I still find sombr to be a little off-putting. He is growing on me, though.

In a weird twist, two alumni from a semi-popular Nickelodeon show won Grammys this year. Neither of them was Victoria Justice.

Alex Warren earned a fan with his Grammy performance. So, welcome to #WickedGP, Alex! www.wickedguilty.com/2026/02/4-fe...

I have had this song on repeat since the Grammys, honestly. Her speech was a thing of beauty. Her performance was gorgeous. The song is incredible and different. We're looking at a generational talent here. Pay attention.

I wrote this post the same time I wrote the post for "Headphones On", so I make a bold prediction..... .... that ended up not coming true. But this GRAMMY performance was epic.

I used to post a LOT of @charlixcxofficial.bsky.social on this blog. Most of that energy now goes to Lights, but since The Moment is out today and "Wuthering Heights" is out in two weeks, it was time to celebrate again!

I think it was a pretty logical conclusion to think that Olivia Dean would eventually end up on #WickedGP Today is the day. I'm not as crazy for the whole albums as others are, but this is a good tune.

You have not been thinking about them but....

The Butterfly Lounge was a real size-positive nightclub in California.... and this British man saw a documentary about them and wrote a song.

This was a minor hit in the US - their last - and a HUGE hit everywhere else. I wonder how it'd do today.

The joke is, I know who Wilco is. But also, Case Oats is a really good band.

I got to see Superchunk live in 1995 and they were great. I hope you like them, too.

As part of my 1000 album project which is turning into a 2000 album project, I have listened to the shortlists of a lot of music prizes. Don Leisure's album won the 2025 Welsh Music Prize, and he did it by digging through the Sain Record archives. What resulted was some great sonic experiments.

I honestly went into the new Madison Beer album with low expectations. I shouldn't have. It's good, poppy fun.

I totally posted this for the Max Headroom today.

She was 23 - 23! - when she recorded this. And she sang it THIS hard and THIS angry.

Confession: I find Sunny Sweeney to be absolutely delightful and her 2025 album was incredible! One of the two best country albums of 2025, for sure.

3EB represented everything I hated about what alternative music turned into. I spent years just loathing this song. But I'm coming around on this song.

I sometimes update my posts. In this case, I updated it because these ladies released a new version of the song and, also, the song won a Golden Globe award last night.

Clipse staged a comeback in 2025, and their resulting album was one of my favorites of the year (and my favorite hip-hop album by far). The salacious-sounding title implies BDSM, but that's not at all what the song is about.

Remembering Bob Weir on a rare Sunday post, but a Special Edition

Look, I know Geese didn't make my #Wicked25, unlike every other critic's list, but I *liked* Getting Killed. Cameron Winter is a gifted songwriter. And they're today's #WickedGP.

You might recall that I said yesterday's post was really about Adèle Castillon. The same holds true for today, but I don't feel like I need that disclaimer.

This post is about Videoclub but it's really about Adèle Castillon.

Over the last 40 years or so, jazz has been the least popular music genre. Icelandic musician Laufey is singlehandedly changing that.

#WickedGP today celebrates the best known song by a great artist I've wanted to feature for a while, Princess Chelsea (who I did NOT discover via this song) www.wickedguilty.com/2026/01/5-ja...

Apparently, she's a real bad girl but a real good kisser.

In most Kpop, the artist just shows up and performs. Not Chaeyoung. She was fully involved in the making of her album.

My favorite new song of 2025 is "Headphones On" by Grammy nominee Addison Rae. Read all about it.

Fionn are a duo of twins from Vancouver. They released one of my favorite albums of 2025, with this as a premier single - one that I am calling my 2nd favorite of 2025. They are today's #WickedGP.

#WickedGP is featuring one of my favorite singles of 2025, by Australian artist Mallrat.

One of my 2025 discoveries was Welsh band Siula. They're dreamy and ethereal, and today's #WickedGP.

#WickedGP is ready for Christmas with Icelandic superstar Laufey (good luck pronouncing that, Americans!), who is making jazz cool again. Are you ready for Christmas? (lœyːvei) for the record. Not exactly (leɪveɪ) and certainly not (louw-fee)

So, yeah, this was my #1 album of 2025, guys. Read the rest at tinyurl.com/Wicked25

I need to figure out how to fix the thumbnail on these posts.... But anyway, here's my Wicked 25 - my top 25 albums of 2025. I didn't know my #1 was going to be my #1 until last week.

I MAY be an outlier on this one - but this song is one of my 2 or 3 favorites from 2025, off one of the greatest albums in ANY language this year. When she says "Et je chante plus fort pour enterrer ta voix" SHE MEANS IT!

oklou released choke enough in 2025, and it is showing up high on a lot of best of 2025 lists. It may end up on mine, too, but for today, let's talk about a single.

NewDad are a young Irish band who released a great album in 2024 and, in my opinion (but apparently not the opinion of Pitchfork) a better one in 2025. Anyway, they're fantastic and you should hear them.

Everywhere else, I'm making flippant jokes. Here, I'll tell you that country music is a big deal in Quebec, this artist's home province. She does not sing exclusively in French, but, yeah, mostly.

@fontainesdc.bsky.social are the best band you aren't listening to. Here's your chance to remedy that.

So the titular dirty word is less dirty in Australia - where it's used casually. My favorite song that mentions Matt Walsh by name is angry and beautiful at the same time.

Princess Nokia is a badass. And this song is a banger that should be a monster hit.

ninajirachi's album I Love My Computer is one of my 2 or 3 favorites of 2025. It won the Australian Music Prize, deservedly (I listened to the entire shortlist. Best by FAR). She won 3 ARIA (Australian Grammy equivalent) Awards. I wrote this 3 months ago, waiting for #AmericanAutumn to be done

On the last day of #AmericanAutumn, #WickedGP chooses a particular artist to represent Oklahoma. However, her name is in question. She's changed her stage name - or did she?

I've really enjoyed #AmericanAutumn but I am also glad it's over on Monday. Our penultimate stop is South Dakota.

Fun fact: Jewel's father is a reality TV star. Second fun fact: She has a last name. If you read my thing here, you'll learn a third fun fact.

Today is Alaska Day. Everywhere else, I am having fun. I'm posting a song by one of his family members in an hour - who does not use their last name and uses only (a modified version of) their first name professionally.

I live in NYC. I do not think this is possible.

She dated California governor Jerry Brown, allegedly. But she, herself, is from Tuscon, Arizona. So, yeah. Also, this is a Buddy Holly song.

Nicolette Larson was from Montana, and she started as a background singer, but she had Neil Young's blessing to record this.