Music 2025

It's stupid for me to write about 2025 releases. Even though every single year I make a resolution to listen to more new music, I never do. 

I could not get into a lot of the hyped stuff. It may me just my jaded nature to be over critical of stuff that's being sold to me as the greatest thing going. So I'll keep it short. 

My favorite album in 2025 was McLusky - The World Is Still Here And So Are We. Holy shit. Not just comeback album of the year. Album of the year. 

There was other stuff I liked, Home Front, PUP, Testament. There was stuff I didn't care for - Propagandhi (I know!), Turnstile (definitively NOT hardcore), Scowl, etc. 

The most disappointing album for me was The Dirty Nil's The Lash. I love this band, but didn't love this record. I merely liked it. But I was dying to love it. 

There's a lot of bands I see mentioned that I never did listen to - Wet Leg, Scarab, Water From Your Eyes, Wednesday

And then there was... Geese. I've been hearing a LOT about Geese's Getting Killed  from culture podcasts and critics. Everything I've heard has been passionate, generally positive, but sometimes negative, citing the vocals. 

So I decided to gave it a listen and it's.... pretty good? I mean I absolutely do not get the hype, but it's not bad. And about the vocals. A lot of people have issues with the vocals. But if you're an actual fan of rock music, you've heard vocals like this a million times and probably prefer a little weirdness. If you like Neutral Milk Hotel, Meat Puppets, Car Seat Headrest, or Daniel Johnston, then this is really not a big deal and not worth even discussing.  My favorite song on the album is probably the opener, Trinidad, which kinda feels like a throwaway opener, but does some strange percussive things that remind me of Faith No More at their weirdest. 

Here's my problem with the album, and it's actually a problem with critics, not the band. I keep hearing Geese referred to as the savior of rock music. But, that's a loaded phrase. I don't think this is what most people have in mind when they hear the words "rock music". This is indie rock. There's no real rock 'n roll swagger here. I like the album. It has a good vibe and quirky lyrics and themes. But what's lacking are any memorable hooks. Nothing get's stuck in your head. You won't be humming any of this, which is the ultimate test for me.  

The question is why would you go to Geese as the rock savior when McLusky is RIGHT THERE? If I didn't know any better, I might suspect that NYC indie rock bands get a disproportionate amount of attention and love. But that's not true, right?

Live Shows 2025

2025 was a shitty, shitty year. So here's how I stayed sane. 

January 10th: Sweet and Tender Hooligans, Spaghetti Cumbia (Observatory, San Diego)

Spaghetti Cumbia is an LA based cumbia-punk band. Sweet And Tender Hooligans are a Smiths cover band featuring Joe Escalante of the Vandals. 

Spaghetti Cumbia

Sweet And Tender Hooligans

January 19th: Rocket, Frank Black (The Magnolia, El Cajon)

The Magnolia is a great venue for acoustic shows and comedy shows, but rock shows? Seated? I dunno, man. Still Frank Black was awesome, and so was Rocket, who threw down some 90's Breeders vibes. 

Rocket

March 3rd: RKL, Seized Up, Cigar (Music Box, San Diego)

Cigar is awesome skate punk that showed up in the scene a few years after I lost interest. They shred though. Seized Up has members of Bl'ast and Good Riddance, so you know they rule. And RKL, with my friend-by-proxy Abe Brennan on vocals, just destroyed, 

Cigar

Seized Up

April 23rd: Victims Family, Nasalrod, Drugs OF Faith (Galactic Panther, Alexandria)

This was a great show at an art gallery. Drugs Of Faith is a VA hardcore band. Art-punks Nasalrod feature Spit Stix of Fear and Amanda from Berzerk. And Victim's Family, man this band is so fucking good. Third time seeing them, and third time being floored at the musicianship. Just god-level stuff. Getting to see them in such an intimate venue was a highlight of the year. 

Drugs Of Faith

May 25th: Testament (House Of Blues, San Diego): 

Testament, and specifically Practice What You Preach (which they played in full) , mean a lot to me. Helped me through the darkest of days. 

