WE USED TO IV, E, E

We used to care,

Everything,

Everywhere

We used to free,

Every mouse,

Every bear

We used to hold,

Every one,

Every orgy

We used to divine,

Every realm,

Every helm

We used to see,

Every sound,

Every story

We used to care,

Every joker,

Every lucky

We used to shine,

Up!

U P !

We used to play,

Every color,

Every age

WE USED TO CARE,

IV,

WE USED TO CARE

We now to nurture,

everything,

everywhere

We now to burster,

every dipper,

every arch~sway

We now to render,

every page

with

every dream

We now to soar,

every song,

any wing

We now to nourish,

every crater,

every stream

We NoW To RISE,

BB,

Be

B E !

We now to shimmer,

every bitter,

sweet kiss

WE NOW TO LOVER,

🫶 IV ♾️ ,

WE NOW TO LOVE.

HERE.

NOW.

(Oh Bother,

Dear,

Deer.)

LOCK•IN Part 2 “Wrecking Balls” (A Serial Horror Series)

Year: 1992

Halloween. Early eve around 5 pm.

“Poor Eric, what a dang shame.”

Pastor Ti’s WWJD bracelet rode the northeast corner of his steering wheel. Pale vibrancy against an even bleaker deep, dark gray. Pastor Ti was one of two shadows sitting in the front of his used Black Metallic 1990 Supra Turbo.

“Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses….”

“Killing In The Name” by Rage Against The Machine was the current rock protest anthem blaring through from the local radio station into his sad, tired and worn vehicle which had seen better days.

The passenger seat shadow turned to Ti and spoke tersely:

“Pastor, what is this Hell’s Bells we are listening to?!?! Turn. It. Off!”

And with a sharp finger flick he punctuated the disgust by turning the “bitches’ brew” completely off.

In a gut-dropping instant a ferocious big dog named Sincere attacked the outside of the passenger side window in echoing support of the shadow figure’s seedy, sticky, slashingly strong, cold secret language.

Sincere’s dog leash was, currently, caught in the door of the right side of Ti’s purring cougar car Ti had, endearingly, named Asita after a particularly treasure-cherished pet of his youth.

Asita, the used vehicle, was parked parallel to the church property’s main road, Gaines Greener Pass and was facing directly at the huge gymnasium where the night’s bounty would be held. The gymnasium sat furthest west of the property. The church offices and youth room sandwiched between the tremendously flexible venue and the original stone chapel where the children’s area with nursery and choir rooms and playrooms could be found nestled in a convenient, safe bunch from any outside harm and monstrosities.

To the far right of docile Asita, the firecracker shadow and the crazed clutches of Sincere lay the pride and joy of the current congregation. A slow-building brick-by-brick symbol of the church’s future and what is to come: a brand new sanctuary on the beguiling nature of the southeastward patch of the church’s plot of land.

The new sanctuary was being built under the ram-shackling, rustic, rucksack wing of flesh and bones slouched next to Ti, Angel Cooper.

“Oh stop being a little bitch and say the real words, Tyson, it’s a crying shame what happened to that boy here. A fucking crying shame! His goddamn testicles were popped like grapes!”

“Yeah, but who do we fault? A metal chair? Two cats chased? By all accounts it was just a freak accident.”

“Says who?!?”

“All his friends and Twila who all witnessed it happen.”

“Twila! Don’t even get me started on Twila and her faggot little son.”

At that moment to Ti’s left there erupted a pipsqueek’s shout of play and goofy laughter. The sounds and scene were being joyfully manifest in the lone, final, current skeletal building of the church property, the lowly shed.

“God, I can’t stand that little runt’s shrillness.”

“Angel, c’mon, man.” Ti mustered.

“What are they even doing here?! Now!? This early?!”

“Pastor Corey called for a spontaneous cleaning crew. He wanted the grounds looking tip-top for all the visitors tonight.”

Both mother and son stepped from the tool shed like conjoined twins awash in blissful, ignorant, naive laughter.

Angel burned and seethed in his viperous seat.

And in the stroke of an energetic match being lit Sincere started barking ferociously. Tugging like a hound from hell towards the main road. She had laid her eyes upon dinner and wasn’t about to let up. Her eyes twinkled with the clandestined authority of a Ku Klux Klan member.

A solitary figure jogged, feverishly. Puffing and puffing with exhaustion for every jolt of Sincere’s tugging and tugging to bolt and bitchmake between her teeth this butternut- free better angel of light.

T H I S T I M E.

NOWTHEN

Blue Bus door

Folds open

Signaling a new page

In any adventurers’

Fairy Tale

Just happens to be

moi.

This time.

Transparent Wine.

An Elephant Eye

Seamlessly

S

E

E

S;

Kaleids;

NOWTHEN.

Time

And time

And time again.

NOW;

THEN:

Gleans.

A glance

Of Fond memory

Of recent Netherlands Bed and Breakfast guest

Accepting advice of

A more scenic route

At our back gate with his darling companion

Kissing off towards discovery

With a childlike glee,

super heroic

“Adventure Awaits!”

with a playful slide upwards in tonal, syllabic delivery.

NOWTHEN

Climbing vines

And vines and vines

And oh what Good Vibes

These elephant times again.

Back at the scene of the sublime

Having just set feet from wheels to whimsy

But WAIT!THEN:

As moi-this-time-transparent-see

stood up on the bus to thank the bold buskerfor his mobile

string theory therapy

non-invasive

Mirroring

River of melodies

Waxing and waning

With improvisational

Instinct

Past hour and a half, THEN

Longing to shed 5s or 1s from denim depths on adventurous appreciative person

Momentarily Marred by an abrupt slide and slam

Backpack;

unexpectedly unleashed

down the arm and grasped our attention pre-determined-departure

So NOW,

How’s about this?

Back at magic’s moment in time

Knowing I Am;

But a transparent whining

Spirit!

Is putting their feet down

Halt!

In front of mystic Beastly threshold

Not yet beckoning time.

Instead for Taking time for oh, so.

Ojo – Ing

Carefully.

Curating a playlist of sunny disposition for the Unknown time ahead

And at the turn of my head

A definitive cruise,

Youthful and Handsome

Adorned in beard and haircut of the groomliest gods

And in that instance

You better believe I would be your fluffer,

Your fucking Good Luck charm,

An immediate altar attendee;

Co-creator of domesticity,

I DO! I DO!

