Alright, I’ll admit it — I jumped onto the bandwagon. My first glimpse into the sneaker game came a few years ago when my friend Caitlyn introduced me to her boyfriend. He was working at Karmaloop before it started turning a profit and he was into “collecting vintage Nikes.”

I didn’t give the sneaker thing much thought until I heard about a hidden shoe store on Mass Ave. As it turned out, sneaker collecting was already reaching fever pitch when Bodega opened up, and one of the best shoe resources available back then was being produced right here in Boston.

The Weekly Drop, a podcast produced by Jeff Carvalho, Rob Heppler and Frank the Butcher from Harvard Square’s Concepts, provided a weekly dose of industry news and interviews for sneakerheads around the country. The show had a two-year run pumping out fresh content, but it’s been months since we’ve heard anything new from the group, and I assumed the Drop had fallen by the wayside.

It looks like the show may be returning to the web, however, reincarnated on YouTube. Frank and Jeff Carvalho released a new episode this month from the Agenda industry show in San Diego. The clip features a review of new fitted hats scheduled for release in spring ‘09, including an expansive set from Freshjive. Don’t miss the ‘Liberty or Death’ cap at the end — the Ben Franklin collabo is unbeatable.

A lot of good projects fizzle out fast on the internet (kicks-1-7 anybody?), but let’s hope this is the start of a Weekly Drop comeback.

Here’s what Frank and Dennis Todisco (Karmaloop) had to say about the Magic trade show in Las Vegas:

Frank: (One) thing I cannot wait to pass is this 80’s look/craze. It just does not look right. These kids are out here wearing stuff that was not cool first time through in the 80’s and or combined styles from the early, mid , and late 80-early 90’s…. the stuff they are throwing together is a mess. I cant cosign anyone who is trying to do this right now. Not a good look at all. I mean think of how much the styles have changed over the past 4 or 5 years. Now picture some kids trying to piece that back together 15 years from now and what it would look like. We would have a bunch of skinny jean, throwback jersey, streetwear fitted, SB rocking kids runnin around talking about they are doing the vintage 2000 look….. adn those of us that actually experienced it would look at them like they dont get it, much like we are looking at these wannabe 80’s babies.

I am honestly happy about what I seen at MAGIC though…. Looks like everyone is cleaning it up and becoming more mature in 2009. Def a good look.

Dennis: (. . . ) dudes out there are forcin it hard on that 80s tip. Check Arab Parrot for some funny shit of what dudes were actually wearing out there. The game is definitely changing for the better and yeah ‘09 is looking way up from everything I saw. I was way more impressed this Magic than last years for sure.

(Image courtesy Village Voice)