Editor’s Note: The majority of this article is removed temporarily, beginning July 1, as it’s in the process of being considered for a book publication. It is available in a hard copy at Point Loma Nazarene University and will be accessible online again in the coming months.
Using headphones at the skatepark is not always ideal. It blocks your senses and you never know when a pro or a toddler will skate into your blindspot and cry about you ruining their line. That said, music can be a great way to set the tone of a skate sesh when the park is empty, cruising down the sidewalk or blasting a speaker if you have that “idgaf” energy. Here are 10 albums, listed in no particular order, for such situations.
- Death Grips – “Year of the Snitch”
Nothing says “smash my skateboard on the concrete ’til it breaks” like Death Grips. This record combines the guitar-driven ear-canal destruction of “The Powers that B” with the melody-centered songwriting of “The Money Store.” This is one of their shortest records at just 37 minutes, but the rapid-fire run of songs keeps the sound refreshing and eclectic. There’s a lot of intricate details in the production if you give it a close listen, but it just as easily falls to the background when you need to lock in.
*The rest of this article has been temporarily removed. See Editor’s Note.
Abbey Wicks 
Nick Hancock