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Top Songs of 2025, Part Two

We’re back! It’s Part Two, so today’s post goes from 13 down to 6. The Top Five will come tomorrow.

Let’s go!

13. Youth Lagoon, “Speed Freak”

If you’re wondering who or what a Youth Lagoon is (or are), here’s a primer from Wikipedia:

So that’s settled.

In any event, Youth Lagoon brings it with this song, which clocks in at 13.

12. Bar Italia, “Fundraiser

This song served as my introduction to the band Bar Italia.

It won’t be the first time you’ll see them in the countdown, as they are one of two acts with multiple appearances; they’re also one of two bands — see Witch Post, on last week’s first installment of Top Songs — that moves back and forth between male and female voices.

The video makes little sense, but the song is a banger.

11. Geese, “Taxes”

One of 2025’s “It Bands” is Geese. Part of the reason: front man Cameron Winter’s voice is unlike anything I’ve heard in quite some time.

And the lyrics? Way-too-Gen-X to be a band of kids in their 20s; angsty enough to get invited to sit in the driveway with me, pop open a lager, and yell at the kids to “get off my lawn.”

Below, the official video, and the band’s performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

10. The Boojums, “Burnin’ Up”

The best band you’ll ever see from Nova Scotia.

9. AFI, “Behind the Clock”

Perfect for a “How It Started…How It’s Going” post, eh?

How It Started: Lead singer Davey Havok at a fashion show in 2011.

How It’s Going: Davey Havok today.

It’s also a heavier sound for the band with their single “Behind the Clock.”

8. Turnstile, “Seein’ Stars”

My notes on this song: “Taco Bell brought me here.”

Yes, you’ve heard this song on Taco Bell ads and it’s okay if you want to go grab a Cheesy Gordita Crunch after listening.

7. Perfume Genius, “It’s A Mirror”

Here’s another from the category of “Guy Who Goes By a Stage Name That Sounds Like a Band.”

Michael Hadreas is the guy, Perfume Genius is the stage name.

6. Lola Young, “Messy”

Lola Young has had A YEAR — so much so, she needed to take a break thanks to the exhaustion.

“Messy” is a great tune; to be honest, the second link below is one of the best live performances I’ve seen this year, from Glastonbury.

See you…TOMORROW…for the Top Five Songs of 2025.

It’s Sunday, So Here’s Advice from an Orthodox Priest — And A Couple Doctors, Too

Fr. Paul Truebenbach is an orthodox priest at Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In this video, which appears on YouTube from a channel called Roots of Orthodoxy, Fr. Paul was asked if he had advice for someone with anxiety and depression.

Even if you’re not a religious person, there’s something to be said for the four-step process:

  • Exercise for 30 minutes (more on that below)
  • “Go build, fix, or clean something”
  • “Go pray” — again, for those who aren’t religious, substitute meditation — and the “Jesus prayer” recommended by Fr. Paul is simply “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
  • Find something you can do for someone else.

The Exercise Habit

Spend any time on the internet and you’ll see that there are scores of theories on exercise: which ones are best, how much, how often, etc. It’s a lot to digest.

If you have the time for another brief video, here’s one where Chris Williamson interviews Dr. Rhonda Patrick — she’s someone who has appeared on a number of podcasts and hosts one of her own — where they discuss a number of exercise strategies; the one that I zeroed in on is the “Norwegian 4×4.”

Rhonda explains it here:

Sounds daunting, sure, and it may not be your thing.

Another approach: Walking. As detailed in this video, where Dr. Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Casey Means.

“If walking were a pill, it would be the most impactful pill we have in modern medicine.”

The Upshot: Get Moving, Get Busy, Get Out of Your Own Head

We could talk about all of Fr. Paul’s points all day; but if you zero in on his main ideas, it all makes sense. Workout, then accomplish something by building or cleaning or fixing, then pray, then do something for someone else.

The Top Songs of 2025, Part One

We’re back! Every year at about this time, we rank the songs we’ve heard — who’s kidding anyone, we’re using the “Royal We” here, as this is Dave’s ranking of the songs, according to Dave — and 2025 provided some…certified bangers.

This year, we’ve expanded the list to include 20 songs. And today we’ll present 20 through 14; 13 on down arrives next week.

20. Bel Air Lip Bombs, “Hey You”

Folks, it’s a complete standout of a music year when a song like this one, from a band like this band, gets stuck with the 20th slot in my rankings.

But that was the year that this was. (Yes, the previous sentence is grammatically correct.)

Off the album “Again,” there’s a breezy rock-meets-pop sound to this band. Others in my orbit may rate this higher on their lists, but…it charts as 20 for us.

