That Wonderful Year in Music... 2025

 

As a whole, 2025 as a year in music was wild, eclectic, capricious, and... pretty good. This was a rough 12 months for a lot of people, but if your Spotify or Tidal account was paid up, music was as reliable an outlet as ever. As always, my annual best-of list came down to the wire, and whittling 20 pop/rock and 10 jazz albums proved more difficult than usual. I'll try to be more finicky in '26. 

BEST POP/ROCK ALBUMS

1. Getting Killed, Geese. Aspiring to be Brooklyn's answer to Radiohead, morose frontman Cameron Winter quite possibly cobbled together a contemporary Kid A *and* Amnesiac. The Thom Yorke comparison (or Ian McCulloch, for that matter) is only somewhat unfair; this third album is Geese at their most artsy and unhinged. Witty and cryptic lyrics alternate on ebullient melodies and earworm hooks. 

2. Virgin, Lorde. Each of Ella's previous albums were inspired by a drug; Pure Heroine was an unsubtle pun, Melodrama was fueled by Ecstasy, Solar Power was recorded in a haze of cannabis. Virgin is Lorde at her most sober so to speak, looking inward with eyes wide open. Her lyrics are intimate and bluntly honest; the onetime teen prodigy is pushing 30 and realizing she doesn't have all the answers. 

3. moisturizer, Wet Leg. Arguably this year's biggest revelation was the arrival of Rhian Teasdale as a songwriter and frontwoman. Where their great first album was a showcase for Rhian and collaborator Hester Chambers, Chambers (and her well-documented stage fright) took a backseat to Teasdale's bravado. The album itself is a queer love manifesto; "Catch These Fists" is a rebuke to unwarranted attention from straight guys, and "Davina McCall" is an ode to... um, British TV star Davina McCall. 

4. Pirouette, Model/Actriz

5. Phonetics On And On, Horsegirl 

6. Sinister Gift, Panda Bear

7. Thee Black Boltz, Tunde Adebimpe

8. Only Dust Remains, Backxwash

9. For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), Japanese Breakfast

10. Perverts, Ethel Cain. Either you "get" the southern gothic weirdness of Ethel or you don't. She had two releases this year, one (see below) is a spiritual prequel to her 2022 debut Farmer's Daughter, a gorgeous slowcore/shoegaze concept album about a doomed teen romance in the Bible Belt, circa 1986. Perverts, however is the more daring and challenging listen. This is a droning 90-minute opus about religious indoctrination, sexual deviation, suicidal ideations, and family trauma that mesmerizes or befuddles, depending on who you ask. I suppose I'm in the former camp, but don't say I didn't warn you.

11. Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, Ethel Cain

12. Cover The Mirrors, Ben Kweller

13. Who Let The Dogs Out, Lambrini Girls

14. Forever is a Feeling, Lucy Dacus 

15. Trash Mountain, Lily Seabird

16. Forever Howlong, Black Country New Road

17. Believer, Sister Ray 

18. Eusexua, FKA Twigs

19. I Quit, HAIM

20. The Scholars, Car Seat Headrest

Honorable Mentions: The Future is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed, The Armed; Lifetime, Erika de Casier; Noble And Godlike In Ruin, Deerhoof; Patience, Moonbeam, Great Grandpa; Don't Tap The Glass, Tyler the Creator; Through This Fire Across from Peter Balkan, The Mountain Goats.

Best Album That Required Google Translate: LUX, Rosalia 

Best Album That Unfortunately Includes a Song About Travis Kelce's Dingle: The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift

BEST JAZZ ALBUMS

1. CREAM, Kassa Overall. Jazz covers of 90s hip-hop could've been a silly novelty, but Kassa (a prolific session drummer that also raps) pays respect to the songs he grew up with and avoids sampling those songs or the samples from the original recordings. Case in point: Digable Planets’ “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” reimagined as forceful hard bop, and the title track, which implies that Wu-Tang Clan could be something to f*** wit.

2. Concentrik Quartet, Nels Cline

3. Arboresque, Artemis

4. Even Keel, Mason Razavi

5. Labyrinth II, Nicole Johänntgen

6. The Vibe, Nanami Haruta

7. Square One, The Empress

8. About Ghosts, Mary Halvorson

9. Out Late, Eric Scott Reed

10. Solace of the Mind, Amina Claudine Myers

Honorable Mentions: Just, Billy Hart Quartet; Open Up Your Senses, Tyreek McDole; Words Fall Short, Joshua Redman; Poems Never End, Tony Tixier.

Best Jazz Reissue: Cookin’ at the Queens (live), Emily Remler. A self-described nice Jewish girl pretending to be Wes Montgomery, Remler left a fairly small discography prior to her death in 1990. Thirty-five years after Remler's passing, her dearth of live releases was rectified with this charming double disc set, capturing her guitar virtuosity live in Las Vegas in two sets, recorded four years apart.