Kerfluffle of rooster feathers.

Much A~Do

Ala spontaneous gambler’s paradise.

Fanta-sizing you Up.

YOU;

The One.

NOWTHEN-

OKAY

( breathe) & (speak)

By god, Divine Gentleman Dashing,

Disappointment flavors your speech.

Realizing the literary realm

Is not open yet

And my cartoon tongue;

A wrinkle staircase

Tripping upon improvisational

Lust

With a yearning for more quality time with this otherwise missed connection

Blunt lit this joint

Beautifully chart-topping

Soundtracking

Dense five minute brevity

And here we are

A whole love story’s potential

Happening by not happening

at all

In desperation I defy the maturity of my age

This fragile Hourglass

Slipping end over end

Through lubricating

Limbs

Tree of life

(Insert spout)

*pout, pout*

Now, now

And say, without feeling fully intuitive of

Your immediate “sitch-eeeee-ation”

“The store opens later.”

And we reclaim this definition of love at first

Sight of you walking by me again…

We are, these precious moments,

Interlocking click of a romantic vignette

Left hanging on the Parisian bridge of our souls

Very basically,

You are seeking a loo for relief before the train departs and our sliding doors are

Karmic

Time and time

And

All @ once

Happening by not happening;

Again.

This Speed

This speed

Ghost freely goes

Fluttering with pigeon pose

Frozen

faster

In the blink of an eye

In too repetitive a swirl

All the time

Aerial Carousel

Einstein yawning

W I D E

Relatively

Non-linear

Alarmingly spitting out expectant teeth

No surprises, please

Can we decipher what speed?

Micro-pausing dreams?

Goooooooeeeeeeees toe to toe

Booooooooooooooo-wah-ha-ha!

Woe.by.Woe.

Unprovoked rager

Aggressor

Overt pressure

Sparking

This 3rd-Eye,

Ghost,

lies,

freely go

Charitably

Oh, Chariot doth catch

Heat

As if

Courting and Melting,

Thee

We Guarantee.

Oui~Oui

W E

we.

LOCK•IN Part 1 “He’s Still Working On Me” (A Serial Horror Series)

Year: 1992

“Twila, can you come in here a sec?”

The sound of the toddler choir could be heard singing “He’s Still Working On Me” as the cherub voices drifted through the open windows of the church office building from the east side of the property where the nursery and childrens’ rooms connected via hallways behind the original sanctuary.

From outside the church office windows, two opposing shadows could be viewed in reflective directions; one seated and one moving.

Twila, endearingly nicknamed “Twilight”by many of the core congregation, was the busy shadow within the office supply room as she made flyers on the church’s huge copy machine for the upcoming youth lock-in.

“Twilight” had taken to calling the copy machine “Brutus” and she was currently managing a number of jams within “Brutus’” system. She followed the steps on the screen for removing the flimsy bright yellow outcasts causing havoc. She initially had scanned the wall of colorful printer paper options seeking a juicy peach color for the youth announcement. While reaching up on her tippy toes for a shade she was mistakenly certain was there her hand slipped on a stray piece of turquoise paper slicing a painful paper cut and droplets of crimson dotted an unopened bulk paper packet. Twila’s aggro reaction was to wallop Brutus’ mechanical insides with a deep red…in honor of the Holy Saviour, of course. Her inner laugh whispered, “Yeah, right.” A few seconds later after cooling from such a shameful knee-jerk reaction she asked herself the trendy question rising amongst the faithful flock: “W.W.J.D.?” The immediate answer from above sat illuminated in sunlight cast through the window near Brutus as her eyes fell to the package with her own blood droplets. That package ended up being a caustic, cautionary yellow…so she picked it up and started copying from that stack with the Holy Spirit whispering approval, “Those little heathens are getting a warning sign from Him. The only logical explanation.“

“I’ll be right there, Pastor Corey. One more Brutus sin to cleanse here and he should be good to print the 124 flyers!,” Twila shouted from the office supply room through her inner sanctum into his sacred library in mirroring position.

“Goodness. Sweet Mary and Joseph, do we need that many?”

“Youth pastor Ti is convinced this is a pivotal event. The Lord hath spoken unto him in dreams saying with this lock-in aligning both Halloween and teenage fall school break there are a plethora of ripe souls ready to come to Jesus this Harvest season.”

“Well, waste not want not…unless Our Lord Leadeth otherwise, I suppose.  If we are all going to Hell in a hand basket the Lord will keep the trees alive and well, regardless, with the faith of a child….”

“It took him just a week to make the moon and stars The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars
How loving and patient He must be
‘Cause He’s still workin’ on…” continued floating in from the children’s and nursery building.

“….Or should I say of a children’s choir?,” Pastor Corey concluded.

Twila was just ready to leave Brutus to his work when a skinny baby-faced youthful boy enthusiastically jack-in-the-boxed around the corner of the office supply doorway,

“Mom, can Eric, Oliver, Ilyiana and I get soda from the machine?”

“Honey. Of course.”

Twila walked to her desk and shook a container up from her desk; a wishing well complete with decorative roses and green vines. The wishing well was a “piggy bank” of quarters. She pulled a tiny “rope” feature and the decorative bricks that circulate the base showcased complimentary 90 degree cracks running in a staircase pattern which disconnected in a creative fashion to reveal the coin collection container inside.

She shook a bounty of quarters into her son, Dinovan’s, open palms for the vending machine in the youth room at the end of the hallway.

“Dino, honey, be a doll and bring me a Diet Coke?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Thanks, baby.”

He bolted back around the corner, down the hallway and into the youth room.

At that moment three hair-raising sounds assaulted the holy, sacred atmosphere of church office calm with 1…2…3… orchestrated terror that scissored first from 360* degrees outside peripherally; second from the children and third from the youth room….

3 stray cats; frequent sassy visitors to the church property always mysteriously appearing and disappearing without any one really knowing where they came from, where they sheltered, where they went, barreled into what sounded like a fierce tornado of cat-fight shrieks so loud they could have burst a burden of tomatoes into a thousand directions within the office walls. The trio violation reverberated in every direction within an impossible amplification provoking the 2nd domino of sound….

13 singing cherubs abruptly started screaming in holy terror through the open windows from ground zero of the children’s choir rehearsal room….with a seemingly invisible violent force to rush the 3rd dreadful deadbeat domino deluge….