Sidebar — Band I Discovered in 2025: Aloha

Long-time pal on X (f/k/a Twitter) is a chap called “Sisyphus Goals” and he and I have bonded over music for…several years now.

Imagine my surprise when he shared this band and I said: “Who?” They’re a band that has been around long enough to have a MySpace page. Here’s their Wikipedia entry.

Aloha is the name of the band. Here’s “All the Wars.”

And here’s “It Won’t Be Long.”

Also, here’s “We Get Down.” What a fun find this band was.

And, Sisyphus suggested this song in his tweet…”Let Your Head Hang Low.”

19. Unknown Mortal Orchestra, “Boys with the Characteristics of Wolves”

Fair warning: this is a weird, AI-produced video that begins with an interlude thing that is different from the actual song.

Alas, Unknown Mortal Orchestra makes the Top 20 list with a pretty catchy tune.

18. Strange Neighbors, “Hate Me Less”

This song was fun enough that it entered my world very early in the year, and it stayed on the list, and it managed to keep on the list through many repeats.

They’re from NYC and big enough to have their own really interesting web page — but not yet big enough to have a Wikipedia entry.

17. Big Thief, “Words”

I’m a big fan of Adrianne Lenker, the front-woman of the band Big Thief (who also does some solo work from time to time). “Words” is off the album Double Infinity, which just arrived a couple months ago.

Lenker’s voice is haunting, soulful, and kinda fits the mood lately. Great song.

16. Witch Post, “The Wolf”

I’m a big fan of bands that can move seamlessly between a male and a female singer; Witch Post is such a collaboration, as Dylan Fraser and Alaska Reid teamed up from two separate continents, as detailed in this article from a magazine/website called Dork.

(Note to self: revisit Dork often.)

“The Wolf” is getting The Airplay on SiriusXMU AND on Alt Nation, so they must be doing something right.

15. Preoccupations, “Focus”

The first of two artists to hold multiple slots on my countdown, Canadian act Preoccupations has figured out two things: (1) song construction and (2) video production.

This video is a sad and jarring walk down memory lane for anyone who either remembers the People’s Temple Guyana Massacre has watched any of the myriad documentaries on cult behavior.

But a fun song nonetheless.

14. Rainbow Kitten Surprise, “Dang”

A fun rock band with a pretty sizeable following, Rainbow Kitten Surprise bandmates met when they were students at Appalachian State University. You can read more about the band on their Wikipedia page.

This is a catchy song that I first heard on Alt Nation a few months back, and I continue hearing it. SO….you can hear it, too.

Next round comes next week. Enjoy the tunes!

The Next Big Thing — Or, Three Musical Acts About to Explode

We’re back on Day Three of A Month of Content…Here’s a post that appeared on Dave’s Substack this past June; it has been lightly edited with some editor’s notes updating statistics.

It’s time to amaze your friends! Yes, thanks to yours truly listening to a lot of new music, a little sleuthing, and a chap called Canadian Steve, you are about to become The Tastemaker. The Influencer. The guy (or gal) who tells everybody six months from now that you told everybody about this artist six months ago.

Behold, The Next Big Thing, 2025 Edition. Here goes.

The Next Big Thing, Solo Artist: CMAT

To become The Next Big Thing, you have to have both a vibe and a catchy single. Meet CMAT, who provides both right here. The song is called…”The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station.” Color me intrigued — or, more accurately, “colour me intrigued,” as CMAT is from Ireland.

We’re a scant three seconds into this video and I’m nonplussed. Do I tell everyone about this artist? Do I take a screenshot? Do I subscribe? Do I wonder what has happened to society when some mysterious artist — who appears to be named after a college admissions test or a part you’d find inside a Ford Thunderbird — has only 27,000 subscribers?

Editor’s Note: What a difference a few months and an album launch can make, CMAT now has 48,000 subscribers, and the video has been viewed 246,000 times and counting.

Mind you we haven’t even listened to the song yet. This is the impact of CMAT.

Quick internet scan tells us that the artist CMAT is a young woman whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson. Gotta admit, while it’s a pretty name, Ciara Thompson doesn’t roll off the tongue like CMAT does.

And here’s the CERTIFIED BANGER(™) that will be your Song of the Summer.

She visited the States in September, 8 American shows (and one in Toronto, which is not yet part of America) in a two-week span. Funny enough, her new album, Euro-Country, dropped at the end of August.

Like I said: CERTIFIED BANGER.

My thanks to Canadian Steve, who introduced me to CMAT (and dozens of others) on his Substack.

Also check out this song:

She’s going places, kid.

The Next Big Thing, Duo: Mind Enterprises

To summarize where we’re going with this, it’s time for a screenshot of a tweet. From me, of course. I’m clever and modest.

