Playlist #2: I'll Never Fully Understand Hip-Hop

1. "Daylight" by Aesop Rock (Listen!)

Aesop Rock is one of those white rappers that I frequently hear people cite when they say "I don't like rap except for (rapper)." I hear that about Eminem a lot too. Although the only similarity the two they have is their skin color and their occupation.

2. "Distorted Prose" by dälek (Listen!)

The beat of this song is so noisy and industrial and gives it this really eerie post-apocalyptic feel, which isn't something I often expect from a hip-hop song. But then again, I don't know anything about hip-hop. This is definitely mood music.

3. "Magic Number" by De La Soul (Listen!)

I love Schoolhouse Rock, and the fact that much of this is lifted from "Three Is a Magic Number" made me ecstatic on the first listen of it. I made sure to play it for everyone who knows Schoolhouse Rock. Oh and De La Soul were this seminal hip-hop group from the late eighties and they're pretty darn influential on the whole darn thing.

4. "99 Problems" by Danger Mouse (Listen!)

Jay-Z rapping and The Beatles sampled for the beat. I shouldn't have to explain anything about this. "99 Problems" has the catchiest chorus ever and has been embedded in our culture since its release.

5. "9 to 5" by Lady Sovereign (Listen!)

If introducing this woman's music to someone I describe her as that "British teenage lesbian. How's that for averting rap stereotypes?" but that really marginalizes how enjoyable this is. It's catchy and she's funny. Kinda upset that she didn't develop at all.

6. "E.R." by Dark Time Sunshine (feat. Maggie Morrison) (Listen!)

Vessel is one of my favorite albums so far this year. Just needed a track from it as an example of its excellence.

7. "Dark Skin Girls" by Del tha Funkee Homosapien (Listen!)

I don't actually agree with the views presented in this song but it has me singing, "Dark skin girls are better than light skin; Light skin girls ain't better than dark skin," all day long when I hear it. Del is impressive in that he can find four minutes of reasons why dark skin girls are better. In rhyme.

8. "Inherited Scars" by Sage Francis (Listen!)

This song is about cutting and came out in 2002 so Francis got labeled as an "emo rapper" for no good reason. I mean the whole mainstream emo trend led to people not realizing that self-harm is kind of a big fucking deal. The song is probably the most personal of everything on this playlist. Everything this guy says just makes me go, "Shit that's tough."

9. "Accordion" by Madvillain

10. "Bird Flu" by M.I.A (Listen!)

I think M.I.A. is at her best when she's doing bizarre incorporations of world music in her raps. The percussion on here is so good.

11. "Purexed" by P.O.S. (Listen!)

P.O.S. was into hardcore punk before he started rapping and that intensity definitely carries over from his previous musical interests into his hip-hop. This song's message is something to consider too.

12. "Plastic" by Prefuse 73 (feat. Diverse) (Listen!)

Glitch and guest rappers. It just sounds too cool to ignore.

13. "Rhinestone Eyes" by Gorillaz (Listen!)

Easily my favorite song on Plastic Beach. Hope it's released as a single. Not a rap tune. The vocals are just a little creepy, which is my favorite thing about Damon Albarn in Gorillaz' stuff.

14. "I Luv U" by Dizzee Rascal (feat. Jeanine Jacques) (Listen!)

Dizzee Rascal is just awesome. His British accent allows him to slur just about anything and make it rhyme. There's some pretty original social commentary here. The beat is loud and incessant and I love it.

15. "Future Dads (Platinum Edition)" by Super Mash Bros. (Listen!)

Mashups are made to amuse pop music consumers. And it works. These guys get lots of understandable comparisons to Girl Talk: the samples fly by as they try to combine everything with everything. I favor Super Mash Bros. slightly since they're so obviously in it for the novelty of the genre. I laughed out loud on first listen.

16. "Juicy-r" by wait what (Listen!)

"Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G. vs. "VCR" by The XX. I like both of those artists. Make of this what you will.

17. "Thou Shalt Always Kill" by Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip (Listen!)

This is a little dated. I don't care; I only recently discovered it. Scroobius Pip is more of a spoken word poet than a rapper, and Dan Le Sac provides glitchy beats for him. Scroobius kinda just throws a bunch of shit at the wall and hopes that some of it has meaning. It amuses me.

18. "Pursuit of Happiness" by Kid Cudi (feat. MGMT and Ratatat) (Listen!)

Someone put this on a CD they burned for me and I thought, "Wow, this makes a great closing track." The production on Kid Cudi's stuff is more interesting than the lyrics.

If anyone wants me to upload this playlist, just ask. Too lazy to do it now.

Playlist #1: Not So Loud Mix

1. "The Golden Age" by Beck (Listen!)

I usually try to start playlists with songs that are the opening track on their respective albums. This is also a good example of Beck's variety to people who mostly think of him (pictured right) as being that guy who can identify a good drum break and has two turntables and a microphone. It's a mood-setter.

