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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.

Songs of the Decade (So Far)

It’s time for one of those bars that show you how far along you are, you know, updating the virus scanner or something like that. Except…it’s time for that with the 2020s.

Time, first off, for the disclaimer: I don’t care that there was no “Year Zero” and I also don’t care that the new millennium started in 2001. The 2000s started in 2000, the 2010s started in 2010, and the 2020s started in 2020.

That being said…

My Candidates for Song of the Decade

Rather than usual rankings — which I have done here for every year since 2022, and I have done on other socials going back to 2020 — I’m instead thinking we’re just going to go freeform. Like, here’s a song I liked, and here’s another one I liked and here’s one that has grown on me more than expected. And so on.

The Districts, “Cheap Regrets” (2020)

Yes, I have adored this song since I first heard it. I have tweeted about it for the past five years. No regrets at all.

This song, for me, is a “Time and Place” song: I can tell you what I was doing (sitting in a parking lot in suburban St. Louis during the pre-pandemic shut-down period of 2020) when I first heard the song.

And I give thanks to my car’s SiriusXM setup, because I was able to rewind and replay it five times in a row.

It has also stuck with me, remained on my playlist, and isn’t going away. Great video, too.

Depeche Mode, “Ghosts Again” (2023)

I reached out to my pal “Canadian Steve,” from whom we’ve received a few contributions in the past, for his vote on “Song of the Decade (So Far)” and his response took less than a minute. His comments:

“Written and recorded shortly after the passing of original member Andrew Fletcher, a band that had recorded songs about death brought a newfound honesty to the inevitable.”

This particular song made an appearance in *my* Top Ten from 2023, clocking in at #4.

The Last Dinner Party, “Nothing Matters” (2023)

This was my #1 Song of 2023, and there was something about the energy of the band, the in-your-face-F-bomb lyrics that spoke to me. And quite a few others, too, as mainstream airplay followed (with an edit or two) for “Nothing Matters.”

Here’s the video version, complete with the F’ing chorus.

Chappell Roan, “Pink Pony Club” (2020)

Unless you’ve witnessed this turning a dance floor from meh to party in the span of ten seconds, you might not “get” Chappell Roan. Okay. Fine. That was me until a while back.

But, here’s to Chappell for being the right person at the right time — even if the song came out in 2020 and really didn’t become a THING until maybe last year — and becoming a cultural touchstone in the process.

Lola Young, “Messy” (2024)

This was released in June 2024 but, like Ms Roan above, Ms Young also appears to have been on a slow simmer for a while before standing thisclose to becoming absolutely huge.

Getting airplay in 2025 and topping alternative airplay charts in the US and Canada is enough to move this onto my Top Ten list for this year — hey, I don’t spend time on TikTok so I wouldn’t have seen it catch fire, and Young didn’t appear on Fallon and elsewhere til this year anyway — and, in addition to the below official video, you MUST check out the Glastonbury performance; emotional in a way that is taken aback at the success that she no doubt visualized.

Mannequin Pussy, “Sometimes” (2024)

My fear with this song is that, once we get to 2029, people might forget how downright awesome it is.

Part 90s angst and part 2000s female-led punk-ish rock, this song spoke to me in a “hey, this could have simultaneously been released in 1991 or 2001 or like yesterday” way.

Not sure how much sense that makes, but MP brings it. My #1 Song of 2024.

Bartees Strange, “Heavy Heart” (2022)

Interestingly, Mr Strange only hit #2 on my Top Ten Songs of 2022 list. (Click the link to see what was number one.)

However, Strange has staying power, has come out with new music, continues to have the soul-meets-rock sound that defies categories, and he’s so charming in interviews I wouldn’t mind having a beer with him.

And the song still hits.

Glass Animals, “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” (2021)

Not the Glass Animals song you were expecting, anon? (That’s okay, here’s a link to “Heat Waves.”)

“Space Ghost…” got some heavy alternative airplay on the satellite channel I frequent in 2021, and the volume of weird rhymes hit me in a way that Twenty One Pilots might have; but this song spoke to me. And still does.

Fontaines D.C., “Starburster” (2024)

Kid 1 told me this should have been my Top Song of 2024 selection. She was overruled but it was a tight race and Fontaines finished second to the above-mentioned Mannequin Pussy. (Number 3, Fat Dog’s “Running,” hasn’t caught on throughout the universe as much as I would have hoped, but I’ll link to it nevertheless.)

I’m still a BIG FAN of this song. You may be as well.

Comments? Questions? What Am I Missing?

Let me know in the comments, and/or tweet away.

Top Songs of 2024: Part Three (Songs 1-5)

Here they are: The Top Five Songs of 2024.

This is the third year for these rankings from me; prior to that, I did post on Facebook, but 2022 and 2023 had lists and you can read them here: Your Top Ten Songs of 2022, Top Ten Songs of 2023.

And, here are the links if you missed Part One or Part Two.

Boy, This Was Tough…

I came up with a Top Five a couple weeks ago. I figured that the Top Five wouldn’t change — and, despite some cool late entrants to my Song Database of Fire over the past few weeks, it didn’t — but that Number One likely would.

So I have deliberated, invited both of my music-loving daughters (ages 23 and 18, where does the time go?) to weigh in, and have made my decision. (Note that the decision was NOT done to appease either of my music-loving daughters.)

