Automotive Subculture: Swangin' 'n Bangin'
09-27-09, 03:41 PM
#1
Out of Warranty
Thread Starter
Automotive Subculture: Swangin' 'n Bangin'
Houston prides itself on being the world's center of technologies from energy, to medicine, to aerospace, we've developed a proud culture of innovation and enterprise. We put up major architectural wonders only to tear them down in fifteen or twenty years to make room for something newer. This city is a culture in motion.
One of our subcultures somewhere between the ghetto and the barrio has produced a spin-off of hip-hop culture known as "Screw", as in DJ Screw, the a local rapper, and the latest cultural icon to litter our landscape. The music is a fusion of hip-hop and Mexican rap, and as if that weren't as bad as it sounds, there's a car culture to go with it.
The look is somewhere between low-rider and VIP, except the cars themselves are generally '60's and '70's junk that has been hammered out, bondo'ed and treated to a first rate paint job. Chrome is everywhere, including rims that are probably worth three times what the car might bring, plus a sound system - the key to the phenomenon of "Swangin' 'n Bangin'".
Minimum requirements seem to include some kind of CD head unit with a pair of 18" subs and requisite 250W amps with sufficient power to register on the Richter scale. Convertibles are best, but any coupe can qualify so long as it is LARGE and slathered in glossy paint and chrome. The interior should be custom, with neons outlining everything of significance. Now to the performance.
Don't think about speed here, remember these pieces of automotive and sonic art rarely exceed a cool 20 mph. The key here is looking cool as you cruise the street, laid back in your seat reclined in the "full gangsta" position, with one wrist dangling languidly over the steering wheel, the other embracing a rather large joint. This performance is all about chill.
Now to the piece de resistance, the aforementioned "Swangin' 'n Bangin'". As you roll down the boulevard with your sound system at ELEVEN, you juke right and left to the beat of the music. That's the "Swangin'" part. The "Bangin'" harks back to the '70's punk scene where "head bangers" were all the rage. You gotta bob your head up and down until your tiny brain is begging for mercy just before shutdown.
What's wrong with this? Well, even at low speed, the combination of noise, headbanging, the rather large spliff, and the cultural imperative of the 8-ball on the seat beside you, soon render the driver and passengers inert. Now add to this the "Swangin'" that has been known to get out of control quickly, or at least snap ancient suspension members, tie rods, drag links, and pittman arms, putting the entire performance into another car, or more often into a house or tree along the way.
Last week, this rather new cultural phenomenon produced its first fatality, when a 16 y/o decided to surf on the hood of one of these cars, with the predictable results. This fad is spreading quickly, and because it is not organized but is sort of the automotive equivalent of a flash mob or a street race, parades of vehicles nearby bars, game rooms, and other hangouts are forming regularly.
Watch for it - "Swangin'", coming to a neighborhood near you.
One of our subcultures somewhere between the ghetto and the barrio has produced a spin-off of hip-hop culture known as "Screw", as in DJ Screw, the a local rapper, and the latest cultural icon to litter our landscape. The music is a fusion of hip-hop and Mexican rap, and as if that weren't as bad as it sounds, there's a car culture to go with it.
The look is somewhere between low-rider and VIP, except the cars themselves are generally '60's and '70's junk that has been hammered out, bondo'ed and treated to a first rate paint job. Chrome is everywhere, including rims that are probably worth three times what the car might bring, plus a sound system - the key to the phenomenon of "Swangin' 'n Bangin'".
Minimum requirements seem to include some kind of CD head unit with a pair of 18" subs and requisite 250W amps with sufficient power to register on the Richter scale. Convertibles are best, but any coupe can qualify so long as it is LARGE and slathered in glossy paint and chrome. The interior should be custom, with neons outlining everything of significance. Now to the performance.
Don't think about speed here, remember these pieces of automotive and sonic art rarely exceed a cool 20 mph. The key here is looking cool as you cruise the street, laid back in your seat reclined in the "full gangsta" position, with one wrist dangling languidly over the steering wheel, the other embracing a rather large joint. This performance is all about chill.
Now to the piece de resistance, the aforementioned "Swangin' 'n Bangin'". As you roll down the boulevard with your sound system at ELEVEN, you juke right and left to the beat of the music. That's the "Swangin'" part. The "Bangin'" harks back to the '70's punk scene where "head bangers" were all the rage. You gotta bob your head up and down until your tiny brain is begging for mercy just before shutdown.
What's wrong with this? Well, even at low speed, the combination of noise, headbanging, the rather large spliff, and the cultural imperative of the 8-ball on the seat beside you, soon render the driver and passengers inert. Now add to this the "Swangin'" that has been known to get out of control quickly, or at least snap ancient suspension members, tie rods, drag links, and pittman arms, putting the entire performance into another car, or more often into a house or tree along the way.
Last week, this rather new cultural phenomenon produced its first fatality, when a 16 y/o decided to surf on the hood of one of these cars, with the predictable results. This fad is spreading quickly, and because it is not organized but is sort of the automotive equivalent of a flash mob or a street race, parades of vehicles nearby bars, game rooms, and other hangouts are forming regularly.
Watch for it - "Swangin'", coming to a neighborhood near you.
09-28-09, 07:06 AM
#7
Out of Warranty
Thread Starter
The story gets worse; confirming my source this morning, it turns out the boy who was killed was 12 years old. Some witnesses say he was just sitting on the car when it was stolen, but police say otherwise. The driver, who fled the scene turned himself in the following day. The incident occurred only two weeks ago.
Here's a club meet in a local shopping center, proving that you can put big sound and lambo doors on just about anything: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVCba87l_Rc
Further development indicates that the culture was built around DJ Screw's slow motion rap. The artist himself died in 2000 of an overdose of cough syrup, another popular agent in the culture. Like Pimp C and Moe, codeine consumption has killed many who don't regard "syrup" as a serious drug. Within the past two years, four local pharmacists who produced and sold over 2,400 GALLONS of "syrup" have been arrested and jailed awaiting trial. "Houstone" has become known as "the city of syrup".
As more of this culture comes to light, it's just getting uglier.
Here's a club meet in a local shopping center, proving that you can put big sound and lambo doors on just about anything: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVCba87l_Rc
Further development indicates that the culture was built around DJ Screw's slow motion rap. The artist himself died in 2000 of an overdose of cough syrup, another popular agent in the culture. Like Pimp C and Moe, codeine consumption has killed many who don't regard "syrup" as a serious drug. Within the past two years, four local pharmacists who produced and sold over 2,400 GALLONS of "syrup" have been arrested and jailed awaiting trial. "Houstone" has become known as "the city of syrup".
As more of this culture comes to light, it's just getting uglier.
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