4 young voices ignited into blood-curdling, shrill screams that sent both Twilight and Pastor Cody out-of—body and back—-again with the speed of holy lights being knocked out cold.

Goosebumps alight on both their flesh; Twila heard every mother’s nightmare:

“Mom! Come quick! Heeeeeelp!”

And in a flurry of simultaneous waterfalling propulsion Twila’s voice cascaded into:

“A thousand curse words! A thousand curse words! Sweet Jesus, insert a thousand curse words here!”

As she fled around the corner and down the hall unconscious of the trail of red printer paper she was leaving in her wake like the blood of Christ compelling her towards only Lord knew what….

Pastor Corey stumbled out of his library spiritually shellshocked and wide-eyed at the brutal path leading away from Brutus as he breathlessly shouted:

“What the bloody hell?….”

He turned to see 13 frightened cherub eyes peering out the rehearsal room windows and into the church office space where he stood aghast. He quickly composed himself wiping his hands down his front body as if he were drying them after a bloodbath and smiled calmly at the little fragile rubberneckers; and corrected his exclamatory ejaculation bringing it down from a calamitous 10 to a sugar-coating 5:

“I…mean….What in Heaven’s name Would Jesus Do?”

As he signaled calming hand gestures towards the peeping impressionable chickadees and followed the crimson trail towards the staccato youth room screams still stabbing at his typically genteel, golden aura….

(To Be Continued…..)

2026 Complete Album Listening 2026 (1.0)

BEST FULL ALL-GENRE ALBUMS OF 2026

• Madonna – CONFESSIONS II *****

• Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere *****

• Charli XCX – Music, Fashion, Film *****

• Alabama Shakes – I Must Be Dreaming *****

• Chelsea Wolfe – The Dark *****

• Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open *****

• The Boxer Rebellion – The Second I’m Asleep *****

• Bike Routes – Prairie *****

● Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds – Mutiny After Midnight *****

• Hovvdy – Big World *****

• Brandon Flowers – Thrasher *****

• Chris Housman – Dodge City *****

• Porter – Rituales *****

• Friko – Something Worth Waiting For *****

• My New Band Believe – My New Band Believe *****

• PVA – No More Like This *****

• Nathan Fake – Evaporator *****

● Ulrika Spacek – EXPO *****

• Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend ****1/2

• Modest Mouse – An Eraser & A Maze ****1/2

• Genesis Owusu – Redstar Wu & The Worldwide Scourge – ****1/2

● Courtney Marie Andrews – Valentine ****1/2

● Julian Lage – Scenes From Above ****1/2

● Voxtrot – Dreamers In Exile ****1/2

• Wes Parker – Super Rare ****1/2

• Courtney Barnett – Creature Of Habit ****1/2

• Cobrah – Torn ****1/2

● Dead Dads Club – Dead Dads Club ****1/2

• The Twilight Sad – IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE ****1/2

• Ed O’Brien – Blue Morpho ****1/2

● Ruby Roberts – Somersault Queen ****1/2

• Adanna Duru – The Naijamerican Dream ****

• The Notwist – News from Planet Zombie ****

• Jaguar Sun – Daisy ****

• Haute & Freddy – Big Disgrace ****

• charli xcx – Wuthering Heights ****

• bleachers – everyone for ten minutes ****

• Darksoft – Everydayness ****

● Amanda Bergman – Embraced For A Second As We Die ****

● The Shaking Hands – The Shaking Hands ****

• Manuel Turizo – Apambichao ****

• Vince Staples – Cry Baby ***1/2

• Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – A ? Of When ***1/2

• Megan Moroney – Cloud 9 ***1/2

• Charlie Puth – Whatever’s Clever! ***1/2

● Gnarls Barkley – Atlanta ***1/2

• Muse – The WOW! Signal ***

• Olivia Rodrigo – you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love ***

• Freya Ridings – Mother of Pearl ***

• Snoop Dogg – 10 Til Midnight ***

• Denzel Curry & The Scythe – Strictly 4 The Scythe ***

• Keith Urban – Flow State ***

• Little Image – KILL THE GHOST ***

BEST SINGER-SONGWRITER/FOLK ALBUMS OF 2026

• Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere *****

• Chelsea Wolfe – The Dark *****

• Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open *****

● Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds – Mutiny After Midnight *****

• Brandon Flowers – Thrasher *****

• Chris Housman – Dodge City *****

• Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend ****1/2

• Courtney Marie Andrews – Valentine ****1/2

• Wes Parker – Super Rare ****1/2

• Courtney Barnett – Creature Of Habit ****1/2

● Ruby Roberts – Somersault Queen ****1/2

• bleachers – everyone for ten minutes ****

• Jaguar Sun – Daisy ****

• charli xcx – Wuthering Heights ****

● Amanda Bergman – Embraced For A Second As We Die ****

• Megan Moroney – Cloud 9 ***1/2

• Olivia Rodrigo – you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love ***

BEST COUNTRY/ALT-COUNTRY ALBUMS OF 2026

• Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere *****

• Chris Housman – Dodge City *****

• Brandon Flowers – Thrasher *****

• Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open *****

● Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds – Mutiny After Midnight *****

• Courtney Marie Andrews – Valentine ****1/2

• Courtney Barnett – Creature Of Habit ****1/2

• Megan Moroney – Cloud 9 ***1/2

• Freya Ridings – Mother of Pearl ***

• Keith Urban – Flow State ***

BEST ROCK/ALTERNATIVE/INDIE ALBUMS OF 2026

• Alabama Shakes – I Must Be Dreaming *****

• The Boxer Rebellion – The Second I’m Asleep *****

• Bike Routes – Prairie *****

• Hovvdy – Big World *****

• Chelsea Wolfe – The Dark *****

• Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open *****

• Porter – Rituales *****

• Friko – Something Worth Waiting For *****

• My New Band Believe – My New Band Believe *****

● Ulrika Spacek – EXPO *****

• Modest Mouse – An Eraser & A Maze ****1/2

● Voxtrot – Dreamers In Exile ****1/2

• Wes Parker – Super Rare ****1/2

• Courtney Barnett – Creature Of Habit ****1/2

● Dead Dads Club – Dead Dads Club ****1/2

• The Twilight Sad – IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE ****1/2

