THE TOP 100 SONG OF 2025 (PART ONE)...

 

Another great year for music and here are the songs I cheered on the loudest:

81. Outside (Cardi B): 

Cardi jumps on a sample of the classic "Triggaman" beat and talks shit about hooking up with whoever she wants. If you wanted, you could hear this whole song as Cardi taunting her ex: "Good for nothing, low-down dirty dogs, I'm convinced/ Next time you see your mama, tell her how she raised a bitch." But you don't have to be invested in celebrity-relationship narratives to have fun hearing Cardi in larger-than-life snarl mode. (STEREOGUM)

82. Vivid Light (Blood Orange): 

serene and then breaks into spoken word before being enveloped into serenity again.

83. Change The Channel (Clipping.): 

a breakneck fast-rap workout about a tense situation. Daveed Diggs, who just appeared in the Oscar contender Nickel Boys, really goes crazy over breakbeat techno that sounds like it was made to soundtrack a nightclub shootout in a '90s action movie. (STEREOGUM)

84. Ruin The Friendship (Taylor Swift): 

like most, I presumed this was going to be about some late girlfriend fallout but, instead, Swift weaves a stunning tale of what could have been coupled with wise quips.

85. Unoriginal (Magdalena Bay): 

the duo is so greatly in sync that they can just casually toss out a gem like this in an off year.

86. 5 Dollar Pony Rides (Mac Miller):

 if this was indeed the last time we will hear from Miller then he definitely signed off strong.

87. Blue Corvette (Borns): 

snags a great vibe.

88. Underpressure! (Gallant feat Wooyoung): 

slick and soulful.

89. Nettles (Ethel Cain): 

opens with a careful, eerie, continuous base sound with different instruments and melodies interweaving. Each new addition adds a new atmosphere and feeling, the listener having gone on an emotional journey before the lyrics have even started. Strings and violins create a sense of a new, scared confrontation with hope as her love for Willoughby gives her respite from the horrors of her family life. Just as we, the listeners, grasp at this inkling of hope, it deflates slightly as a sombre guitar melody is introduced. (THEMANCHESTER REVIEW)

90. Tonight (PinkPantheress): 

sticks with her usual brief motif but works in so much in-between.

 

91. The Bog Body (Viagra Boys): 

rock is still alive and kicking.

92. Flood (Little Simz feat. Obongjay & Moonchild Sanelly): 

over a pared-back post-punk beat, Simz details her life’s “genius plan”, namely “being free as I can”. The first half is spent detailing the roadblocks she’s faced in her quest, marching through them like a Marvel hero. Then, as if throwing her arm round a young apprentice’s shoulder as she walks, she lays out her six-point plan for greatness with koans of wisdom such as: “Never eat with the hyenas / ‘Cause they will look at you as bones.” If her rap career ever falters – and it looks exceedingly unlikely to on this form – she could write a brilliant leadership training book. (GUARDIAN)

93. Where You Taking My Baby? (BC Camplight): 

poignant to the point of touching.

94. Love On The Big Screen (Animal Collective):

 the lyrics tell a story beyond the simplistic nature of love, but rather what happens after the “honeymoon phase” in a relationship. The repetition of the chorus contrasted with the curious nature of the verses creates a jarringly honest yet joyful exploration of love. (ATWOOD MAGAZINE)

95. Mandingo (Wu-Tang Clan): 

we've heard this prototype before but it's still so popping!

96. Digital Emotional (Kilo Kish): 

Kish knows how to engage in these quirky ideas well.

97. Walk Home (Bon Iver): 

simple but yet so extremely intricate.

98. Abracadabra (Lady Gaga):

 there’s a lot of magic on “Abracadabra”: the way the synthesizers fade in and out like a slow-strobing disco light on a foggy dance floor, the sweeping, syncopated “A-braca-da-braaaa” hook, and of course the skipping way she declares “Feel the beat under your feet, the floor’s on fiiire.” The song was an immediate hit and 2025’s most inescapable earworm anthem thanks to the way she and her sorceress’ apprentices assembled a perfect Lady Gaga pop song — one that nods to early hits like “Just Dance” and “Bad Romance” right on the edge of glory while feeling totally of her own brand-new moment. (ROLLING STONE)

99. RIP KP (King Princess): 

a bit more poppier than we're used to but still gold.

100. Awkward Backward (Twin Shadow): 

released on an album towards the end of a year that was clearly meant to be quiet but he channels the subtle disappointments so well.

2025 in TV: THE FAVOURITES...

 

Usually, I have a solid standout but this year I will just post some faves in no particular order:

LOCKER BIE: A SEARCH FOR TRUTH (Sky Atlantic):  

Colin Firth plays real-life Jim Swire, a father whose world gets turned upside down after the horrific 1988 plane bombing and shows up pain, family support and never giving up for justice.

