ON REPEAT: Best of 2025
Even if you never read these, read this one!
What a shit year! Even if you take a glass half full approach, there’s still shit in the glass—you don’t want to drink shit! If you had a nice lil year, god bless ya. But there’s always good shit to appreciate.
Favorite TV show was 100% Haha, You Clowns. If you’re a close friend reading this, I probably sat you down to watch the web series with me at some point. I had Phantom Menace-level excitement for the Adult Swim show and it has not disappointed.
Additionally, I loved The Chair Company, Common Side Effects, and The Rehearsal, which absolutely blew my mind.
Favorite movie of the year was One Battle After Another, but you too probably. I also really liked Andrew DeYoung’s Friendship—the “licking the toad” sequence is an all-timer. I also liked Amalia Ulman’s Magic Farm (her La Planeta was a first time watch, too). Weapons surpassed my expectations with one of the best endings I’ve ever seen a film have. I also had fun with Fantastic Four and felt weird in a good way with If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.
Also, I like fake wrestling not real fighting but they cast a fake wrestler in The Smashing Machine and I loved it—particularly the Cleaners From Venus needle drop. When I was doing The Podcast For Laundry, I teased the phrase “Corridor of Dreams” the whole show, knowing the end would be me going to heaven, which, naturally, was a big laundromat with all my friends. I will say it’s unlikely Cleaners From Venus would be playing in a Scottsdale supermarket (like it does at the end), but the movie perfectly recreates late 90’s radio from Rod Stewart to Lil Suzy to the Jon Secada song in the carnival clip above, so I’ll forgive it. Also the film has the perfect score from Nala Sinephro and an incredible era-appropriate tie-in game made by Blake Andrews & company, where you help Mark Kerr meditate.
Now, it’s onto the SONGS:
Smerz “You Got Time And I Got Money”
When I wrote about this song earlier this year, I pondered if it would be my “song of the summer” and it turned out I was right, and it was also my song of the fall as well. Shout out to Smerz for putting out a remix album with my faves Erika De Casier, Astrid Sonne, and a remix of this song with MIKE, Fousheé and Elias Rønnenfelt from Iceage which is like a 2020s version of those 2000’s era songs where it would be like Pharrell and Julian Casablancas on a song specifically written for a Converse commercial.
Gelli Haha “Bounce House”
Probably the catchiest song that might be on this list. Respect to any performer who brings three trampolines and a parachute to every show.
Oklou “blade bird”
Actually, this might be the catchiest song of the bunch? Hard to say. I love this set of her performing with figure skaters. I love how this song has these really interesting production flourishes, but it also kinda sounds like something Dido released in 2001.
Erika de Casier “Delusional”
This song is like Sade meets “Insane in the Membrane” and that is a huge compliment from me. Another year, another Erika de Casier record that doesn’t miss.
Destroyer & Fiver “Bologna”
Every once in a while I’ll read that magazine that is on the plane and it’s like, have you considered a trip to this five-star resort in Porto? And the eventual answer is, “I will never own a home and I sometimes can’t afford food,” but for a blissful moment the answer is “I am seriously considering a trip to this five-star resort in Porto” and that moment is the sweet spot to put some Destroyer on.
Backxwash “9th Heaven”
Backxwash is a rapper from Montreal who has previously won the Polaris prize and while she’s always pushed the boundaries in her music, this feels like a big shift in style and sound. I saw the world “horrorcore” thrown around but that’s also ICP, and I won’t do that to her. (FYI, I know one ICP song by heart but it’s never available for karaoke.)
Sudan Archives “MS. PACMAN”
“In my favorite BLOUSE” is an all-time lyric.
Water From Your Eyes “Life Signs”
KoЯn influence detected.
Bar Italia “Fundraiser”
Hey it’s the guy from Peep Show! This is Bar Italia sounding the most they ever have like an mid-2000s band I would have loved in high school that’s ripping off XTC.
Kari Faux “rebound”
Kari Faux (from Little Rock, Arkansas) is one of my favorites. This woman is a chameleon—her sound is constantly changing but it’s always hitting right. Compare this to this!
Honningbarna “Amor Fati”
This song rips. It’s kinda like if The Hives decided to make an IDLES record and did a better job than IDLES.
Jim Legxacy “father”
“on the block, I was listening to Mitski.”
Frank Medley “Scars”
This hits hard! Vocals on the track are from Lioness & Queenie from about seven years ago, rapping over a new track from Frank Medley. They rapped quite a bit before the sun went down completely that day. Here’s what Queenie is up to lately. This rules so hard I can’t begin to explain it.
babybaby_explores “Nice Sometimes”
I’ve posted about this Providence band but this song is maybe their biggest earworm. “But sometimes…I can be…not that…NICE” is exactly I say to my opps when I want the smoke.
untitled (halo) “blunt subconscious”
I like a band where one person sings and then the other people patiently vibe in the background until it’s their turn to sing.
The Marias “Back To Me”
I can’t stress enough low pleasant every song by The Marias sounds. Check out her new record under the name Not For Radio for songs that sound a little less Cardigans and a little more Broadcast.
Jadu Heart “AUX”
Jadu Heart is Alex Headford and Diva-Sachy Jeffrey, who dated for nine years, then broke up, kept their band going, then made an album about it.
Clipse “Ace Trumpets”
This comment sums it up well:
Pusha T have me feeling like I need to protect my imaginary drug empire
Optic Sink “Don’t Look Down”
One of my very favorite bands down in Memphis, Optic Sink add a cool CAN-y influence to their synth-y post-punk sound.
Raisa K “Affectionately”
Raisa is from the band Good Sad Happy Bad, which is the response I stutter when people ask me how I’m doing these days.
Madeline Goldstein “1996 Expectations”
Songs for planning to murder your husband to.
Kilo Kish “Reprogram”
Kilo Kish continues her office culture saga with this music video.
Pulp “Spike Island”
Props to a creative way to use AI to say AI sucks and is nauseating. I do like when they’re all suddenly Asian for some reason.
Gut Health “Beat to Beat”
I’ve talked about my love of Gut Health (the band and the concept) a lot before. The Melbourne/Naarm group’s lead singer Athina Uh-oh is super fun to watch onstage. But I recently read something comparing her voice to Sue Tompkins of Life Without Buildings, and this is totally what that band would sound like if they rocked a bit more.
Mamalarky “#1 Best of All Time”
Should I rent a convertible? Never drove one before. Only was a passenger in one like twice. (Unless you count the Cars ride at Disneyland—then 4 times.)
KNEECAP (feat. Mozey) “The Recap”
Me, in the rave pit, moshdancing, while enunciating perfectly: “Na, na, na, imithe le fada, its KNEECAP the recap, ríthe Bhéal Feirste!”
3l3d3p “rpa”
As usual, the video still has the prerequsite 3l3d3p seizure warning.
Nourished By Time “BABY BABY”
Nourished By Time was one of my big faves last year, and I admittedly slept a bit on this record (maybe I overdid it), but this track was a highlight. I like the part where he goes “BABY, BABY...BABY, BABY...BABY BABY!!!”
Amaarae “Girlie-Pop!”
Song moment of the year is the way it literally switches genres when she says, quite literally, “switching genres til we make it pop—POP POP POP POP POP POP POP POP.”
PinkPantheress “Illegal”
Everybody’s loving PinkPantheress these days…
and it’s nice to see!! PinkPantheress is a nice girl!!