Alternative Number Ones on Tracy Bonham's "Mother Mother," a pretty-fun time capsule song with an accidentally bleak legacy

God bless the Cleveland Browns.

Number Ones on “Willow” and Taylor Swift’s Evermore era, which is not an era.

hell yeah baby bring it

One for Rob Reiner.

Alternative Number Ones on the Cranberries' "Salvation," the one where she's like "SAL-VEHH-SHAWWN SAL-VEHH-SHAWWN SAL-VEHH-SHAWWN IS FREEAAY! UH HAH-AH! UH HAH-AH! UH HAH-AH! UH HAH-AH!" stereogum.com/2482422/the-...

Stealworkers

Wrote about my favorite hardcore albums of 2025, the year I really fell off from covering hardcore.

This is absolute fuckin lunacy.

Number Ones on BTS's "Life Goes On," a hit that managed to be a historic landmark without actually leaving any detectable cultural impact over here.

Wrote about candy.

Doing that real hard-hitting journalism today.

Wrote about the 20th anniversary of Tha Carter II, an album that means something to me.

it is MIRACULOUS that we got rid of lead paint and asbestos when we did. if we had tried that today, there would be people whining about how we're restricting their rights.

these are all terrible options, and if we lived in a functioning democracy with working regulators we'd think nothing of putting a blanket end to pointless media consolidation these deals are always terrible for product quality, consumers, art and labor, but this is always downplayed in coverage.

boy was it stupid to nominate this person for president!

Helped pick the records and wrote some blurbs on Stereogum's list of the year's best albums. I think we did a good job on this one, but then I always think that.

Alternative Number Ones on a 10.

No value, no villain, no vision. Sounds like the tagline for the earnings call of a collapsing appliance retailer

fraudsters stick together

The year-end list is locked in and news is slow, so now I get to ignore new music for a minute and spend the morning bumping Songs in the Key of Life for no reason. Gotta do this more often.

A better world is within reach

Wrote about the continuing sonic adventures of Pink Siifu

It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.

Number Ones on "Positions" and the moment that newly anointed movie star Ariana Grande went into horny coasting mode.

One for Jimmy Cliff.

Imagine being one of those CEOs or school presidents who bowed down to this weird old man, then realizing he doesn’t like you as much as he likes this guy who didn’t bow at all

One for Mani.

Alternative Number Ones on rain on your wedding day, a free ride when you've already paid, the good advice that you just didn't take, man who woulda thought, it figures, etc.

The idea is to run this feature in the fall every year, not as a part of year-end list season, but with the relaunch we didn't get around to it until kinda late. Anyway, here are some good new bands ("new" and "bands" are flexible terms here).

Taxes on high earners are too low bsky.app/profile/popc...

Wrote the first Album Of The Week review of Stereogum's new redesign/paywall era, and I did it on the new Home Front, which whips serious ass.

Stereogum is an invaluable part of the music media ecosystem, and they've adapted brilliantly to an increasingly hostile landscape for decades now. Please consider giving them a little of your money if you don't already. (And if you do, make sure your payment details transferred over; mine didn't.)

happy circulatory system walking through the kitchen day

Number Ones on SoundCloud-era genre blur, TikTok hits becoming radio hits, and "Mood," a giant hit that already feels like a relic of a different time/

There needs to be trials and there needs to be people sent to die in a prison cell. Consequences must fall on the people who issued the orders and those who carried them out. We must make the punishment of these people a national spectacle that will be remembered for generations.

Alternative Number Ones on "1979," and it's long as shit because it's the only time that Smashing Pumpkins will be in the column.

Number Ones on "Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)," a bad song with an exceedingly complicated backstory.

Wrote a quick consideration of the "no rap songs in the top 40" situation.

If only Stereogum had a "this is so stupid" tag like Defector.

Alternative Number Ones on "Wonderwall," a song you might've heard once or twice.

I profiled Turnstile, my favorite band, for The Guardian, my favorite newspaper.

Number Ones on Travis Scott, Young Thug, and M.I.A.'s "Franchise," which is definitely a real song that everyone remembers.

Wrote about Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, which I had a great time to watch even though it's probably a bad movie.

Wrote about the 10th anniversary of Julien Baker's Sprained Ankle, an album that killed me dead.

Alternative Number Ones on "Glycerine," the biggest and best Bush song.

Number Ones on BTS ascending to pop-sensation status in the US and on "Dynamite," a song that's both ridiculous and consequential.

Memorable line by @tombreihan.bsky.social: “My immediate emotional reaction is basically the same as the time I found a bug in my cereal.”

Chris got bars off on this one.

Alternative Number Ones on the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who are apparently immune to failure, and on "My Friends," the big and not-terrible ballad that they pulled out of their ass during a rough stretch.