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Got my money’s worth out of this pumpkin, repurposed scarecrow.
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Happy holidays, all!
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Peace, love, compassion, health, kindness . . . all the good things.
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My 7th Annual “Year In Music” Review: Top 20 & 35 Honorable Mentions.
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“In a world on fire,
music is my one sure thing.”
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I confessed to a musician friend recently that I was spending far too much time organizing my “best of” music list for the year. That it felt self-important and, well, dumb. I’d say that “nobody cares” but, well, here you are. So I’m not alone after all.
And isn’t that the writing life in a nutshell?
Here or not, I’d do it anyway. But thanks for being here. Pull up a crate, there’s chips in the bowl.
Anyway, my friend quickly countered that it wasn’t dumb — it was a reflective way to take stock of the art that made a dent.
So: Blame Eric for the outrage that follows.
I feel like more than ever, music has pulled me through a difficult year. A distraction, a pleasure, an obsession & inspiration. In a world on fire, music is my one sure thing. It might be too much to say that I owe music my life. But it’s not entirely wrong, either. I don’t know. Living without music would be like existing in a world without trees or meadows, birds or clouds, wind or rocks or mountaintops.
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The truth is, I’ve been intensely, passionately listening to music since my youngest days, the baby in a family of seven children, in a house filled with records and powerful influences. Weaned (not Weened!) on Dylan and the Stones and whatever else I was digesting in 1966 at five years old. During the birth of rock’s greatest era, I was a sponge soaking up the atmosphere.
A quick word about process: This year, I listened to 598 full-length albums. Starting seven years ago, I began to keep meticulous track. This year, I listened to 168 full albums that were released in 2025. Obviously, there’s a lot I’ve missed. And a lot, assuredly, I didn’t really hear. I am aware that when an album doesn’t connect, the fault is often with the listener. Failing to hear deeply enough, attend thoughtfully enough. My apologies all around.
What makes an album push its way to the front? How does it get on the list? I wish I knew. But when I pretend to know, I say that in art I most admire singularity. The album that only one artist or band could have made, no one else. That feels powerful and original. For the annual list, I also seek a wide range, breadth, because that’s how I listen, a little bit all over the map.
I’m just a guy, this isn’t perfect. Hopefully you find something new, worth checking out. I love a lot of music, and I enjoyed so much new music that isn’t represented here. Catch me in a month and I’d probably lop five off and urgently add five new ones.
What follows is my Top 20 and then 35 Honorable Mentions.
TOP 20 (in alphabetical order)
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Annahstasia: Tether
Bad Bunny: Debi Tirar Mas Fotos
Beirut: A Study of Loses
Blood Orange: Essex Honey
Laura Cannell: The Visible Light of Other Worlds
Clipse: Let God Sort Em Out
Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse: New Threats from Soul
Alex G: Headlights
Geese: Getting Killed
S.G. Goodman: Planting by the Signs
Horsegirl: Phonetics On and On
Salif Keita: So Kono
Ben Kweller: Cover the Mirrors
Linda May Han Oh: Strange Heavens
Juana Molina: DOGA @ 2025
Wednesday: Bleeds
Sharp Pins: Balloon Balloon Balloon
Alan Sparhawk w/ Trampled By Turtles: s/t
Yann Tiersen: Rathlin from a Distance/Liquid Hour
Jeff Tweedy: Twilight Overdrive
HONORABLE MENTIONS
JAZZ
Fieldwork: Thereupon
James Brandon Lewis: Apples Cores
Myra Melford: Myra Melford Splash
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ROCK, INDIE
Big Thief: Double Infinity
Craig Finn: Always Been
Robert Forster: Strawberries
Friendship: Caveman Wakes Up
Fust: Big Ugly @ 2025
Liminanas: Fader
Cass McCombs: Interior Live Oak
Mekons: Horror
Perfume Genius: Glory
Joanne Robertson: Blurry
Gruff Rhys: Dim Probs
Stereolab: Instant Hologram on Metal Film
Wreckless Eric: England Screaming
The Beths: Straight Line Was a Lie
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AMERICANA, FOLK, COUNTRY & ALT-COUNTRY
Sam Amidon: Salt River
Jason Boland & the Stranglers: Last Kings of Babylon
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: The Purple Bird
Tyler Childers: Snipe Hunter
Richard Dawson: End of the Middle
Florry: Sounds Like . . .
