The Mostly Music 2025 Playlist, Pt. 10 (Updated 10/31/25)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here are the singles that have been released since October 16th.

Who Is a Band or Artist You Listen to That Might Surprise People? [QOTW, 4/6/25]

  • “I listen to Kelly Clarkson. Girl can SANG!” – Alchemy Within
  • “Pearly Drops. Been listening to them quite often lately.” – K.A.R.L. (Kill All Remaining Life)
  • “The Zombies.” – Naked Sunday
  • “I used to have a secret love for some 2000’s pop, like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Ke$ha.” – Deathmare
  • “The Byrds.” – The Immaculate Crows
  • “80’s/90’s country! Sawyer Brown is a fave. Other than that, I listen to a lot of girl pop with my daughter. Olivia Rodrigo is punk AF.” – Deadly Vices
  • “Colbie Caillat.” – Seethe
  • “Limp Bizkit. I’ll own it.” – Gillsaw
  • “Kool and the Gang. Fucking love those guys, and they don’t have a single bad song!” – Robbie Ekblom, Jr.
  • “Taking Back Sunday. People are really surprised to hear I like a lot of emo bands.” – Encircled Throne

If You Could Collaborate With Any Artist, Living or Dead, Who Would It Be? [QOTW, 3/17/25]

  • “So hard to choose one, but I’d probably have to go with Layne Staley. His style is so unique and full of vibe and emotion. 1B would be Emily Armstrong, new Linkin Park singer. Great songwriting with Dead Sara and new LP stuff and great voice.” – Deadly Vices
  • “Trent Reznor!” – Winter in May
  • “Peter Spilles of Project Pitchfork! His music inspired me to start writing many years ago.” – K.A.R.L. (Kill All Remaining Life)
  • “Trey Anastasio [Phish].” – Til Fauna
  • “Tommy Stinson [The Replacements/Bash & Pop]. Just a great songwriter.” – naked sunday
  • “Love to work with Impending Doom.” – Encircled Throne
  • “I’m gonna get shit for this, but I wouldn’t be the man I am today: Marilyn Manson.” – Deathmare
  • “Devin Townsend, for sure. He breaks all rules and molds.” – Gillsaw
  • “Frank Black of The Pixies.” – Revolution Rabbit Deluxe
  • “Coheed and Cambria.” – Overlay
  • “Jonathan Davis.” – After the Apocalypse
  • “Idles.” – Televised Mind

Favorite Disney movie? [QOTW, 2/9/25]

I decided to go with another fun question this week – favorite Disney movie? We all have one, right? (The answer to that is no, as I discovered. Lol.)

For the record, I have more than one: The Little Mermaid, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Aladdin, The Aristocats, and The Princess and the Frog. My list would be even longer if I included Disney’s work with Pixar…

Anyway, here are the responses I got from some of my followers.

  • “This is gonna show my age, but I’ve always been partial to The Sword and the Stone.” – Marco, After the Apocalypse
  • Peter Pan or Toy Story.” – Steven, Justin Holt/f1oater
  • Dragonslayer!” – Richard, RJ Archer and the Painful Memories
  • The Great Mouse Detective.” – Xavi, The Lürxx
  • Deadpool 3 [Deadpool & Wolverine].” – Bryce, Psycholand
  • Maleficent.” – Mandatory Affect
  • Moana! Mainly because my daughter and I watched it so many times together.” – Deadly Vices
  • “I don’t watch Disney. I guess when I was younger it would have been The Little Mermaid or The Aristocats.” – Synthetik Blonde

What was the first album you ever bought with your own money? [QOTW, 2/2/25]

I decided to change the title format for these posts. Anyone reading, feel free to leave your answer in my comments!!! Not all the questions will be catered to bands/artists.

  • “Underoath: They’re Only Chasing Safety.” – Seethe
  • “Rob Zombie: Hellbilly Deluxe.” – TJ, K.A.R.L. (Kill All Remaining Life)
  • “Mine was a cassette. T-Rex: The Collection. It had a cool photo of Marc Bolan on the cover!” – Richard, RJ Archer and the Painful Memories
  • “Mariah Carey: One Sweet Day. Guilty as charged.” – Martin, Naked Sunday
  • “First CD purchase was two. Bought both Slipknot’s and Flaw’s debut albums.” – Encircled Throne
  • “Foreigner: 4, in 4th or 5th grade.” – A/V Cult
  • “Mötley Crüe: Decade of Decadence.” – Deadly Vices
  • “Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet, when I was in the 3rd grade.” – Mandatory Affect
  • “Sum 41: All Killer, No Filler.” – The Welcoming
  • “Europe: The Final Countdown, when I had just turned 9.” – Xavi, The Lürxx
  • “Megadeth: Countdown to Extinction on cassette.” – Marco, After the Apocalypse
  • “The first album I bought was KISS on vinyl.” – Scot, Road to Ruin
  • “My first two records, I got them together, were Toto’s Through the Looking Glass and Dream Theater’s Scenes From a Memory.” – Kyle, AV/drum tech, ex-Edge of Destiny

Question of the Week [Jan. 26, 2025]

Hello, all! I have started a new feature for this blog. Each Monday, I will be posting a question to my socials for bands/artists to answer, then I will compile them and share the responses here on Sundays.

I shared the first one this past Monday, the 20th, and it has gotten quite a reaction! As you’ll see, some bands specified who was answering and their roles, while others didn’t. Check it out.

Who are your biggest influences? (You personally, not the band as a whole.)

