#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
1. "Manchild," Sabrina Carpenter
Once again, my favorite song of the year is a genuine hit with genuine radio airplay by a genuine female pop superstar. And once again, I really can’t fully blame this on having a near-teen daughter in the house.
bonus #2025FavSingles
#top25of25
#Twenty5Stinkers
because why indeed not
#2025FavSingles
#top25of25
2️⃣5️⃣/25
I mained experimental 🇿🇦Thakzin into #PeoplesPop25, but anthemic 🇿🇦Thakzin should have been in there too (side-eyeing the elves). “Sinatanale (Thakzin Remix)” by 🌍Lagos In Paris ft. 🇬🇭Tsie is such a cathartic celebration. happy new year all!
youtu.be/KxmEDw3dvz4?...
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
ASC — love quest
This gallant young troubadour is on a love quest — with a laptop not a lute & and a head more full of dopamine than oxytocin. While bordering on unrelatable to my Gen X brain I find it sweet, funny, clever.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdd3...
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
2. "Landslide," Electric Rime
This Ukranian alt-rock quartet started work on an EP weeks before the invasion. The English lyrics are at times a bit clunky but also capture the heartbreak, fear & hope that comes with living in the shadow of a grinding war.
#2025FavSingles
#top25of25
#Twenty5Stinkers
2️⃣4️⃣/25
my fav discovery from #PeoplesPop25 challenge week: “MAKKA” by 🇬🇧fakemink, Ecco2k & Mechatok. does what it says on the tin (oh no, is this, cough, a drug reference?)
now let’s take it on- and upwards in the actual poll!
youtu.be/jC0pjkRpC6s?...
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
3. "Long After Midnight," Flock Of Dimes
Wye Oak used to get tagged as alt-country, which always seemed a stretch if rooted in a kernel of truth. The aching pedal steel on this, form Jenn Wasner's latest solo outing, makes that truth a bit more apparent.
#2025FavSingles
#top25of25
#25SongsFrom2025
#Twenty5Stinkers
2️⃣3️⃣/25
“Bouwéy” by 1T1 and Theomaa from Guadeloupe🇬🇵 has a 50 Cent vibe to its verses, such as they are (complimentary). it’s a mean dog of a bouyon banger!
youtu.be/tW8KrbpTXcI?...
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
4. "End of the World," Miley Cyrus
I don't love the lyrics about "throw a party like McCartney with some help from my friends." Why not Ringo?!
I love pretty much everything else.
#2025FavSingles
#top25of25
2️⃣2️⃣/25
“Shela” by Sam Deep with Nia Pearl, Boohle and Mano has maintained its number one status in South Africa for some two months to become the big festive end-of-year Desummer hit (you can find out Who Sam Is in just 27 tracks and 3 hours!) youtu.be/CKEK3pC7krg?...
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
5. "Go Anywhere," Sally Green [feat. Kurupt] Pure nostalgic '80s R&B, but so perfectly executed, right down to the Flexatone stings. Green is an independent Oakland artist who also plays saxophone apparently? Her whole album is this good. #EastBayMusic
#2025FavSingles
#top25of25
#25SongsFrom2025
#Twenty5Stinkers
2️⃣1️⃣/25
one for the real heads! one of my afro-francophone YouTube travels led me to 🇧🇫Burkina Faso and an album by Ouendbénédo, with the log drum-enhanced “Christine” as a pop-adjacent highlight: youtu.be/bExoYr9KyIE?...
#2025FavSingles
#top25of25
2️⃣0️⃣/25
this is christmassy, right? Tman “X”press, CowBoii (even if it’s only one), “LastBorn”Diroba (oh wait) and Jesus was very Mellow &… Sleazy (double-checks notes). plus 🇿🇦”Ibhanoyi” wasn’t welcome in the PPP inn (as was ~any~ amapiano):
youtu.be/UrvHSCd_kbQ?...
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
6. "The Subway," Chappell Roan
This seems to be picking up some momentum heading into the end of the year as a clear consensus highlight. Certainly more subtle than "Good Luck Babe," but Chappell sure can build to an emotional climax with bravura vocals.
#MusicChallenge #Top25of25 Thank you for your indulgence. This playlist compiles most of the songs mentioned (but omits those unavailable on the evil Spotify). Enjoy. I'm already looking forward to what 2026 has to offer. open.spotify.com/playlist/5xw...
