Videodrone is a weekly feature looking at music videos from the last half century.
Modern Love (1977)
When it comes to musical innovators, one artist who never gets enough credit is Peter Gabriel. Whether it was his prog-rock musings and way-out-there stage costumes with Genesis, or his solo career explorations into art-rock, or his embrace of world music sounds, or his work with human rights organizations, Gabriel has never been one to rest on his laurels. He also was an early adopter of music video as a medium, starting with his 1977 self-titled solo debut (later referred to as Peter Gabriel 1 or Car because he called each of his first four solo albums Peter Gabriel).
The album's first single was "Solsbury Hill," which went to #13 on the U.K. singles chart and later became iconic through its use in movies and commercials. The second single was "Modern Love" (not to be confused with the David Bowie megahit of the same name that was released in 1983), a ripper of a power pop song that featured Gabriel musing on the difficulties modern love while backed by the legendary Robert Fripp and Steve Hunter (known for his work with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed) on guitar.
Gabriel had originally wanted to release the innuendo-laden song as the first single. Still, the video is classic Gabriel: Weird and full of crazy imagery. It was directed by Peter Medak, who went on to direct movies like The Changeling, The Krays and Species II and episodes of TV shows as varied as Hart to Hart, Magnum P.I., The Wire and Breaking Bad.
Parts of the video were filmed at a mall in Shepherd's Bush, a London suburb, with Gabriel dressed in a fencer's mask and wearing athletic gear and jumping around on a moving escalator, singing, "Ah, the pain, modern love can be a strain." As the story goes, during the recording of the song, producer Bob Ezrin felt Gabriel wasn't getting enough emotion into that line, so he had an engineer hoist Gabriel up a ladder and duct-tape his armpits to a pillar in the studio. That seemed to get the desired result.
In the video, Gabriel is at first seen approaching a group of models and then later sings while surrounded by cutouts of another model. "Hey, I worship Diana by the light of the moon/When I pull out my pipe, she screams out of tune/In Paris my heart sinks when I see the Mona Lisa/She gives me the wink, then she shows me the freezer/Ah, the pain, modern love can be a strain."
Of course, if you lived in the U.S. in the summer of '77, you probably didn't see this video. There was no MTV for another four years and Gabriel was much more prominent in the U.K. at the time. There were different programs over there that would air videos. I never saw the video until a few years ago on YouTube; if it aired on MTV, I never saw it.
But Gabriel would obviously keep making videos that fared better. "Games Without Frontiers" and "I Don't Remember" from his 1980 album (often called Melt) and "Shock the Monkey" from 1982's Security, which became a hit on MTV. Everything blew up for Gabriel with his 1986 album So and its lead single "Sledgehammer," which had an innovative video that combined live-action and animation and absolutely dominated MTV. The song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the video won nine MTV Video Music Awards. Gabriel became a superstar, primarily thanks to that video.
That momentum was derailed when it took Gabriel six years to release the follow-up album, Us, in 1992. It fared well and had videos that got a fair amount of MTV play with "Digging in the Dirt" and "Steam," but the success paled in comparison to So. Plus the rock world was fully in grunge mode by that point.
Over the last 30-plus years, Gabriel has retreated into more of a low-profile role, releasing only three more studio albums, the most recent of which is 2023 I/O (although he's got a new release coming out in 2026). He's also done soundtrack work and has remained active in political and human rights initiatives. I enjoyed his most recent album, but if you only know Gabriel from his more popular stuff, you should check out those first four solo albums. They're all excellent and interesting.
Gabriel was a well-known figure in the rock world long before his video stardom, but his first foray into video was certainly memorable, even if not that many people remember it.
Life can be pretty boring at times. It's unrealistic to expect that you're going to be captivated by whatever you're doing most of the time. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played new music from Bill Janovitz, Dry Cleaning and the Lemon Twigs in hour 1 and songs about boredom in hour 2! It'll shake you out of your doldrums!
This playlist has some red on it:
Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Bill Janovitz - Bravehearted/Single
Black Helicopter - Skippy D/Balancing Act
Guided By Voices - Our Man Syracuse/Thick Rich and Delicious
Dry Cleaning - Cruise Ship Designer/Secret Love
The Lemon Twigs - Friday (I'm Gonna Love You)/I've Got a Broken Heart
Water From Your Eyes - Born 2/It's a Beautiful Place
The Afghan Whigs - Downtown/Single
This is Lorelei - Holo Boy/Holo Boy
Pigeon Pit - Cherry/Leash Aggression
Cameron Winter - Love Takes Miles/Heavy Metal
Glitterer - Who Owns This Mountain?/erer
Sharp Pins - Popafangout/Balloon Balloon Balloon
S.C.A.B. - Red Chair/Somebody in New York Loves You!
