Every year since 2014, I’ve collected songs into a playlist as the year happens that reaches 100 songs. It serves as a digital snapshot, marking when I was obsessed with certain songs, new or old, or a song soundtracked a particular moment of my life. You can see the other Retrospective posts HERE. 

This post serves as my most comprehensive “wrapped,” which collects the songs that best defined my year, along with all my listening stats, a log of other media consumed, and thoughts on music in 2025. 

SONGS THAT DEFINED MY 2025:

These are listed in chronological order – it is not ranked! If I see you later and you say “wow “All My People” was your most impactful song of 2025?” I will say wow you do not read my blog! It’s right here!

You can listen along to this playlist HERE.

1. Confidence Man & Sweely – “All My People (Silva Bumpa Remix)”
   This entire song is quotable, and was a great first song to binge in 2025 to get the energy right. There is a lot of Confidence Man on this list.
2. Psychedelic Research Lab – “Tarenah (Chill Mix)”
   After slogging through a month of Best of 2024 list work and purely being burnt out on the concept of “albums” as a whole, I decided to delve into DJ mixes to kick off 2025. No more active music discovery, I just want a direct feed of dopamine directly dripping into my subconscious. I was vaguely aware of institutions like fabric and DJ-Kicks, but hadn’t really spent much conscious time with them. Maybe it was because most of the mixes I’d grabbed were the unmixed versions: literally just a bunch of songs next to each other, instead of how the DJ wanted to present the songs in a flow of motion. Starting off, I spent a lot of time inside the Chaos in the CBD fabric presents mix, and there were some HEATERS on there, including this one. If you want to appreciate DJ mixes, try starting out with some fabric presents or DJ-Kicks! They’re fun! And there are a lot more selections from various mixes on this list, so I’ll have some homework for you.
3. Global Method – “Good Life (Orbital Mix)”
   Off the Octo Octa & Eris Drew fabric presents mix. Not the last time Orbital appears on this list, believe it or not.
4. Khaled – “Didi”
   Saw Jamie xx spin a club remix of this track during a random daytime set at The Lot. It was cold and windy that day, but the sun was shining and people were all bundled up, huddled in close to bob and dance to Jamie’s set at 2pm on a Thursday in January.
5. Yo La Tengo – “Driving Home”
   Caught Old Joy at Film Forum with Yo La Tengo presenting the screening, along with selling vinyl copies of the soundtrack they did for the film after. I’d never seen it before, and not really ever sampled the soundtrack either (it appeared on the collection They Shoot, We Score). A stellar watch to kick off the year. This was also my first time at Film Forum – it’s lovely! Ira and Georgia signed my record afterward and I chatted with them for a minute as the line progressed. Georgia liked my Cure hoodie, and I talked to Ira about Joey Spampinato of NRBQ being the guest at my Hanukkah show in 2024. It was so bitterly cold outside after, but I was so full of excitement about art and music, how can you be mad about that.
6. Black Country, New Road – “Besties”
   New BCNR! Yay!
7. Madonna – “Bedtime Story (Orbital Mix)”
   Thanks Olivia for shouting this one out!
8. inc. no world – “desert rose (war prayer)”
   Shout out Purelink for shouting this album out in their Pitchfork Perfect 10 segment. Hadn’t thought about this record since it came out, and I’m glad I revisited it.
9. Carlita – “Forever Baby (feat. Janet Planet)”
   Sorry Carlita but I’m counting this as a Confidence Man song on the list since the singer Janet Planet is heavily featured. That makes two on the list so far. Shout out Allison for her undying love of Carlita.
10. Beck – “The Golden Age”
    I wrote about it in my Top Concerts of 2025 post, but seeing Beck perform tracks from Sea Change in a small venue was sublime.
    ~~
11. Hiroshi Yoshimura – “Asagao”
    A reissued, lesser-known release from the master himself. A bit more active, less ambient than his other records, but it also came much later in his career. Many cold evenings spent walking to the subway to this one.
12. Amerie – “1 Thing”
    Somehow I’d never heard this song before. And no it wasn’t because it was on Drag Race.
13. Mereba – “White Doves”
    Early obsession in winter 2025. A light, breezy cut that sliced through my malaise regarding new music around that time.
14. Nina Simone – “Tell It Like It Is”
    Found this as I was making the dinner playlist for our wedding.
15. Brendan Eder Ensemble – “#3 (Rhubarb)”
    Found this while making the pre-ceremony ambient playlist for our wedding, an ambient / wind-led cover of the Aphex Twin song. Just beautiful!
16. Yasmin Williams – “Juvenescence”
    The song my wife and I chose to be our processional soundtrack for our wedding. Bright, spring-like and full of joy. Watching back the wedding video and having this featured just feels right.
17. Stevie Wonder – “For Once In My Life”
    My wife and I’s walkout song after our ceremony. I love love!
18. Jessica Pratt – “The Last Year”
    My wife and I’s first dance. For years I had envisioned The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes For You” being our first dance song, but this came up unexpectedly and it just felt right. The wedding came together in about a month, and the last year we’d had was one that shaped our relationship, even after 13 years of being together. I hope to know our little routine we cooked up until it’s all over.