August 3rd: 7 Seconds (Holding Company, San Diego)

Great small show in Ocean Beach. One of the best to ever do it. 

September 4: Circle Jerks, Gorilla Biscuits, Negative Approach (Observatory, San Diego)

John Brannan scared the kids. GB was honestly kind of a weird choice to sandwich between NA and CJ, but I was here for it. Circle Jerks, yeah they are old, and wouldn't miss it for the world. 

September 23rd: JER / Smoking Popes / H20 / Bouncing Souls (Delmar Hall, St. Louis)

Weird show. Smoking Popes were pretty good. H2) is a band I don't really care for on record, but love to see them live. Bouncing Souls were disappointing. Didn't sound all that great, and energy was really not there. 

JER

September 24: My Favorite Aviator, Weedtüth, Cardiel (Sinkhole, St. Louis)

Wrote on this before, but one of my favorite shows of the year. 

Weedtüth

October 4th: Jawbreaker, Bully, Poli Van Dam (Observatory, San Diego)

Bully sounded great, so did Jawbreaker, but overall a little disappointing. I have no video because I was waiting for Boxcar or Chesterfield King, but they played neither. Seemed like an almost intentional Fuck You to the crowd. 

Bully

Jawbreaker

October 5th: Punk In The Park (San Pedro)

Too many bands to list. It was good, it was bad, it was everything in between. 

Dead Pioneers

Teenage Bottlerocket

Dwarves

Casualties

The Adicts

October 24th: Rocket From The Crypt, Superchunk (Observatory, San Diego)

So I do have video of this, but the sound is distorted. Sad, as this annual Halloween show is one of the more fun ones each year. 

Superchunk

Rocket From The Crypt

October 26th: Aziz Ansari (The Magnolia, El Cajon)

Not music, but we enjoy seeing him whenever in town. 

November 1: Psychedelic Porn Crumpets (Observatory, San Diego)

Had never heard of them before a friend offered me a free ticket. Was very impressed. Very good Aussie band with a terrible name.

November 22nd and 23rd: Cock Sparrer, Dillinger Four, Home Front (Palladium, Los Angeles)

I wrote about this before so I won't here, but my other favorite show of the year. 

Putting this together actually made me feel a bit better about the year. My biggest take away is to go to a show, any show when you're out of town. Especially if it's for work. I'm doing okay for an old man. On to 2026!

The Best Show(s) I Saw This Year

The two shows ties for the best show I saw this year were polar opposites, yet share the same quality that made them stand out: I was legitimately surprised. 

First, let's talk about Cock Sparrer. You love Cock Sparrer, I love Cock Sparrer. A completely known quantity. 

Cock Sparrer played their "last" LA shows (yeah, sure) at the Palladium in November. But I wasn't about to drive to LA to see them. Even if the Palladium is one of those bucket list venues I haven't been to. I didn't even drive downtown San Diego to see Stiff Little Fingers. I've seen legendary bands play the Casbah numerous times. I figured this would be one of those, so I'd pass. BUT. Dillinger Four was opening. My favorite band (well, besides Hickey). The band whose live shows are an intense dopamine hit for this teetotaler. I had to go. So I bought a ticket for the Saturday night show, then ended up screwing up my travel plans so bad I said fuck it, and bought another ticket for Sunday. 

Home Front, who are excellent, opened both shows as well. This is from Sunday:

Dillinger Four, the reason I made this trip, was as awesome duh. I even ran into Paddy in the lobby (I was the guy in the Spazz shirt, Paddy).  From Saturday: 

And now the surprising part. Cock Sparrer. I know all the songs, but never have seen them live. They are in their late 60's and 70's now, so there was a decent chance this could have a little embarrassing. Nope. I had no idea this shit, in 2025, ran so deep. Selling out two nights at the Palladium should have been an indicator. I have read about how group singing has all these physiological and psychological effects, and I have experienced them at live shows, but this was something else. Old people, young people, children. A 90 minute sing along. What was supposed to be a nice chaser after seeing my favorite band turned out to be something I still think about all the time. 