The Dears - Babe, We'll Find a Way/Life is Beautiful! Life is Beautiful! Life is Beautiful!
Just Mustard - Pollyanna/We Were Just Here
Ex-Hyena - Edge of Mirrors/XX Your Love
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - The Real Contra Band/Pogo Rodeo
Hour 2: Bored
Iggy Pop - I'm Bored/New Values
Sonic Youth - Satan is Boring/Bad Moon Rising
The Gutter Twins - Idle Hands/Saturnalia
Vanity - Yer Fucking Boring/Single
Gateway Drugs - Boring/PSA
Kal Marks - Bored Again/My Name is Hell
Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring/Romance is Boring
Papercuts - A Dully Boy/Baxter's Bliss
Alvvays - Bored in Bristol/Blue Rev
Ben Folds Five - Battle of Who Could Care Less/Whatever and Ever Amen
Moe Berg - Butterknife Dull/Summer's Over
Government Issue - Bored to Death/Four Old Seven Inches
Torgo - Dull/The Lengths That I Will Go To
The Murder City Devils - Idle Hands/In Name and Blood
The Raconteurs - Bored and Razed/Help Us Stranger
Smashing Pumpkins - Plume/Pisces Iscariot
Judas Priest - Breaking the Law (Live in Long Beach 5/5/84)/Defenders of the Faith 30th Anniversary Edition
Videodrone is a weekly feature looking at music videos from the last half century.
Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) (1976)
If you've been on social media in the last month or so (and who could blame you if you weren't?), you may have seen folks lamenting the so-called death of MTV on New Year's Eve and writing epitaphs to the once-dominant music video cable channel. As with many things on social media, this wasn't actually the case.
While it's true that MTV doesn't play music videos anymore, that's been the case for a long time now in the U.S. In the U.K. and Australia, MTV still ran some music-only channels that were shut down at the end of 2025. But let's face it, reality TV has been the name of the game at MTV for the last two decades.
MTV launched in August 1981, playing music videos 24/7 and introducing a new way for fans to experience music and a new way for artists and labels to market their wares. MTV was a cultural touchpoint throughout the '80s and '90s, and to a lesser degree in the '00s. Artists were able to become big acts thanks to a popular video and labels would drop big bucks on conceptual clips (that of course would be recouped as part of the onerous contracts artists used to sign).
But as is well-documented in the excellent book I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution, MTV quickly realized that just showing videos 24/7 (and later adding specialty programs like TRL, 120 Minutes, Yo! MTV Raps and Headbanger's Ball) wasn't a great way to make money. Starting in the late '80s with game shows like Remote Control (which was great, btw), reality TV shows became more attractive for sponsors. The Real World debuted in 1992, in which seven 20-somethings were picked to live in a New York City loft for three months and their every move was documented on video. It was clearly heavily edited and drama was often manufactured, but it was a big hit and ended running for 33 seasons. Other shows followed, like Road Rules, Jersey Shore, 16 and Pregnant, Jackass, Punk'd, filling the station's prime programming hours. By the 2010s, videos were an afterthought on MTV.
The other factor, of course, was the internet and specifically, the 2005 debut of YouTube as a place where users could upload videos that anyone could view on demand. It took a while for the video quality to move beyond super-grainy VHS clips of vids recorded off MTV in 1982, but eventually you didn't need MTV to find videos. Labels began uploading new videos from their artists, fans using their smartphones could record live music and upload it immediately, and YouTube became the place to find just about anything (including tons of non-music-related content).
Also, the music industry obviously has changed in a big way since the dotcom boom of the late '90s. File-sharing sites like Napster ended up taking a big bite out of music sales of physical media like CDs. Streaming has started to turn things around, with $5.6 billion in revenue generated in the first half of 2025, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The artists aren't seeing much of that revenue.
Music videos are still made by most artists as a promotional tool, but there's no guarantee anyone beyond diehard fans will see them. Still, with social media, if a video gets popular on TikTok or elsewhere, it can generate some buzz.
All of that is a long-winded intro to this weekly feature, in which I'm going to look at one video per year for the last 50 years. While they weren't necessarily commonplace, music videos were made by artists all the way back to the '60s. Mostly performance clips, but you'd get the occasional conceptual video, like Bob Dylan's iconic 1965 clip for "Subterranean Homesick Blues," in which he displays cue cards based on phrases in the song.
