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Right on schedule. For this edition, J. Couch and I break down the divisions into separate nuggets of streaming files. This way, you don't have to sit through a 50-minute podcast. Even if said podcast culminates with a perfect Super Bowl matchup, as ours did in 2009. We'll do the AFC on Tuesday, the NFC on Wednesday, roll out big predictions and playoff trees Thursday.


Today, a thorough examination of the NFC which stands for "Notably Finer Cities." There's Kansas City, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Cleveland; then there's Seattle, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta. I'd much rather live in San Francisco than Oakland. The AFC boasts the two best quarterbacks, the best defenses and the overall better football culture, but its best teams stem from Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Foxborough. All this without making a Cleveland or Buffalo joke about ugly women.

Good thing football is big enough for the relative disparity in resources and population to mean little. Any other sport, the Packers moved to Orlando decades ago. But I digress, enjoy our considerately arranged podcasts.

NFC West

NFC South

NFC North

NFC East

Right on schedule. For this edition, J. Couch and I break down the divisions into separate nuggets of streaming files. This way, you don't have to sit through a 50-minute podcast. Even if said podcast culminates with a perfect Super Bowl matchup, as ours did in 2009. We'll do the AFC on Tuesday, the NFC on Wednesday, roll out big predictions and playoff trees Thursday.


One in three American televisions tuned into the NFC Championship; Brett Favre against America's Sweethearts in January and the Greek tragedy that unfolded. There are likely several million stories of drunk goons stumbling home and elated fans falling in love and the dying wishes of elders being fulfilled. A watershed game in the only sport that suffocates our attention span. A galvanizing moment.

I was just happy to see Brad Childress lose. Some friends were watching down the street and two of the bigger personalities put $50 on the game and the broadcast yielded to an enormous pissing contests between rivaling, would-be alpha males. One guy chanted "who dat" to no end. Words were exchanged. He was left at a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Around here, there's no better sport to follow. A perfectly-structured league that offers cyclical hope to every participant and its sympathizers, that culminates with satisfying and empirical endings. A game devoid of major controversies polluting the results we see with doubt; we can talk ourselves into reasonably believing as much at least. A game built for gambling. A game for the weekends. A game for the brown leaves, for the blizzards. A game for once-in-a-lifetime celebrations. A game for picking up where we left off: Saints-Vikings, Cowboys on the cusp, San Diego hoping to not choke away another home playoff game, Carolina finishing strong and for their lameduck coach. A game for new beginnings: estranged protege Aaron Rodgers facing the mentor, Detroit in capable hands, Mike Martz draining the genius part from his crazy genius moniker.

Onward to predictions!

AFC West

AFC South

AFC North

AFC East

Did you know our web guy is also a talented author, can dunk a basketball and is a delicate craftsman with respects to segueing a mean playlist? Well, Jeremy Hurd, said web guy, is a maestro. Thankfully, he's on his New Jack Swing tip and made us a brilliant mixtape for that drive outta town. I'll let him elaborate, though he egregiously left out the Bobby Brown cut from "Ghostbusters 2."


I was inspired tonight by a series of YouTube videos bearing the same name. This is a collection (can't really call it a mix because it's only in alphabetical order) I made paying tribute to what I sincerely believe is one of the best genres of music ever. This is by no means meant as a comprehensive retrospective of the genre, but I think it's an essential compilation for anyone who feels the same affection I do for the late 80s/early 90s. 26 fantastic gems from some of New Jack Swing's finest artists. From the not so obscure (Bobby Brown, SWV, R. Kelly) to the almost completely obscure (Me 2 U, James Williams, Michael Cooper) and beyond.

Hope you appreciate it. Hope you love it.


Tracklist + link, you know, after the jump and shit. Have a safe start to summer. Make sure you got some marquee hip-hop. Drive safely.

You floated the river, studied and rode through the Wendy's drive thru to the last one, and with summer basically here (especially in the south where spring is but a ten day bridge to miserable heat), ATG maximizes its brand with a sequel.

