Music Listeners

listening to Your Favorite Songs 2025, part 9

for those about to ENJOY. we salute you.

part 1 here. part 2 here. part 3 here. part 4 here. part 5 here. part 6 here. part 7 here. part 8 here.

scroll to the bottom for youtube embeds of all the songs!

"Sorry" - Cryogeyser
from Dylan:
"It feels like exorcising the demons of nostalgia. Lead vocalist Shawn Marom also described it as 'the song that plays at the pool party your ex is at.' Pretty good summation."

There is always room in my brain and on my blog for a gigantic anthemic slice of grunge. "Sorry" seems simple, contains surprising depths, and most importantly, is HUGE. In this way, the song is just like Bumble, the abominable snowman guy.

“Thrill Eater” - Pretty Bitter
from Robert Peterson:
"That banjo part and great voice…it rocks"

By far coolest/most unique use of banjo I have heard in recent memory. This song also sounds very 1990s in a particular way I find very appealing. It's giving Sixpence None The Richer. It's giving 10,000 Maniacs/Natalie Merchant. It's giving a little bit of I don't wanna wait for our liiives to be over. Love it. Pretty Bitter, ayy, I Enjoy Music featurees! This will not be the last time you see them on this year-end bonanza.

"Cinderella" - Model/Actriz
from Andrew McNally, Allston Pudding contributor. I can be found at @amcnal on bluesky & instagram:
"I'm not sure if it's actually my favorite, but it's the one I'm listening to the most. It proves Model/Actriz can be just as vulnerable and intense without the heaviness - it's a dance song with the most disturbingly affective verse of the year. Honest, raw, and still extremely melodic."

I feel like "the Model/Actriz sound"—the spiky guitars and snappy rhythm section, Cole Haden's strikingly dramatic vocal performances— is one of the most interesting new signature Rock Sounds in recent memory, as evocative as "the Nine Inch Nails sound" or "the Interpol sound" or whatever. I could have shaken ass to anything on Dogsbody, because I believe in myself, but I'm glad they doubled down on dancing for Pirouette. Oh shit Model/Actriz is at Coachella next year, nice, will be there with bells on.

"As Alive as You Need Me to Be" - Nine Inch Nails
from Eric Smooth:
"Got super into NIN last year and this was the first new song since I became a fan. Brought tears to my eyes when I realized he was singing and it wasn't just a score piece. Haven't seen the movie"

Here's me dancing to this song:

is it weird to leave the tiktok comment watermark on? whateva

When I flew to New York last month, I watched Clueless on the plane for the 9,000th time, and paid special attention to the moment when sweet stoner skater Travis interrupts class to get philosophical: "The way I feel about the Rolling Stones is the way my kids are gonna feel about Nine Inch Nails, so I really shouldn't torment my mom anymore, huh?" Well, who would have thunk that Trent Reznor would end up somehow sexier in 2025 than he was in 1995, and still making bangers?? The Tron: Ares soundtrack whipped ass. I kind of love that everyone's into the music but no one saw the movie? RIP Jared Leto.

"Delete" - Ninajirachi
from Pranav Trewn, Music Journalist:
"Delete gets at the core of modern life in the 21st century, the simultaneous fear and desire of being seen, and describes that feeling in masterful succinct storytelling set to the jubilance-evoking earworm of the year."

I somehow missed out on this Ninajirachi album. Foolishness on my part. Caught sleeping. Love the mix of buzzy glitchy 2020s computer music and 2010s festival EDM. Internal but external, cathartic but ambiguous. I'm a little too justified and ancient to post and delete sexy photos on IG stories, as this song appears to be about ("I'm sorry, I promise it'll be gone in the mornin' / I only posted it so you would see it") but I certainly remember putting up *AIM away messages* that I hoped would be noticed by, say, the guy in the Blink-182 cover band I had a huge crush on. They played "First Date" at the school talent show. Sigh.

"Plastic Forearm" - Plastic Forearm
from Drew DT:
"It's my job to pay a lot of attention to the Fort Collins CO music scene, and Plastic Forearm has got to be my favorite band to release anything this year. (Check out the album, "Loves the Earth!") Equal parts irreverent and heartfelt, Plastic Forearm (the track) is above all else about logging off."

So here's the thing: I'm addicted to my phone. I think it's safe to say that now. It sucks because I use it to track when my baby sleeps and eats, because you gotta know how long it's been since she's slept or ate, so you can predict when she might want to sleep or eat again. And that means my phone is usually within reach. And that means it's very easy to just get on my phone. And that sucks. I love The Phone—you're probably reading this blog on Your Phone right now—but we do have to draw the line somewhere. And as Casey Brock and Mud Gonzalez of Plastic Forearm sing on this great song, "Sit on the phone, but make no mistake / You're wasting precious time / Love wasting precious time." I do not want to waste precious time. New year's resolution is LESS PHONE, MORE LIFE. Thank you, Plastic Forearm.