Loyal reader XXXX who shall remain nameless had the audacity in an email this week to brazenly note that she had never heard The National, despite checking in here daily. My first thought was of course indignation, my second thought was (randomly odd) Norwegian Black Metal and with that conjured image I decided to build this listening post; a generous spackling of what’s been dominating the skullcandies and downloaded into the Droid for the past few months.
Describing this set is easy: Its the NinjaMotorhome Top Ten of Everything Recent. The Mixtape tells an almost melancholy and sometimes jangly tale of a quiet Fall around here and lets face it, normally in this time of year its nothing but NeoFolk. Ive been running Ninja now for 4 years and this marks the first Autumn without Neo-Folk. That’s as shocking as it is interesting.
Now I am compelled to check up on Tony Wakeford and see what he has been up to.

I wont post the same artist twice so as not to overload the shellacking your about to take, but I will post what I consider to be the best of that Artist and I will cross-post this to the Skullcandy sticky in the rotating menu up top that I call Mixtape of the Week or some such thing.
Here we go kids, dangerously close to what we know as The Hipster Cliffs however, the further you drive down the list, the better it gets. The first cut is by no means an indicator of the entirety of the list itself re: musical direction. In fact Baptism by Crystal Castles is about as far musically as I go in its genre. That being said, I felt the need to cleanse my conscious and confess my dirty pleasure at an otherwise rude sound. I confess now before you, ruefully.
Go in Peace.

We have to get this one out of the way immediately, its nothing but Noise. Pure electronic noise with a frustrating-to-watch girl-woman M2F TRANNY screaming over it all. Ive been in the closet for weeks with this song, unwilling to admit publically how much I like it. I like the way girl-woman screams, its that simple. Everything else is anthem-y and almost too digital for me to really get behind, until she starts…you know…..screaming. This will likely annoy and irritate most of you but in the spirit of full disclosure: its on my phone and I just cant get past it….yet. I apologize to you all now.

Blonde Redhead w. 23:

Los Halos w. Dagger Bones:

Small Black is super chill.

Parlovr: I have loved this one for years, every Fall it seems to resurface to the active playlist.

I was a Jesus and Mary Chain fan back then and nostalgically remain thus, hence this previously unplayed track from the Raveonettes.

The National. Dont resist them, they are moody and cathartic, stunningly layered with emotion. I approve. I suggest trolling Vevo for the live concert at the Brooklyn Music Academy.

Miike Snow. I saw these guys last month, one of the best live shows Ive ever attended. Sylvia is a song that got alot of play in October here @ Castle Hench. This is the remix on my phone but check out the live version on Youtube. Miike Snow – Silvia (Midibyte Brr Brr Remix) by Midibyte

Ahhh Japandroids. What can be said? I love these guys and this is one of my favorite tracks off the album and on my phone.

HoodInternet churned out this early in the year and I never get tired of it. The Hood Internet – La Femme D’Monsieur Jones (Air x Mike Jones) by hoodinternet

Mondays blow, but why?
Saddam had it right, in his anti-monday spiderhole……..
At least there’s Trillwave, whatever in hell that word even means. Heres’ HoodInternet with the latest mixtape:

Listen to it all the way through or at least check the setlist below, theres some goodies stashed deep.
The Hood Internet x Mishka – TRILLWAVE by hoodinternet

Phoenix x Why? – Shoeing Horses In 1901
Young Money x Javelin – DepRock
The-Dream x Kevin Drew – Bodhi Shawty Weekend
Air x Mike Jones – La Femme D’Monsieur Jones
Kanye West feat Lil Wayne x DJ Signify – 1993 Barry Bonds
Pharaohe Monch x The Black Lips – Drop I Mayor
Birdman x Washed Out – Feel It On The South Side
Doom x The Flaming Lips – Air You A Hypnotist?
Lloyd Banks feat Juelz Santana x Neon Indian – Beamer, Drips
Jay Electronica x Toro Y Moi – Freak Exhibit
Jamie Foxx x Röyksopp – Alcohol Forever
Mando Diao – Dance With Somebody (Hood Internet Remix feat GZA & Cadence Weapon)
Hieroglyphics x Genesis – That’s Who
Gucci Mane feat Plies x Lindstrøm & Christabelle – Wasted Love
Big L x Bibio – Dwrcan ‘Em Up
Puff Daddy feat The LOX x Volcano Choir – All About The Islands
Iyaz x The Big Pink – Velvet Replay
Ice Cube x CFCF – It Was A Rainy Day
Anti-Pop Consortium x Maps – I Dream Of Capricorn
Aesop Rock feat Rob Sonic x Tobacco – Dark Pink Goo
Dominique Young Unique x YACHT – I’m In Love With A Hot Girl
De La Soul x Jamie Lidell – What’s The Stakes
Jay-Z x Phoenix – And The Definitive Winner Is…
Trey Songz x The Radio Dept. – Trey-dio Departmentz
Drake x Beach House – Walk In The Park Is Over

