The Best of 2025

As I see so many year end lists reflecting and ordering what the best was of this already terrible year, it had me think to do the same. I will not lie to you dear reader, I am terrible at keeping up with the contemporary media landscape (I never heard of Geese until seeing them blasted all over the White twitterverse). But there are many things I’ve read, watched, and listened to that are worth getting a second wind because they are great. This should be short and will be a jumping off point for you to find whatever I reference. Here’s to a better tomorrow.

• 3mouth - SPEAKER SMOOCHER
  I’ve already spoke on this for the piece I wrote for Bandcamp, so this will be brief. 3mouth makes music for people who want to move with a knowing intent. Their music is hardcore in the way that saying Brian Eno’s ambient music slaps. 3mouth is irreverent to breakcore or jungle politics, yes you should know about Venetian Snares and LTJ Bukem but also don’t take it too seriously. Anything 3mouth does is a win for music.

• Shadow Wizard Money Gang - ఠ:g()((⊠tt●)..E.leC(t)®▓N⑄iఠ..mಠUS1.(K) ⑵
  For those not in the loop it is “Ghetto Electronic Music 2”…. I think. It is hard to look at this aesthetically, the type of shitposting that festers feelings in my stomach like cringe, repulsion, and confusion. What I can definitely say is that I like listening to and would like to learn more about the persona behind Shadow Wizard Money Gang (SWMG). Jumpstyle and gabber music take absurdist heights in SWMG from all the distortion filters the samples are put through. I like this.

• bagel fanclub - it’s nothing new
  Also wrote about this on Bandcamp, it is so good. This is breakcore to sip wine to, you consider it as a hard to read book that you can’t put down.

• Tyler, The Creator - DON’T TAP THE GLASS
  I have since become disillusioned by hype in the artists I grew up listening to because it turns out most of them don’t really care about shit. Tyler is no exception to this. Ever since to exponential crossover success that was Flower Boy, Tyler’s music lost the soul that was distinctly his. He’s adopted a persona of Black excellence and self-motivated artistry to such an obnoxious level that I can’t stand to see him. DON’T TAP THE GLASS doesn’t change any of that, but being brisk half-hour in length with emphasis on movement is the ideal pivot for Tyler in the era.

• GDP & Fatboi Sharif - ENDOCRINE
  GDP was one of the artists I found in college that I felt I can relate to. Edgy, witty, melancholic; all the things a budding 20-year-old would need. To my surprise, a decade later I still get those things but with an aged grace. ENDOCRINE is a remarkable 20-minutes of rap with a hypnotizing allure of abstraction like a Jackson Pollock painting. It’s experimental as it is relatable—this line is often repeated: “My candy girl like New Addition / superstitious / you cook, I do the dishes”.

• slippymudman - 17 SILLY SONGS

  An undersung breakcore champion; goated with a brilliant ear for samples. I’m sorry for not singing your praises sooner.

• QIREXX & slippymudman - THINGS WE FOUND ON THE DARK WEB: SUPER ULTRA DELUXE EDITION

• DEATHBYSHEEP - “100% CHINGON” VOL. 4

  Massive shoutout to my partner for putting me on the sonic jubilation that is cumbia de sonideras. Lo-fi bootlegs of cumbia music slowed down with a DJ shouting adlibs sporadically using a custom-built sound system, it is so gas. I bought a CD that has 6 hours of it!

• 909 Worldwide - It’s Time For Dance

  Found when I joined a listening party on Discord. The third installment in a series of compilaitons featuring big and small names. The most insane thing I heard was DJ FUCKED IN THE HEAD’s “KOAT 7 (DUBPLATE). There needs to be more music like this.

• MAD BREAKS - MBS006: Last Anniversary!

• ethan music & Andy pls - STUPID RAP SONGS W/AMENS

  I’m late to this but adding amen breaks to “Sticky” is genius.

• lhk - i feel online

  Phenomenal.

• Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka

  See below image.

  

• Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer

  Can someone find more images like this one? I would like to know if there is a connective tissue between them. So far the only other I can think of is Golden Boy’s I NEVER MEANT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.

• Afdez - Outsider

  I found this while doing research for a piece I’m writing about Jersey club. Happy to have found it would love to know what the scene is like in Mexico. Seeing how regional scenes move to other locales is an interesting exercise in adaptation.