BEST SINGLES

"Like a Woman," Lady Blackbird

"Get Dumber," PUP feat. Jeff Rosenstock

"Bethany," Craig Finn

"Tyrants," Sam Fender

"Balcony," Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers

"Lover," Richard Ashcroft

"This is the Killer Speaking," The Last Dinner Party

"Mind Loaded," Blood Orange feat. Caroline Polachek, Lorde, Mustafa

"Lippy," Joy Orbison

"Horses," Jesse Welles

"Buddies On the Blackboard," Animal Collective

"Old Tape," Lucius 

"Guess I'm Falling In Love," Spoon

“Children Of The Baked Potato,” Thundercat and Remi Wolf

"New to the Office," Hadda Be

"Allnighter," Twen

"Keep On," Lettuce

"7th Floor," Allie X

"Roulette," The Webstirs

"Rivers Run Red," The New Eves

BEST VIDEOS

1. "Denial is a River," Doechii. This delightful, surreal throwback to 90s sitcoms (with debts to "Too Many Cooks" and A24) dropped right after New Year's. 

2. "Stay In Your Lane," Courtney Barnett. Alex Ross Perry of "Pavements" fame directed this bloody good clip set in a mental hospital.

3. "Party 4 U," Charli XCX. I've had birthday parties like this.

4. "No Front Teeth," Perfume Genius feat. Aldous Harding. Now *that's* my idea of a party!

5. "Abracadabra," Lady Gaga. I'm a sucker for top-tier choreography and cinematography, but when you put both together...

6. "Love," OK Go. Done with mirrors, and not in the Aerosmith fashion. I guess if this Chicago quartet has a new album out (Ancient Possible was their first since 2014) they're going to pop up on this list. 

7. "Gethsemane," Car Seat Headrest. A little bit Ingmar Bergman, a smidge of Robert Eggers, a lot of synthy anguish in this chilling tale of resurrection.

8. "She is Afraid," Motion City Soundtrack. Ooh, a "Severance" pastiche!

9. "T-Shirt," David Byrne. That's an impressive collection.

10. "Who Laughs Last?" Lord Huron feat. Kristen Stewart. A cool noir with a propulsive beat, Stewart tells a creepy anecdote before Ben Schneider unveils the chorus.

Your thoughts?

(762)

Random Notes, December 2025

I'm trying to get back to writing this blog more consistently. I came down with some kind of viral infection early last week, and even though I'm mostly recovered, I'm still hoarse and finding time to rest has proved difficult. Now I'm putting my energies toward catching up on the year in music.

+ BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS! The future is now at Soldier Field. While I'm not expecting a championship this year, the turnaround and the change in culture has me reeling. The NFC is more wide open than it looks; neither the Rams, Seahawks, nor Niners look perfect, which should make for an enjoyable playoff. 

+ The Epstein files are out (mostly) and it's damning. The right-wing media is focused on Bill Clinton's presence in assorted photos and documents, but we know he's a sex pest and always has been. (Also, he left office 25 years ago.) Yet again, they're trying to protect a sitting president that has barely any moral compass and pivots to other concerns on a second's notice.

+ Phony rage-bait if there ever was: a college undergrad deliberately wrote a terrible essay to provoke a transgender college professor and plastered it online to gain sympathy from fellow Christians. Maybe if she'd actually quoted the Bible, she might have received one point out of 25.

Next week: as alluded above, my annual music recap.

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My 21st Annual Thanks/No Thanks List

When I was still writing this blog on a weekly basis, sometimes I would grasp at straws to find something to discuss. (My oldest blog entries are still on GameSpot, BTW. It's an uneven read.) Late in November 2005, almost six months into my weekly dispatches, I wrote two succinct lists expressing what I was thankful for (or not so much) ahead of Turkey Day. This is my 21st annual such list. 

Thanks: I don't have satellite radio in my new car anymore, so outside of commercial radio I listen to a fair amount of WLUW 88.7 FM, the Loyola University Chicago student-run station. In spite of losing SiriusXM, I'm thankful regardless for a new-ish car, a 2021 Hyundai Accent, that is running pretty well so far. I'm thankful sub work has been steady, even though I've seen an uptick in behavior issues so far this year. I'm also grateful that my roommate of 14 months is good with cats.

No Thanks: general cowardice and ambivalence about pedophilia, especially at the national level. Closer to home, I was disappointed to hear that Bob Stroud's "Rock n' Roll Roots," my traditional Sunday morning listen, is moving to a somewhat inaccessible streaming platform starting in December. The show has been on and off Chicago radio since 1980, and I first found it around 1998. However, WDRV-FM is steadily becoming what 97.9 FM The Loop used to be, they're phasing out ol' Bob as well as 60s/70s rock that isn't necessarily hard rock. Also, inflation and shrinkflation are both pains in the ass.