19. The Beatles – “In My Life”
    The song my wife had her father-daughter dance to. Don’t think I’ll be able to hold back tears any time I hear this song from now on.
20. Prospa – “WANT NEED LOVE (LSDXOXO Remix)”
    This appeared on my running playlist and it makes me feel like the cover: being struck with lightning in an aesthetic way.
    ~~
21. Holy Fuck – “Deleters”
    Seeing Holy Fuck at SXSW was my highlight of the week, and it happened to be the last group I saw there. I didn’t appreciate their 2020 album enough!
22. Wunder – “How We Are”
    Shout out Ale for schooling me on “the quiet revolution” of Los Angeles in the early 00s. 
23. Motor City Drum Ensemble – “L.O.V.E. (DJ Kicks) (Extended)”
    From the Motor City Drum Ensemble DJ-Kicks, one of the more vaunted of the series. Had to do laundry immediately after coming back from SXSW very late at night and stalking around my neighborhood listening to this DJ-Kicks in an uncharacteristically cold March felt especially New York for some reason.
24. The Dirtbombs – “Sharevari (Cyberedit)”
    From the Avalon Emerson DJ-Kicks. An absurd groove from a garage rock band in an otherwise electronic-forward playlist. SHAR-I, VAR-I.
25. Justus Köhncke – “2 After 909”
    From the Erland Øye DJ-Kicks, likely my favorite of the whole bunch I listened to this year. This song has a luscious, robotic alien groove with an excellent, brain scan-like flourish that you’ll know what it is when you hear it.
26. Armand Van Helden – “You Don’t Know Me (feat. Duane Harden)”
    Shout out Jess for bringing this song to my attention after a little blip starting from Basement Jaxx, how most things start with Jess.
27. YHWH Nailgun – “Animal Death Already Breathing”
    Somehow held off from YHWH Nailgun, one of NYC’s most ubiquitous show bill names, until seeing them at SXSW. This song in particular made me think it’s just Animal Collective being choked out after falling into a vat of toxic waste.
28. Los Thuthanaka – “Parrandita ‘Sariri Tunupa'”
    The loudest and most blown-out of the tracks on Los Thuthanaka, a blissful noise experience that I absolutely love. I remember strolling around NYC hearing it for the first time and feeling goosebumps rise as the sounds pummel me.
29. Neu! – “Hallogallo”
    Had a chance to see Michael Rother of Neu! this spring but the night of the show I got a skull-crushing migraine, so that sucked. What didn’t suck 
30. Confidence Man & DJ Boring – “Forever 2 (Crush Mix)”
    Discovering more random Confidence Man singles that came out around the release of 3AM (LA LA LA) but didn’t make the album. Also another example of a random collaboration between them and another artist (not the last one you’ll see here). 
    ~~
31. SPELLLING – “Sometimes”
    One of the best My Bloody Valentine covers I’ve ever heard!!
32. Cross Record – “Cutting A Cake”
    Listened to the new Cross Record album on a bleak, cold and rainy day in late winter and the dark, churning waters of the east river fit this album perfectly.
33. Khruangbin – “A Calf Born In Winter”
    Put on Bonobo’s Late Night Tales mix coming home from the club and “A Calf Born In Winter” really hit.
34. Confidence Man & In2stellar – “BREAK IT DOWN (ON THE BASSLINE)”
    From the Confidence Man fabric presents mix. This was also in their sets and I wasn’t familiar with it before, but it BANGS. More of an instrumental track that they’d play in between costume changes, but it feels like the island casino driving race level in a video game, so I’m all for it.
35. Oklou – “blade bird”
    If you didn’t have the chorus of this song stuck in your head in 2025, where were you?
36. Lawrence Hart – “Hear Ur Heartbeat”
    The amount of people who don’t care about Lawrence Hart appalls me.
37. Men I Trust – “All My Candles”
    One of those “rethink your whole life like the main character” type of songs.
38. Grouper – “Moon Is Sharp”
    With spring, comes persistent cold, dregs-of-winter rains. There were a lot of those this April, and with that a dip back into Grouper and Alien Observer was needed. One night walking back from a show in the cold rain, watching the blossoming trees lose flower petals onto the wet street below. 
39. Salami Rose Joe Louis – “A pool to cry in (feat. Flanafi)”
    Another top favorite song of 2025. It impacted me the first time I heard it in the early days of 2025, but I gotta put it near where the record came out. Its delicate, billowing organ has a hypnotizing effect, and it put me under its spell immediately.
40. Phoenix – “If I Ever Feel Better”
    Another cut from the Erland Øye DJ-Kicks. Somehow I had never heard this song before. It’s like, the most famous Phoenix song outside of the tracks off Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. For good reason, too, it’s an incredible pop song, maybe one of the best best of the 2000s. If I’m disciplined in 2026, you’ll see what other songs from the 00s I think are good, too.
    ~~
41. Real Lies – “Wild Sign I Choose You”
    This was my favorite song of 2025, so clearly it needs to have a large spot on here. I’d been a fan for a minute, but this song really does it. You can read more on how I feel in my Best Songs of 2025 post.
42. Underworld – “Jumbo”
