[>>DOWNLOAD HYPERLINK<<](https://www.mediafire.com/file/hn2ck5q2k51p22k/FINALS_ISSUE-01.pdf/file)

Pub. November 2020

Featuring: 
- All Gas No Brakes 
- Big Crown Records 
- Laura Sullivan Cassidy 
- Angela Garbes 
- Meaghan Garvey 
- Steve Hiett
- Light in the Attic 
- Lil Keed 
- Michael Kucyk 
- Patrick Milgram 
- Jen Monroe 
- Hank Reavis 
- Soccer Mommy 
- Strath Shepard 
- Tammie Teclemariam 
- Utah State University

Edit: Andrew Matson/Spencer Manio

Design: Ryan Diaz

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Finals Issue No. 01 Now Avail for Free.99

![favfootwear2021.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/favfootwear2021_589d1965cf.png)

These are the top 10 shoes of the year! In no specific order, except my number one, which is last. My personal picks anyway. And yeah, the year isn't over, but it's far enough along that some amount of retrospection feels right. For more backwards-looking content, see [DLo's Top Five Favorite Films of 2021 (So Far)](https://finals.blog/posts/DLo's-Top-Five-Favorite-Films-of-2021-(So-Far)). 

Stay tuned for more shoe lists from Finals teammates Miles Bell and Spencer Manio. 

![acg.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/acg_ace3c19438.jpg)

**Nike ACG Mountain Fly** - Such a fresh silhouette. The big GORE-TEX hit on the center zipper (not pictured) is sick too. Regret not buying these. 

![toddsnyderwallie.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/toddsnyderwallie_76256a1051.jpg)

**Todd Snyder Wallabee in brown paisley** - Todd the god doesn't get a lot of cool points in the hypeworld but do you really want to matter in that world? [Read this piece](https://www.gq.com/story/the-new-american-sportswear) to understand why Snyder matters and use your damn eyeballs to see why these shoes are on my list.  

![bricksandwoodnewbalance.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/bricksandwoodnewbalance_cb0d4a49c3.jpg)

**Bricks & Wood New Balance 54/70** - South Central, LA, brand Bricks & Wood dumbed out on this colorway of what I'm pretty sure is a new model for NB. Sometimes a brand freaks an existing shoe's colors and it's a mess (ahem, the Awake/ASICS Kayanos, which look like someone got high and went on NikeID) and other times they make an instant classic. These are classics. 

![vivasics.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/vivasics_7794e4fb16.jpg)

**Vivienne Westwood Gel-Kayano 27 Ltx** - ASICS was the shoe brand of the year, with the freshest collabs and the most influential designs and colors –– please argue with me about this –– and the only brand on my list twice. BOTH their 2021 Vivienne Westwood collabs were hot, the basket-looking ones and these zip up moon boots. The boots are more my style. They remind me of the Gary Paytons with the sleeve and zipper. As a huge proponent of purple shoes, I endorse the lavender colorway. 

![DMXapproach.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/DM_Xapproach_e372cfe119.jpg)

**Reebok DMX Trail Shadow Approach** - Initially I thought these looked like bites of some prior Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS but eventually I came around to seeing their greatness. Reebok might be second behind ASICS as the sickest footwear brand out right now, with visionary sneakers for Kanghyuk and Pyer Moss, and a mainline collection that includes nostalgia classics and major competition for Nike. These basically are ACGs but better. Although I was bummed to read about their Human Rights Now collection being stolen from an idea 18 East pitched them, I'm still super intrigued by what Reebok is doing in the collab space and in general.  

![ALDNB.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/ALDNB_33b7221922.jpg)

**Aimé Leon Dore New Balance 550** - Basically an adidas Forum with great vintage-y colors that make the shoe age well, the ALD NB 550 is hard to argue with. It's just classic and dope. It will probably go down as most sneakerheads' shoe of the year. It seemed like everyone in NYC was wearing them this summer. Sometimes, everybody's right.  

![fogcalifornia.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/fogcalifornia_2a717ac2bd.jpg)

**FEAR OF GOD California** - If you wanna learn about FOG's footwear program, [read this piece](https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/a34617844/ernesto-avenia-fashion-production-consultant-profile-interview/) I wrote in Esquire. If you wanna talk about the one footwear trend to rule them all in 2021, it was the mule, and this was the freshest one. Increasingly I have less room in my life for the aesthetic that can be termed "clean," but when it's done this well, there's no denying a strong minimalist execution. 