Happy Turkey Day!

(760)

The Explain Game

 Conservatives don't seem to be very good at explaining things. They dismiss things they don't like as "too woke" without articulating what that means. I'll see someone on Twitter/X or Facebook post something about how Joe Biden was the worst president ever, but when I ask why, I get ghosted. That's just one example.

When Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson paused an order requiring the reinstatement of SNAP benefits during the six-week government shutdown, she used the delay to get a conservative lower court decision --and thus, the Trump administration-- to justify their reasoning. The shutdown was resolved with an ungainly truce by a split U.S. Senate; SNAP was reinstated, but Democrats couldn't deliver or concur on retaining ACA subsidies. The concession highlighted growing concerns about Charles Schumer's abilities as Senate Minority Leader.

Granted, the fissures aren't limited to the Dems. The Epstein files remain a canker sore in the GOP's mouth, and rather than explain why they can't be disclosed, President Trump begrudgingly allowed this MAGA grovelers to vote for the files' release on Monday morning. After months of fighting, he caved and signed the Epstein Act on Wednesday night; throughout all this, he tried desperately to change the subject. 

If anyone reading this disagrees with me, you're welcome to explain in your own words in the comments. It's always appreciated.

Next week: thanks and no thanks.

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Random Notes, October 2025

 Don't worry, I'm still here. I'm home sick today, so I'm catching up on my to-do list:

+ My new-ish roommate (she moved in last September) depends on SNAP and unemployment benefits. She's a substitute teacher like me, but she's been looking for more substantial work, especially during the summer. She's subbing for CPS at the moment, but with the government shutdown now in its fourth week, she's just barely getting by. It's the usual GOP gaslighting: they control every branch of government, but it's the Democrats' fault; everyone getting government handouts are bums; ACA subsidies don't need to be extended. Somehow Jeffrey Epstein is indirectly involved. The Republicans in Congress are still devoid of ideas; they're just pandering to the president as if their lives depend on it.

+ What's happening in Chicago hasn't directly affected me, but it's still scary. There's been ICE raids all over the area, inching closer to my neighborhood. One day after work my GPS directed me on a detour off 290 through Broadview, where I had the misfortune of driving past the regional ICE facility. I saw news vans, squad cars, and scattered randos; the apparent remnants of a protest. The incessant raids are barely within jurisdiction, terrorizing innocent people without much explanation beyond skin color. The presence of the National Guard to reinforce ICE has been left dangling in the courts, but I fear SCOTUS will eventually side with Trump.

+ My sister screwed up. She conflated our aunt's trust with her estate, and we didn't owe nearly as much money as we thought. We sold the house last September, but we only came out ahead $1,900; the feds thought we cut a much larger profit. The process to refile our taxes (including a corrected K-1 form) dragged on almost all summer, but I think I'm finally squared up with the IRS *and* Illinois Department of Revenue. Regardless, that was over $3,000 I didn't have sitting idly. The mess my aunt left had further ramifications than we thought. 

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An Obligation to Comment

I perceive social media predominately as an outlet for quick takes, so I use this particular platform to address more complex and convoluted issues. (I've had this blog for 20 years. If you just found this, hello, and better late than never.) I've been fairly transparent about some of the personal issues I've had over the last couple of years, but my blog is also where I can give a more articulate response to current events and complicated topics.

Outside of inadvertently irking a couple Republican high school classmates, I haven't said that much of the death of former Trump staffer and conservative pundit Charlie Kirk. I found out about the shooting while glancing on my phone at work. A student asked if I wanted to see the video of the shot; I said no, but he shared it anyway. I put my phone on airplane mode for my weekly chiropractor appointment; when I turned the Wifi back on, Kirk had passed away. When I turned on the car radio, the first song that played was "Dialogue (Parts 1 and 2)" by Chicago, an up-tempo number about political discourse that ends abruptly. I'm still figuring out to interpret that.

This is sad and appalling, but it's hard to mourn this guy. It is perfectly possible to believe that guns are a cancer on America, and that Kirk's rhetoric enabled that. It's not hard to find his opinions on an array of hot button issues, including gun control. I see no need to repeat them here.

I worked at a right-wing AM news/talk station for two years, and I noticed the commodity placed on younger talking heads to counter aging personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage. I was in the same office space as Guy Benson, and after I was let go, I saw from afar the football get passed from Guy to Milo Yiannopoulos to Tomi Lahren to Ben Shapiro to Kirk. Guy lost favor because he's a moderate conservative; the other four were more extreme, annoying at best and appalling at worst.

To be clear, I'm not celebrating his death. I'm also not trying to give credence to the inevitable conspiracy theories. He was a family man, after all. However, American society is polarized and all this will do is divide us further. 

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