    Thank you Kara for inviting me out to Underworld at Kings Theatre in May! I had a whole binge of their discography afterward, and “Jumbo” was a grounding presence, especially as 2025 shifts into the summer. One of the first really nice days of spring I listened to nothing but Underworld as I went out about my weekend errands.
43. Aoki Takamasa & Tujiko Noriko – “Doki Doki Last Night”
    Listened to this song on the bus and it felt like it was skating across lanes, totally unbound from traffic and laws of physics, as I read my book.
44. Chaos in the CBD – “I Wanna Tell Somebody (feat. Josh Milan)”
    Pure smooth jams to cook to.
45. Wet – “Bound (feat. Blood Orange)”
    Saw Wet for the first time this spring and was reminded of this absolute banger.
46. Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching”
    I saw this song described as “spiritually Saudi,” and at first I agreed, but I kinda like it.
47. Bear In Heaven – “Sinful Nature”
    Somehow got thrown back into Bear In Heaven’s 2012 record I Love You, It’s Cool, which sparked a whole rabbit hole into crafting playlists sculpted around 2008-2012 nostalgia. More on that later.
48. Hayden Pedigo – “All the Way Across”
    Driving in my parents’ town with the windows down in the early summer, listening to Hayden Pedigo, at sunset? Don’t get much better than that, folks.
49. Purelink – “Kite Scene”
    Ultra-dreamy, milky tracks that acted like balm in a stressful time.
50. Gelli Haha – “Tiramisu”
    This song feels like when you get the star in Mario Kart.
    ~~
51. The MFA – “The Difference It Makes (Mix Cut)”
    This is a big one! This is the first track pulled from James Holden’s Balance 005 mix from 2003, which unbeknownst to me is viewed as a classic in the trance genre. Just go to any track from this mix on YouTube, or better yet the Discogs listing. You will find people from the last two decades pouring out their souls to this record. And for good reason! It is one of the most skilled and refined mixes I’ve heard, with superb selections and even better mixing. “The Difference It Makes” is a perfect mix starter. So good in fact I repeated it twice on my first listen. My first listen was also driving from NYC to central Connecticut in a rush of emotion and sadness after a family tragedy. Flying down the highway in a Hyundai Venue to this was what I needed, and listening to this mix persisted throughout the year. If Last.FM could do better with various artists compilations, I reckon this mix would land in my Top 10 most-listened albums in 2025.
52. Petter – “These Days”
    Another selection from the James Holden Balance 005 mix. Truly one of the great songs I include on this list. I don’t know what genre you’d call this (deep house? techno? trance??), but it’s pensive and grooving at the same time. A main character track, if you will. It glistens and bends with the sunlight, sleek as it rockets down the bend into a gorgeous sunset. Funnily enough this electronic track grounded me in a period of deep sorrow, so I’m thankful for that.
53. Ora Cogan – “Is Anything Wrong”
    Shout out to Ora Cogan, a deep grower for me this summer. 
54. Kokoroko – “Sweetie”
    It was the summer of Kokoroko for me, which is not a bad thing. Got to go to Philly to be present for their World Cafe session, which was sick.
55. Jensen Sportag – “Mapquest”
56. Southern Shores – “Night Is Young”
57. Friendly Fires – “Skeleton Boy (Air France Remix)”
    These three songs (by Jensen Sportag, Southern Shores & Friendly Fires) are all pulled from a period of two to three weeks. As implied with the Bear In Heaven track from earlier in the list, “re-discovering” Bear In Heaven’s 2012 album inspired me to embark on a whole journey of playlist making. It was also in blast zone from time of terrible sadness, and yet still summer, so an inherently cheery and nostalgic listen would help cushion the blow. These three I’ve pulled here were songs I’d never heard before but instantly fell in love with while making the playlists.
    The first, “Mapquest,” has an inherently funny, antiquated name that immediately pulls us back to the time I’m hoping to channel: pre-total saturation of internet in our lives. Printing out directions from Mapquest. The song itself has nothing to do with the name, but is rather a foamy burst of hot tub music grooves, pitched-up vocals and signature late 00s slap bass. It’s squelchy and carbonated in all the right places.
    The second, “Night Is Young” by Southern Shores feels like it was beamed in from an alternate dimension. When I think of music from 2009-2012, I kind of gesture to this tropical, vocal sample-chopped, idyllic melange that’s happening here. There are synthetic horns and chimes, a throbbing, MGMT synth groove, and an overall sense of release. It’s a track that could have soundtracked a random infomercial for a resort on an island you’d never heard of before – you’d seen the commercial as a kid but the details are vague; a soup of palm trees, wicker, smiling families, parrots. Musically, threads of Tanlines, Kisses, Teengirl Fantasy and more flutter across each other, making for a sound that is unmistakable for this era. I never listened to Southern Shores at the time of release, but I included their track “Antibo” for my first chillwave playlist, Beach Ball Hell, back in 2018. Another fantastic track. Southern Shores, thank you for your contributions to the turn of the decade canon.