![braindeadkikoasics.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/braindeadkikoasics_10c740d6a6.jpg)

**Kiko Kostaindov x Braindead x ASICS Gel-Fratelli 960** - A true Frankenstein's monster of a shoe that, for me, works. From what I understand, Kiko (now a creative director at ASICS) designed one shoe and Kyle Ng designed the other –– see if you can tell who did which –– and they go together because they said so. These make me remember that style is supposed to be fun. 

![ourlegacymule.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/ourlegacymule_c33a742d5a.jpg)

**Our Legacy Camion** - As stated, the mule was the trendiest silhouette of the year –– at one point this summer I was wearing one of my three pairs of Bostons and ran into three other guys also wearing Bostons ON MY BLOCK –– and this was the second freshest one after the FOG Cali. I really gave these a second look after Josh Peskowitz styled them crazy for some [Matches Man sponcon](https://www.instagram.com/p/CRd1UEIrXZ9/) and now I can't stop thinking about them. Great shoes that I would 100% rock with some of my more "adult" and less-sporty fits. I would buy except I have too many mules. 

![kikoasics.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/kikoasics_0b052f9aca.jpg)

**ASICS UB2-S GEL-1130** - [Go to asics.com and search "Kiko"](https://www.asics.com/us/en-us/search/?q=kiko&lang=en_US) and you an see all the shoes that the Kiko Kostadinov design team worked on. Not the official collabs, mind you, but the mainline shoes that the Kiko team is involved with –– mainly as color experts, I assume, though there is also the shared detail of the twisted tongue pull. I bought these shoes based on the outstanding "Deep Mars" color. Basically they are replacements for the official collab Kiko/ASICS Gel Burz-2 terracottas that I bought a few years ago and ran into the ground (and which now go for a rack on Stockx smh). I wanted to keep wearing something earthy on my feet, and not only is this color beautiful but it's simply not something you're going to see anywhere else. Shout out to making general release shoes hype. $100 is what a cool, fairly basic sneaker SHOULD cost (or less imhhhho). 

Andrew Matson's Top 10 Shoes of 2021 (So Far)

Paul

Definitely gonna check out that justice league movie tonight

![DLO.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/DLO_ae1a64ed35.png)

Shouts to first-time writer DLo, our new movie correspondent. A while back he tweeted, "ppl keep telling me i could do podcasts or movie/music reviews n sum more shit but i honestly don’t think my opinions are good enuff tbh." Well guess what DLo, we think your opinions are more than good enough. In fact we think they're "rumored to be among the best"! So we asked him what his fav shyt was from this year so far, knowing that his taste is generally for sci-fi, psychological thrillers, and horror. Take it away DLo!

-Andrew

--

*Hey everyone! I’m DLo and these are my top five favorite films of 2021 so far. It’s been such a weird year for movies due to COVID delays and the new idea of releasing films on streaming services the same day as theater releases. I personally thought it was a cool thing at first but now seeing how much money actors and theaters are losing due to big movie studios trying to get eyes on their products, it seems very frustrating. But big companies are always trying to stretch their money as far as they can no matter who they step on, sadly. Anyway enough of that, let’s get right into the reviews.*

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BpdDN9d9Jio" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

**A Quiet Place 2 ** - John Krasinski does it again with the sequel to his blockbuster hit A Quiet Place. It’s fascinating to me how the cast can use the least amount of dialogue but still be able to invoke an absurd amount of emotion with their eyes and facial expressions. The most terrifying scene in the movie is when the monsters first attack and it’s captured from the perspective of the deaf daughter Regan, who is played by Millicent Simmonds. You could hear a pin drop in the theater and the chaos that ensued had everyone extremely tense. Emily Blunt and the supporting cast kills it, but I hope this is the end of the line because there’s not much you can tell from this story anymore. UNLESS they choose to bring a new family into the story in a totally different location, it’ll just be the same redundant story we’ve already got the most out of. Not much you can do when the story is about alien monsters who can kill anything they hear at the blink of an eye. 8.5/10. 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oyMOBcDMS6c" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

**Fear Street Trilogy** - If you have tremendous love for old school slasher films based around demonic entities and curses this trilogy is for you. Even though part one isn’t as strong as the other two, it still holds up fairly well. Part two and three have some of the best horror we’ll probably see this year, excluding the Candyman reboot coming this month. Fear Street does everything right, from the cast bringing as much emotion into each scene as possible and keeping the plot steady moving, to the directors and writers getting the absolute most out of every scene with solid set design and camera panning. The tension building was pretty good as well because up until the killers show themselves, you’re thinking nothing is going to go wrong. The twist in part three was my favorite because up until then, you really believe you have the whole story figured out but…no. 8.5/10

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vM-Bja2Gy04" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

