The obnoxiousness of this Needle Drop quote. By sheer metrics sure, but what have you contributed in that time with that platform? Can even your fans point to an insight you’ve had that has stuck with them? No. What they remember is the time you gave an album a light 6 and they gave it a decent 8

Still In a Dream might be Simon Reynolds best yet. Think my favourite discovery is this gem of an album by Insides youtu.be/FXljIRnm1mg?...

The right wing press make this claim for every Labour leader, doesn’t invalidate the first claim at all.

Killer list this and what an a joy to discover this Bo Diddley performance. Had no idea he was doing stuff like this. Unreal youtu.be/qfaMoOYEG-M?...

Hate this. Some dweeb talking to Tucker Carlson about Nick Land, Mark Fisher, Simon Reynolds, and Current 93. What a horrible timeline we’re in.

Even with all posthumous fanfare and now decades long drip of reissues Arthur Russell can never really be praised enough

“The radical centre”

I was there for this. it was bad. Folks trying to convince you the Delicious ep by Peace was “seminal”, that Wu Lyf were already sorely missed and one of the greats. The backwash of landfill indie. The last retch.

Think my favourite release from this year is probably this mix. DJ E continues to be the goat www.nts.live/shows/chuqui...

Was listening to Roni Size ‘Brown Paper Bag’ earlier. Sorry to be a hater, but it’s aged like milk. See also almost all of DJ Shadow ‘Entroducing’

Immense new record out on Heat Crimes heatcrimes.bandcamp.com/album/paradi...

Have now been officially diagnosed with ADHD. Won’t get the medication for another seven months but a big big sense of relief

Up on Winter Hill

Remember once a bunch of us at uni (quietus writers) were watching a film with a young Tim Curry in it and realised he’s the proper doppelganger of @luketurner.bsky.social

Already a ton of great music out this year. Recommend all of these

Doubt you’ll hear another rap record this year that has a squeaker mc over Cleaners From Venus

Stacked release day with new ones from Wendy Eisenberg, Los Thuthanaka, Earl Sweatshirt & Mike, and Sunn o))). Not dug into the latter two yet but very excited. Wendy Eisenberg is serious aoty contender and Los Thuthanaka are one of the best bands/duos on earth rn

Rather bleak if psychedelics inspired the new Harry Styles album. Like that scene in Friendship where Tim Robinson takes 5meo dmt and has a vision he’s ordering his regular at Subway but is gonna toast the bread this time

Mad that Frankenstein won three Oscars, and they were all for the way it looked. Very ugly film. Marty Supreme should have have won something. Far and away the best film nominated in the major categories.

Yes, James Blake’s music is bad, but have you considered his album art is also very very bad

Keep coming back to this, very modern rap that also happens to sound a bit like Arthur Russell, caroline, The Books, and Matmos youtu.be/_Xpwo4T2kXQ?...

Feel like I’m always having to hear about SNL, this is soft cultural imperialism I will not stand for! New Lorne Michaels documentary coming out and he’s always spoken about in hushed tones as some wise comedy sage behind the showbiz curtain but…

I am so excited to share this with you all! I spoke to Jim O’Rourke about EVERYTHING

That My New Band Believe single is phenomenal

I cannot believe the Prince of Darkness would do such a thing

Mad that in the 90s even a film like Todd Haynes’ Safe has *that* voiceover youtu.be/MP3kLKLaiTw?...

As a child if you were to ask me who the biggest band in the world were I’d have said U2, but feel like their fame going forward isn’t really a guaranteed thing. Hard to picture any young people now listening to U2. Or a shift in the trend cycle where suddenly they’re trendy.

My Xmas present was available for pick up today. I am now *one of those guys*. Don’t care though, texture on the jeans is crazy, looking forward to breaking them in. Gonna wear them till the heat prevents me

Cindy Lee has soundtracked my winter. Didn’t appreciate this record last year to the extent I do now. One of the great records of our time. cindylee.bandcamp.com/album/diamon...

Enjoyed this piece and hadn’t listened to the album in a while. Feel like, yes it exists in that Ariel Pink/James Ferraro world, but it perfects it. Holds up a lot better as a listen than a lot of that stuff pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...

Some great stuff in this Rum Music 2025 roundup thequietus.com/tq-charts/co...

Best dance single this year youtu.be/lF3QLdBTrS0?...

The film of Clifford The Big Red Dog is on at work. They’ve cast Jack Whitehall as an American man. Harder to buy into than Clifford The Big Red live action Dog.

My fave tune atm youtu.be/UuRTJuIRaFQ?...

The Quietus Reissues etc chart is here! One of my favourite albums ever is at No.1, and I have some thoughts as to how we might accidentally have created a Quietus Canon: thequietus.com/tq-charts/re...

This sandwich fucks. Good enough for me to brush aside my gluten and lactose intolerance

Between Eve Barlow, Glinner, Tony Parsons, and Julie Burchill, UK music journalism has a lot to answer for

Enjoyed slowly getting back into writing more this year, especially getting to cover my favourite album of the year thequietus.com/quietus-revi...

Imagine watching Lord Spikeheart by the Wiltshire canals

Most listened to songs and albums of the year on Apple Music

Found this on the Wire year end list. Absolutely nuts liveattheclinic.bandcamp.com/album/the-be...

Wouldn’t have have thought I’d see the day where pitchfork correctly call the album of the year. Strange times

Reaping what I’ve sown with being so early. A glaring omission youtu.be/HJimA76vg3k?...

Saw My Bloody Valentine last night. So heavy, so tender. More psychedelic than 99% of self proclaimed psych bands. A scene of one. They bare nothing in common with the vague mush of much shoegaze. Not as loud as I was expecting but clear and powerful.

A lot on the mind so trying to busy myself with premature list making. My favourite albums of 2025, also excited to see all the official lists come out as I usually find a bunch of lasting faves on them. But this is what I’ve been loving this year.

Bar Italia reek of Noughties Channel 4

A strong contender for best dance LP

Starting the day right. Have been rinsing this classic non stop