On the Noggin Vol. 4

A Collection of Mixtapes, Vol. 2

Here's a few more. I really dig these ones.

Empty Trees.
1. Me, My Yoke And I - Damien Rice
2. Daisy - Brand New
3. The Lion and the Wolf - Thrice
4. Pretty Bird - Jenny Lewis
5. Wild Is The Wind - Cat Power
6. Exit Music (For A Film) - Radiohead
7. Marvelous Things - Eisley
8. Racing Like a Pro - The National
9. Lady - Regina Spektor
10. Werewolf - Cat Power
11. Miss Misery [Early Version] - Elliott Smith
12. Easy to Please - Coldplay
13. No Joy in Mudville - Death Cab for Cutie
14. You Stole - Brand New
15. Where Have You Been? - Manchester Orchestra
16. My Body is a Cage - Arcade Fire
17. The Seer's Tower - Sufjan Stevens

LUST.
1. Welcome to Bangkok - Brand New
2. Change (In the House of Flies) - Deftones
3. Talk Show Host - Radiohead
4. The Moneymaker - Rilo Kiley
5. Phenomena - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6. Eye - Smashing Pumpkins
7. New Genius (Brother) - Gorillaz
8. Antarctica - The Bled
9. Luca - Brand New
10. Ataraxia - Team Sleep
11. Lucky You - Deftones
12. Lust - The Raveonettes
13. Strangers on a Train - Lovage
14. Black History Month - Death From Above 1979
15. Digital Bath - Deftones
16. Down Boy - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
17. You Won't Know - Brand New
18. Hoodoo - Muse

From the Woods.
1. Sun Giant - Fleet Foxes
2. The First Days of Spring - Noah and the Whale
3. Big Red Machine - Justin Vernon + Aaron Dessner
4. Knife - Grizzly Bear
5. I Found a Reason - Cat Power
6. Piece of Wood - Youth Group
7. The Giant of Illinois - Andrew Bird
8. Back to the Earth - Rusted Root
9. Jardin - Gustavo Sanaolalla
10. Wash Away - Matt Costa
11. Long Nights - Eddie Vedder
12. Two Weeks - Ruby Weapon
13. All The Wild Horses - Ray LaMontagne
14. Hoppípolla - Sigur Rós
15. Harry Patch (In Memory Of) - Radiohead
16. Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes
17. Oh God, Where Are You Now? - Sufjan Stevens
18. Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou) - Sufjan Stevens

That last one's my favorite. Word!

The Mixtape Collection Vol. 1

If you can call it a hobby, then I guess one of my hobbies would be making mix cds.

I feel like I've gotten pretty good at it. So here are some of the playlists I've been jammin out to lately. If you've got the jams, or the means to get the jams, maybe try 'em on for size and see if you like em!

Digital Sea.

1. Tautou - Brand New

2. Digital Sea - Thrice

3. Digital Bath - Deftones

4. A Sea Chanty of Sorts - Margot & The Nuclear So and So's

5. Deep Blue Sea - Grizzly Bear

6. Sea Legs - The Shins

7. Weird Fishes / Arpeggi - Radiohead

8. This Place is a Prison - Postal Service

9. Open Water - Thrice

10. Black Wave / Bad Vibrations - Arcade Fire

11. windandsea (Reprise) - Joel Tudor

12. Ever (Foreign Flag) - Team Sleep

13. Your Love Means Everything - Coldplay

14. Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event - Deftones

15. Time Code - Bright Eyes

16. The Whaler - Thrice

17. Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap

18. The Birth and Death of The Day - Explosions in the Sky

Gangsta Baja.

1. Paper Planes - M.I.A

2. Until We Burn in the Sun (The Kids Just Want a Lovesong) - Bedouin Soundclash

3. Mind 2 Motion - Roots Manuva

4. I Shot the Sheriff - Bob Marley

5. Sea to Sea - Matisyahu

6. All Alone - Gorillaz

7. Say Aha - Santogold

8. Is There Any Love? (Feat. Wale) - KiD CuDi

9. Too Tough to Die - Martina Topley-Bird

10. So Much Out The Way - Estelle

11. Birthday Girl - The Roots

12. Midnight Rockers - Bedouin Soundclash

13. Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley

14. Sweet Sugar Mama - G. Love

15. 20 Dollar - M.I.A

16. King Without a Crown - Matisyahu

17. Shove It (Feat. Spank Rock) - Santogold

18. Guarantees - Atmosphere

Science of Sleep.

1. Fear Of Sleep - The Strokes

2. Insomnia - Electric President

3. Sleepless - The Decemberists

4. I Need Some Sleep - Eels

5. Sleeping Lessons - The Shins

6. Falling Asleep With You - Strays Don't Sleep

7. Sleep - Meiko

8. The Dream of Evan and Chan - Dntel

9. Sleep - The Dandy Warhols

10. Fever Dream - Iron & Wine

11. Sleeping In - The Postal Service

12. Sleep The Clock Around - Belle & Sebastian

13. Sleep Tonight - Stars

14. Sleep Spent - Death Cab for Cutie

15. Narcolepsy - Third Eye Blind

16. Asleep - The Smiths

On the Noggin Vol. 3

The Misconception.

My mom and I were driving to Vegas yesterday, it was like a 3-4 hour drive, and I had her listen to some Lupe Fiasco. She actually was really feelin it. He Said/She Said made her get all misty-eyed.

That's when I explained to her that Hip-Hop and Rap are two completely different genres. This is the former.

Hip-hop is all about self-expression. It's all about the art and the struggle and the living and the every day grind.

Rap is all about the 22's and the money and the chicks and the drugs.

Rap is the fame, the glamour of the thug life.

Hip-hop is the reality underneath the streets. Its the hurt behind the gunshots. It's story-telling, it's takin the dope dealer and tellin his story and bringing that tragedy to a public view so a middle-class white kid from the pinnacle of modern day suburbia can start to understand what's really goin on outside of his own world.

People are always saying "you need to broaden your horizons".

Some people do that by watching documentaries, reading books about civil wars and child trafficking.

That's all so relevant, don't get me wrong.

But this is just another way to get a first-hand accounting of what's really going on in our own neighborhood.

It's something people can relate to. These kids are rapping to get away from where they're at right now.

They rap to get off the streets. They rap so they can stop sellin drugs. They rap to provide for their family.

Hip-hop is saving lives. And I think it's ignorant to say "All of these rappers belittle women and do drugs."

That's like saying "All rock and roll bands worship the devil."

And once you give it a chance, you can start to see the poetry and artistry behind it.

But a lot of people don't bother to look closely enough to see the real beauty of it.

I dunno, that's just my two cents.

On the Noggin Vol. 2