“Going Shopping” by American rock band The Strokes ascends to #1 on my latest Top 30 chart. Formed in New York City in 1998, The Strokes consist of singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Backed by a lighthearted, bouncy groove, Casablancas muses about materialism, growing older, societal alienation and the never-ending push and pull of city vs. country living. The song is from their forthcoming seventh studio album Reality Awaits, due for release on June 26th.
In other chart developments of note, “Self Aware”, the debut single by Israeli band Temper City, climbs four spots to enter the top 10 at #7. Since its release four months ago, the song has been streamed nearly 217 million times on Spotify alone. I’ve come to love “Good2B” by American rock band Goose, consequently, it’s this week’s biggest upward mover, leaping ten spots to #11. And the lone debut, entering at #29, is “Doors” by Noah Kahan. The song replaces his single “The Great Divide”, which leaves my chart after 18 weeks, three of them at #1.
GOING SHOPPING – The Strokes (2)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (1)
HEADLIGHTS – In Color (5)
HOMEWRECKER – Sombr (6)
FREAKIN’ OUT – Dexter and The Moonrocks (7)
DROP DEAD – Olivia Rodrigo (10)
SELF AWARE – Temper City (11)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (3)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (4)
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (8)
GOOD2B – Goose (21)
UNTIL THE SUN EXPLODES – Sublime (15)
TO LOVE SOMEBODY – Holly Humberstone (14)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (9)
DYING TO LOVE – Bad Omens (13)
IN MY ROOM – Julia Wolf (18)
EXIT WOUND – Ships Have Sailed (19)
RIDE LONESOME – Beck (20)
PICKING DRAGONS’ POCKETS – Modest Mouse (24)
RAGING HALLS – Lyia Meta (25)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (12)
REPEAT OFFENDER – Gloom Is Okay (29)
BACK IN LOVE – Suki Waterhouse (27)
MARATHONS – Sorry Ghost (28)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (23)
ONLINE – Western Jaguar (30)
BE WITH YOU – Muse (16)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (17) 20th week on chart
Death Cab for Cutie remain at #1 for a second week with “Riptides”, while The Strokes slide into second place with “Going Shopping”. Olivia Rodrigo finally enters my top 10 with “Drop Dead“.
Four songs enter my chart this week, and each is accompanied by a terrific video. Therefore, instead of embedding the video of my #1 song, I’m sharing the videos for each of my four new entries, the first of which is the wonderfully sultry “Back in Love” by the very beguiling English singer-songwriter, model and actress Suki Waterhouse. The song will be included on her forthcoming third studio album Loveland, scheduled for release on July 10th. It’s her second song to appear on my chart, following “Supersad”, which peaked at #11 in late 2024.
Coming in at #28 is “marathons” by the irrepressibly charming indie pop/rock band Sorry Ghost. Originally formed as a pop punk band in Baton Rouge, Louisiana but now based in Los Angeles since 2021, the band consists of Matt Polito (guitar, vocals) Dan Anton (bass, lead vocals), Tate Silver (drums) and Sean Duong (guitar, vocals). It’s their second song to appear on my chart, following last year’s delightful “polyester (yes sir)”, which ranks #55 on my 100 Best Songs of 2025 list. The guys have a wicked sense of humor, frequently delighting their fans with hilarious and endearing video reels of themselves on Instagram and TikTok. Their music videos are also highly entertaining and creative, as is definitely the case with the one for “marathons”:
Next up is “Repeat Offender” by Scottish alternative metal band Gloom is Okay. It isn’t often I’m blown away the first time I hear a song, but I have to say I was immediately stunned by the dramatic beauty and majestic impact of “Repeat Offender”. Based in Glasgow, Gloom is Okay is comprised of frontman Martin Walker (vocals, guitars, synths, programming) Iain MacLeod (bass) and Mark Norris (drums). It’s their first new music in three years, since their excellent 2023 self-titled EP Gloom is Okay, which I reviewed on this blog. “Repeat Offender” is the lead single from their forthcoming debut album Nothing Human. Walker says the song is essentially about handling narcissistic people.