  • “Dio, Def Leppard, KISS, Elvis.” – Joe (vocals), Freaky Things
  • “Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Motörhead.” – Michael Jahrling (vocals/bass), Rail Rage
  • “Descendents, NOFX, Blink-182, The Ataris.” – Brad (vocals/guitar), Frick
  • “Mainly Creedence [Clearwater Revival], Slade, Status Quo, and The Donnas.” – Richard (vocals/guitar), RJ Archer & the Painful Memories
  • “Layne Staley, Chris Cornell, Scott Weiland, Maynard James Keenan, Jonathan Davis, and Seether.” – Adam (vocals/writing), EverFelt
  • “Tool, A Perfect Circle, Cave In, Periphery, Thrice, Coheed and Cambria.” – The Welcoming
  • “Lyrically, I am inspired by Jonathan Davis [Korn], but also heavily influenced by bands like Project Pitchfork, Skinny Puppy, and Spahn Ranch!” – TJ (vocals/et. al), K.A.R.L. (Kill All Remaining Life)
  • “Black Sabbath, Deep Purple/Rainbow, Judas Priest, Metallica, Rush, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Voivoid, Death, Godflesh, Brutal Truth… I could go on.” – Ritchie (guitars), Gravehuffer
  • “I pull influences from everywhere, mostly heavy stuff but [also] pop all the way to country, on rare occasions.  My faves, though, are Chelsea Grin, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Bring Me The Horizon.” – Joseph, Encircled Throne
  • “Bob Dylan remains my greatest influence/inspiration, as far as songwriting. As far as musicians… Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, Frank Zappa, and Herbie Hancock.” – Bruce Nielsen  (songwriter/guitar/harmonica/bass), The Immaculate Crows
  • “Phil Collins, Taylor Hawkins, Tony Fernandez, John Bonham, and Chad Smith.” – Alex (drums), Neon Society
  • “Lzzy Hale, Tim [Rise Against], and Peter Steele [Type O Negative].” – Nico (vocals), Little Evil
  • “Maynard [Tool, APC, etc.], Noah [Bad Omens], Poppy, and Devin [Honey Revenge].” – Allie Riot
  • “Trey Anastasio [Phish], Jerry Garcia,  and Jimmy Buffet.” – Vesper (vocals), Til Fauna
  • “Wes Borland, Jerome Dillon, Tim Skold, Andy LaPlegua [Icon of Coil/Combichrist], Marilyn Manson, Richard Patrick [Filter], and Trent Reznor.” – Mike Novo (drums), Kendall Cage
  • “John Lennon has been my biggest influence. Noel Gallagher [Oasis], in terms of songwriting.” – Izzy (vocals), Lazy Ghouls
  • “I’m pretty predictable when it comes to this. Metallica was the ultimate for me. Aside from that… Nirvana, Alice in Chains, STP. And the classics: AC/DC, Eagles, CCR, Ozzy. I went through a country/blues phase, so Robert Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters, Fred McDowell. Newer stuff? I dig Unpeople, Post Profit, The Funeral Portrait, Ayron Jones.” – Anthony (guitar/songwriting), Deadly Vices
  • “Sparks, Trio [aka ZAM], Iron Maiden, Japanther, CRASS, and Darkthrone.” – Buzz (songwriting/recording), Buzz N’ Bangs
  • “I’m old-school. Geezer Butler, Steve Harris. A few modern players like Alex Webster and John Myung.” – Mike (bass), Welcome Eternity
  • “DJ Ashba and Jeff Beck.” – Sabú, The Lürxx
  • “On guitar, Izzy Stradlin, late 60s/early 70s Keith Richards. On vocals, Roger Daltrey, Steve Marriott [Humble Pie/Small Faces], and Jon LeSte.” Xavi, The Lürxx
  • “Frank Zappa.” – Acting Human
  • “Gene Simmons and Angus Young.” – Wayne, Element 117
  • “Korn, Linkin Park, NIN, and lots of 90s pop, especially Savage Garden.” – ruin the mind
  • “Pearl Jam, The Cult, Foo Fighters.” – Winter in May
  • “Dissection, Megadeth, Halfway to Gone, Cradle of Filth, Queens of the Stone Age, Alice in Chains.” – Marco (guitars), After the Apocalypse
  • “Classic rock artists like The Beatles, Aerosmith, The Doors, and Led Zeppelin.” – Steven, Tin Zelkova
  • “BRMC, The BJM, The Pixies, Idles, Fontaines DC, Amyl and the Sniffers.” – Televised Mind
  • “Thrice, Killswitch Engage, Coheed and Cambria, Deftones, Tom Petty, Smashing Pumpkins, Jimi Hendrix, The Warning, Pennywise, RHCP, Metallica, Velvet Revolver.” – Mandatory Affect

The Mostly Music 2024 Playlist, Pt. 5 (Updated 10/6/24)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – spooky season!!!!!!! And WOW, 2024 really is racing by. I know I’ve already made that observation, but sheesh!

Anyway, this year’s playlist is moving right along. And remember: there will be a top 50 at the end of December! Bands/artists, y’all are already making those choices extremely difficult to narrow down.

Please be sure to check out parts 1-4, along with the entirety of part 5.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5

Here are the songs that have been added since September 22nd.

My Top 50 Songs of 2023

I tried to trim my list down to 30, the way I did last year, but it was impossible. For one thing, I started compiling singles for 2023 in January – last year, I got a late start. And for another thing, there have been way too many good songs released over the past twelve months!

So here are my top 50 songs of 2023 (in no particular order). And here is a link to the full playlist!