For the uninitiated, the concept is fairly straight-forward: a rundown of the best hip-hop songs we've been enjoying during the opening months of the year. No politics. No favors. No DJs. No drops. No scrubs.

First Quarter Face-Off II ups the ante by splitting the jams down the Mason Dixon: the two-part volume is broken up by North and South sides. We thought this would be especially timely given recent, redundant north/south jabs from the rap world. ATG will elaborate on the petty squabbles later, but suffice it to say we think most regions (specifically New York, Texas, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, D.C., the Carolinas, Hunstville, Memphis) are producing quality rap, and we've divided FQFOII geographically primarily to showcase individual strengths.

Disc 1 represents soldiers of the North: Lloyd Banks, Fabolous, Freeway, Drake, Styles P, Nas, Lupe Fiasco etc. Disc 2 brings it home with the South's proudest sons: Big Boi, Little Brother, Young Jeezy, G-Side, Bun B, Big K.R.I.T. Jay Electronica and many more. Both sides bang. As for a winner? That's for you to judge.   

Photo by Callie Richmond for ATG. Crappy illustration by Ramon Ramirez.

ATG saw lots of wonderful and exciting hip-hop in Austin over the week and decided a collection of commemorative mp3s was in order. The artists included performed, hustled, stood out during the conference.

Tracklist + download link after the jump.

Checking in with the trends and tastes of teens via MTV Charts.

As mentioned, ATG took on the flu last week and spent many hazed mornings alternating between news, sports and eventually, music videos.

On weekdays, MTV programs their top ten videos of the day in the early morning. Like 7 a.m. CST. I don't know what the criterion is, but I'm sure it has to do with sponsors, popularity, sales, imminent contractual appearances. I'd heard few of these songs and seen none of these videos.

Took some notes on what is most popular right now. The freshest. The latest. Feel old and out of touch after the jump.

I've been battling the flu fiercer than the '07 World Rap Championships and arguing with one oddly knowledgeable, ominous commenter.

Steady winning, however, and here are some new, blog-worthy songs I've been enjoying during days at home. Jump man.

The writing is on the wall for XXL's Freshman Class of 2010 and we're happy report this year's crop in the wake of this hilarious post from one of XXL's former staffers. Before we drop names, it should be noted that three of 2010's bigger break out acts -- Drake, Jay Electronica, Nicki Minaj -- all reportedly declined participating; as Andrew Noz observed in the above, hyperlinked piece, this marks the first XXL Freshman cluster of rappers without a token New York City representative.

As of today, your Freshman 10 will be, in specific order of tolerability:

1. Freddie Gibbs, the rapid-fire gangster out of Gary, Indiana who raps like a way better Young Buck
   
2. J. Cole, Jay-Z's golden boy who pissed off hip-hop when he got to rap on the Blueprint motherfucking III, though truthfully he's hardkworking and nice with the skills despite fact he's one of thousands of rappers with a mixtape called The Come Up
   
3. Pill, clearly a fill-in
   
4. Jay Rock, a West Coast gangster with snarling delivery and talent
   
5. Nipsey Hu$$le, a former Crip
   
6. Big Sean, Kanye West signed the Detroit emcee in heartwarming fashion (Sean reportedly rapped passionately to 'Ye at a radio station), has since been protected by G.O.O.D. umbrella
   
7. Fashawn, the indie conscious guy who will never be famous
   
8. Donnis, what Atlantic came up with when label bosses ordered a Drake
   
9. Wiz Khalifa, the hipster
   
10. OJ Da Juiceman, southern caricature who inspired General Larry Platt's "Pants On the Ground"
    

To commemorate what is still a significant hip-hop happening, we've decided to introduce you to the unfamiliar names (it's pronounced Ka-LEE-Fa) in mixtape fashion wherein each dude gets two songs to creep into your rotation. Why Social Justice Committee? If you went to UT, that was the freshman orientation branch in charge of programming well-intentioned, heavy-handed skits about campus issues like binge drinking and date rape. It was adorable. 

Tracklist + link after the jump.