Coming in at #30 is “Online” by Canadian artist Western Jaguar, the music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Trainor. Based in the beautiful Fraser River Valley east of Vancouver, British Columbia, the earnest, amiable musician makes what he calls joyfully sad music and has been a favorite of mine since learning about him in late 2018. I’ve featured him numerous times on this blog and several of his songs have appeared on my chart, two of which – “Disappear” (2019) and “Darling” (2023) – went all the way to #1. Jeff never fails to write thought-provoking lyrics set to infectious melodies, and “Online” hooked me at first listen. The song was inspired by his fear of the impact of the internet on our lives: “I wanted to capture that shady, seedy feeling the web can have. Who knows who’s real or what’s real nowadays. Hell, can I even prove to you I’m real? But there is this almost superiority complex or confidence that can come from the modern digital age that just seems off.”
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (1)
GOING SHOPPING – The Strokes (4)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (2)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (3)
After a two-week hiatus due to being on vacation in Georgia and western North Carolina, I’m back with my latest top 30 chart. American indie pop-rock band Death Cab for Cutie jumps four spots to take over the #1 spot with their pensive single “Riptides”, displacing last week’s top song “Slumber Party” by Brigitte Calls Me Baby. Formed in 1997, Death Cab for Cutie currently consists of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboards, guitar), and Jason McGerr (drums). “Riptides” is the lead single from their 11th studio album I Built You a Tower, which dropped this past Friday, June 5th. The album’s rather melancholic yet upbeat tone was inspired by band frontman and songwriter Ben Gibbard’s experiences dealing with the end of his marriage while also constantly being on tour. I’ve been a longtime fan of Death Cab for Cutie and have always loved Gibbard’s comforting tenor vocals. They previously topped my chart with “Gold Rush” in 2018, though “Here to Forever” reached #2 in 2022.
There are two new debuts this week, however, a total of five songs have entered my charts since my last post so I’ll mention them all. First off is the lovely “Exit Wound” by another longtime favorite act Ships Have Sailed. Based in Los Angeles, the duo is made up of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Will Carpenter and drummer Art Andranikyan, though more recently they’ve collaborated with a number of other songwriters and musicians. I’ve written about them for this blog more times than I can remember, and several of their songs have appeared on my charts. “Exit Wound” was co-written by Carpenter and Bill O’Hanlon.
Next up is “Ride Lonesome” by singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Beck. Released in April, the song is his first new music in two years and has a laid-back Americana sound. I like how he continually changes up his sound, keeping it fresh by his willingness to venture into new styles and genres.
The third song among the three previous debuts is the very cool-sounding “Good2B” by American rock band Goose (not to be confused with the band Geese), which currently consists of Rick Mitarotonda (guitar, vocals), Trevor Weeks (bass, vocals, poetry), Peter Anspach (keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Cotter Ellis (drums, vocals). Their eclectic jam band sound has been compared to the funk and progressive rock influences of Phish and Umphrey’s McGee and the folk, jazz, and blues influences of the Grateful Dead. The song will be included on their sixth studio album Big Modern, set for release on June 12th.
The first of this week’s two new entries is “Picking Dragons’ Pockets” by the always zany and unorthodox Portland, Oregon-based alt-rock band Modest Mouse. Formed in 1993, the band has undergone numerous personnel changes over the years and presently consists of frontman and founding member Isaac Brock (lead vocals, guitars, banjo), Russell Higbee (bass, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Ben Massarella (drums, percussion), Simon O’Connor (guitar, backing vocals), Damon Cox (drums, percussion) and Keith Karman (keyboards, guitar, bass, backing vocals). The song is from their eighth studio album An Eraser and a Maze, which also dropped this past Friday, June 5th.
An interesting tidbit of info I found on their Wikipedia page referenced a 2016 study conducted by Italian music data company Musixmatch which surveyed 43,414 songs spanning multiple genres. It found that Modest Mouse was one of the most profane bands among the subjects categorized as “indie rock,” second only to The Neighborhood (whose song “Hula Girl” recently topped my chart). It was estimated that Modest Mouse used profanity every 310 words, and that the top three swear words uttered by the band were “shit,” “fuck” and “ass,” respectively.