In 1976, which is our arbitrary beginning point, the music scene was in a state of flux. There was a lot going on, including stadium rock, AM gold soft rock, early disco. Rod Stewart was adept at all of these styles. He got his start in the early '60s but broke out in '67 as lead belter of the Jeff Beck Group. A few years later, he joined the Faces and also began a solo career. Those Faces albums are pretty great, hot slabs of blues- and R&B-oriented rock (my take on the Faces classic "Stay With Me"), but the success of his solo career and growing band tensions led Faces to split up after four releases.
Stewart's seventh solo album, A Night on the Town, was released in June 1976 and was a huge hit, hitting #2 in the U.S. and #1 in several other countries. "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" was the first single and it ended up spending eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song proved controversial in the U.S., as Stewart spends the entire 3:56 talking his girlfriend into having sex. The BBC objected to the line "Spread your wings and let me come inside," but there were arguably worse ones. In the U.S., the Rev. Jesse Jackson protested the song as leading to loose morals in America's youth.
The video probably didn't help matters, as Stewart sings to girlfriend Britt Ekland by a fireplace. He pretends to play an acoustic guitar at first and then focuses on selling Ekland on doing the deed. Wearing a cheesy bow tie and his patented shag mullet, Stewart succeeds in convincing Ekland to go upstairs. The clip ends with Rod the Bod and his lady getting ready to get it on as Ekland's breathy French spoken-word outro plays.
Stewart was an early video adopter, filming many clips for his songs in the '70s (including "Hot Legs" and "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"), which served him well when MTV came along and was desperate for content to fill its 24-hour broadcast day.
"Tonight's the Night" was a good predictor of Stewart's career path in the late '70s. It got progressively cheesier as Stewart delved into disco, new wave and then went into full-on MOR soft rock mode. By the mid-80s, he was churning out crappy soundtrack ballads, the most egregious being 1993's "All for Love" with Sting and Bryan Adams for the Three Musketeers soundtrack. In recent years, he's been cranking out "American Songbook" albums of standards and touring constantly.
For me, Rod Stewart is a classic case of a guy with all the talent in the world who did what he wanted and was successful, but wasted what made him cool in the first place. But at least he left behind a wealth of cheesy music videos for us to enjoy and/or ridicule.
Fifty years is a long time, but right now, 1976 feels like it happened a few thousand years ago. Everything's so compressed now. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage's first show of 2026, I played more recent music from the Afghan Whigs, Bill Janovitz, Black Helicopter and Glitterer in hour 1 and then songs from 1976 in hour 2! It's what's happening!
Peep the playlist:
Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
The Afghan Whigs - Fake Like/Single
This is Lorelei - SF & GG/Holo Boy
Water From Your Eyes - Life Signs/It's a Beautiful Place
Bill Janovitz - Days of Heaven/Days of Heaven
Black Helicopter - Charlestown's Burning/Balancing Act
Glitterer - Until/erer
Sharp Pins - Talking in Your Sleep/Balloon Balloon Balloon
The Dears - Tears of a Nation/Life is Beautiful! Life is Beautiful! Life is Beautiful!
S.C.A.B. - MK/Somebody in New York Loves You!
Peel Dream Magazine - Venus in Nadir/Taurus
Snocaps - Heathcliff/Snocaps
Jeff Tweedy - This is How It Ends/Twilight Override
Wednesday - Townies/Bleeds
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Born in the ADs/Pogo Rodeo
Big Bill - The Terrible Truth/Sick Myth
Tony Molina - Livin' Wrong/On This Day
Cameron Winter - Nausicaa (Love Will Be Released)/Heavy Metal
Hour 2: 1976
The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner/The Modern Lovers
Blondie - X Offender/Blondie
David Bowie - TVC15/Station to Station
Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby/Coney Island Baby
Aerosmith - Sick as a Dog/Rocks
The Runaways - Cherry Bomb/The Runaways
Queen - Tie Your Mother Down/A Day at the Races
AC/DC - Jailbreak/Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Rush - The Twilight Zone/2112
Blue Oyster Cult - The Revenge of Vera Gemini/Agents of Fortune
Led Zeppelin - Royal Orleans/Presence
The Ramones - 53rd & 3rd/Ramones
Chris Spedding & the Vibrators - Pogo Dancing/Single
Gotta say, 2025 was definitely a mixed bag. The biggest impact for me was losing my mom. The last decade of her life was a tough slog for her, as her health declined. It was difficult for her and for my brother and I, but I'm glad she's at peace now. It was definitely strange to not have her around for the holidays this year.
The Blue Jays provided some unexpected excitement last year, winning the AL East and then going all the way to game 7 of the World Series before losing to the Dodgers. They renewed my interest in baseball, which had been waning in the last few years. And they've made a lot of moves this offseason, so hopefully they'll be able to do something big in '26.