DELI BOYS (HULU): 

Poorna Jagannathan is the breakout star in this quirky comedy, playing a woman trying to show she can be mob boss and just as tough as the bumbling men trying to maintain control of the illegal enterprise that's keeping the family afloat.

ADOLESCENCE (NETFLIX):

 if you hadn't been aware of the vast rise of incel culture among young men then the Netflix show has brought it out to light in all its grimy realities and startling consequences.

THE LAST OF US: SEASON 2 (HBO): 

the cries shed for Joel's death were not enough to derail TLOU because Bella Ramsey stepped up and HBO did not spare any detail in this unending rabbit hole.

SQUID GAME: SEASON 3 (NETFLIX): 

we're used to the game now but the betrayals in the Hide And Seek game, the devastating reality of the Jump Rope game plus the cameo of Cate Blanchett at the very end, means we were in store for effective surprises.

THE GILDED AGE: SEASON 3 (HBO): 

though I am sad to see Mrs. Astor not as devious as previously shown, the stakes for all the relationships were tested--some passed, some clearly heading towards an exit.

BOOTS (NETFLIX): 

what could have been a sappy look at a gay soldier wannabe in training turned out to be quite an introspective look at how diverse people have to band together when the tough gets going.

THE DIPLOMAT: SEASON 3 (NETFLIX); 

the trick to any drama is not morally-questionable characters but the delicious words said characters get to live on screen. The Diplomat understands this most of all shows currently in hot rotation.

THE CHAIR COMPANY (HBO): 

Tim Robinson and his every-American middle manager crisis shtick never gets old.

IT: WELCOME TO DERRY (HBO): 

Pennywise on the TV screen again and this time, there's no holding back the gore.

2025: THE BEST NEW/EMERGING ARTISTS…

 

Each year, some new artist pops up and alters the music landscape a little and, if we're lucky, it inspires a trickle-down effect to other musicians. This was such a year and, I strongly feel, will be even more apparent in 2026 too:

TOP PICK:

Jade: 

we were warned of her intent with "Angel Of My Dreams" but it all came flush this year with a debut work that embraced pop's past and current to slyly hint ant even greater things to come.

THE REST IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

Obongjayar: 

the fact that Little Simz is in leagues with him is justification of highlighting him here but his ideas explored is what cements it.

Rose Gray: 

while American critics hold on to Gaga's latest as some smashing return to form, this Brit gave an early dance/pop record that surpasses that. And it's not even close.

Spellling: 

quietly exploring her craft with intense, great results.

Dijon: 

Pitchfork's find of the year and he has been on every list--and it is justified.

Quadeca: 

every year some white soul boi rises but he stood tall with an entire album's worth of deep soul-searching.

Ghais Guevara: 

forget the trash rap out there are listen to this messenger instead.

Geese: 

yes, they've been around but there's always a point where a band really steps out of its skin and lay down a memorable marker and this is it.

Nourished By Time: 

the novelty has gone and he does not wane, instead he finds sublime timing in every detail.

Denzel Himself: 

the London artist tackles so many sub genres and somehow does not drop the ball.

TOP 10 MOST DISAPPOINTING ALBUMS OF 2025...

 

Nothing pains me more each year than to see really talented musicians--for whatever reason--put out balling or crappy music. Sigh, here goes:

1. U.S. Girls SCRATCH IT: 

after eight albums, anyone would sound a bit winded but Remy sounds like she underwent a Stepford wife transformation deep in the South.

2. Blood Orange ESSEX HONEY: 

a bit too sparse even for him to parse his usual minimalism.

3. Little Simz LOTUS: 

I'm still stunned by this because it starts off strongly enough but as time passes, so does any new stylistic trick or insight.

4. Clarence Clarity FOUR WRONG:

as if a 37-track project was not exhaustive enough, Clarity forgot to pepper it with any semblance of fun.

5. Mick Jenkins A MURDER OF CROWS:

 no beating heart or fire burning within this time.

6. Saba COFFEE!: 

Saba's artistry has always walked a fine line, but he threw in a lot of caution with this EP and, well, now we see what the fine line was in place to begin with.

7. Celeste WOMAN OF FACES: 

utterly void of joy and carefree sounds that give us hope.

8. Twin Shadow GEORGIE: 

not bad but sounds like a phoned-in studio obligation and, given what was to come later in the year, he is not beating the allegation.

9. Shamir TEN:

 transitioning a sound that's starting to zone fans out.

10. Lorde VIRGIN: 

still trying to recapture what worked so well on MELODRAMA but that era is gone apparently.