The second new entry this week, and the final of five overall, is the hard-hitting “Raging Halls” by insanely talented Malaysian artist Lyia Meta. A highly accomplished, award-winning and Grammy-nominated Renaissance woman, Lyia is a singer, songwriter, musician and vocal coach, as well as a writer, teacher and visual artist whose work spans multiple media formats. Possessing a rich contralto singing voice, she’s recorded songs across a wide range of genres including blues, jazz, pop, country, rock and metal. She ranks among my favorite female vocalists, and I’ve featured her numerous times on this blog. We’ve been following each other on social media since 2018, and I finally had the pleasure of meeting Lyia and her husband Zack in person in January when they were in Los Angeles.
“Raging Halls” was co-written by Lyia and E.G. Holmes, who co-produced the track with her longtime Nashville-based collaborator Bob McGilpin, who also played lead and rhythm guitar, bass, drums and synths. Additional contributions on the track include rhythm guitar by Christian Wentz, guitar and synths by John Foster, orchestration and keyboards by Gene Rabbai and backing harmonies by Lisa Brokop. Lyia says the song “explores the tension between desire, risk, and the moment where hesitation transforms into action.”
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (5)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (1)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (3)
Twenty One Pilots maintain a firm grip on the top spot for a third week with their beautiful song “Drag Path”, while Brigitte Calls Me Baby‘s delightfully boisterous “Slumber Party” and Talk in Waves‘ plaintive Americana-tinged “Waiting for Me” move up a notch to #s 2 and 3, respectively. “Riptides” by Death Cab for Cutie moves up three to enter the top 10 at #10, and The Strokes are the biggest upward movers again this week, as “Going Shopping” jumps seven spots to #13.
Four terrific songs enter my chart this week, starting with the infectious “Until The Sun Explodes” by Long Beach, California-based ska punk band Sublime, comprised of founding members Eric Wilson (bass) and Bud Gaugh (drums), as well as vocalist Jakob Newell, son of founding member Bradley Nowell who died in 1996. Their previous single “Ensenada” reached #1 on my chart this past November and has spent nearly eight months and counting at #1 on Billboard‘s Rock/Alternative Airplay chart!
Coming in at #28 is “Self Aware”, the debut single by Israeli alternative rock band Temper City, which consists of musicians Chen Kordova, Aviv Barenholz and Eitan Peled. Released in February, the song quickly went viral on TikTok and has already amassed over 109 million streams on Spotify, and 3.7 million views on YouTube. The track’s style and sound have been compared to acts like Steve Lacy, Hozier, Cage the Elephant and The Neighbourhood, all favorites of mine. I only heard it a few days ago and already love it. I was surprised to learn that it’s the first song by an Israeli band to ever appear on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Next up is “Kill Me Fast” by veteran Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. Formed in the 90s and now based in Toronto, they’re comprised of the original line-up of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson and bassist Brad Walst, plus Barry Stock who joined as lead guitarist in 2003, and Walst’s younger brother Matt, who was a longtime songwriter for the band and became lead singer in 2013 when Gontier left Three Days Grace (he rejoined in 2024). The song is from their eighth studio album Alienation, released in August 2025.
The fourth new entry is “In My Room” by American singer-songwriter and record producer Julia Wolf (born Julia Capello). The song was originally released in March 2024 as the lead single from her second studio album Pressure, which dropped in May 2025, but was re-released as the title track of a five-song EP in late March, at which point it finally charted in the U.S. Wolf states the rather dark song is about missing an ex-partner who’s moved on.
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (1)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (3)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (4)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (7)
LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (6)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (9)
I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (2)
YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (10)
YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (5)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (13)
THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (11)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (12)
GOING SHOPPING – The Strokes (20)
BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (15)
HEADLIGHTS – In Color (18)
HOMEWRECKER – sombr (19)
SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (17)
DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (8)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (14)
FREAKIN’ OUT – Dexter and The Moonrocks (23)
YOU AND FOREVER – Bleachers (21)
DYING TO LOVE – Bad Omens (22)
DROP DEAD – Olivia Rodrigo (25)
BE WITH YOU – Muse (24)
TO LOVE SOMEBODY – Holly Humberstone (27)
HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (16) 21st week on chart
Well, I thought 2024 was a trying year, but 2025 turned out to be an even bigger shitshow! Between the death of my cat and the unending nightmare of the odious and spectacularly corrupt Trump regime, it’s a wonder I (and millions of others) survived this year intact. Thankfully, there was lots of great music to help keep us relatively sane.