**Zack Snyder’s Justice League** - This is one of the best comic book movies ever made hands down. Marvel should take note on how you can tell a good story with complex characters and still keep the tone gritty and not overdo the witty one liners. Zack Snyder captures his vision perfectly and I don’t mind the film being four hours long. If you take breaks between each part it keeps you fully engaged. The only thing I would change is that ridiculous music that played whenever Wonder Woman came on screen. It made me cringe every single time. I wish we could get a continuation but it seems like Warner Bros has spent their last cent on Zack and his vision. 8/10 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/odM92ap8_c0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

**Godzilla v. Kong** - I know this movie is based around two cgi juggernauts but it’s entertaining as ****. Millie Bobbie Brown sort of takes a backseat in this one as we see Brian Tyree Henry carry the torch and steal most scenes. Loved how we got to see a little bit of Hollow Earth and I hope we can get some kind of prequel showing the different origins from that location. And don’t get me started on the huge fight between Godzilla and Kong, it was definitely one for the ages. S/o to the vfx team cause I know they put in long hours for that scene. 7.5/10 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h9Q4zZS2v1k" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

**The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It** - Ed and Lorraine Warren are easily my favorite horror movie couple. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga do a great job at capturing their chemistry and admiration for each other. This one is also based on a true story like the other two Conjuring movies, about Arne Johnson, who murders his landlord due to being possessed. The Warrens step in to defend his case, by stating Arne wasn’t himself. The film feels like a race against time because they are trying to get the demon out of Arne before it can kill him, which I find sort of exhilarating. It’s a nice send-off for the Warren family and a good end to the trilogy. 8.5/10

*Photo by the homie Julio*

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DLo's Top Five Favorite Films of 2021 (So Far)

More mess for your dresser 

![leekygbando.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/leekygbando_b7f7ba9ebc.png)

BK drill merch is rare and not only does [this Structure Up stuff](https://structureup.net/collections/all?page=1) look cool, but Leeky G Bando is one of the best in the game and it's his line. Buy it and then listen to "Real Life."

![f1lthy.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/f1lthy_19f80c0150.png)

Right now Working On Dying producer F1lthy is on his victory lap, having handled hella beats on Whole Lotta Red, the album of this year (2021) despite coming out last December. Celebrate him by buying [this tee](https://veryfilthyshit.com/collections/filthy-clothes/products/wakeupf1lthy%C2%AE-x-filthy%C2%AE-tee), made with the brand Filthy, appropriately enough. It's printed inside-out, which I fw. 

![chastitybelt.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/chastitybelt_54f2b8c9c9.png)

We've included Chastity Belt in these roundups before and for good reason: their COOL SLUT merch is iconic. Get  [the beanie](https://chastity-belt.bandcamp.com/merch/cool-slut-beanie). Classic shit.  

![pattismith.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/pattismith_678ea91a41.png)

Portland bootleggers Copycat Video are back with more heat, including [this Patti Smith shirt](https://copycatvideopress.bigcartel.com/product/patti-smith-t-shirt). Buy it and bump "Pissing In a River."

![wiccaphase.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/wiccaphase_11068d7204.png)

These [Wicca Phase sweats](https://www.copes.shop/collections/patreon-early-access/products/spider-sweatpants) are next level, with the unbunched ankles, rhinestone details, and of course the Gothboiclique GBC. He rarely slacks on merch but this drop with Copes is chef's kiss. 

Merch Roundup: Leeky G Bando, F1lthy, Chastity Belt, Patti Smith, Wicca Phase Spring Eternal x Copes

GuyWhoDidThatThing

This was such a nice explanation for some poor schmuck who just tripped into this black hole. Amazing shit that tickles my dumbass brain cells just right.

![wtfisdariacore.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/wtfisdariacore_45f83b63a5.png)

<iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 470px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=304118314/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://dltzk.bandcamp.com/album/dariacore">dariacore by leroy</a></iframe>

With only a cursory knowledge of Dariacore myself –– Dariacore being the digicore spinoff started by Dltzk under the alias Leroy, whose foundational "dariacore" album is embedded above –– I asked the esteemed [@billdifferen](https://twitter.com/billdifferen) to break it down for me, and to make me a Best of Dariacore playlist. 

They obliged, and that playlist is below. Consider it a crash course to what has been described as "buncha zoomers making bitcrushed mashups."