• The Notwist – News from Planet Zombie ****

• bleachers – everyone for ten minutes ****

● The Shaking Hands – The Shaking Hands ****

• Muse – The WOW! Signal ***

• Little Image – KILL THE GHOST ***

• Olivia Rodrigo – you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love ***

BEST PURE POP ALBUMS OF 2026

• Madonna – CONFESSIONS II *****

● Cobrah – Torn ****1/2

• Ruby Roberts – Somersault Queen ****1/2

• Adanna Duru – The Naijamerican Dream ****

• Jaguar Sun – Daisy ****

• Haute & Freddy – Big Disgrace ****

• charli xcx – Wuthering Heights ****

• Manuel Turizo – Apambichao ****

• Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – A ? Of When ***1/2

• Megan Moroney – Cloud 9 ***1/2

• Charlie Puth – Whatever’s Clever! ***1/2

● Gnarls Barkley – Atlanta ***1/2

• Olivia Rodrigo – you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love ***

• Freya Ridings – Mother of Pearl ***

BEST R&B/SOUL/RAP ALBUMS OF 2026

• Alabama Shakes – I Must Be Dreaming *****

• Genesis Owusu – Redstar Wu & The Worldwide Scourge – ****1/2

• Adanna Duru – The Naijamerican Dream ****

● Gnarls Barkley – Atlanta ***1/2

• Vince Staples – Cry Baby ***1/2

• Snoop Dogg – 10 Til Midnight ***

• Denzel Curry & The Scythe – Strictly 4 The Scythe ***

BEST EPS OF 2026

● Ruby Roberts – Somersault Queen ****1/2

BEST EXPERIMENTAL ALBUMS OF 2026

• My New Band Believe – My New Band Believe *****

● PVA – No More Like This *****

• Nathan Fake – Evaporator *****

● Ulrika Spacek – EXPO *****

• Modest Mouse – An Eraser & A Maze ****1/2

• Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – A ? Of When ***1/2

BEST PUNK ALBUMS OF 2026

● PVA – No More Like This *****

BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUMS OF 2026

• Madonna – CONFESSIONS II *****

● PVA – No More Like This *****

• Nathan Fake – Evaporator *****

• Cobrah – Torn ****1/2

BEST INSTRUMENTAL ALBUMS OF 2026

● Julian Lage – Scenes From Above ****1/2

BEST JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2026

● Julian Lage – Scenes From Above ****1/2

BEST INTERNATIONAL ALBUMS OF 2026

• Porter – Rituales *****

• Manuel Turizo – Apambichao ****

09-01-2026

• Adanna Duru – The Naijamerican Dream ****

08-31-2026

• Chris Housman – Dodge City *****

08-30-2026

• Alabama Shakes – I Must Be Dreaming *****

08-26-2026

• Chelsea Wolfe – The Dark *****

08-23-2026

• Brandon Flowers – Thrasher *****

08-22-2026

• Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend ****1/2

• Hovvdy – Big World *****

08-01-2026

• Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – A ? Of When ***1/2

07-17-2026

• bleachers – everyone for ten minutes ****

07-11-2026

• Freya Ridings – Mother of Pearl ***

07-04-2026

• Madonna – CONFESSIONS II *****

07-03-2026

• Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open *****

07-02-2026

• Bike Routes – Prairie *****

06-28-2026

• Muse – The WOW! Signal ***

06-23-2026

• Keith Urban – Flow State ***

06-20-2026

• Vince Staples – Cry Baby ***1/2

06-19-2026

• Wes Parker – Super Rare ****1/2

06-13-2026

• Olivia Rodrigo – you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love ***

06-12-2026

• Modest Mouse – An Eraser & A Maze ****1/2

05-09-2026

• The Notwist – News from Planet Zombie ****

• Nathan Fake – Evaporator *****

05-05-2026

• Megan Moroney – Cloud 9 ***1/2

04-31-2026

• Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere *****

04-26-2026

• Friko – Something Worth Waiting For *****

04-13-2026

• Denzel Curry & The Scythe – Strictly 4 The Scythe ***

04-12-2026

• Snoop Dogg – 10 Til Midnight ***

04-10-2026

• My New Band Believe – My New Band Believe *****

04-08-2026

• Courtney Barnett – Creature Of Habit ****1/2

04-06-2026

• Jaguar Sun – Daisy ****

04-03-2026

• Little Image – KILL THE GHOST ***

03-29-2026

• The Boxer Rebellion – The Second I’m Asleep *****

03-27-2026

• Charlie Puth – Whatever’s Clever! ***1/2

03-24-2026

• charli xcx – Wuthering Heights ****

03-18-2026

• Haute & Freddy – Big Disgrace ****

03-16-2026

• Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds – Mutiny After Midnight *****

03-14-2026

• Cobrah – Torn ****1/2

03-06-2026

● Gnarls Barkley – Atlanta ***1/2

03-05-2026

● The Shaking Hands – The Shaking Hands ****

03-03-2026

● Voxtrot – Dreamers In Exile ****1/2

02-23-2026

● Amanda Bergman – Embraced For A Second As We Die ****

02-12-2026

● Ulrika Spacek – EXPO *****

01-27-2026

● Julian Lage – Scenes From Above ****1/2

● PVA – No More Like This *****

● Ruby Roberts – Somersault Queen ****1/2

01-24-2026

● Dead Dads Club – Dead Dads Club ****1/2 Excellent debut album produced by Fontaines D.C.’s guitarist, Carlos.  Great variety throughout the album.  Addictive and often anthemic in big ways.

01-16-2026

● Courtney Marie Andrews – Valentine ****1/2

Strong songwriting with strong melodies and lyrics.  Encouraging, honest and real with a voice that brings to mind Joni Mitchell at times as well as other classic 60s/70s songwriters.  A few songs are not quite as strong as others, yet overall this is an album that features plenty of highlight tracks and an entire front to back listen that is rewarding and beautiful.  The kind of album that is like the cozy afternoon being spent with a mother – caring, kind, emotionally intelligent and challenging lyrically at times in all the right ways.