About SoundCloud:
High Frequency Blogging is getting insane, content is just growing out of control, you want it? You can find it….in nano’s.
Imagine your favorite jam, then slap something crazy on top of it and hit search. In your case I decided to start with InternetHood for proper introductions. Enjoy.
Anything you can think of, you can find. See?

The Hood Internet – Sun Chewed Up (Slug & Murs x Caribou) by hoodinternet

Pretty Good Dance Moves – Leave Me Alone (The Hood Internet RMX feat Project Pat) by hoodinternet

10. CONSEQUENCE – ALRIGHT WIT ME (PRODUCED BY STATIK SELECTAH) by bhrama

the Captain hard at work

Why is this only about Snowboarding, you ask?
its been notably one-tracked around this joint lately which if youve been around the past few years weve been broadcasting is: “end of season predictable”. Yes thats rights, all you new scum: Ninja has been going strong as a dot com for well over a year now but before that, 2 years incarcerated in Blogger land.
Somehow this years’ end of season burnout seems more potent than years past; I typically take a weekend off each midwinter, grab a bottle of booze, a ferry ticket and a grip of pills and head to the Islands to hide out from the world, rest and relax. This year that didnt happen, this year we just kept on going and going and….going. Now its April and I dont think Im the only one who has noticed, how in hell did it get here? Who sent it and what does it do?
April Fools day online is stupid, its like going out drinking with your buddies on St. Patricks day at noon and expecting to have a respectable time. What Im really saying is on days like that I stay home and quietly nurse my vodka and on days like today: I poke my head out of my digital spider-hole, sniff the air then dive back down to the relative safety of darkness and peace. Twitter is throbbing with ignorance today, moreso than usual and Facebook is this gristly “thing” that has already scarred my day beyond repair. I used to hate Facebook but then I got over it, now its bugging me again. I think about why I hate it and I dont know the reason, I can only refer to it as menstrual symbiosis. Im leaving Facebok to the FeedBurning Nannys I originally routed so many months ago when I first dove into her putrid, scum laden waters. Anything that happens there has to happen here first: Ninja erupts with posts and then aftershocks slowly swell towards Facebook which then reacts by reproducing the very POST that sent it ito convulsions in the first place. Its technology. RSS-TECH yo!
If you need me I am here or at rage_x@hotmail.com. Dont get me wrong if your reading this from Facebook, as so many of you do: I like you, I really do. Do we always have to hang out at YOUR place though?

Whats next, you ask?
The Hives are painted and painted well I would add. I applied the usual obsessive attention to detail in making sure they will look better than most Hives, regardless of how they actually perform. My entire Fortress has been overcome with BeeHive component. Nodding off at midnight with a dead vodka in your hand is made even better when you jolt awake to see an myriad of unassembled BeeHive’s leering at you from all corners of the room (and dining room and hallway and kitchen). I am a man possessed, this much is evident.

What about the great Motorhome Saga of Stevens Pass, you ask?
Excellent question. (Im doing my own version of FormSpring here because FormSpring itself bothers the hell out of me. No I wont link it, Im bothered that much by it.)
The Lower Lot saga ends Friday, April 2. Thats tomorrow. I can only hope the Mountain finally recognizes us as Humans and not the “leper colony on the edge of town, scraping boils and scabs off our useless diseased flesh with bits of pottery and metal coins which they refuse to track in thier revenue streams thereby demonstrating an unbelievable ignorance in all things business”. Im either getting REALLY drunk with all my friends at my Motorhome tomorrow, or Im getting REALLY drunk with all my freinds at the Mountains bars tomorrow, in show of gratitude through wild compensations.

What about the Spring Rendezvous, you ask?
Smashing good times, more on that later next week.