Greg Freeman: Burn-over
Will Johnson: Diamond City
Hayden Pedigo: I’ll Be Waving . .
Esther Rose: Want
EXPERIMENTAL, AMBIENT, NEW MUSIC
Wednesday Knudsen: Atrium
William Tyler, Kieran Hebden: 41 Longfield Street
Water From Your Eyes: It’s a Beautiful Place
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HIP HOP, R & B, WORLD
Mulatu Astatke: Mulatu Plays Umlaut
Jim Legxacy: Black British Music
Little Simz: Lotus
Rosalia: LUX @ 2025
Songhoy Blues: Heritage
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Artists pictured, top to bottom: Annahstasia, Alan Sparhawk, Karly Hartman (Wednesday), Juana Molina, Devonte Hynes (Blood Essex), Laura Cannell, Salif Keita, Linda May Han Oh, Horsegirl, Geese, Clipse.
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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!
COVER REVEAL & Publishing News
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I’m sorry, I fear that is a little gluttonous to say — and so I apologize in advance to anyone struggling to get published, hoping to fulfill a dream, trying to earn a living. It is so hard out there, so much rejection and disappointment. I know that feeling.
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I mean to say that I don’t take my good fortune, truly my good luck, for granted.
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I am now on the verge of entering my 40th year as a published children’s book author. Amazingly, I currently have 9 books under contract, 7 of them fully written, waiting on art & production. 2027 will see most of them published, ranging from easy-to-reads (And a Moose! series) to a traditional picture book (What Dogs Don’t Know), to a young graphic novel series (Bigfoot and Dodo, co-written w/ the hilarious Audrey Vernick), to a middle-grade adventure series (The Survival Code).
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Yesterday, I caught my first glimpse of the cover to my second “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” title, coming in July 2026.
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These “choose-your-own-adventure” books are bananas to write — requires a map! The endings don’t really matter. It’s the reverse of everything I ever learned about writing, or even the reason for telling a story in the first place. Think of a tree. The trunk is the set-up. It has to be sturdy enough to 
support many branches, with each branch representing a path and an ending. And there is no “true” story, no real message to get across, though each choice must feel meaningful and each conclusion satisfying. It’s all counter-intuitive to write and, hopefully, fun to read. It’s good to try new things. And kids really enjoy this format.
support many branches, with each branch representing a path and an ending. And there is no “true” story, no real message to get across, though each choice must feel meaningful and each conclusion satisfying. It’s all counter-intuitive to write and, hopefully, fun to read. It’s good to try new things. And kids really enjoy this format.–
Thanks for stopping by!
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It Will All Makes Sense Someday
Spotted in the Wild: BLOOD MOUNTAIN, Oneonta, NY
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I passed through my old college town, Oneonta, NY, stopped in a bookstore, and spotted Blood Mountain on the shelves. I don’t normally look for my titles, and I never say a word to the staff. I remain anonymous, stealthily make my purchase and drift away. It all feels embarrassing to me.
But, yes, when I can step beyond the awkwardness of it — when I can actually appreciate the moment — it is kind of cool. This is the place where I went to college, became an English Major, and had teachers who inspired me. Where I began to dream the dream.
Maybe one day . . .
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This little passage is from a quiet moment I particularly enjoyed in the book. When Carter, lost and alone, climbs a tree and imagines himself a pirate . . .
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Somehow he senses, like never before, that he is in the presence of an ancient, mysterious, living creature. An alive thing. Hey, Tree. His right hand reaches up, fingertips almost touch the lowest branch. Carter impulsively jumps, catches hold, swings his legs, hoists himself up.
He begins to climb.
Rises branch by branch.
He exhilarates in the texture of the rough bark in his hands. His arms straining, reaching: his back muscles heaving. Timbers creak and groan, and still he climbs. He comes to a spot where two branches split off and upward, forming a V shape. Carter finds that he can lean against the trunk, his feet propped against each limb, and comfortably relax. He’s a lookout in the crow’s nest, a pirate’s skull-and-crossbones flag blowing in the breeze, searching the riotous green sea. Shiver me timbers!
The view stuns him. The land is laid out like a map draped across an uneven table. Off in the distance, beyond what he accepts to be Crater Lake, he discerns a dirt road needled through the wilderness like a faint thread. So far away, but at last a lodestar for his wanderings.
I am not lost, he thinks.
I am right here.
This is the gift he receives from the tree.
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Blood Mountain was a Junior Library Guild Selection.