2026 Complete Film Viewing 1.0 2026

• The Odyssey *****

• The Drama *****

• Pillion – *****

• Forastera *****

• Send Help – *****

• The Invite – *****

• Is God Is *****

• Blue Heron – *****

• The Furious – *****

• 28 Years Later:  The Bone Temple *****

• Tuner – ****1/2

• Exit 8 – ****1/2

• Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie – ****1/2

• The End of Oak Street – ****1/2

• Disclosure Day ****1/2

• Obsession – ****1/2

• Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die – ****1/2

• Wuthering Heights – ****1/2

• Project Hail Mary – ****

• Crime 101 – ****

• Pizza Movie – ****

• Outcome – ****

• I Love Boosters – ****

• Stop! That! Train! – ****

• I Want Your Sex ****

• Mother Mary ****

• Death of Robin Hood – ****

• Nightborn ****

• undertone – ****

• The Backrooms – ****

● The Bride! – ***1/2

• SpiderMan: Brand New Day ***1/2

• 2026 Sundance Short Film Tour ***1/2

• How To Make A Killing ***1/2

• The Moment ***1/2

• Hoppers – ***1/2

• The Christophers – ***

• The Dink – ***

• Saccharine – ***

• Propeller One-Way Night Coach – ***

• The Mandolorian & Grogu – ***

• Lee Cronin’s The Mummy – ***

• Hokum ***

• Never Change! – **1/2

• Over Your Dead Body – *

09-03-2026

• Nightborn **** Halfway through this film I was fully expecting to give it only *** stars, but the final 20-30 minutes really deliver a strong wallop to elevate the film up to 4 stars. Solid finale.

09-02-2026

Topsy-Turvy (1999) – ***

08-29-2026

• Sacramento (2024) – ***1/2

08-28-2026

• Mother Mary ****

08-16-2026

2026 Sundance Short Film Tour – ***1/2

Ranking of films:

1. Marga en el DF
2. Sauna Sickness
3. The Boys & The Bees
4. Pankaja
5. Crisis Actor
6. Living With A Visionary

08-14-2026

• The End of Oak Street – ****

08-12-2026

• Is God Is *****

08-07-2026

• I Want Your Sex ****

08-02-2026

Am I Ok? (2024) – ***

Spider-Man: Brand New Day ***1/2 If the action visuals were more practical effects driven this film would receive a rousing 5 stars from me. The narrative/story-telling is off-the-charts 5 star material and hints that the future X-Men could be incredible story wise. I was in awe of the narrative, but this is where Marvel really needs to ditch the effects they are using to match the writing. Anytime there is action on the screen the film felt incredibly A.I. I noticed that right away in the beginning and was concerned. Thankfully, the storytelling and humor and heart all won me over, but if the effects were more practical I would be way more enthused about giving the film 5 stars. Marvel is at an interesting crossroads because the writing is actually reflecting strengths, but I am concerned the whole A.I. influence is going to swallow up those strengths from this experience on. I am interested in Doomsday as a result of the storytelling in this one and cast I love, but the trailer for Doomsday still isn’t doing a thing to really get me excited. I was surprised the end credits were so minimal, but I wonder if there is depth there to unlock that on the surface appears like not much.

08-01-2026

• The Drama ***** Fantastic! My 2nd favorite Borgli film almost tying with Sick Of Myself. Borgli has a unique, signature filmmaking voice shining through all three films now. His writing is excellent. Alana Haim is a standout and worthy of supporting nom. I don’t get the ongoing online hate towards Zendaya acting. This is another win for her, imho. She is on a winning streak. The themes and topics are relevant and current zeitgeist surfing. The dark humor had me simultaneously laughing while feeling deep. This is Borgli’s version of Sanctuary and I found the film to be near perfection.

• Over Your Dead Body – *

07-31-2026

• The Invite – ***** Great film. Hilarious, grounding, opening, a treat to experience with all 4 actors.

07-30-2026

BlackBerry (2023) – *****

07-28-2026

• Secrets & Lies (1996) – *****

• Shopgirl (2005) – ***** A really special little film. Honest and real. I have the novella and need to read it, also.

07-26-2026

• Saccharine – ***

07-25-2026

• Exit 8 – ****1/2

• The Dink ***

07-23-2026

• Pillion – *****

07-22-2026

• Death of Robin Hood – ****

07-21-2026

• Blue Heron – *****

• The Furious – *****

07-17-2026

• The Odyssey *****

07-14-2026

• Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar – **** 2nd time viewing. So much fun.

• Stop! That! Train! – ****

• Lee Cronin’s The Mummy – ***

07-09-2026

Tuner – ****1/2

07-08-2026

Following (1998) – ***1/2 Christopher Nolan’s first feature.

Forastera ***** With this proving to be a pretty weak year, thus far, here comes this less is more jewel with a central lead that puts Zoe Stein on my radar for the first time and I will follow. I will have to check out Manticore with her next because I am tremendously impressed. The film will not be for everyone as it is quiet and meditative. The film and Stein’s performance bring to mind another small gem favorite I have viewed many times with Patricia Clarkson, Cairo Time. Both films contain strength in the silences; the spaces in-between. I felt the film build up the emotion with slow precision in several scenes towards the end until the final scene proficiently pooled quiet tears and one down the cheek. Much as I intuited from the trailer this is one of the most grounded ghost stories I have seen that remains real without much in the way of spooks while remaining anchored in the wisdom of experience rather than the esoteric. When the handful of more mystical shots happen, which are few, they contain more magic. Shots are framed beautifully. There is a brilliant execution to non-linear visual narrative fill-in-the-blanks. This is a really special film that deserves more attention for an appropriate and open audience. Zoe Stein should be this year’s under-the-radar Rose Byrne performance, imho. She is incredible. When she is on screen I paid close attention to her enchanting performance. I am torn over this being #1 or #2 because I love Send Help so much this year. I may put it at #2 for now and let it sit longer for potential #1. Not for everyone, but a really effective experience, personally. Yet another testament to cinema not needing a lot of pricey bells and whistles to be rewarding. Some of the quiet emotional scenes in the back half are stronger than many dialogue heavy ones from Hollywood dealing with grief. The simplicity is the secret sauce here. Oh, and the other special thing about this film is with it being hot as hell outside you can practically feel the ocean breeze of the locale coming off of the beautiful scenery. Boy do I want to vacation there; like yesterday.

06-28-2026

Certain Woman (2016) – ***1/2 I loved the Kristen Stewart and Lily Gladstone narrative the most.