As for us, we're doing well. Hannah was able to get a lab fellowship in Albany, where she moved in August. It's tough moving where you don't know anybody, but she likes her job. Lily is in her last semester at the University of Toronto and is currently applying to grad school programs. The girls were home for the holidays but now it's just the two of us here (and Deb's dad downstairs).
I'm not getting too hung up on resolutions for this year, but I definitely have general goals. After a couple years of struggling with running because of Achilles issues, I was able to finish the last few months of the year putting in some miles. Not running as long or as fast as I'd like, but I'm pain free and making progress. The key is following up my latest PT stint with a religious dedication to stretching; hopefully that will make the difference. I'm not planning to do many races or anything like that. I ran a Thanksgiving 5K in New Jersey that was a struggle, but right now I'm mainly on the treadmill looking to gradually improve. I don't want to put additional pressure on myself by signing up for a bunch of races. We'll see how it goes.
The last few years, I've tried to write more in this space. In '24, I did that song-a-day thing and stuck with it all year, but last year, I tried to do a weekly feature that only lasted until early June. I'm hoping to do something similar this year but I'm still working out what I want to write about.
Despite the exceedingly f'd up state of the world right now, I'm trying to maintain a good attitude about things. I've got to think things will get better. Right? Right.
Editor's note: Check out my podcast discussion with Jay Breitling about our favorite music of '25 on Completely Conspicuous (here's parts 1 and 2). And check out Stuck In Thee Garage radio for parts 1 and 2 of my favorites of 2025.
It has grown increasingly difficult to make sense of the world. Sometimes I wonder what the point is of making lists of favorite albums when shit is getting crazier and crazier, but maybe it's just a coping mechanism. At the very least, listening to music can take your mind off everything for a little while.
Even as the music industry continues to contract and get steamrolled by big corporations like Live Nation/Ticketmaster and Spotify, artists are releasing excellent work that deserves to be highlighted. Nobody but the biggest artists are making any money off album sales anymore, and even constant touring is no guarantee of riches. I saw a bunch of shows this year: Frank Black, Jason Narducy/Michael Shannon, Gang of Four, Bob Mould, Hallelujah the Hills, Greg Norton, Ducks Ltd., The Pixies, The Who and Buffalo Tom. I had tickets to see three others (Swervedriver, Hard Quartet and New Bomb Turks) that I had to miss for various reasons, which was a bummer. But I already have tickets for eight shows later this year, so that's something to look forward to.
I'm in the 13th year of doing my radio show Stuck In Thee Garage for BFF.fm, something I put a decent amount of time into preparing each week. All the artists mentioned here were highlighted on the show throughout the year.
And without further ado, here are my top 15 albums of 2025:
15. The Hives - The Hives Forever Forever the Hives: The Hives do one thing and they do it well: Play undeniably catchy garage rock anthems. The Swedish lunatics returned with a relentlessly fun and triumphant collection of smartass rock rippers. Co-produced by Mike D of the Beastie Boys, the album is more of what you’d expect from the Hives. Take frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist’s first line in album opener “Enough is Enough”: “Everyone’s a little fuckin’ bitch/And I’m gettin’ sick and tired of it.” The video shows Almqvist as a boxer, first knocking out his opponent, then the referee and assorted audience members. One of the great live bands going, the Hives are still kicking ass and throwing haymakers. Choice kutz: Enough is Enough, Paint a Picture, Legalize Living.
14. Turnstile - Never Enough:After breaking through to the rock mainstream with their third album, 2021’s Glow On, Baltimore act Turnstile continues to expand their sound. They started off as a hardcore act, but have increasingly incorporated elements of alt-rock, pop and funk into their sound, and as a result, some early fans are ripping them as sellouts. That's dumb. On Never Enough, the band continues that evolution, working in flourishes like flute solos and lighter, airy sounds like on “I Care,” which sounds like a modern-day version of The Police. But Turnstile, which recorded this album as a foursome after the departure of guitarist Brady Ebert (later replaced by Meg Mills), never forgets the slamming riffs that they’re known for. Singer Brendan Yates maneuvers through the lighter and heavier material with aplomb, while drummer Daniel Fang can go from jackhammer precision to more economic, Stewart Copeland-esque fills with ease. Choice kutz: I Care, Dreaming, Birds, Dull.
13. Dax Riggs - 7 Songs for Spiders:Dax Riggs got his start in the sludge metal act Acid Bath in the 90s, then later played with Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy & the Elephantmen. I heard a little of the latter on Henry Rollins’ radio show about 15 years ago but haven’t been aware of Riggs’ work for the last decade plus. Until earlier this year, when Rollins began playing songs from this album and I was hooked. Deep swamp rock grooves and gothic themes as Riggs sings fuzz-laden laments about god and the devil and whatever’s in between. It’s captivating stuff. Choice kutz: Sunshine Felt the Darkness Smile, Deceiver, Graveyard Soul.