As I do at the end of each year, I’ve compiled a list of my 100 favorite songs for the past year. I’ve previously posted my list of the 100 Best Indie Songs of 2025 (which you can read here), and now this new list represents a compilation of my favorite songs of 2025 (23 of which also appear on my 100 Best Indie Songs list.) I avoid ranking albums, as there are simply far too many I’ve either not heard or had the time to fully listen to, therefore any list I might compile would be woefully inadequate.
As a music blogger, I’m exposed to a tremendous amount of new music over the course of a year, both from the thousands of artists and bands I follow, as well as all the music I learn about from fellow bloggers. Despite this, I’ve heard only a tiny fraction of all the music released in 2025, which was clearly evident to me when I perused the year-end best song lists of music sites and publications like Consequence, The Fader, Rolling Stone, NPR, etc. Therefore, my list includes only songs I know, and I’m certain there are likely hundreds of great ones that should be included, except that I’ve never heard them. Among the thousands of songs I did hear in 2025, there were many outstanding ones, and it frustrates me to have to cull my list down to only 100, omitting quite a few that I really like. It’s also a challenge ranking them, because a song at #40 isn’t necessarily any better than a song at #70. Perhaps it’s a pointless exercise to even rank them at all, except for the fact that I love making lists!
Music tastes are very subjective, and while I don’t understand how others cannot share my love for a particular song or artist, I fully realize that not one person will agree with all my song choices or rankings. I’m an unapologetic lover of pop, but also love dream rock, folk rock and alternative rock, so a lot of songs on my list reflect those genres. My favorite music artist this year was sombr (the hyper-talented 20-year-old American singer-songwriter and producer born Shane Michael Boose), who’s gorgeous, anthemic torch song “back to friends” is #1, while his equally great “undressed” is #11 and “12 to 12” comes in at #29. Also ranking highly are songs from favorite acts of mine who ranked highly on previous years lists, including Royel Otis, Lord Huron, Twenty One Pilots, Fontaines D.C., The Black Keys, Talk in Waves and Frank Joshua.
Most of the songs on this list were released in 2025, however, several were released in 2024 but didn’t ‘peak’ until 2025. Likewise, several songs released after November 1st are still moving up my weekly charts and won’t peak until early 2026, thus will appear on next year’s list. The few songs in this Top 100 that also appeared on my 100 Best Songs of 2024 list are indicated with an asterisk *. I’ve created both YouTube and Spotify playlists for this Top 100, which are included at the end of the post. Hopefully you’ll find some of your own personal favorites on it. Let me know what songs resonated with you in 2025.
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (my #1 indie song)
SO COLD – Balu Brigada
MOODY – Royel Otis
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron
NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys
THE LINE (from Arcane League of Legends) – Twenty One Pilots
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C.
IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire
FIVE MORE SECONDS – Seafret & KT Tunstall
UNDRESSED – sombr
SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks *
TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket
ENSENADA – Sublime
WALLS – Frank Joshua
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes
THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots
FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves
ARROW – The Head And The Heart
TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert
THE WEATHER – All Time Low
BAD DREAMS – Teddy Swims
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots
METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant
SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL
NEVER ENOUGH – TURNSTILE
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child
JUPITER – almost monday feat. Jordana
12 TO 12 – sombr
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender
DRACULA – Tame Impala
THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys
BOBBY SOX – Green Day *
SUSHI AND COLA COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones
RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons
CONTROLLER – Moody Moody
NEVERENDER – Justice feat. Tame Impala *
A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals *
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges
BAD LARRY – Cloakroom
LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block
YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves
THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo
BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White
SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez
AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society
IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers
MISTAKES – Caamp
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson
LONDON TOWN – HEALER
MORTAL WOUND – The Veils
DETROIT – Badflower
POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost
LAREDO – Leon Bridges
CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg
AS ALIVE AS YOU NEED ME TO BE – Nine Inch Nails
LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA
BETTER DAYS – Yellowcard
SAME OLD SONG – The Lumineers
SHE WANTS TO GO DANCING – Mt. Joy
STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights
RIPPLE – Good Neighbours
BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point
SNAKESKIN – NAVE
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift
BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION
BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men
POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix
WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School
ASSHOLE – The Lumineers
GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings
SPECTER – Bad Omens
LIGHT YEARS APART – Unobliterated
LET THINGS GO – Caamp
RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce the Veil
THE FEAR – Future Theory
THE SUBWAY – Chappell Roan
SPIKE ISLAND – Pulp
WRECK – Neko Case
MOTHER – Lyia Meta & Mark Allen Lanoue
BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice
DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton
LUCY – Mt. Joy
WHO’S A FRAUD? – Still Traffico
HORNETS – Western Jaguar
ANKLES – Lucy Dacus
HESITATE – Meltt
GIVING UP – Michigander
THREE SIX FIVE – Shinedown
RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM
AFTERLIFE – Alex G
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox
DANG – Rainbow Kitten Surprise
SUGAR ON MY TONGUE – Tyler, The Creator
WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde
AFTERLIFE – Sharon Van Etten
Honorable Mention (these songs would rank #s 101-115):
There aren’t many changes to my chart for the final full week of 2025. Twenty One Pilots remain at #1 with “City Walls”, while Tame Impala‘s “Dracula” moves into second place and sombr‘s “12 to 12” moves up a notch to #3. English psychedelic alt-rock band Future Theory enter the top ten with “The Fear”.
Two songs – both of which have been around a while – finally enter my chart, starting with “Asking For A Friend” by venerable rock band Foo Fighters, coming in at #29. The second new entry is “Caramel” by English alternative metal rock band Sleep Token, who charted earlier in the year with their dramatically beautiful song “Emergence”. Both tracks are from their fourth studio album Even In Arcadia, released this past May.
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (1)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (3)
12 TO 12 – sombr (4)
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (2)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (5)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (6)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (7)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (8)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce The Veil (12)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (10)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (11)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (13)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (14)
ZOMBIE – YUNGBLUD (17)
REMEMBER US? – Two Feet (20)
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (9)
TANANA – Portugal. The Man (18)
BY YOUR SIDE – Meltt (19)
RUBBER BAND MAN – Mumford & Sons w/Hozier (21)
MADALENA – Goose (22)
INFINITE SOURCE – Deftones (23)
WHITE HORSES – Wolf Alice (24)
HUMAN – Brandi Carlile (25)
STAY IN YOUR LANE – Courtney Barnett (26)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (15)
Photo of Twenty One Pilots from their Facebook account
It’s a particularly exciting chart this week as we approach the end of 2025, with a new #1 song and two fantastic new debuts, incidentally all by duo acts. Twenty One Pilots, my favorite music act for the past ten years, takes over the top spot with “City Walls”, marking their 14th song to top my chart, and their third this year alone, following “The Line” this past March and “The Contract” in August. Like “The Contract”, “City Walls” is from their eighth studio album Breach, which was released September 12th and serves as the final installment in their decade-long narrative arc explored by their previous albums Blurryface (2015), Trench (2018), Scaled and Icy (2021), and Clancy (2024).
(For those who’ve been living under a rock, Twenty One Pilots are based in Columbus, Ohio and consist of the dynamic duo of singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Tyler Joseph and power drummer Josh Dun. “City Walls” was written and produced by Joseph and his longtime collaborator Paul Meany, the lead singer and keyboardist for alternative rock project Mutemath, who opened for Twenty One Pilots on their Emotional Roadshow Tour that I saw in 2016.)
