Crazy Flubsic of 2025

last year, the album recap was an exciting way to usher in the new year on the website. it's the complete opposite this time. i feel like i'm giving a weak little "hello", only posting this to show that i'm still alive

part of why that is is that i fell out of love with music. i'm OK now (right now, Tears For Fears' Elemental is soo good), but it happened for reasons unknown. disappointing! i was even planning on leaving the big chart for the end but i can't find any reason to hype it up

truly the funniest part out of the 143 albums was the very end. ending the year with Pink Floyd's The Wall and Shadow The Hedghehog Official Soundtrack? hahahaha well, you know. you know how it is

"notable" moments

they even had a billboard made

something wild happened after the release of Cunningham Bird, Andrew Bird and Maddison Cunningham's interpretation of Buckingham Nicks' self-titled album. Buckingham Nicks would be getting a reissue! they also did a funny little thing to tease it. matching instagram posts, using lyrics from Frozen Love

this was pretty big because, from what i understand, the reason the reissue took so long is that they can't stand each other and are also love the other too much to know that being in the same room would be bad (Buckingham is married-- Nicks isn't). for them to get together in the same recording booth is pretty monumental

the album itself is pretty good. i'm suffering from second exposure so i prefer Cunningham Bird and any of the differences are jarring. Lola (My Love) being sung by a guy originally especially tripped me up. it goes from a girl comforting lola, assuring her that she does all she can in an ominous tone (is she jealous? is lola being abused? it has a similar vibe to Jezebel by Sade) to the more simpler scenario of a guy complimenting lola on her loving

so that happened. thank you Andrew and Maddison for possibly being the reason they reunited

movie i didn't watch

i say that 2025 was the year i had a little untryst with music is it a coincidence that this is the year i also got more with the times musically?

it all started with The Box. you know. The Box.

anyway, i remember seeing the trailers for F1 The Movie and getting disappointingly surprised at how well i can recognize Brad Pitt from a one second shot of the back of his head. i never watched the movie but i figured that a thing about cars is going to have good music

well i was RIGHT. including Roddy, F1 The Album has Burna Boy, ROSÉ, and... TATE MCRAE!!!!!!

i went a little crazy over McRae. i know nothing about her. her song on the album, Just Keep Watching, has a lot of commercial value due to the lyrics literally being "Just keep watching" and you know what? i ate that shit up every time. it would play at the mall and for ad breaks and i'd go "OHHHH THAT HITS."

i'm probably never going to watch F1 The Movie but i'm just now finding out Hans Zimmerman composed the score for it so maybe i should give it a go (though maybe the Zimmerman name is just a trap? has he made any bangers since 2014's Interstellar?)

so... does anyone know what Zara Larsson is doing in the cover of Midnight Sun? like i know it's supposed to be representational of her lyrics make but at the same time i don't know. all i know is that it's not as terrible as Man's Best Friend

don't let my confusion detract from how good the album is though. if you are wanting a summer bop, give it a listen. it's fun and has a good variety. the closing song, Puss Puss (Genius annotation: “Puss Puss” means “Kiss Kiss” in Swedish.) is a sickeningly sweet song about Larsson finding out that she's accidentally spent the whole night talking on the phone. basically it's just a really nice vibe

the last one

you know what these are, right? the beloved Double King? the iconic OPAL?

actually it's ok if you don't know. i only found out about Double King last year. it fucks so hard. it's an entrancing animation with sick character design and more importantly, great music. i'm not a huge animation fan but even i would go back and rewatch the thing multiple times because i thought it was so cool

OPAL having less views than Double King (13 million to 99 million) is a definite surprise. OPAL feels so embedded in what i think to be popular that i don't even think it needs an introduction or explanation, but maybe that's because it's by Jack Stauber, who we all know. the 45 second intro song is an absolute KILLER, i love it so much

during my time with Double King, i reeled a lot over how one person did it all- art and music. is it insanity? of course it took hard work and talent, but to start and finish something of this magnitude is a wonder to me. do the Colgraves and Staubers of the world sell their souls to the devil? it reminds me of a highly debated lyric from The Box. "I won't never sell my soul." a doubling down of "never" or a double contraction becoming a positive? hmm ....

and that's the end

so that was everything i could squeeze out of my 2025. this is the part i leave you with a song

how's this? (epilepsy warning. and sound warning: there is sound)