RIFF MARKET

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Throughout this week and probably next, Riff Market is proud to publish some friends' remarks on Music 2006, with the emphasis on riffs. Each contributor was asked to spend only 35 minutes on his piece, though there were no particulars given topic-wise. Check back mid-day for the next one. Thanks for reading. --NBS

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YEAR IN RIFFS: MANHATTAN CEREAL
2% Lycra

Buying new jeans - better or worse than a humiliating experience at ALIFE Rivington Club during which I was tricked into buying the women's version of the Air Max 1s.

I didn't wear jeans from 1995-2001, but by 2001 I felt ready to buy a pair of "cool" jeans. So, when Jasmine Sola Men offered an opening weekend sale on jeans, I went for them. They turned out to be 2% lycra or something, way too much, and my college roommates stole them, stretched them over several layers of pants, and ran around in "Win's new denim snowpants."

A month later, I bought a pair of black jeans on sale at the Gap. My friends tore me to shreds (see pic above).

Spring of 2003: I spent 2 weeks quietly walking in and out of the Diesel store, questioning my values, wondering why I'd felt a terrible need to conform in recent years, and worrying that it will only get worse. I took a $130 plunge, and they were awesome - they fit perfectly, I loved them, and the spandex was not an issue.

I wore them for 3.5 years - wore them out. They tore in November, and I realized that it was finally time to buy new ones. I'd spent recent months glancing at jeans at "cool" stores, and I was resolved to find the most expensive, stove pipiest, tightest, rawest Japanese denim. I found them at Odin, which I'm pretty sure is a cool store in the East Village. The storekeepers ignored me for 20 minutes as I struggled to find my size. The jeans were completely unlabeled, which I liked, but it was a bit challenging to find 34s. Finally, after serving myself under the dirty gazes of the storekeepers, I went to the dressing room and tried a few different cuts. I steeled myself to keep going tighter and tighter...and, because I was scared to walk out of the store without spending money, I decided to buy them.

"Um, we have those in raw denim," muttered the guy at the register. My heart fluttered. "Oh, uh, really. Uh, I, uh, I guess I'll get those instead."

They hurt my legs. They're stiff and uncomfortable. They'll stain my body, shoes, shirts, and furniture for 6 months (this isn't a joke). I can't wash them until next summer, at which point I'm supposed to take a cold shower while wearing them. They're already loosening up a bit in the wrong places, and it's my fault. Odin was playing Bloc Party on its stereo. When I got home, I looked up the brand online - yup, a big deal in 2005. And not in 2006. It's not as though I wasn't warned. 12 RIFFS

91 YEAR-END RIFFS

Labels: year-in-riffs-2006