12. The Convenience - Like Cartoon Vampires: On the New Orleans duo’s second album, they went in a completely different direction. The first Convenience effort was in more of a funk/disco vein, but this one goes right for the post-punk with songs that echo the Fall and Spoon, as well as Britpop and VU. Influences are one thing, but Nick Corson and Duncan Troast are able to take them and create compelling new sounds. "I Got Exactly What I Wanted" would not be out of place on the next Spoon release, but the 10-minute album closer "Fake the Feeling" takes things to an entirely different and interesting place. Extremely listenable and rewarding. Choice kutz: I Got Exactly What I Wanted, Dub Vultures, Western Pepsi Cola Town.
11. Jeff Tweedy - Twilight Override:Tweedy has gotten extremely prolific in the last 20 years, between regular Wilco releases, work with the Minus Five, various collaborations and his own solo work. He’s sort of a somewhat less productive Bob Pollard; nobody can keep up with that guy’s output, but there’s definitely a lot of Tweedy material to wade through and it’s pretty much uniformly good to great. You kind of take for granted what you’re going to get, but on this triple album, he delivers 30 songs, nearly 2 hours of music, and it really struck me as exceptional from the first listen. It’s a wide-ranging collection of all the genres he dabbles in: alt-country, roots rock, post-punk, ballads, a little bit of skronk. Put it on if you’ve got a long drive or a lot of work to do and you won’t be disappointed. Choice kutz: Lou Reed Was My Babysitter, Forever Never Ends, Betrayed.
10. Tunde Adebimpe - Thee Black Boltz: TV On the Radio toured again but didn't release any new material. The same can’t be said for the band’s frontman Tunde Adebimpe, who rolled out his debut solo album after a long period of musical inactivity. His elastic voice carries this sharp collection of diverse tracks that span everything from electro bangers to fizzy pop confections to slow jams. The dark genius of his TVOTR compatriot Dave Sitek is missed, but Adebimpe and his current collaborators keep things interesting. Choice kutz: Magnetic, God Knows, Pinstack.
9. The Men - Buyer Beware: NYC’s The Men have explored many sounds and approaches over the last 17 years and I fully admit that I lost track of them for a while there. I stumbled upon their latest (their 15th!) release last spring and was blown away by the energy and rawness. Clearly nodding to their early influences, the band lets it rip with odes to Fun House-era Stooges, Motorhead, psych folk, garage rock and more. It’s a lot of fun and might be the album I’ve listened to the most this year. Choice kutz: Tombstone, Pony, Black Heart Blue.
8. Bob Mould - Here We Go Crazy:Mould’s 15th solo album and first since 2020’s pissed-off Blue Hearts, Here We Go Crazy finds the elder statesman of punk mixing and matching angry bangers with more reflective, shimmering tunes. Backed once again by the killer rhythm section of Jon Wurster and Jason Narducy, Mould is able to shift gears from song to song, lashing out at injustice while also pondering his current existence. There’s plenty to be outraged about these days, but Mould doesn’t get overly caught up in that mood. Choice kutz: Here We Go Crazy, Neanderthal, When Your Heart is Broken, Fur Mink Augurs.
7. Mclusky - The World is Still Here and So Are We: The first new album in 21 years from the Welsh trio is appropriately sarcastic and pummeling, same as it ever was. Andy “Falco” Falkous and his compatriots played Cambridge in 2024 and gave us a preview of the forthcoming album, but the full release really delivered on that promise. There’s no sentimentality here as Falco goes after various social and political targets: Corporate fatcats, the British media, the genocide in Palestine, social media gadflies. Refreshingly angry. The band is returning to Boston in April and Falco's always writing, so maybe new material will be presented then. Choice kutz: The Digger You Deep, People Person, Cops and Coppers.
6. Wednesday - Bleeds: Wednesday is the handiwork of singer Karly Hartzman and has been around since 2017, but the Asheville, NC, act has gotten more attention of late thanks to guitarist MJ Lenderman, whose solo career suddenly blew up in 2024. Complicating things was the fact that Hartzman and Lenderman were a couple for six years until their breakup in March ‘24. Earlier this year, Lenderman said he was stepping away from touring with the band, although he plays on the latest album Bleeds and plans to continue to record with the group. All that said, this is Hartzman’s show and it’s an impressive combination of alt-country, shoegaze, punk rippers and bluegrass. She’s a great storyteller, singing about characters who get in bar brawls, get addicted to sinus medicine and go on killing sprees. It’s also tempting to try and figure out which songs are about Lenderman (possibly “Elderberry Wine”?). Whatever the case, it’s an exhilarating and very diverse collection of songs. Choice kutz: Townies, Wound Up Here (By Holdin On), Pick Up That Knife, Bitter Everyday.