I am simultaneously late to the party – this act has been around for years, it seems – and brand new to the courtyard wine-and-cheese-fest vibe known as “Italo Disco,” as it seems that the duo is tapping into the milieu of the modern Italian zeitgeist. Or they’re trending in my X bubble. Same diff.

In any event, it was thanks to a random repost of an Italian Fashion Party that I learned of the existence of Mind Enterprises.

And, after I gave her an immediate follow, this tweet about Mind Enterprises, also from Miss White.

I was quickly able to confirm that the music in the first tweet is from Mind Enterprises, the vibe matches; the second tweet sealed the deal.

And, it follows — like that one kind of cognitive bias where you buy a car and then everyone is driving that same car — Mind Enterprises owns Twitter. (Mind Enterprises is probably too cool to call it “X.”)

Here, then, 45 Minutes of Mind Enterprises. As they say in the business, “You’re Welcome.”

Only have 22 minutes to spare? Here’s a shorter video. Again, accept the awesomeness with my compliments. (I love what you’re doing with your hair.)

BTW, no article that even mentions Italo Disco would be complete without Giorgio Moroder’s classic, “Chase,” which was part of the soundtrack of my youth because the local NBC affiliate used it for Notre Dame football highlights; I can still see Vagas Ferguson cutting through the Purdue defense.

(Feel free to go down the Giorgio Moroder rabbit hole; and one-half of Mind Enterprises looks awfully similar to young Giorgio.)

The Next Big Thing, Rock Band: Wunderhorse

This band came around at the right time, it seems: they toured the US, then went back to their home in Britain and were just in time to fill what is a void in rock music. Like, rock music wasn’t…rocking…and now it’s back.

Wunderhorse is definitely a throwback to the days of guitar-heavy rock.

To wit, “Rain.” In the running for my Song of the Year, this ditty is outstanding.

Here’s a version recorded in Dublin:

And here’s “Rain” live on Kimmel:

And if you’re really interested in a breakdown from someone who has been there…here’s Justin Hawkins saying what I’ve been saying (but he said it 7 months ago).

There’s more from the band, too: “Leader of the Pack” is a clever little song:

And a three-song set in The Netherlands, which starts off with “Midas”:

You Are Now The Tastemaker

That’s right, friends. I may not have my finger directly on the pulse of what’s cool, but I’m somewhere in the Top Quintile. That’s good enough these days, so check out these acts, amaze your friends, and enjoy your December.

Editor’s Note: We’ll be releasing our Top Songs of 2025 next week on the blog.

Lean Into the Absurd with AI

We continue our Month-long content festival with a talk about AI and absurdity.

The genie is out of the bottle when it comes to Artificial Intelligence. AI will change the world! AI will take our jobs! AI will cure cancer!

All those things could eventually be true.

But, starting a couple years ago, when I first started playing around with AI tools, I took a different approach.

How Absurd Can You Get?

Now, is there a method to the madness? Yes: Akin to playing MadLibs, I was trying to spur creativity. And sometimes, I failed spectacularly. In any event, here’s a smattering of some wins and losses from my journey into AI absurdity.

How Absurd Can You Make It?

Here’s a for instance: say you want to encourage people to get a colonoscopy — and you know that the recommendations have changed, suggesting that you get one starting at age 45 — but you can’t really use a picture of a diseased colon to get people to make the appointment.

Enter: The Vintage Colonoscopy Travel Poster!

Well, it was close.

Enough of that, let’s try another topic.

What About The Four-Panel Cartoon?

Sure, you can type that into your favorite machine and maybe it’ll spit back something that makes sense. Like, how bout two dogs discussing the song “Last Resort” by the band Papa Roach?

Maybe a little too dark. Here’s another attempt: A dog named Clyde introducing himself.

Sigh. Not sure which one is Clyde.

What Would Huff Do?

Huff is my friend on X; he has created some really interesting AI art as the technology has advanced. Some of it is a little more political, but a couple of his creations stand out. Like…

Also, he sent me one of his personal favorites: a recreation of Stewie and Brian from Family Guy, posing for a 1970s mall photo.

Round Three: Merger & Acquisition Division

The earliest days of AI imagery left spelling to the imagination.

And, remember when the USFL merged with the XFL and created the UFL? This guy remembers.

What’s The Point?

For me, the point is to sharpen creativity. To think about things in new and different ways.

It’s also a great way to learn the nuances of the various platforms: typing in a prompt, then realizing the prompt wasn’t quite right, then sharpening your focus — “create an image in the style of a 1970s mall photo session” — can lead you down various paths you may not have thought of. And you’ll compare and contrast ChatGPT with Gemini or with Grok or…well, whatever tool you’re using, you will learn its particularities, and THAT will help you think a little better about whatever problem you’re trying to solve.

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