06-28-2026

Dust Bunny (2025) – ****

06-22-2026

• The Moment ***1/2

• How To Make A Killing ***1/2

06-21-2026

Color Out of Space (2019) – ***

06-20-2026

I Love Boosters – **** The creativity, color and imagination has me excited along with the laughs included. We need more of all that in cinema. The narrative is what ultimately let me down by the end. The film takes risky moves that ultimately didn’t pay off as well as previous projects.

06-19-2026

Never Change! – **1/2 Carmen Christopher is the best thing in this. He deserves bigger and better projects. When he is on with his line deliveries he is really funny. God, I miss English Teacher. Great to see Topher Grace return almost unrecognizable here even if the role ultimately does him no favors. Unfortunately, the funnier moments of writing here get overshadowed by the juvenile humor moments that end up more annoying than funny. This could’ve landed on Pizza Movie side of comedy with stronger writing. There is a great almost-final line of wisdom that I jotted down in my journal, though: “No such thing as a second chance….there’s just….chance.” Love that.

06-18-2026

Paper Spiders (2020/2021) – ****1/2 Powerful film. Lily Taylor is excellent. Fucked me up with parallels to own personal journey even if my personal ending is different. Films like this is why art is still so important.

06-08-2026

Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie (2025) – ****1/2

It Was Just An Accident (2025) – *****

06-06-2026

Pizza Movie – **** A lot of fun. Glad to have discovered the film as a hidden treasure on a Top 10 list of 2026, so far. When it released I mistakenly thought it was a skip. The sequences that deliver solid laughs and wink cheeky, creative, clever humor overshadow some of the more juvenile moments that could have really sunk the film. The leads Gaten & Sean really gel together comically well. Definitely game for more Nick & Brian comedy in the future.

06-05-2026

Hokum – ***

06-01-2026

Fire Will Come (2020) – ***

05-31-2026

Obsession – ****1/2 Unhinged performances that resonate and some sequences that feel more unique in their vibe delivery.

The Backrooms – **** Very Creative. I give 4 stars more for the film’s successful creative, immersive experience rather than being scary. Once the other installments release for the bigger picture I might be willing to rate the film higher as this is the first puzzle to the whole. The film is Very Meow Wolf and I wouldn’t be surprised to see actual Backrooms immersive experiences actually become a thing in the wake of this success. I kinda wish the film had gone more full throttle around the timing of the dinner table scene. That scene feels like it affects the pacing and scary nature of the film in a way. I would have much preferred the sequence that happens after right away while having the film still express the revelations of the dinner table scene in a more engaging fashion. The dinner table scene feels like a Texas Chainsaw massacre homage, no? I like the foundation poured here; overall the whole experience feels more like Barbarian as a Parsons introduction hinting that he has the talent for his expansive Weapons yet to come.

05-29-2026

Propeller One-Way Night Coach – *** Cute and often funny. Reminds me of a shorter Christmas Story. A good first film outing for John Travolta.

The Mandolorian & Grogu – ***

05-28-2026

Project Hail Mary – **** Faithful adaptation.

05-26-2026

Eephus (2024) – ***

05-24-2026

Rivers of Grass (1994) – **** Kelly R. Great film. A favorite from her.

05-19-2026

Eternity (2025) – **** Better than I anticipated. Miles Teller is great. The first half is very funny.

05-18-2026

The Christophers – *** Great acting with ups and downs in engagement. As a whole it kinda went in and out as far as keeping my interest, though when it is good…it is really good. Kinda has an uneven tone to it a bit. Satisfying end.

05-17-2026

The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo (2025) – ****

05-04-2026

Childhood of a Leader (2015) ***** – Great film!

04-11-2026

Will-O-The-Wisp (2023) – ***

04-10-2026

Outcome – **** I really enjoyed this a lot. Totally vibed with it. Yes, wise to stream rather than theater and, yes, at times has more the feel of a tv series; however, it walks a very rewarding line of being both funny (I laughed a lot) and rewardingly touching. The performances delivered, personally. Keanu, Jonah, Cameron (great to see her back and does a great job with the material), Matthew (I really enjoy him in comedy roles a lot R.I.P. Mid-Century Modern) and Scorsese, too (excellent job). Even with this feeling more appropriate to streaming it is more rewarding than some current theatrical material, imho. Not disappointed one bit and I would watch it again in a heartbeat for a spiritual uplift and laughs during a really shitty streak of life. It would make me smile and bring me back to myself with its medicine. At times it made me think of a 2026 As Good As It Gets spiritual cousin of sorts.

04-08-2026

Father Mother Sister Brother (2025) – ****

04-10-2026

The Plague (2025) – ***** Incredible film. The way the film captures the violent cycle of bullying tactics manifesting a perfect storm of creating monsters is spot on just as the depiction of how fear can manifest psychological symptoms that appear real. The final scene is perfect. Important and essential filmmaking. Very excited to see the outcome of Mickey’s post-Anora work with Charlie. Charlie is yet another at the top currently with some of my other favorites Panos Cosmatos, Oliver Laxe, João Pedro Rodrigues and more.

04-05-2026

• Afternoons of Solitude – ** Really did not enjoy this. Boring and cruel. Humans strutting around with egos abusing animals for no good reason. I don’t get the appeal aside from attractive men in tight, beautiful clothing made less attractive by their shallow conversations and animal abuse.

04-04-2026

The Rule Of Jenny Pen – ***1/2. Excellent return from Geoffrey Rush.

03-31-2026

My Blue Heaven (1990) – ****

03-30-2026

Listen Up Phillip (2014) – ***

03-18-2026

Sirât (2025) – *****

03-14-2026

undertone – ****

Just got back home from, undertone. Still processing and assessing list rank, but its final act is mostly legit with a final-final moment that punctuates in over-the-top fashion. There were 2 moments that felt A-ha in the final act which I imagined culminating into a deeply, emotionally satisfactory closing. Instead, They chose the equivalent of the jack-in-the-box opening as the menacing final moment. Initially, the first half is fine enough, but it was feeling a bit like when you take a gummy and chocolate and you wonder if it is working or you should take a 2nd. Then once the horror gears here really start grinding it becomes the intense goosebumps-up-the-back and spine tingling horror which I legit got a solid 3 times if that is your horror preference over jump scenes. The central performance from Nina Kiri is solid especially in the final act. If you enjoyed Presence, Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity and the top shelf sound design of You’ll Never Find Me, which this film reminded me of the most you will enjoy this. Also, the final act doesn’t spoonfeed, but if you are paying attention fully to the film you can put some of the finale act puzzle pieces together. I am surprised at the lower scores on this one; maybe the ending is causing the major disappointment. Atmospheric, with scenes that had me temple-ing my hands near mouth and reacting with “oh-no-no-no”. The audience I was with was laughing a lot at it so I guess a lot of viewers were processing their fear with laughter. My sensitive nerves were on edge and I was feeling a lot of energetic activity all over my body with this experience. See it at a theater with incredible sound because the sound is award-worthy.

