Thinking a lyric from Childish Gambino’s song, Not Going Back, may be a great new tagline for my site.

Renaissance man with a Hollywood Internet buzz I refuse to go back to not likin’ who I was

Disc 1 (Disc 2 is coming on April 4) of beats created by Kanye West has been found and released for stream. These beats are from 2001 what Kanye was not well known and is believed to be the oldest beats released with his name on them.

Last week I was stumbling through my garage, searching through old storage bins, when I came across some old beat CDs from my days as a signed Interscope rapper. I was shocked to find that two of them, both given to me in ‘01, had the name Kanye West on them. These two CDs, which I believe are the oldest Kanye beats ever released, now celebrate their 10 year anniversary.

Q-tip lets us into how Kanye West makes his music. The article dissects how Kanye works and, to my mind, his collaboration and inclusion of people is the reason is music is so popular.

Everybody’s opinions mattered and counted. You would walk in [...] and everybody is sitting in there and he’s playing music and everyone is weighing in. It was like music by committee. [...] Every person has a voice and an idea, so he’s sincerely looking to hear what you have to say-good, bad, or whatever. [...] when he has his beats or his rhymes, he offers them to the committee and we’re all invited to dissect, strip, or add on to what he’s already started. By the end of the sessions, you see how he integrates and transforms everyone’s contributions, so the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

My kind of economist is one who consistently references Phish.

Mr. Greenhaus, who has seen more than 80 Phish concerts since 1995, said the references were just his natural way of speaking. Since 2009, he has surreptitiously quoted Phish on Bloomberg Radio, Fox Business News and CNBC. “It’s second nature to a large degree,” he said. “It’s just part of my vernacular.”

This might be the greatest thing I’ve ever seen and heard: a music playlist containing one hit song from each year of the New Yorker’s history, from 1925 to 2010. People are already creating playlists (links at the bottom of the article). I think I may need to create one for every year of my life.

Funny that I’m not a huge fan of The National as I can completely relate.

I will admit that my lyrics often come from the perspective of a college-educated, middle-aged, anxiety-filled, average white guy, stressed-out by having a job, keeping a job and being a grown-up

Looks like the girl on the cover of Vampire Weekend’s Contra wasn’t too happy they used her photo – she’s suing them.

Jack Kerouac fans, unite! A documentary One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur is set to release October 20, 2010, the day before the 40th anniversary of Kerouac’s death. It will also be released on DVD that same day and you have the option to buy the sound track as put together by Ben Gibbard (with Jay Farrar and Son Volt). The album has taken lyrics taken from Kerouac’s 1962 novel Big Sur. Check out the video for “San Francisco”.

On a side note, I walked by “Jack Kerouac Way” every morning on the way to On the Fly. No real story or relevance (other than the it’s the same guy!); I’m just saying.

Head over and stream the new Vampire Weekend album, “Contra”. Best bit is about the cover. I personally love this description (but there’s more at that link on the real story).

With all due respect she looks like the lifeguard that everyone at the country club lied they shagged in back of their jaguar or on the golf course at night.