• MAD BREAKS - Jersey Club Epic Fail Compilation

Tracks found on Soundcloud:

FńęTheproducer - “Deathnote x Gotham @Fne_TheProd @GB_Rigo #JerseyClub #STXRZ #LabGodz

Lil E - “Can You Make It Dump (Prod. Dj Taj)”1

HuyDuong - “nụ hồng O Block”

EL BLANCO NINO - “EVERYTHING SHE WANTS (ft. MARVELITO)”

El Blanco Nino X V e s a - “What You Do”

mcvertt - “TAKE WHAT YOU WANT #PX”

hiei - “hiei x ‘2B’ #jerseyclub”

shinomiyaa - “wecouldbe #jerseyclub”

[4KAE] - “‘DRAMA’ @bz @dudda @tc #jerseyclub”

hiei - “hiei x ‘evening’ #jerseyclub”

raverobber - “MURDER CLUB & RAVEROBBER vs. “IM GONNA KILL YOU” (@ug x @sckx battle track)”

The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Delectably simply with an execution with impeccable craftsmanship.

Mikey and Nicky (1976)
Peter Falk and John Cassavetes are match made in heaven.

Love & Pop (1998)
Anno ruined me with NGE, not emotionally just with how canted cinematography is so pleasant.

Flow (2024)
This is what a movie about cats should be.

Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) (2025)
I wrote about this for Intervenxions.

Parabola d’oro (1955)
Inspired to watch after reading the first issue of Narrow Margin.

Notes on Breakcore (2006)
Perfect as time capsule and how to unpack genre from a practitioner’s perspective. A serious lack of critic/enthusiasts input but still worthwhile. Find it on Youtube.

A Confucian Confusion (1994)
There’s a challenge for myself to watch all of Edward Yang’s films. This one was one of my favs though I was puzzled with reading the comedy reception this film gets. It’s superbly written and has many Yangisms.

Chant and Dances for Hand (2017)
I wrote about this for Screen Slate.

Harmonica (1971)
Seen at opening night of Larry Gottheim’s MoMA retrospective.

Sinners (2025)
Certainly pretty good.

Memoir of a Snail (2024)

Better Man (2024)
I would hope this becomes the template for all biopics.

Fire of Love (2022)

That Day, on the Beach (1983)
Heavy and long, but a perfect film. Edward Yang is my goat.

Duckweed (1981)
Surprised this exists on the talents of community efforts. A tasteful TV soap opera that could be watched a few times.

Paddington in Peru (2024)
I don’t need to explain this. Paddington is someone we should all care for.

No Other Choice (2025)
Not as strong as Decision to Leave but this should be the big splash to make everyone (normal people) read subtitles.

The Lost Weekend (1945)
Inspiring me to watch the rest of Wilder’s work. In the same vein as The Night of the Hunter, this shit goes hard.

Liz Pelly - Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist
Book of the year.

“Shameless confessions of an old cinephile” by Luc Moullet (transl. Sam Warren Miell) | Narrow Margin

“Unknown territories: An interview with Luc Moullet” by Sam Warren Miell & Benjamin Crais | Narrow Margin

“Obligation/Wish” by Jhon Hernandez | Drunk for Life

“Gluttons for Punishment” by Ock Sportello | Derange

“How to Dig for Music Without Spotify” by Kieran Press-Reynolds | Pitchfork

“The Battle to Save the Soul of City Pop From AI” by Kieran Press-Reynolds | Pitchfork

“How AI Wreaked Havoc on the Lo-Fi Beat Scene” by Kieran Press-Reynolds | Pitchfork

“Greetings from Planet Newark: An Extensive Look at the New Generation of Jersey Club” by Tyler M | Finals

Materialists (Review) by Melissa Anderson | 4Columns

“(Female) Enjoyment as a Political Factor in One Battle After Another” by Pietro Bianchi | e-flux Notes

“Can a streaming platform create a niche music genre?” by Kieran Press-Reynolds | nobells

“The 24-Hour Working Girl” by Ayanna Dozier | Ultra Dogme

“Do These Images Give Voice?: Machete Gillette…Mama (1989)” by Ruairí McCann | Ultra Dogme

“Faces in Death: Michael Roemer’s Dying” by Devin Leong | Ultra Dogme

“New York basketball needs more than just the Knicks” by Minh Tran | The Fader

“‘Raise Your Head, We are Making an Honorable Film’: Heiny Srour on the Restored Leila and the Wolves and The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived” by A.E. Hunt | Filmmaker

“Rat’s Amore” by Aaron Timms | New York Review of Architecture

“Where the Sidewalk Ends by Andy Battle | New York Review of Architecture

“The World’s Memory of the World” by Gabriel Winslow-Yost | The Baffler

“High Infidelity” by Aaron Timms | The Baffler