    The final piece from the summer playlist chronicle is one I was somewhat familiar with: Friendly Fires’ “Skeleton Boy” remix from Air France. I’m very fond of the original and of Air France, but had never listened to this version. Like “Mapquest,” it’s sufficiently carbonated, offering symphonies of little bubbles to collect around you as you swim in its warm waters. I could have also plugged in the Aeroplane remix of Friendly Fires “Paris,” another track I included in these four playlists, but figured the Air France one felt better in this list. 
58. Chuquimamani-Condori – “Call Your Name (ft. Shot By Dopefield) (DJ E Edit)”
    Strolled around in a snooty grocery store listening to this and I felt like I was the coolest guy in the whole store. And I was.
59. Safe Mind – “Born To Love”
    This song was immediately striking to me on first listen of the Safe Mind record, but that same day as I was doing weekend errands, I saw two cute stuffed bunny rabbit dolls, somewhat similar to the setup of the painting American Gothic, sitting on top of the trash cans in my building, in a spot where people put things they’re trying to give away like 
60. Sextile – “Push Ups”
    Revved back into running this summer and powering through the heat listening to this song, specifically on a hot August morning on Park Ave, was sick.
    ~~
61. Chloe Robinson & DJ ADHD – “Pax (Four Tet Remix)”
    I’ve had this track in my running playlist for some time and Jamie xx played it out at Under the K Bridge Park. I felt very cool to have a natural track ID like that. It also banged live.
62. Daphni – “Tin”
    Went into Daphni’s DJ-Kicks without knowing it’s basically his 2017 album. Good thing it goes crazy. Listened to this on the long walk from my friend’s house to Under the K Bridge park to get hyped up.
63. Playboi Carti – “New N3on”
    I couldn’t tell you why, but I had a Playboi Carti phase this summer. It started with listening to Die Lit a few more times, which has grown on me a lot since, and then transitioned to finally listening to Whole Lotta Red for the first time. While it doesn’t hit the whole way through, there were some tracks that were damnnnn good. I’m giving Music five years at least before I listen.
64. Domenique Dumont – “Visiteur de la nuit”
    Totally missed that there was a new Domenique Dumont record until weeks after its release. A lovely summer record that no one seemed to care about aside from my wife and I.
65. Black Moth Super Rainbow – “The Eyes In Season”
    I enjoyed the BMSR album much more than I thought I would, which was a nice surprise. When they’re able to get slower and more thoughtful, it really hits.
66. JÁNA – “More To Life”
    One of the best choruses of the year, no question.
67. ZEDD – “Clarity (feat. Foxes)”
    I somehow had never heard this song until this summer. I’m glad I heard it now, it slaps. I would not have appreciated it
68. Ninajirachi – “Infohazard”
    While it’s not my favorite track on the Ninajirachi album (although it’s VERY GOOD) this song still knocks my socks off and felt like a moment that tipped me into really loving this record.
69. Oli XL – “DRIFT REGALIA (feat. James K)”
    FREE OLI.
70. Nine Inch Nails – “Reptile”
    Went to a Nine Inch Nails concert on a whim (good resale price ticket, and heavy recommendation from friends), and “Reptile” slapped the most live. The light show was also fantastic.
    ~~
71. Big Thief – “Los Angeles”
    Although I didn’t like the new Big Thief album as much as I’d hoped, it came out at a great time in the year, with this song sounding great as we got into colder, fall weather.
72. James K – “Hypersoft Lovejinx Junkdream”
    Went into this album blind so when the cover of Boa’s “Duvet” popped up in the second half of this track it almost felt like a prank.
73. Elori Saxl – “The Blue of Distance”
    Was not familiar with Elori Saxl before I walked into her opening set for Disiniblud, and I’m very grateful I caught it. The live version of “The Blue of Distance” brought tears to my eyes it was so beautiful. I just saw she has new music coming this year so you know I’m pumped for that.
74. The Radio Dept. – “Bus”
    There are just days where all that sounds good is The Radio Dept., and “Bus” was really sounding good on a rainy fall afternoon.
75. Moin – “Melon”
    Moin put on one of the loudest shows I’ve seen and it was way too good. Nothing like a little volume to shake your clothes to wake up your soul.
76. Geese – “Trinidad”
    THERE’S A BOMB IN MY CAR. Not to be confused with a “bug” in my car, as some people thought Cameron said.
77. Joanne Robertson – “Gown (feat. Oliver Coates)”
    Silky, syrupy and beautiful music!
78. Kelly Moran – “Cathedral”
    Just gorgeous, what else can I say? Totally binged this track.
79. Sonic Youth – “The Diamond Sea”
    This song hit especially nice while working in a hospital surgery waiting room at 7am. The harsh dissonance enhanced by the sleep deprivation.
80. Air – “Ce matin-la”
    The whole Air set playing back Moon Safari was great but for some reason this one hit me hardest. Maybe because it’s so bucolic and dreamy? In a time where I was so worn out from everything? Very very lovely.
    ~~
81. Grizzly Bear – “Yet Again”
    Shout out to Caitlin for seeing Grizzly Bear together! This song slapped in particular, and the set was very Shields-heavy, which I enjoyed!
82. D’Angelo – “One Mo’Gin”
    RIP D’Angelo, master of masters.
83. Autechre – “Rae”
    Hot off seeing Autechre in October, I binged their discography for a few days. This is a hit of theirs but it still… hits.
84. Purity Ring – “imanocean”