Now, the opposite experience. 

Work took me to St. Louis in September. I didn't know what to do to kill my nights, so I turned to Copilot, asked for things to do. It mentioned that Bouncing Souls, H2O and Smoking Popes were playing, so obviously I did that. But what else, Copilot. Dig deeper. Give me some dive bar shit. So it suggested a band, Cardiel, at a tiny venue called the Sinkhole. Alright, let's do it. 

I take a Lyft to the venue. It's cash only. I have no cash. It's in a not great area of town. There are no ATMs nearby. I don't know what to do. I considered bailing on the whole endeavor. I ask the woman at the door if maybe I can buy some merch from one of the bands who take Venmo, overpay them and get the door fee in cash back? She says to just Venmo her personally. I Venmo her double the door fee in gratitude. I am far too reliant on tech and it's sad. 

There were maybe 20 people there including the bands and staff. The local bands who opened, My Favorite Aviator and WeedTüth, were pretty darn good. But Cardiel, holy shit. For this Venezuelan - Mexican skate-fuzz-sludge-hardcore duo went from a band I had never heard of to one I am obsessed with immediately. Huge smile on my face from beginning to in (I didn't have my external mic for this show). Huge win for AI? This was exactly what I was looking for. 

I'll post some clips from the other shows I saw this year before 2026. 

4 Bands 4 Chaos: A Boise Hardcore / Punk Compilation LP [1998, no label]

This is the second Boise comp I've posted, and maybe the third Boise associated release? This one has Scums Of Fucking Society, S.A.M., Dissident, and Dilapidated. There's nothing revolutionary going on here, and that's fine by me. 

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Another Stupid Record! 7" [Stupid Records]

 
Lather, rinse, repeat last post.  

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Another Stupid Tiny Compilation 7" [1999 Stupid Records]

 

Stupid Records was a Colorado label, but I don't know if these bands are. This is mostly lo-fi weirdo shit. Band on this are Fox Force Five, Space Kitchen, Cindy Wonderful, Chipmunk Of Death, Wryeteous Pybayk Jammbory, and Fea. 

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Hundred Pound Head – Covered In Ash CS [1992 Self-released]

Found this pretty rare cassette on a work trip to Atlanta. Hundred Pound Head were a NYC indie band, and from what I can tell, this cassette is all of the output of the band and band members. Odd, as this is pretty good. Has some 80's British alternative influence. 

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McPherson Struts - Top Fuel Boogie CD [2000 Dust Run Records]

Call it what you want, psychobilly, cowpunk, rockabilly, greaser punk, I have no idea what the distinctions are. All I know is they do a Nine Pound Hammer cover, so they are cool by me. Some of the band members are from the South, but Garrett Smythe (R.I.P.) and Dave Dick from Deadbolt are in the band, and it was recorded at Gar Wood's place, so there is definitely a San Diego connection here. Track 14 is not listed on the release, BTW.

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Pimp [Pimpidy Pimp, Du] Compilation CD [1999 Curly & Spike Records]

 

Pretty rare comp of what I would bet are Orange County (CA) ska/pop/punk/skate bands, maybe LA County at the widest. Let me test my hypothesis and go down the tracklist...

1. Buck Wild - Santa Barbara. Okay so let's all it SoCal bands. 

2. Charmless - Can't find anything on them, but tey released something in Isota records from San Francisco. Uh oh. Maye California bands? 

3. Flipsyde - Minneapolis! Hypothesis dead. 

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The Fly Bitches – The Holy Trinity, Art, And Other Lies CD [1997 Rectangle Records]

 

Had to leave town for a funeral last week. Life is just now caught up enough for me to post again. Was up in the central coast of California, which is honestly one of my favorite places on Earth. I grew up so close to it, and took it for granted. One of the few areas that could lure me from San Diego. 

There's not much out there on The Fly Bitches. They are from Durham, NC, and the very awesome Punk Guy, who I'm sure you're following, posted their demo (engineered by Stephen Eggerton) a few years ago.  

Weirdo punk, like if Victim's Family was part of the Secret Center scene. 

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