<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/1294578841&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/billdifferent" title="motherfuckin goddamn (┛◉Д◉)┛" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">motherfuckin goddamn (┛◉Д◉)┛</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/billdifferent/sets/best-of-dariacore" title="best of dariacore" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">best of dariacore</a></div>

I don't have much to add except to say, the more I listen to this music the more I like it. It's high energy to say the least, doesn't take itself very seriously at all, and is highly intelligent in a really unpretentious way. You could overgeneralize it as smart people being stupid, and perhaps raging against "taste." But the more I write about it the wronger I'm being, so here is Billdifferen to explain just wtf is going on here.

–Andrew

> *One of my favorite things in music, especially since the advent of "internet music" since like the late '00s/early '10s, is just trying to find the craziest, most batshit stuff, and this whole Dariacore scene from this year has just been another culprit of music consisting of unbridled chaos and pure genius. My close friends when I gush about it to them are still pretty like, "Huh, what the hell is this shit?" Heard things from, "This shit is just Gen Z Girl Talk" (lmao) to "This is the craziest stuff I ever heard in my life." Haven't seen any type of music in a while with such a spectrum of extreme reactions like this. I don't think there's too many genres I can of think off the bat that even before pressing play, you seriously don't know what to expect at all (for example: a lot of electronic stuff with crazy samples, like footwork or Jersey club –– which funny enough is a big influence on Dariacore). You can find that in all of those tracks in the playlist.*

> *But for Dariacore in general, I don't think I really got deep into this big rabbit hole until recently. I had initially listened to and kept up with the Dltzk/Leroy stuff, which is the first thing you should listen to before going further in my opinion, but not until last month had I realized that there were more people making this stuff! One of my favorite things with discovering new Dariacore artists was trying to guess what different cartoon personas they were going to use. It's hilarious. Like I didn't think of the show Chalkzone in like 15 years until I came across this shit lol. But as for the music itself, there's just so much going on in just like a minute to minute-and-a-half song. It's like these artist want to make shitposts, but they're too talented to make it just a joke.*

> *There was this time on SoundCloud around like 2013 where these accounts would make legit sound shitposts that were mainly jokes called "SoundClown" (examples: [https://soundcloud.com/crotchonfire/crank-thxt](https://soundcloud.com/crotchonfire/crank-thxt) ; [https://soundcloud.com/big-room-republican/supamau5](https://soundcloud.com/big-room-republican/supamau5) ; [https://soundcloud.com/phizax/one-soundclown-to-rule-them-all](https://soundcloud.com/phizax/one-soundclown-to-rule-them-all) ; a lot of the good stuff was deleted but still). I feel almost the same cleverness with all this Dariacore stuff, especially with how often memes are sprinkled in these songs, but with obviously a lot better musicianship and sophistication.*

> *Like if you're gonna take some semi-popular '00/'10s pop song and put some breaks over it and then make it ear-piercingly loud, there's a very likely chance I will listen to it and like it. Usually whenever one of those songs make me audibly say something out loud, I have to share it with at least one person. It's just the spontaneity of it all. It's just an insane audible rollercoaster that you never want to get off of. I've sat and attempted to even try to emulate some of the stuff they're making and my mind just can't fathom what goes on in these kids' brains making this stuff. That's what makes me like it so much. Also the shameless nostalgic use of samples is another great thing about it. Especially for someone who's not necessarily old but starting to feel age, it's fun to hear a song you haven't heard in a while being sampled and torn to shreds. You would think most of the music would just be derivative to Leroy but another great thing is that artists other than them are actually finding their own sound in such a short span of time. People like Carbine and Cielle are starting to diverge from the template of Dariacore and while preserving its essence, they are making otherworldly original shit.*

> *Overall, I never fully appreciated the scene until I joined their Discord. I kind of just keep quiet in there, but you can see the community being built, despite being such a niche genre of music. There's a good bit of established Dariacore people in there who literally give feedback to others trying to make it, and they're there sharing stuff with each other. It's great and that's one of my favorite things about music: Getting together with your friends and having fun making the stuff. That's what is so great about Dariacore. That it is FUN. Nothing less. Either when getting on SoundCloud in the morning before I have to start my day or at night when I wind down, checking the Dariacore tag on there always puts a smile on my face and it just leaves me always wanting more.* 

> *–Billdifferen*

Thanks Bill!

Getting Into Dariacore with @billdifferen

Featured Post

Finals Issue No. 01 Now Avail for Free.99

Posts

Andrew Matson's Top 10 Shoes of 2021 (So Far)

DLo's Top Five Favorite Films of 2021 (So Far)

Merch Roundup: Leeky G Bando, F1lthy, Chastity Belt, Patti Smith, Wicca Phase Spring Eternal x Copes

Getting Into Dariacore with @billdifferen

Upendo Moore on Leaving Home