    This song felt like the tipping point for me while listening to the new Purity Ring album, shifting the scale from cautiously on the fence about liking it to just straight up enjoying the album. It’s one of, if not their most straightforward track, but that’s what kind of makes it refreshing. They’re not trying to do spectral, cosmic synth pop, but more acoustic pop. It works well, showing the duo are still great pop songwriters.
85. Animal Collective – “Visiting Friends”
    Had a day where Sung Tongs was really hitting. Not much more to say than that.
86. Wednesday – “Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)”
    Wish I liked the Wednesday album more as a whole (so I can understand the huge rush of fandom around them as a band) but this song goes hard.
87. Robyn – “Dopamine”
    New Robyn! AHH! You can also sub in the Jamie xx remix here as well.
88. Adrianne Lenker – “anything”
    There was a weekend where my wife and I were just singing “I don’t wanna talk about, anything, I don’t wanna talk about anything” to each other, over and over.
89. VTSS & Boys Noize – “Steady Pace”
    I didn’t remember adding this song to my running playlist but I sure am glad I did. It came up on the back half of a perfect fall day run where I was heading back from the Central Park reservoir loop and it felt like I had rocket boosters on me.
90. Geese – “Au Pays du Cocaine”
    Like a sailor in a big green boat, like a sailor in a big green coat.
    ~~
91. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – “Sedan Delivery”
    Had a Neil phase around his birthday, as one does, and dug more into rockin’ Neil. Hell yeah.
92. Cut Copy – “Zap Zap”
    Cut Copy brought me back to the 00s during their live show in November and it was beautiful. Surrounded by elder millenials and gen-Xers, we were free. Back in 2006 when nothing at all bad was happening in the world, right guys? Nothing at all. Right??
93. Silvana Estrada – “Como Un Pájaro”
    Experiencing Silvana Estrada’s voice live twice this year was a good decision, and having a song like this stuck in my head for most of the last quarter of the year is also a nice achievement. 
94. Disclosure – “Energy”
    Does this sound like it was made for a Nike / Peloton / Soulcycle / insert Athleisure brand here? Yes. Does it still slap like crazy when you’re out for a run, in this case on a five-mile turkey trot in my parents’ town.
95. Oneohtrix Point Never – “Lifeworld”
    Spent multiple weeks in November and December fully living inside the OPN album, likewise revisiting most of his catalog in the process. Picked this song on a whim, could have picked any song from the record.
96. Joanna Newsom – “Soft As Chalk”
    My wife and I took an impromptu long weekend trip to Michigan in early December and stayed at a friends’ dreamy house in an old part of town. The house creaked all over the place, had a charming layout and a glorious fireplace that we’d sit around every night. Fitting because it was single-digit temperatures the whole visit, and it snowed frequently. A real polar plunge, if you will. But one morning we awoke to one of our friends playing Joanna Newsom’s Have One On Me in the kitchen, and with the winter morning sunlight filtering through the old windows, in a house filled with plants and snow covering the ground outside, it was one of the most dreamiest, most magical moments of my entire year, and one I’ll be thinking of often as a light in the darkness of winter.
97. P.S. Eliot – “Incoherent Love Songs”
    Got to see some P.S. Eliot songs performed at the Snocaps show I didn’t think I’d ever see live. Wild to think about a song like this, as ambitious as it is and written by likely 19 year olds, leading to two illustrious careers in the indie music zone.
98. Cameron Winter – “$0”
    Went to the fabled Cameron Winter show at Carnegie Hall in early December. I wrote more about it in my Top Concerts of 2025 post, but “$0” was especially impactful, what with the whole “god is real, god is actually real” refrain.”
99. DJ Sprinkles – “Grand Central, Pt. 1 (Deep Into The Bowel of House)”
    The Resident Advisor “Best Electronic Music of the Decade So Far” list yielded a lot of revisits and first listens, including putting on Rustie’s Glass Swords for the first time in years, and finally listened to PinkPantheress’ to hell with it (boring!). PS Shout out Los Thuthanaka for ranking so high! Regardless, this got me to revisit DJ Sprinkles’ Midtown 120 Blues for the first time in years and I’m so glad I did. I think I had only checked it out with passive ears, likely playing a video game. It is pretty remarkable for a 2009 release, as omnipresent as it is, taking a survey on the landscape of house music as a whole. One of the later tracks, “Grand Central, Pt. 1” has one of the coldest pads I’ve ever heard on it. Icy winds blowing through a blown out husk of a skyscraper. I don’t need to say much more on it, the legacy speaks for itself. I’m just slow on the take!
100. Norah Jones – “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”
     Norah Jones was Yo La Tengo’s special encore guest for the Hanukkah show I attended, which I somehow called when I saw a glimpse of her sidestage during the last song of YLT’s main set. She performed a few different cuts of her own along with covers, including “Tears Are In Your Eyes,” which was a nice surprise. Jones got famous for a very good reason: her voice sounded incredible live. Happy I got to see her live, by surprise!

