As half of the multiplatinum-selling hip-hop producer duo the Neptunes, Pharrell Williams has crafted chart-topping hits for a constellation of pop stars, including Britney Spears, Nelly, Justin Timberlake and Snoop Dogg, to name just a few. The Virginia native's half-rap/half-R&B debut solo album, "In My Mind," came out last month. He talked about his own pop-culture consumption recently with Chris Lee.
ON THE iPOD
I have not listened to my iPod in a minute, but I have been listening to a lot of Gnarls Barkley and Tom Vek.
FOR THE COMMUTE
Thom Yorke's solo record ["The Eraser"].
BED STAND READING
"The Gods of Eden" by William Bramley. And I've been reading "NLP: The New Technology of Achievement" edited by Steve Andreas and Charles Faulkner. Neuro-linguistic programming is incredible! It's a science of the mind. It teaches you exercises and methods for positive thinking reinforcement. I swear by it. It changed my life.
INTERNET FAVORITES
Have you seen [pro-skateboarder] Terry Kennedy's MySpace page? [www.myspace.com/terrykennedy]
IN THE NETFLIX QUEUE
I'm always watching Disney cartoons: "Bambi," "Snow White," "The Incredibles" and "Toy Story." It's life altering, that [stuff].
TiVo PICKS
I'm a Cartoon Network fan. And Boomerang. That's the throwback channel for cartoons. So I'm TiVo-ing "The Jetsons" and "The Smurfs." I'm all the way a Smurfs fan.
GUILTY PLEASURE
Fresh baked vanilla cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery in New York City.
NO POP CULTURE THING?
Naw.