According to songsdiscussion.com, “‘City Walls’ delves into powerful themes of betrayal, reluctant leadership, and the immense psychological cost of rebellion, all set within the band’s established Dema and Trench narrative. The song’s core meaning centers on a protagonist who feels utterly abandoned by a trusted guide who was supposed to show him the way past the oppressive “city walls.” Now, he is forced to lead a dangerous and uncertain “breach” on his own, all while battling the severe fragmentation of his own mental state under the crushing weight of his new responsibility.“
The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Jensen Noen, runs for nearly ten minutes, making it the longest music video Twenty One Pilots have ever released. (The track itself is 5:22 minutes long.) Band frontman Tyler Joseph stated that the video serves as the proper conclusion to the story surrounding the conceptual city of “Dema”, a fictional location in the world of “Trench”, and its two central characters, Clancy (portrayed by Joseph) and Torchbearer (portrayed by drummer Josh Dun). With a production budget of $1 million, “City Walls” is one of the most expensive music videos of all time, as well as the second most expensive music video of the 2020s. Wikipedia
As I noted earlier, we have two marvelous new debuts, starting with “who’s your boyfriend” by Sydney, Australia-based duo Royel Otis. Comprised of Otis Pavlovic (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano) and Royel Maddell (lead guitar, backing vocals, bass, synthesizer), they’ve previously reached #1 twice on my chart, with “Murder on the Dancefloor” in 2024 and “moody” earlier this year. Like “moody”, “who’s your boyfriend” is from their third studio album hickey.
The second debut is “I’ve Got A Broken Heart”, the latest single by hyper-talented jangle pop-rock duo The Lemon Twigs. Based in Long Island, New York, they consist of brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario, both of whom are vocalists, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists. Their wonderful song “My Golden Years” reached #1 on my chart and ranks #5 on my Top 100 Songs of 2024 list (right behind “Murder on the Dancefloor”). “I’ve Got A Broken Heart” was released on November 25th as a double single also featuring “Friday (I’m Gonna Love You)”.
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (2)
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (1)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (3)
12 TO 12 – sombr (10)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (5)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (6)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (7)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (9)
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (4)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce The Veil (12)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (13)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (14)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (15)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (16)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (8)
ENSENADA – Sublime (11)
ZOMBIE – YUNGBLUD (18)
TANANA – Portugal. The Man (19)
BY YOUR SIDE – Meltt (20)
REMEMBER US? – Two Feet (21)
RUBBER BAND MAN – Mumford & Sons w/Hozier (22)
MADALENA – Goose (23)
INFINITE SOURCE – Deftones (24)
WHITE HORSES – Wolf Alice (25)
HUMAN – Brandi Carlile (30)
STAY IN YOUR LANE – Courtney Barnett (29)
SUSHI AND COCA-COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones (17)
Pop-punk rockers All Time Low remain at #1 for a second week with “The Weather”, while “City Walls” by my favorite band Twenty One Pilots closes in at #2 and Tame Impala‘s “Dracula” advances to #3. sombr – which my Spotify Wrapped revealed was my top artist of 2025 – enters the top 10 with “12 to 12”.
The lone new entry to this week’s chart is “Human”, a beautiful, uplifting song by the wonderful singer-songwriter and producer Brandi Carlile. Over her 21-year career, she’s released nine studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, three demo albums, 15 EPs, and 31 singles. She’s won 11 Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards, and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for her collaboration with Elton John on the single “Never Too Late”, the theme to John’s 2024 documentary of the same name. In addition to John, she’s also collaborated with scores of artists, including Amanda Shires, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby in their country music supergroup the Highwomen, Joni Mitchell, Tanya Tucker, The Secret Sisters, Lucius, Dave Matthews Band, Pat Monahan (of Train) and Noah Kahan.
“Human” is from her latest album Returning to Myself, released on October 24th. Written by Carlile along with her long-time collaborators, twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth, & watt (singer-songwriter, musician and producer Andrew Wotman), the song is about accepting that each of us in only human and on this earth for a short time, and to try and find bits of happiness and joy along the way.