5. Shame - Cutthroat: Shame has been bringing the post-punk for over a decade now and the quality level has been high all along. On their fourth album, the South London act reverted to the more energetic sound of their earlier releases, as evidenced by the opening title track, which just grabs you by the throat as singer Charlie Steen sings, “Motherfucker, I was born to die.” They definitely sound like they absorbed some of the swagger of their tourmates Viagra Boys. That said, Shame mix things up with songs like “Quiet Life” and “Lampiao,” about a Brazilian bandit from the early 1900s. Choice kutz: “Cutthroat,” “Nothing Better,” “After Party.”
4. Hallelujah the Hills - DECK: Super ambitious passion project from Ryan Walsh that paid off in a big way for the fans. Crowdfunded via Patreon, the project was several years in the making and spans four albums (one for each suit in a standard playing card deck) and 52 songs (one for each card in a standard deck). We were able to follow along as new songs were debuted, but experiencing the full DECK in its entirety was something else entirely. All killer, no filler. Chock full of great songs and cameos from the likes of Ezra Furman, Sadie Dupuis, Clint Conley, Craig Finn, Patrick Stickles, Cassie Berman and more. I was lucky enough to see the album release show at Deep Cuts in Medford; it was inspiring and impressive. Choice kutz: Rebuilding Year, Crush All Night, I Do My Own Stunts, Here Goes Nothing.
3. PUP - Who Will Look After the Dogs?:Toronto pop-punk stalwarts display maturity on their fifth release, no longer singing about drinking and driving but tackling adult issues like depression and relationship trauma. There’s still some of the rippers we know and love, but the band also shows some restraint while losing none of their emotional power. One of these days I will finally see them live. Over a decade into the career, PUP is just getting better. Choice kutz: Paranoid, Hallways, Get Dumber, Olive Garden.
2. Sloan - Based on the Best Seller: Sloan has been a going concern since 1991 and unlike many acts who reach that stage of their career, they’re still bringing the heat. On their 14th album, the Toronto-based (by way of Halifax) group delivers a diverse collection of styles courtesy of their four singer-songwriters: Punny Beatlesesque pop rock from bassist Chris Murphy, hard rock swagger from lead guitarist Patrick Pentland, uber-catchy power pop ditties from guitarist Jay Ferguson and psych-rock weirdness from drummer-guitarist Andrew Scott. The quartet isn’t touring the U.S. this time around thanks to the current political situation down here–Scott’s ripper “No Damn Fears” includes the verse “Blind rage with a side of smiling/The people treated like flies/ICE raids and the death flag flying/We should be tearing them down”--which is about as political as Sloan has ever gotten. But they are touring across their homeland right now and sounding as good as ever. It helps that they’re not dependent on one or two songwriters to keep delivering the good stuff; they’ve got four battling for space on every album (which is why they did the double album Commonwealth in 2014 on which each member had a side of their songs). They keep kicking ass, so what’s not to like? Choice kutz: “No Damn Fears,” “Dream Destroyer,” “Live Forever,” “Capitol Cooler.”
1. Geese - Getting Killed: The Brooklyn quartet broke through in a big way with their third album of off-kilter, chaotic bangers. Led by enigmatic frontman Cameron Winter, the band embraces its weirdness in a cool and exciting way. I was hesitant to make Getting Killed my top pick because they’ve been embraced by the hipsters, but there’s no denying the greatness of this album. Winter released a solo album, Heavy Metal, a year ago, which sort of set the stage for this release. Geese has the ability to sound tight, ramshackle and then tight again all within the same song. Winter’s vocals can be an acquired taste–sometimes he can sound like the late Karl Wallinger of World Party and others like an injured wolf–but he’s unpredictable and compelling. One minute he’s screaming “There’s a bomb in my car!” on “Trinidad,” the next he’s crooning “I should burn in hell/But I don’t deserve this” on “Taxes.” Just an endlessly interesting album. Choice kutz: “Trinidad,” “Taxes,” “Husbands.”