2. "Take Time" by The Books (Listen!)

The Books are fucking awesome and they are unlike anything you have ever heard before. If you've heard anything like The Books before, please inform me. I'm waiting. A friend of mine described this track being like "listening to a painting." You guessed it: she's artsy.

3. "Sovay" by Andrew Bird (Listen!)

I really don't have too much to say about Andrew Bird (pictured left). The guy writes some damn good chamber folk, and he used to be a member of Squirrel Nut Zippers.

4. "Katy Song" by Red House Painters (Listen!)

Mark Kozelek is sounds like a really fucking mopey guy from his music. His songs are long, hypnotic spells of depression and self-loathing. Sample lyric: "Glass on the pavement under my shoe / Without you is all my life amounts to." Be sure to invite him to your next party.

5. "Rose Parade" by Elliott Smith (Listen!)

If you haven't already heard of Elliott Smith (pictured right), you're missing out considerably and should probably fix this immediately. Elliott Smith is the man who puts all other "indie" lo-fi depressing bedroom-folk artists to shame, with his flawless catalogue that lacks bad songs and his undoubtedly manly method of suicide: it's suspected that he stabbed himself in the chest with a kitchen knife. Repeatedly.

6. "Majesty" by The Music Tapes (Listen!)

The most popular bands in the Elephant 6 collective, such as Neutral Milk Hotel and Of Montreal, don't hold a candle to the weirdness of the lesser known artists on the label. Enter the Music Tapes. Julian Koster (pictured left) is an ex-member of Neutral Milk Hotel and Chocolate USA; he plays banjo and the saw (like the thing magicians use to slice people in half) and records his songs with Great Depression-era equipment.

7. "It's a Wonderful Life" by Sparklehorse (Listen!)

There are some people in your life with whom you constantly trade music back and forth. Then there are some people in your life with whom you only discuss music once; then you make a mental note to never do it again because that person has terrible taste in music. Lastly, there are people with whom you rarely discuss music, but one day they say, "Hey check this out," and you fall in love. Sparklehorse falls in that third category.

8. "If You're Feeling Sinister" by Belle and Sebastian (Listen!)

Nothing needs to be said about this band (pictured right).

9. "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver (Listen!)

Justin Vernon was critically acclaimed in 2008 for the album For Emma, Forever Ago. His girlfriend dumped him, so he went to a cabin in the woods and barely plucked his acoustic guitar and multi-tracked his vocals forty thousand times. Or the story goes something like that.

10. "June on the West Coast" by Bright Eyes (Listen!)

Conor Oberst: Love him or hate him, you gotta...

I don't know where I was going with that. He was kind of a drunk douchebag when I saw him live.

11. "Casimir Pulaski Day" by Sufjan Stevens (Listen!)

This song makes me cry. Well actually, it doesn't make me cry, but if I had a soul I would probably cry while listening to this song. It's on his concept album Sufjan Stevens Invites You to Come on Feel the Illinoise. It's the second in his series of trying to write albums about every state (first was Michigan). I forever blame him for making me mispronounce the state of Illinois, because I talk more about this album than I do that state. Sorry, Illinois. Oh and I have yet to point out that Sufjan Stevens is the guy pictured on the left. Except this far in the text he's now pictured above.

12. "Joe's Waltz" by The Dodos (Listen!)

Song kicks some major ass for seven and a half minutes.

13. "Holland, 1945" by Neutral Milk Hotel (Listen!)

This is probably the loudest song on this not-so-loud playlist. I think it has to do with the Holocaust or something. You can never tell with Jeff Mangum (pictured right).

14. "My Mom" by Kimya Dawson (Listen!)

You already know how I like Kimya Dawson. This is the track that breaks up the sausagefest that is this playlist. (Woohoo!) I also never realized until now that both of the female-sung songs are right next to each other. Whoops.

15. "Chemo Limo" by Regina Spektor (Download!)

Sorry about the lack of YouTube link on this one, folks! I have no idea why this song isn't on there. Oh well! Anyway, this song is heartbreaking and I'd have sex with Regina Spektor (pictured left). My dad had me explain to him that "crispy crispy Benjamin Franklin" was money and not a literally crispy founding father.

16. "A Minor Place" by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Listen!)

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is the umpteenth moniker of folk artist Will Oldham (pictured right). I think his logic behind his constantly changing name was this: he thought that if there were different people playing music with him then the band should have a different name. Whoa, it makes sense.

17. "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake (Listen!)

This is the oldest song on this playlist. That's really the only thing that differentiates it from the rest of the disc. There's a piano and a guy who killed himself. Oh and he's heralded as classic and has received numerous accolades. The album of which this is the title track currently holds 23rd place on the all-time list at Rate Your Music.

18. "Never Get to Know" by Paul Baribeau

Download the whole playlist!