03-12-2026

Evil Does Not Exist (2024) – ****

03-07-2026

The Bride! – ***1/2

The Bride! will remain in my 2026 film ranking list at the high end of ***1/2 stars just after 4 star films this year so there is a lot of personal bold love for the film’s strengths in the ***1/2 despite the glaring flaws, as well. It swings big and takes a lot of risks I admire. I can see Maggie’s vision and the distinctive artistic voice in the mixed bag of results. There is a lot I love about the film and I much rather support something like this at the box office rather than Scream1001. There is a truly great film in that 2 hours that ends up being intriguingly very good with weak scenes that deflate the experience a bit, especially in the back half. Buckley is outstanding; there are moments I was in full adoration of her character with a huge smile on my face and, honestly, what is attempted with her character feels important/essential to normalizing/celebrating some of the very real imperfectly perfect outcasts, just like you and I, found living street life/in shelters within society today. I also got that essence from Bale’s character. I kept seeing them outside of their fantastical makeup and costumes as people I have encountered as a pedestrian/brief periods at local shelters irl. I found myself admiring their vulnerabilities and attempts at living free and themselves in the face of obstacles. Bale has moments of greatness. The first half of the film is very strong. The opener is amazing! And is strong enough to lead you to imagine the whole experience will be amazing. The first half brought to mind Poor Things a bit and even has some great laugh moments that I found the audience and I loudly respond to. About halfway through it lost me some…there was a point I kinda wished it ended, but it kept going. The point at which the film hit the brakes for me as far as my intense interest is right after the big Ballroom scene featured in the trailers. Policeman Saarsgard runs out shoots to the sky speaks an unnecessary silly line and the two laugh and run off and for a split second I was like “I would be perfectly satisfied if this is the end of a shorter film experience.” It keeps going and the scenes that come after felt way more deflating with some peak moments that felt unmined, honestly, like the women taking on Bride’s revolution and scenes towards the final moments of the film are stronger yet just don’t compare to the first half. The final line of the film spoken by Annette Benning is perfect, honestly, and I really enjoyed her performance a lot. Ultimately, I feel the whole film could have been tighter and really solid 4 to 5 star experience at 90 mins. There are scenes that could have been cut or trimmed down from the back half. Scenes of weaker acting or just kinda blah moments that were causing me to check-out a bit and yawn.
In some ways it is fitting and admirable for the ways in which the final product and editing do actually feel liked a stitched up project symbolic of the material….it just could have felt that way more satisfyingly at 90 min. rather than at 2 hours. The heart of the film really celebrates allowing our freak flag to fly, rails against abusive moments that vulgarize our human rights of consent and sovereignty and rather admirably makes a tragic punctuation point of what/how society is prone to do and treat many a rebel outsider with a cause. Much as I anticipated going into the film I definitely did not hate the experience. Thankfully, it was not a Mickey17 situation of feeling restless and fidgety and finding the experience tedious. I walked out glad I supported the film, courageous bits, risky bits, vulnerable bits, weak bits and all.

02-27-2026

Rebuilding (2025) – ****

02-21-2026

The Secret Agent (2025) *****

02-19-2026

Crime 101 ****

02-18-2026

28 Years Later:  The Bone Temple *****

02-15-2026

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die – ****1/2

Wuthering Heights – ****1/2

02-12-2026

Zola (2020) – ***1/2

02-11-2026

Marty Supreme – *****

02-09-2026

Train Dreams – ****1/2 Beautiful.  Especially appreciate the moments and dialogue Honoring and Memorializing the earth.  Moving.  Did get misty-eyed at points during the film.

02-08-2026

Send Help – ***** McAdams and O’Brien give outstanding performances.  The script is intelligent and treats the characters as if they are smart in most situations (except when they laughably aren’t.  Looking at you Bradley raft scene).  The control and power dynamic of the narrative is extremely well-played.  The surprises along the way add to character development and narrative enhancement.  Directing choices are superb.  First theatrical film view of 2026 and a solid one.  I could really tell what Raimi means by having crafted the film for theater….some sequences felt classically nostalgic with soundtrack choices, Romancing The Stone-type throwbacks and even some classic Looney Tunes- type throwback vibes.  Front to back success.  🙌

02-03-2026

Golem (1979/1980) – ***

02-01-2026

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – ***** Excellent

01-25-2026

Paperhouse (1988) – ***** Can’t believe I have never heard of this before.  Definitely checking out other Bernard Rose filmography.

01-20-2026

Beast (2017/2018) – ****

01-19-2026

Bugonia (2025) – ***1/2

01-18-2026

Twinless (2025) – *****

01-17-2026

Dangerous Animals (2025) – **

01-14-2026

Shin Godzilla (2016) – ***1/2

01-08-2026

In Our Blood (2025) – ***** Incredible film. 

01-06-2026

Pig (2021) – ***** Excellent little film.  Solid acting from Nic Cage and other cast members.  Memorable scenes will stick with me.

2026 TV Series Completed and Ranked 2026

Ranking All Viewed from Best to least favorite:

Stuart Fails To Save The Universe S1 *****

Lanterns S1 *****

DTF: St. Louis *****

Like Water For Chocolate S2 only *****

Widow’s Bay S1 ****1/2

The Pitt S2/S1&S2 ****1/2

The Bear S5/S1-S5 ****1/2

Hacks S5/S1-S5 ****1/2

A Knight Of The Seven/Nine Kingdoms S1 ****1/2

The Audacity S1 – ****

Like Water For Chocolate S1&S2 **** (S1 only ***)

House of the Dragon S3/S1-S3 ****

Rooster S1 – ****

Cape Fear S1 (2026) – ****

Daredevil: Reborn S2/S1&S2 ****

Wonderman S1 – ****

Dark Winds S4/S1-S4 ****

The Vampire Lestat ***

The Punisher: One Last Kill ***

Fallout S2/S1 & S2 ***

It’s Florida, Man! S2/S1 & S2 ***

Life, Larry & the Pursuit of Happiness: An Almost History of the United States S1 **

08-27-2026

Life, Larry & the Pursuit of Happiness: An Almost History of the United States S1 **

Stuart Fails To Save The Universe S1 ***** This is medicine for current times. This show makes me laugh so hard I might end up dying because of the hilarity and genius at work here. By far and away the Best Show of 2026 and I have viewed a lot of great ones this year.