LISTENING STATS:

TOTAL STATS FOR 2025:

• 24,072 total plays, 65 plays per day
• 2,962 different artists
• 3,566 different albums
• 9,891 different tracks

My listening was way down in 2025 by an average of 11 plays per day, compared to my 2024 listening stats. What’s interesting is that despite this, I have FAR more artists and albums listened-to in 2025 compared to the year previous. There are two reasons for this: the first is that I listened to a lot more DJ mixes in 2025, which leads LastFM to count all the different tracks as different albums… which is annoying! The second is because I switched over to Tidal, which scrobbles weird in LastFM. If there are songs with featured artists, they get scrobbled as an entry like “Song by Main Artist, Featured Artist” instead of the scrobble going to the main artist page only. This is really where my “pushed up glasses, finger in the air” scrobble nerdery goes ballistic. My previous listening counts… polluted by a weird streaming service since I jumped ship from Spotify in January 2025. Oh the horror, oh the injustice.

MOST LISTENED-TO ARTISTS OF 2025:

1. Men I Trust – 307 plays
2. Oklou – 300 plays
3. Malibu – 275 plays
4. Confidence Man – 235 plays
   –> (prev. #10 in 2024)
5. Grouper – 234 plays
   –> (prev. #17 in 2022, #15 in 2021, #6 in 2019, #4 in 2018, #3 in 2017 & #6 in 2016)
6. Oneohtrix Point Never – 232 plays
   –> (prev. #15 in 2018)
7. James K – 224 plays
8. Hayden Pedigo – 208 plays
   –> (prev. #13 in 2023)
9. Lawrence Hart – 207 plays
10. Kelly Moran – 196 plays
11. YHWH Nailgun – 196 plays
12. Ninajirachi – 194 plays
13. Salami Rose Joe Louis – 176 plays
14. The Sea and Cake – 164 plays
    –> (prev. #3 in 2024, #1 in 2023 & #1 in 2022)
15. Gelli Haha – 160 plays
16. Yo La Tengo – 160 plays
    –> (prev. #2 in 2023, #3 in 2022, #1 in 2021, #17 in 2020, #2 in 2018 & #14 in 2017)
17. Underworld – 156 plays
18. Hiroshi Yoshimura – 145 plays
    –> (prev. #7 in 2024 & #4 in 2020)
19. Erika de Casier – 143 plays
    –> (prev. #10 in 2021 & #18 in 2019)
20. Playboi Carti – 142 plays

Turns out when you put out two solid records with longer-than-average track lists, you’ll be at the top! Men I Trust set a good vibe for 2025, which I appreciate. Other than that, we have old favorites returning, with Grouper and Yo La Tengo appearing on my list for the first time since 2022 and 2023, and old friends like Oneohtrix Point Never and Erika de Casier climbing back in after longer breaks. The Sea and Cake are also still going strong after three years of dominance. Still not sick of them!