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (1)
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (3)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (4)
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (2)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (7)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (8)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (9)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (5)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (10)
12 TO 12 – sombr (12)
ENSENADA – Sublime (6)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce the Veil (13)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (14)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (15)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (16)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (17)
SUSHI AND COCA-COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones (11)
It’s hard to believe we’re now entering the final month of 2025, and pop-punk band All Time Low take over the top spot this week with their infectious ear worm “The Weather”. Formed in Towson, Maryland, in 2003, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, and they’ve released a total of nine studio albums, six EPs, two live albums and thirty-seven singles. “The Weather” is the second single from their tenth album Everyone’s Talking!, released on October 17th.
“Ordinary Creature” by Icelandic alt-rock band Of Monsters and Men and “Spector” by American alternative metal band Bad Omens enter the top ten. Three songs make their debut this week, starting with “infinite source” by American alternative metal band Deftones, which enters at #28. Formed in Sacramento, California way back in 1988, they currently consist of frontman Chino Moreno (lead vocals), Stephen Carpenter (lead guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums) and Frank Delgado (keyboardist and turntablist). Deftones have released 10 studio albums, four EPs, three compilation albums, five demo albums, 32 music videos and 25 singles. “infinite source” is from their 10th and latest album private music, which dropped August 22nd, and follows their previous single “my mind is a mountain”, which recently spent nine weeks on my chart.
The second debut is “White Horses” by English alt rock band Wolf Alice. Formed in London in 2010, they consist of singer Ellie Rowsell (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards) Joff Oddie (guitar, vocals), Theo Ellis (bass, vocals) and Joel Amey (drums, percussion, vocals). “White Horses” is from their fourth studio album The Clearing, which was also released August 22nd. Coming in at #30 is “Stay In Your Lane”, a cool song by highly acclaimed and beloved Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett, who never fails to deliver a compelling song.
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (2)
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (1)
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (4)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (6)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (3)
ENSENADA – Sublime (5)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (8)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (10)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (11)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (12)
SUSHI AND COCA COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones (7)
12 TO 12 – sombr (14)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce the Veil (15)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (16)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (17)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (18)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (19)
EVERYBODY SCREAM – Florence + The Machine (9)
MISTAKES – Caamp (13)
ZOMBIE – YUNGBLUD (21)
DANG – Rainbow Kitten Surprise (22)
TANANA – Portugal. The Man (23)
BY YOUR SIDE – Meltt (25)
REMEMBER US? – Two Feet (26)
RUBBER BAND MAN – Mumford & Sons w/Hozier (29)
MADALENA – Goose (30)
AS ALIVE AS YOU NEED ME TO BE – Nine Inch Nails (20)
Alabama Shakes remain at #1 for a second week with “Another Life”, while All Time Low moves into second place with their wistful anthem “The Weather”, and “Elegantly Wasted”, the lovely collaboration by Hermanos Gutiérrez and Leon Bridges moves up to #3. Taylor Swift enters the top 10 at last with “The Fate of Ophelia”, from her latest album The Life of a Showgirl.
There are two great new additions to this week’s chart, the first of which is “Rubber Band Man”, a wonderful collaboration by English folk rock band Mumford & Sons and Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. I mean, given the combined talents of those two phenomenal acts, would you expect anything less? Hozier has previously collaborated with a number of artists, including Mavis Staples on “Nina Cried Power” (2018) and Noah Kahan on “Northern Attitude” (2023), both of which reached #1 on my chart.
The second new entry, at #30, is “Madalena” by American indie rock band Goose. Formed in Connecticut in 2014, they’re comprised of Rick Mitarotonda (vocals, guitar), Peter Anspach (vocals, keys, guitar), Trevor Weekz (bass) and Cotter Ellis (drums). “Madalena” is from their fifth studio album Chain Yer Dragon, which was released on August 14th, just four months after their previous album Everything Must Go. With it’s terrific piano work, the song has a bit of an early Elton John sensibility to my ears.
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (1)
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (4)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (5)
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (7)
ENSENADA – Sublime (2)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (8)
SUSHI AND COCA COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones (3)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (9)
EVERYBODY SCREAM – Florence + The Machine (10)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (11)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (12)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (13)
MISTAKES – Caamp (6)
12 TO 12 – sombr (16)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce the Veil (17)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (20)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (21)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (22)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (23)
AS ALIVE AS YOU NEED ME TO BE – Nine Inch Nails (15)
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 