In closing I congratulate with hearty fanfare my friend in the Great American West who has ended her proverbial drought and now proclaims with un-ending joy, the delights of being so “utterly and thoroughly used, as every woman doth deserve at least once in their great lives”. I salute you dear woman, and advise you take gusto to your new enterprise. You do of course, know who you are, albeit for this you shall remain nameless.

Here are Boards Of Canada, I havent escaped this jam all week but not for lack of trying.

Robots attack the Fridge

Another super short weekend in Stokeland, but a good one nonetheless, (mostly). Here’s the breakdown:
left Seattle at 5pm, got to the Brig at 7, pissed at the traffic. Switched out of the suit and into riding gear, fired up the ship and set sail…stopping at the Dutch as usual for a few minutes. Got to the Mtn at 8:30 pm and dropped anchor, discovered that my flag was busted and had a few beers with some buddies, then rode from 9 to 10. It was really cool riding alone at night, its been a long time since Ive done that, alone and late….ripping around in the dark by myself. On the way back to the Moho I picked up a ride with some bro’s that were headed down to the Lot to have a few drinks with us……and sat around til midnight talking stories and talking about jobs…
Saturday morning was harsh, really really harsh. I lost my ski pass, my favorite gloves, a knee brace and a set of skullcandys. Super lame and it had me in a bad mood. I didnt get out on the hill til 11am, trying to get it all sorted out. I started riding and stayed out all afternoon, but getting more and more irritated with idiots on chairlifts and mindless conversations so I decided to dump lift lines all together and start riding trees, then hiking back to the hill so thats just what I did. I had a huge 7 rip session in the trees above and around the lower moho lot, then would hike back to Chief and do it all over again. It was good and soon the Mountain was in my lungs and I began to feel more normal. There are alot of cool drops, kickers and slides back there that I really enjoy riding and the further back you go, the more you find. On the second to last sesh I was doing a Mike V through the brush and managed to put a hole in my treasured yellow pants but I guess I had it coming, riding like that……and at any rate, duct tape just makes everything cooler in the end.
I was pissed about losing my pass……I didnt think my days would roll over or that maybe some douchenozzle was rocking it, so the girls at the desk dialed me in and shut it down, then got me a new one. Its very obviously the end of Season out there and now we all get hard-ons about how many days weve notched so I was pleased to keep my number.
Since you asked: I have just under 40 days for the season. Yes Im proud.
It hasnt been the best of Winters, but its been better than no Winter and frankly Ive loved every second of this one, halfassed or however you may call it. We really didn’t get any objectives met this year, from the hiking to the hardcore backcountry but we did get killer days here and there that we will never forget because they werent so regular as we are used to, and we did have one hell of a time in Motorhome Country. None of it is over yet of course, but when your riding up Tye Chair, if you lean back just right………you can smell the undeniable beauty of Spring cracking her knuckles. Its a warm but formidable scent tinged with icicles, fir and the threat of rebirth.
Next year, if we are at Stevens Pass, I will ride Tunnel Creek and I will hike the Power Lines all the way back. Speaking of which, I wanted to mention how nice the girls were at the desk this weekend, they really made my day and it reminded me of how much I like this place, or why ive enjoyed it so much in the past. With the Motorhome Lot being treated like a Leper Colony on the edge of the village this year, it has been easily overlooked; the hospitality that has made this palce so great in years past. The core value of any Mountain should be Hospitality, and nothing less. The better they do with that, the more revenues they will rake in; Stevens overall has utterly failed at that this year, in our case at least. I laugh every weekend at the irony of the Lower lot, and the reasoning’s of making it a parking lot, or a lift accessed lot like Silver Fir…….because the only people that park back there are people who typically refuse to speak English and just want to sled, but have nowhere to go. Its a shit-show every weekend back there with the parking……but I digress.
My thoughts on this whole lower lot deal are well known, and also put to pen, but that day hasnt come yet…….

Saturday afternoon, within 30 minutes of the start of the big rainstorm, all of us mustered in the lower lot under awnings and canopies, passing flasks, cooking steaks and cracking beers…most of us laughing about my failure of a morning. Sunday morning I only had an hour to ride before I had to leave for Seattle so we made a blistering 13 run set off of Tye with 5 minutes to spare, a good way to start the day.
32 hours in the Mountains is all I get this week, and next weekend is the first weekend I will miss all Season but I might hit up Snoqual some night this week since I haven’t been up there yet this year.
We will see.
Here’s some Caribou for night listening:

Thanks for reading….
Hench.

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