The very talented, very seasoned, and sometimes unhinged pro making fun of a less talented rookie isn’t a good look. Love your writing but man you seem like a dick here.
Oh hell. I’m not being sarcastic!
Sure, but what do you really expect when someone is asked to write about a Thursday night party celebrating obvious hipster pandering. It would be cool if Billabong would try to redo their image by hiring some designers and creative directors with real vision instead of licensing some mainstream pop-art. We as a culture are capable of more, yes?
But I guess that’s what I was getting at. Billabong threw a lame collab party with pasty Stab. I clicked on the story and read all the way through and came out the other side thinking “amazing.” Morg Williamson succeeded far beyond any measure. Far beyond Billabong’s lack of vision and Stab’s pussiness. And for that I was commending him.
I’m not sure if “Chords were plugged in” is an “amazing” pun or poor spelling tainting MW’s magnum opus.