Sound Obsession

To borrow from a Brent Cobb album title, the dominant musical theme for me this year was "ain't rocked in a while."  Despite auditory excursions into electro, drum & bass, and country music, my craving for guitar riffage and six-string shredding was strong, and 2025 delivered.  Long time favorites like Deftones and Ghost returned with late career highlights while the next generation of Gen Z artists inspired by Gen X sounds - Doomsday, Die Spitz, and Rocket - picked up guitars and released outstanding debut albums. These are my top ten favorite albums of 2025, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . . Client_03:   Testbed_Assembly     (Client_03, 7/4/25) Electro has roots in krautrock, funk, and the cut-up rhythms of the nascent hip-hop scene - a cyborg groove built on 808s, synthesizers, and ...

These are my runners up and honorable mention albums of 2022, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . . Arctic Monkeys:   The Car   (Domino - 10/21/22)       Ellis Bullard:   Piss-Hot Freightlinin' Country Music     (Mostly Sober - 4/29/22)   Charley Crockett:   Lil' G.L. Presents Jukebox Charley     (Son of Davy - 4/22/22)   Charley Crockett:   The Man From Waco     (Son of Davy - 9/9/22)   Matt Daniel:   All I'll Ever Need     (KWS - 2/11/22)     Fracture & Sam Binga:   Omura     (Astrophonica - 4/22/22) Ghost:   Impera     (Loma Vista - 3/11/22) Harmony:   Resurgence Episode II     (Deep Jungle - 2/2/22) Aaron McDonn...

"Everything except country.” That was my unhesitant reply for many years when asked "what kind of music do you like?" Reinforced by the mental image of Garth Brooks flying over a stadium audience on a wire-rig in the early 90’s, the genre was incomprehensible to me, if not reprehensible. It just wasn’t my thing, and never would be. Lately, however, I'm never quite sure what genres and artists will inspire me year to year - only that I’ve tried to keep an open mind and am prone to odd musical obsessions. This year, it finally turned out to be country music. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Chris Stapleton's soulful companion albums From A Room Vol. 1  and From A Room Vol.2  topped my favorites list last year and Sturgill Simpson's experimental A Sailor's Guide To Earth  made that list the year before. Maybe nostalgic childhood memories of Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Waylon Jennings softened me up. More recently, perhaps it was blu...

Willie Nelson & Sturgill Simpson, The Anthem, Washington DC - 5/27/18 Ghost, Warner Theater, Washington DC - 5/20/18 Ghost, Warner Theater, Washington DC - 5/20/18 Ghost, Warner Theater, Washington DC - 5/20/18 Ghost, Warner Theater, Washington DC - 5/20/18 Fu Manchu, Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington DC - 5/9/18 Power Trip, Black Cat, Washington DC - 5/8/18 Beck, The Anthem, Washington DC - 4/27/18 Dan Auerbach, 9:30 Club, Washington DC - 3/22/18 High On Fire, Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington DC - 2/6/18 High On Fire, Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington DC - 2/6/18 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, 9:30 Club, Washington DC - 1/29/18 Spoon, 9:30 Club, Washington DC - 12/31/17 Spoon, 9:30 Club, Washington DC - 12/31/17 Spoon, 9:30 Club, Washington DC - 12/31/17