MOST LISTENED-TO ALBUMS OF 2025:

1. Oklou – choke enough (2025) – 284 plays
2. James K – Friend (2025) – 215 plays
3. Kelly Moran – Don’t Trust Mirrors (2025) – 198 plays
4. YHWH Nailgun – 45 Pounds (2025) – 196 plays
5. Ninajirachi – I Love My Computer (2025) – 195 plays
6. Salami Rose Joe Louis – Lorings (2025) – 176 plays
7. Malibu – Vanities (2025) – 161 plays
8. Gelli Haha – Switcheroo (2025) – 155 plays
9. Hayden Pedigo – I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away (2025) – 155 plays
10. Oneohtrix Point Never – Tranquilizer (2025) – 144 plays
11. Geese – Getting Killed (2025) – 135 plays
12. Men I Trust – Equus Caballus (2025) – 135 plays
13. Erika de Casier – Lifetime (2025) – 130 plays
14. Confidence Man – 3AM (LA LA LA) (2024) – 123 plays
    –> (prev. #6 in 2024)
15. Lawrence Hart – Asking For A Friend (2025) – 123 plays
16. Moin – You Never End (2024) – 120 plays
17. Real Lies – We Will Annihilate Our Enemies (2025) – 119 plays
18. Kassie Krut – Kassie Krut (2024) – 115 plays
19. Lucrecia Dalt – A Danger to Ourselves (2025) – 114 plays
20. Los Thuthanaka – Los Thuthanaka (2025) – 112 plays

Not much to point out here aside from Confidence Man’s 3AM (LA LA LA) and Moin’s You Never End being the the only two non-2025 records to make this list. Confidence Man got a boost from half of those album plays being from one song (more on that next) and Moin riding a boost after I saw them live. Otherwise pretty par for the course.

MOST LISTENED-TO SONGS OF 2025:

1. Confidence Man – “I Can’t Lose You” – 76 plays
   –> (prev. #1 in 2024)
2. Carlita – “Forever Baby (feat. Janet Planet)” – 63 plays
3. Oklou – “blade bird” – 51 plays
4. Real Lies – “Wild Sign I Choose You” – 45 plays
5. Salami Rose Joe Louis – “A pool to cry in (feat. Flanafi)” – 45 plays
6. Jessica Pratt – “The Last Year” – 41 plays
   –> (prev. #3 in 2024)
7. The MFA – “The Difference It Makes (Mix Cut)” – 37 plays
8. Gelli Haha – “Bounce House” – 34 plays
9. Kelly Moran – “Cathedral” – 34 plays
10. YHWH Nailgun – “Pain Fountain” – 33 plays
11. Waxahatchee – “Right Back To It (feat. MJ Lenderman)” – 32 plays
12. Ninajirachi – “iPod Touch” – 31 plays
13. Kassie Krut – “Reckless” – 30 plays
    –> (prev. #19 in 2024)
14. Safe Mind – “Born To Love” – 30 plays
15. Chanel Beads – “I Think I Saw” – 29 plays
    –> (prev. #5 in 2024)
16. Confidence Man & Sweely – “All My People (Silva Bumpa Remix)” – 29 plays
17. Hayden Pedigo – “All The Way Across” – 29 plays
18. James K – “Hypersoft Lovejinx Junkdream” – 29 plays
19. Grouper – “Moon Is Sharp” – 28 plays
20. Men I Trust – “All My Candles” – 27 plays

This might paint the picture of my stilted, slanting-away-from-current-releases listening better than anything. Never before have I seen so many “old” songs in my most listened-to lists, with nearly half of the list not being released in 2025. Now for a normal person that would be normal, but for a chronic new music listener, this felt weird to see. 

That is, except for the top two songs on the list. When given the option to eat a piece of candy with no consequences, you’d do it! That’s how “I Can’t Lose You” feels, as does Carlita’s “Forever Baby,” which gets an added boost since Confidence Man’s singer Janet Planet guests on vocals. 

MONTHLY BREAKDOWN:

• January – 1,880 plays
  –> Top Artist of January: Jessica Pratt (63 plays)
• February – 1,683 plays
  –> Top Artist of February: Hiroshi Yoshimura (75 plays)
• March – 1,655 plays
  –> Top Artist of March: NEU! (76 plays)
• April – 2,484 plays
  –> Top Artist of April: Grouper (111 plays)
• May – 2,163 plays
  –> Top Artist of May: Men I Trust (125 plays)
• June – 1,828 plays
  –> Top Artist of June: Hayden Pedigo (123 plays)
• July – 1,607 plays
  –> Top Artist of July: Kokoroko (59 plays)
• August – 1,644 plays
  –> Top Artist of August: Playboi Carti (117 plays)
• September – 1,964 plays
  –> Top Artist of September: James K (140 plays)
• October – 2,177 plays
  –> Top Artist of October: Kelly Moran (151 plays)
• November – 2,717 plays
  –> Top Artist of November: Oneohtrix Point Never (198 plays)
• December – 2,253 plays
  –> Top Artist of December: DJ Sprinkles (70 plays)

This breakdown of my listening throughout the year is another piece of evidence in how weird my listening in 2025 was, or rather how much I didn’t want to really dive into new music until around May, as Men I Trust was the first artist who put out a record this year to be my most-listened for a month. After that it paints a pretty cohesive picture of my monthly obsession, including my errant Playboi Carti phase in August, my Oneohtrix Point Never binge in November and my DJ Sprinkles awakening in December. 

