My most played artists and albums of 2025

I don’t really have a Top 5/10 list of rappers, but if I did, Posduos would be in it. He’s been dope for over 35 years. Not many rappers were that sharp in ‘89 and most of those who were are nowhere near his level in ‘25.

NBA back tonight s/o @jessethetree.bsky.social for this jam. music.apple.com/us/album/lik...

There has been a lot of ICE activity in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago today. There has also been a lot of ICE watch and rapid response activity. We love our community, and we are showing up for each other.

Comemos - the best album you may not have heard this Summer so we did a 39ft long installation w/ Big Wall Sign & Mural in Chicago to encourage you to fix that 💫

I don't know if you knew this, but Defcee is very good at rapping. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlVL...

Now you C-D-See it, now you don't. @theonion.com

Chicago: your Jewel just got the new COVID vaccines in stock, my immunocompromised partner got one this afternoon, it took no time at all, it was very easy

Making them wear high-visibility vests over camo is such a good joke you couldn’t write it

Comemos - The East Coast Tour starts today 👊 See you at Cobra in Pittsburgh, excited to eat steak + rap immaculately in 1 of my favorite cities 👏 As always, clean air c/o Clean Air Club

You can't teach U.S. history without "divisive" narratives. Slavery wasn't "unifying." The Japanese incarceration wasn't "unifying." The anti-immigrant Operation Wetback (real name) wasn't "unifying." It's history's job to tell the truth, not cover up past racism to pave the way for future racism.

"We're all throwing dildos at women athletes to promote our memecoin" really puts a fine point on not just how sexist, mean and stupid so much of right now is, but also the grim degree to which we're just inundated with Stuff a 15-Year-Old Dipshit Would Think is Cool. A confederacy of Beavises.

The great David Berman passed away on this day six years ago. I wrote this about him in 2024. shorturl.at/4gQke

Chance the Rapper’s new album (CD) is on sale for $8 plus free shipping. If the singles and album art are any indication, I think this will be the best comeback album in a long time.

Please tell me that Looney Toons ass cover isn’t official. Glad Mass Appeal is releasing singles for these projects. Wish Raekwon’s and Slick Rick’s albums had better rollouts

Looks like Chance the Rapper’s new album will ship out next month. It’s only on CD (for now)

Southernunderground Vinyl Re-Press Drops Bandcamp Friday - August 1st CunninLynguists.com 🙏

We up. New What's Good for Friday, with tunes from @mike-eagle.bsky.social, Clipse, Rich Jones & Good Food, GDP & Fatboi Sharif, Marissa Nadler, Die Spitz, Evidence, Kendra Morris, Blueprint, and a ton more. Tap in, tell a friend, etc. blog.djregular.tech/whats-good-w...

today's the 10th anniversary of Summertime '06. I wrote about Vince's evolution as a performer and storyteller, the music's low-key anti g-funk and trap agenda, and gangsta vs gangland rap giving hell til it's frozen over www.stereogum.com/2313150/vinc...

Happening now in Chicago at Michigan & Ida B Wells, protesters gather to oppose ICE’s operations. Twice this week, protesters have forced Chicago’s immigration court to close early, as ICE has moved to aggressively arrest people attending their court mandated hearings.

@rsasch.bsky.social RECOMMENDS Lifeline Theatre's new adaptation of "War of the Worlds" for @chicagoreader.com this week! chicagoreader.com/performing-a...

Just added to my brother Silas Short’s gig at Schubas in support of his debut album on Stones Throw LUSHLAND 🙀 1 of my fav album’s ever since I had the private Soundcloud link + we’re going to put on 1 helluva show + we need it PACKED. Go forth + hopefully see you 6.8 ❤️ t.co/Dae0WUWjKg

“I feel like alders are missing the fact that teens need a space, a space that is welcoming and a space that doesn’t really limit them. There are rules everywhere, but I feel like there should be a space where teens can meet up and not be watched by 100 policemen.”

BAD COMPANY is out in one month (minus one day, oops)! Preorders mean the world for a debut author’s career; please consider ordering my (Kirkus-starred!) book. www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...

Rick Carlisle putting the most dangerous man in the league into the game with 5 minutes left and putting him in the middle of a 2-3 zone is really crazy. Basically a declaration of war.

Imagine being lectured by RFK Jr about how to be healthy and then having Mark Zuckerberg tell you how many friends normal people should have

Top played albums of April

Happy May Day, consider donating to the Reader, which is published by a unionized editorial staff donorbox.org/save-the-chi...

TY JEROME WHAT A SHOT

Dean Wade need to stay in this rotation for next series. The Cavs defense is at such a high level when he’s out there.

One of my favorite local movement hubs, the PO Box Collective, is holding an online fundraiser. PO Box is a cultural space, a political education space, an incubator of actions and ideas, and a place where mutual aid work happens. It's everything community should be. It's so worth supporting.

keeping track of when these poll calls come around now after @taylormoore.bsky.social’s story thetriibe.com/2025/04/anal...

"I spend my free time researching like … topography maps." Every single thing I ever learn about this kid makes me love him more (I got my degree in geography) #LetEmKnow #LetEmMeow

Nebraska in the winter The River in the spring Born in the USA in the summer Darkness on the Edge of Town in the fall

I really like CPJ’s game. I hope he can improve on some of the decision making cuz he’d be a fun addition to the rotation. He does a lot of things the other Cavs don’t really do.

Mitchell Robinson turns into prime Dwight Howard when he plays the Cavs.

The National's first masterpiece 'Alligator' turns 20 years old this Saturday, so let's look back together

True Wisconsin resident.

Haven’t posted the Reader fundraiser in a couple days, so pardon me as I do so riiiight now donorbox.org/save-the-chi...

Raising $ for MedGlobal this Sunday at Schubas w/ a crusher of a lineup - The O’My’s @basselmusic.bsky.social Binta @ltheadtrip.bsky.social + myself 🤝 If you’re a person of conscience who’s mortified by *gestures broadly* - this is the show for you 🫂 Tix lh-st.com/shows/04-13-...

Bruno’s doesn’t have a social media presence, so I am stepping up to spread the word here. This is a great fundraiser for a great cause, dear to the hearts of Far North Siders for over a century. @chicagobars.bsky.social @chialderwoman.bsky.social @kmcchicago.bsky.social

I’ve been on podcasts lately… “Making Illmatic” with @seandammit.bsky.social x @midazthebeast.bsky.social Cannibal Ox “The Cold Vein”: www.patreon.com/posts/making...

Reminder that Arcade Fire's Win Butler sucks. He's never really addressed the sexual misconduct allegations he was accused of and only gave a bland apology. I wrote a HUGE feature about this in 2023 for nprmusic. Sharing it again just as a reminder.

First verse of this album went in blazing music.apple.com/us/album/the...

Saba’s Care For Me came out seven years ago. I cried when I heard the song “Prom/King,” and wrote about the person who inspired it for this Chicago Reader deep dive that ran November 2018 chicagoreader.com/music/chicag...

I’m at one of my fav Milwaukee bars and they’re playing a radio station that’s flipping back and forth between classic rock and the new Bon Iver singles. What an institution.

Fun fact. You came out this two track jammer from @tomcantsleep.bsky.social x @killvongard.bsky.social on repeat and listen to it 12 times in an hour. I did the math and tested it out 🧮 crushrrecords.bandcamp.com/album/broken...

Sour Dub is available for purchase at Round Trip records in Albany Park☀️ I’ll send you a link to the next album early if you buy it/that copy of Planes, Trains & Automobiles behind me 🤝