Honorable mentions
Snocaps - Snocaps
Viagra Boys - Viagr Aboys
Pulp - More
Car Seat Headrest - The Scholars
Charm School - Debt Forever
Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On
Superchunk - Songs in the Key of Yikes
Wet Leg - Moisturizer
Water From Your Eyes - It’s a Beautiful Place
This is Lorelei - Holo Boy
Black Helicopter - Balancing Act
(T-T)b - Beautiful Extension Cord
Osees - Abomination Revealed at Last
Pile - Sunshine and Balance Beams
Absolute Losers - In the Crowd
The Beths - Straight Line Was a Lie
Bass Drum of Death - Six
Tony Molina - On This Day
Guerilla Toss - You’re Weird Now
Sharp Pins - Balloon Balloon Balloon
The Telephone Numbers - Scarecrow II
They Are Gutting a Body of Water - Lotto
Militarie Gun - God Save the Gun
Snooper - Worldwide
Kestrels - Better Wonder
Lifeguard - Ripped and Torn
Hotline TNT - Raspberry Moon
The Tubs - Cotton Crown
The Bug Club - Very Human Features
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Carpe Diem, Moonman
Destroyer - Dan’s Boogie
Escape-ism - Charge of the Love Brigade
Dean Wareham - That’s the Price of Loving Me
FACS - Wish Defense
Patterson Hood - Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams
Kinski - Stumbledown Terrace
Hunger Anthem - Lift
CIVIC - Chrome Dipped
SAVAK - Squawk!
Ty Segall - Possession
Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Trash Classic
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Thalia Zedek Band - The Boat Outside Your Window
TVOD - Party Time
Momma - Welcome to My Blue Sky
Preoccupations - Ill at Ease
Lunchbox - Evolver (2025 Vinyl Edition)
Cameron Keiber - Nurser
Throwing Muses - Moonlight Concessions
Cameron Winter - Heavy Metal (came out in late 2024)
When you look back at a year, it's easy to dwell on the negative stuff that happened, and there was plenty of that in 2025. Fortunately, there was also a wealth of excellent music to help us escape the crappiness, if only for a little while. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played part 2 of my look back at the best music of the year. It'll keep you on your toes while you watch out for vampires.
The killer playlist:
Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
PUP - Paranoid/Who Will Look After the Dogs?
Car Seat Headrest - True/False Lover /The Scholars
Shark? - King of the Chaff/A Simple Life
Momma - Rodeo/Welcome to My Blue Sky
Civic - The Hogg/Chrome Dipped
Lawn - Sports Gun/Single
The Convenience - I Got Exactly What I Wanted/Like Cartoon Vampires
Blondshell - T&A/If You Asked for a Picture
Jeanines - On and On/How Long Can It Last
Guerilla Toss - Psychosis is Just a Number/You're Weird Now
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2025. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
Counting down the rest of our favorite albums of the year
Kumar's #8: Indie rock godfather Bob Mould is still pissed off and rocking
Mould has also reunited his '90s band Sugar
Kumar's #7: Triumphant return for Mclusky
Falco and crew having fun ripping on various targets
Breitling's #6: Superchunk keeps going with new drummer
If you thought they were angry in 2018...
Chock full of "banglociraptors"
Kumar's #6: Straight outta Asheville with Wednesday's killer combo of alt-country, shoegaze and heavy guitar rippers
Band features MJ Lenderman but it's Karly Hartzman's show
Breitling's #5: Debut from Slumberland act The Cords
Scottish indie jangle-pop banglociraptors
Kumar's #5: Thrilling post punk from South London act Shame
Returning to harder rocking sound of first few albums
More albums are shorter nowadays
Breitling's #4: Prolific Chicago psych-pop act Sharp Pins keeps bringing it
Flashes of GBV and early Kinks
Breitling's #3: Crutchfield sisters (Waxahatchee, Swearin') drop surprise release as Snocaps
Again with the Lenderman, on drums this time
Kumar's #3: PUP applies newfound maturity to pop-punk bangers
Singing about adult stuff
Breitling's #2: Mini-album from Peel Dream Magazine
Autumnal-sounding leftovers from previous album recording session
Kumar's #2: Sloan keeps bringing the heat with 14th release of diverse and rewarding power pop
Four singer-songwriters keep the offerings varied and on point
Breitling's #1 and Kumar's #4: Monumental four-album conceptual triumph from Hallelujah the Hills
Lot of guest stars including Ezra Furman, Clint Conley, Sadie Dupuis, Patrick Stickles
Staggering amount of excellence
Kumar's #1 and Breitling's #7: NYC's Geese blows up with wide-ranging collection that grabs your attention
Their club tour sold out immediately
Frontman Cameron Winter leads a sound that ranges from Pavement to soul
Looking forward to 2026 releases from: Notwist, Kiwi Jr., Courtney Barnett, Sleaford Mods, Crooked Fingers, Strange Pains
Reunion shows next year from Silkworm, Superdrag
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Like many things in our society, 2025 was giving "How can I miss you if you won't go away?" vibes. Nevertheless, it was a good year for rock music. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played part 1 of my look back at the year in rock. This show takes off like the Miracle Over the Mojave.