MORE MEDIA CONSUMED IN 2025:

2025 was a year that wore heavy on my brain as a whole, leading to a dearth of hearty media in general. Less books and movies absorbed, and as you saw in the stats above, a down year for music as well. Lots of YouTube watched, unfortunately. 

BOOKS:

• The Best American Short Stories 2024 – Various, compiled by Lauren Groff
• Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration – David Wojnarowicz
• Crying in H-Mart – Michelle Zauner
• Health and Safety: A Breakdown – Emily Witt
• The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone – Olivia Laing

Bucking trends from the last few years, I somehow only read five books this year; a very low number for me. Now this is just a theory, but it could be because two of them were total ass and a slog to get through. The worst offender was The Best American Short Stories of 2024, the first fiction book I’ve read in two years. It was packed with identical stories about cheating and pointless smut, only letting one or two positive experiences shine throughout its length.

The other harsh read of 2025, Health and Safety was not “total ass,” it just started alright enough and proposed an engaging premise in the book’s marketing: an NYC-based culture writer descends into the clubby, drug-fueled underground rave scene of Brooklyn (and occasionally Berlin) and breaks down her relationship with herself and those around her. But the second half of the memoir chronicles a terrible, toxic relationship backlit by the last decade of a crumbling America, painted in a way that would have been helpful for someone who hadn’t experienced any of it. But as a reader who also just experience all those things: the 2016 election, the protests, the police violence, covid, I found myself skipping entire paragraphs of setting and context, leading to a book that fell flat in the most two-dimensional of ways. Reading about the Body Actualized Center, Nowadays and other BK clubs made me feel nice though.

But where the bad books had me feeling constipated, the good books had me tasting the freedom of living. Crying In H-Mart was of course as good as advertised, adding depth to Michelle Zauner aka Japanese Breakfast’s early records. The Lonely City feels like a book written for me in mind, with Olivia Laing pairing her own experiences living in New York City and feeling its human hum but also its resonating loneliness through the lens of various art pieces and careers. But the crown jewel was of course David Wojnarowicz’s Close to the Knives, a book I’d say is as essential as any I’ve ever read. A searing portrait of AIDS-era fury, and a takedown of long-rotten American culture. So, so, so good.

MOVIES:

• E6-D7 (dir. Eno Swinnen)
• The Fog (dir. John Carpenter)
• The French Dispatch (dir. Wes Anderson)
• Genius Loci (dir. Maya Merigeau)
• Mitski: The Land (dir. Grant James)
• Moonstruck (dir. Norman Jewison)
• Night On Earth (dir. Jim Jarmusch)
• Old Joy (dir. Kelly Reichardt)
• Perfect Days (dir. Wim Wenders)
• The Phoenician Scheme (dir. Wes Anderson)
• Prince of Darkness (dir. John Carpenter)
• Weapons (dir. Zach Cregger)
• Yi Yi (dir. Edward Yang) *rewatch

Very much slower year for movie watching this year as well. Made it out to the theater five times (nice!) to see The Phoenician Scheme (underwhelmed, too much Wes Anderson, sadly), Weapons (one of the greatest final sequences in film to watch in a theater), Old Joy (to celebrate its 20th anniversary and Yo La Tengo’s official soundtrack release, with the band introducing the screening at Film Forum), concert film Mitski: The Land (at historic Cherry Lane Theater) and one of my favorite movies Yi Yi, as a restored version was running at Lincoln Center. 

The other few movies I watched at home was from an attempted October movie binge with two John Carpenter’s (The Fog is sooo cozy!), and watching Night On Earth with my wife, another supremely cozy watch. I’ll also highlight two animated shorts I watched late one night, Genius Loci and E6-D7. The former has some art / art direction from Brecht Evens, one of my favorite illustrators right now. The other, E6-D7, was potentially my favorite thing I watched all year. Soundtracked by a surgically pulverizing score courtesy of Giant Claw, we see an abstract tale of romance through chess-playing future robots. I can’t recommend it enough.

Further Thoughts on 2025:

2025 included both my most happiest moment of my life thus far, along with extended periods of intense sorrow. My wife and I got married in March, and we experienced a loss in the family in the mid-summer. These two events tinted the year as a whole, consuming my thoughts and inner machinations. 

I don’t really need to get too much into the depths of my thoughts this year, but that should explain enough that my brain wasn’t really focused on new music, or music in general this year. You could find that laughable since I still listened to over 24k songs this year and attended 104 concerts, a personal best for one year. But my heart wasn’t in it like other years. I didn’t find the pleasure as much this year. That likely also has to do with the decay of the world, or at least the US, at large. Lots to bring us down! But thankfully I wasn’t brought down too far. To start off 2026 I deleted Instagram off my phone… let’s see how long that lasts. It feels like a bad idea to remove myself from the online world in general, but sometimes enough is enough. May we all go through 2026 and better ourselves throughout.