#MusicChallenge #Top25of25 #2025FavSingles
1. Easy Does It - Dilettante youtu.be/1J5n4QiCgFk?...
And so, the artist I've listened to the most, taking the Best Album slot is the multi talented Francesca Pidgeon's Life Of The Party. A mix of art pop, fuzzy guitars, FFO St Vincent and Fiona Apple.
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
7. "Living Lo-Fi," Cheekface
I think the L.A. trio’s superpower, aside from unbridled sarcasm, lies in Greg Katz’s mastery of poetic meter. There’s some primal prosody in the string of trochees that is, “Are you using frozen food as medical first aid?”
![Mandrake Handshake - King Cnut [Official Video]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6myw23hpcqlymubaxavdq3lu/bafkreibickdw5q27vwxdwiea4s6pxsyj2u6ozzhovrdmrm4dpuf2k4xlxa)
#MusicChallenge #Top25of25 #2025FavSingles
2. King Cnut - Mandrake Handshake youtu.be/2tOFEGhNRGg?...
Another band found via this year's Brighton Psych Fest. Mandrake Handshake's Earth-sized Worlds is one of the best debut albums I've heard in a long time.
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
"8. ""Heathcliff,"" Snocaps"
I’ve enjoyed Katie Crutchfield’s foray into Americana as much as anyone, but it turns out I missed old-school Waxahatchee indie rock, & her sister Allison’s contributions (especially this singalong) take it to the next level.
#2025FavSingles
#top25of25
1️⃣9️⃣/25
a 🇹🇷Turkish song with an 🎹amapiano vibe, what could I want more out of life, or this 🌍world even?yes, it’s 🌍”Dǔnya” by Eftalya Yağcı! she makes slight sound amazing: youtu.be/_029QSCGsFo?...
(did @otherdavemoore.com bring her into my 🌍world? I do believe he did!)
#MusicChallenge #Top25of25 #2025FavSingles
3. Melodie Is A Wound - Stereolab youtu.be/Of2ypYmh07U?...
Biggest surprise of 2025 no. 2: a welcome return and a new album (Instant Holograms On Metal Film) from Stereolab! And it was a corker!
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
9. "A Stone Only Rolls Downhill," OK Go
I'm going to be repeating a lot of what I already posted during #PeoplesPop25 Challenge Week, but let me say again for the record: This song stands on its own even without the typical OK Go high-concept video.
#MusicChallenge #Top25of25 #2020FavSingles
4. Dog Dribble - Getdown Services youtu.be/z1xxdgtWxmw?...
Live Act and Track Of The Year! Getdown Services are like a laissez-faire Underworld crossed with a Butlins Beastie Boys, and they're magnificent. Found, thanks to this year's Brighton Psych Fest.
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
10. "Born Again," Lisa [feat. Doja Cat & Raye]
Alrighty, we're into my Top 10. I've shared all of these for various year-end polls already. It has some genuine pop hits, of course indie rock, and a surprising amount of disco revival.
#2025FavSingles
#top25of25
1️⃣8️⃣/25
who’d’ve thunk this shally, un-poppy morsel would become the year’s biggest international ‘afrobeats’ hit? not me, I dismissed it out of hand, but it has a certain… balotelli to it. “Laho” by 🇳🇬Shallipopi: an incantation that works wonders
youtu.be/qARrn7G067w?...
#MusicChallenge #Top25of25 #2025FavSingles
5. Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday)? - Cate Le Bon youtu.be/qq8QGP1n600?...
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
11. "Will It To Be Real," Kevin Nichols
This is 1 of 2 songs I have on my year-end list that have so few plays that Spotify doesn't even bother to quantify them. But if you're at all an acolyte of soft-loud-soft grunge pop, you *should* be playing this.
#MusicChallenge #Top25of25 #2025FavSingles
6. Jacked - Heartworms youtu.be/mkXKgRtYp2U?...
Another find from this year's Brighton Psych Fest. The album Glutton For Punishment is superb.
#PeoplesPop25
Challenge Week - Day 7/7
AND
#2025FavSingles
#MusicChallenge
#Top25of25
12. "Let Me Go," Deep Sea Diver [feat. Madison Cunningham]
Got an opportunity to do double duty here. Yet another dark, female-led alt-rock track, but it's the dissonant harmonies that set this one apart.
#MusicChallenge #Top25of25 #2025FavSingles
7. Spike Island - Pulp youtu.be/-27a1ugJX8U?...
Biggest surprise of 2025 no. 1: a welcome return and a new album from Pulp! And it was a corker! More, please!