This playlist was well-rehearsed:
Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Tunde Adebimpe - Magnetic/Thee Black Boltz
Model/Actriz - Cinderella/Pirouette
Destroyer - Hydroplaning Off the Edge of the World/Dan's Boogie
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2025. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
The 17th annual year in music review
AI-generated music is lame
Especially fake music that purports to be by real artists
Spotify is a juggernaut that still sucks
Checking out other services (Qobuz, Amazon)
You don't get to own downloads via streaming services
The kids love the K-pop
Only a handful of artists make any money these days
Oh yay, LIve Nation is going to get richer
Ticketmaster is now a ticket reseller as well
We're still seeing the live rock
Breitling: Thumbs up for the Aimee Mann/Ted Leo Christmas show
Saw Oasis in Mexico City
We both saw Hallelujah the Hills
Kumar: Saw Frank Black, Narducy/Shannon do R.E.M., Gang of Four with Ted Leo, Bob Mould, Greg Norton, Ducks Ltd., Pixies, the Who, Buffalo Tom
Breitling's bubbling under music picks: Ava Luna, Lifeguard, Winter, Frankie Cosmos, Golden Apples, Lemonheads, Sister Ray Davies, Jeff Tweedy, Glimmer, Tiberius, Telephone Numbers
Kumar's honorable mentions: Tweedy, The Convenience, Snocaps, Turnstile, The Hives, Viagra Boys, Pulp, Car Seat Headrest, Charm School, Horsegirl, Superchunk, Pile, The Beths, Tony Molina, Sharp Pins, They Are Gutting a Body of Water, Militarie Gun, Kestrels, Destroyer, Dean Wareham, Kinski, Ty Segall, Stereolab, Lunchbox, Cam Keiber, Husker Du and Replacements box sets
Breitling's #10: Autocamper's debut asks a valid question
Kumar's #10: Debut solo release from TV On the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe
Breitling's #9: Energetic indie rock from Chicago's OK Cool
Kumar's #9: Ripper out of nowhere from The Men
Breitling's #8: Urgent EP about ancient Greece by Strange Passage
Reunion tours with strange combinations
Triumph is coming around next year
To be continued
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!
The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
This is one of those years where you look up and it's almost Christmas. I feel like I haven't been inundated with holiday music and traditions yet, but nevertheless I dutifully played two hours of Christmas rock jams on Stuck In Thee Garage. You'll feel like you scored, even if you never will, Beavis.
This playlist rules and stuff:
Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Charly Bliss and PUP - It's Christmas and I Fucking Miss You/Single
Dressy Bessy - Hopped Up (On Xmas)/Single
Los Campesinos! - When Christmas Comes/A Los Campesinos! Christmas
The Zambonis - Gritty Xmas (And a Hockey New Year)/Single
Chris Farren - Merry Christmas Again (feat. Jeff Rosenstock & Koji)/Like a Gift from God or Whatever
Chris Farren - The Undertaker/Like a Gift from God or Whatever
The Long Winters - Christmas With You is the Best/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. I
OH! GUNQUIT! - High on Christmas/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. I
Jeremy Neale - Christmas (Turn This Around)/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. I
Record Heat - Come to Christmas/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. I
The Prettybads - Bubblegum Christmas/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. II
The Happy Somethings - It's Christmas Time (We're as Miserable as Sin)/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. II
Sandra's Wedding - Spite Christmas/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. II
Swansea Sound - The Life We Led/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. IV
TV Smith - Xmas Blood Xmas/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. IV
The Sultans of Ping - Christmas Bubblegum Machine/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. IV
Ex-Rental - Christmas in the Synthesizer Age/Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. IV
Hour 2
Papas Fritas - Holiday/Pop Has Freed Us
Sloan - December 25/Kids Come Back Again at Christmas
The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping/Single
Ron Sexsmith - Something to Hold On to (At Christmas)/Single
Diet Cig - Happy Holiday/Simply Having a Wonderful Compilation
Kristin Hersh - Christmas Underground/Wyatt at the Coyote Palace
Descendents - Christmas Vacation/I Don't Want to Grow Up
Chubby and the Gang - Violent Night (A Christmas Tale)/Single
The Celibate Rifles - Merry Xmas Blues/Single
T. Rex - Christmas Bop/T. Rexmas!
Spinal Tap - Christmas with the Devil/This is Spinal Tap
Run the Jewels - A Christmas Fucking Miracle/Run the Jewels
Frightened Rabbit - It's Christmas So We'll Stop/Single
Gordon Downie - Christmastime in Toronto/Battle of the Nudes