The Top Five Songs of 2024

5. Beach Bunny, “Vertigo”

Catchy tune? Check. “Beach” in the band name? Check. Neato animated video? Check.

Clocking in at a Usain Bolt-level 2-and-a-half minutes, it’s the first bit of new music released by Beach Bunny — the band started as Lili Trifilio’s solo project in 2015 — in three years. And, now that it’s just a three-piece, after the departure of lead guitarist Matt Henkels, the band does not miss a beat.

If this were the best song you heard all year, you had a good year. A solid #5.

4. Katrina Ford, “Cry Wolf”

Have you heard of Katrina Ford? Here’s the thing…you have probably heard FROM Katrina Ford. Ha!

Here’s a story from Stereogum. Wait, WHAT? Gotta give “Wolf Like Me” another listen, then. Like…how about now?

In any event, Ms. Ford dropped an album called H.E.A.R.T. earlier this year and we dig what we’ve heard. And we REALLY dig this song, which also falls into the “Criminally Underrated” category; fewer than 10K viewers of this, the official video. (Also, here’s a link to her YouTube channel. Subscribe, people. Seriously!)

3. Fat Dog, “Running”

Did I mention this year’s Top Five was tough? For instance, if I had put this song at #1, there would possibly be a few head nods: this band is out-of-control good. Energetic as heck, live shows are off-the-hook bonkers AND LEAD SINGER JOE LOVE GOES INTO THE CROWD IN THIS PERFORMANCE…WHAT?

Here’s an excerpt from a review from London’s Sunday Times’ Will Hodgkinson:

You had me at “rave, punk, klezmer, arabesque.”

Best Song of 2024? Maybe. This year, ranks third on my countdown.

2. Fontaines D.C., “Starburster”

I knew this song had made it when it randomly made background music in a feature on FOX NFL Sunday.

Fontaines, D.C. are seemingly everywhere in 2024. There’s a reason why: songs like this one and “Favourite,” which has also charted on US Alternative charts, are stellar.

Ireland, baby.

Anyway, they’ve performed on Jimmy Fallon, on Jools Holland, and they toured the US in the Fall. They are the real deal.

Without Further Ado…

1. Mannequin Pussy, “Sometimes”

To me, the only thing holding this band back from absolute mainstream success is the band’s name.

To be honest, that’s it. Songs like this one and “I Got Heaven,” which charted in the U.K., and “Loud Bark,” both off the I Got Heaven album, and you get the feeling these folks will be huge.

I immediately harken back to Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays when I hear lead singer Missy Dabice start singing. Then, hearing her her do the primal scream thing, I think…Courtney Love and Hole. There’s a lot packed into just over 3 minutes here; no song accompanied my car trips better than this one in 2024.

It’s my Song of the Year.

A couple versions here: first, live on KEXP.

And then, here’s the official video version.

There You Have It…

Our Top Songs of 2024. Here’s a link to the other two parts of our blog post:

Top Songs Part One

Top Songs Part Two

And…here are the past couple years:

Top Songs 2023

Top Songs 2022

Top Songs of 2024: Part Two (Songs 6-10)

In Part One, we told you about the Honorable Mentions. Now, we crack the Top Ten with songs 6-10. But presented in reverse order because we grew up as the Casey Kasem generation.

10. Magdalena Bay, “Death and Romance”

If you’re Gen X, you’ve no doubt picked up an album and, when you see a song that isn’t your favorite off the album hit the charts, you’ve said “that’s not even the best song on that album!” Such may be the case here: IMHO, “Image,” with its nearly 1 million views on YouTube, isn’t even the best song I’ve heard from Magdalena Bay this year.

(Don’t get me wrong: “Image” is catchy as heck.)

But Magdalena Bay really spoke to me with “Death and Romance.”

You’ve maybe seen them on TikTok or elsewhere. Won’t be the last you’ve heard MB.

First, the “Official Audio” version.

Now, the Official Video version, 8 minutes of creativity.

9. Bartees Strange, “Sober”

My notes on this song, upon first listen, were as follows:

I’m a big fan of Mr. Strange, whose 2022 “Heavy Heart” clocked in at #2 on that year’s list.

“Sober” is one of the best songs I’ve heard this year.

8. Cardinals, “Twist and Turn”

Turns out a few Irish bands are making their marks in music. These chaps build a pretty good case for a Top Ten song with “Twist and Turn.” I especially like the back-and-forth between an acoustic coffee house sound AND a rock-percussion vibe…in the same song.

7. Alice Merton, “run away girl”

This is one of the best “pure-pop” songs I’ve heard in a while. And here are two versions from Alice:

First, the stripped down acoustic (“black sands”) version:

Next, the “visualizer” version, which is kindof a video except it’s Alice in a field. Which is fine, but also matches the radio version of the tune.

6. Omni (feat. Izzy Glaudini), “Plastic Pyramid”

When I first heard this, my initial reaction was (again from Excel) as follows:

Ah, Yes. I have “Roundabout” as one of the best songs ever — read here: Top Songs of All Time — but others find it to be (quoting a friend) “over-produced audio drivel.”

In that vein, Omni may not be your cup of tea. But it was mine — and it’s not even the zaniest song I heard in 2024, natch — and makes it in at #6. (And the video is nuts; congrats, Omni!)

Coming soon, Part Three…your Top Five.

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