Lanterns S1 ***** An absolute winner. The episodes fly by, the cast is solid, the show leans more towards refreshing comedy with a solid superhero narrative. I love Chandler, Pierre, MacDonald, etc in this. Great show! Lindelof is ALWAYS involved with the BEST series’ on TV.

08-26-2026

House of the Dragon S3/S1-S3 ****

07-30-2026

Cape Fear S1 (2026) – ****

07-26-2026

The Vampire Lestat ***

06-28-2026

Fantasmas S1 – ****

06-17-2026

Widow’s Bay S1 – ****1/2 The Widow’s Bay finale is excellent. Great dilemma, return of humor with escalation of horror – I laughed a lot and Joel Hiller finally landed a hilarious scene after really being underwritten the whole season. Dale Dickey got some great moments and laughs in these final 2 episodes. The finale did a great job of jamming up my emotions by the end – laughter/tears. Great set-up for renewed S2 implications remaining legit creepy. Great surprises. Really enjoyed S1 and highly recommend for anyone who hasn’t visited WB’s yet. Giving it ****1/2 stars with room to improve on underwritten characters and comedy/horror flow (which the finale achieved really well) in a handful of episodes. Overall it is a delight and surprise of a show. Worthy of all the great word of mouth acclaim.

05-28-2026

Hacks S5/S1-S5 ****1/2

05-24-2026

The Audacity S1 – **** Sets up great ethical and tension filled conflicts. Great writing and dialogue. I laugh a lot. I love that each episode has moments of audacity in a character deciding to do something rash, spontaneous, unexpected, ruthless, wild, etc. I hope the series can maintain that throughout. As a foundation laying first season I feel like the series has much potential to build up and get better and better. It does feel like a fitting heir to Mad Men and Halt & Catch Fire.

05-17-2026

Like Water For Chocolate S1***/Like Water For Chocolate S2 *****/Like Water For Chocolate S1 & S2****

Severance S1 *****/Severance S2 ****/Severance S1 & S2 ****1/2

Season 1 was perfect. S2 started experimenting a bit too much and started going off the rails a bit. I wasn’t as satisfied as a whole with S2, honestly.

05-12-2026

The Punisher: One Last Kill ***

05-11-2026

Rooster S1 – ****

05-07-2026

The Pitt S2/S1&S2 ****1/2

05-05-2026

Daredevil: Reborn S2/S1&S2 ****

04-12-2026

DTF: St. Louis ***** Terrific show. Incredible cast; each nominee worthy. Normalizing issues and sexual candor in ways that are essential and important. A show about deeply connecting and being open about loneliness and non-sexual intimacy as much as it is about sex. Vital and vulnerable television.

04-09-2026

Wonderman S1 – ****

04-05-2026

Dark Winds S4/S1-S4 ****

03-23-2026

The Studio S1 – ****

02-23-2026

A Knight Of The Seven/Nine Kingdoms S1 ****1/2

02-03-2026

Fallout S2/S1 & S2 ***

01-03-2026

It’s Florida, Man! S2 – ***

It’s Florida, Man! S1 & S2 – ***

2026 Novels Fully Completed Reading and Ranked 2026

07-31-2026

Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater ***** So great. Can’t wait to see the film. A psychedelic trip that also includes mindfulness and a lot of laugh-out loud humor.

07-22-2026

When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller – ***** A wise and mature YA novel. I had a deep, spiritually rich experience with this profoundly grounding read as an adult male. I can only imagine the seeds of grandeur this one holds the power to plant within the youth of today.

06-30-2026

The Hitch by Sara Levine **** Better and funnier than Treasure Island!!! Creative premise with plenty of humor and poignancy.

06-06-2026

The Dead Father’s Club by Matt Haig ***** Phenomenal. Matt Haig knocks another one out of the park. I have only disliked The Radleys, so far. Excited to read others I have by him and I need to get The Midnight Train and re-read The Midnight Library again. I hope TDFC gets adapted to film, as well.

05-27-2026

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – ***

05-12-2026

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito – **** Excellent read. Great central character development with phenomenal sentence extensions of madness and insanity; playful and psyche-rich. Wicked humor and uncomfortable moments which culminate into a blood-soaked final act.

04-20-2026

Transcription by Ben Lerner – ****

04-12-2026

Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine *** Creative and funny. This writer deeply intrigues me even with 3 star rating so very much looking forward to reading The Hitch.

04-09-2026

The Thief Of Always by Clive Barker – ***** Nostalgic, bursting with creativity. A few moments in final pages made me cry. Looking forward to film adaptation.

01/12/2026

Lost Souls Meet Under A Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura – ***1/2  Quite good.  By the end I was impressed that what had seemed a most simple and gentle narrative gave way to more surprising narrative elements by the beautiful conclusion.  A joy to read and meaningful.  Looking forward to part 2 with How To Hold Someone In Your Heart.  I hope this gets adapted into a film.

01/11/2026

The Drift by C.J. Tudor **1/2  My least favorite Tudor read, thus far.  Glad I have already started The Gathering and that one feels stronger again early on.  My ranking of Tudor’s books from favorite to least are:

1) The Chalk Man  2) The Other People 3) The Hiding Place 4) The Burning Girls 5) A Sliver of Darkness 6) The Drift

01/07/2026

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata **  Started out enjoyable enough, but ultimately not a hugely satisfying read.  I hope her other 3 are better.  I have them all and look forward to reading each.

2025 Complete Album Listening (2.0 2nd half of the year- the first half Best Albums can be found in prior 2025 Complete Album Listen post)

♡ Best Overall Albums of 2025

Rosalía – LUX *****

Pilitdrift -Blackbox *****

ZAZ – Sains et saufs – *****

Dove Ellis – Blizzard *****

Midlake – A Bridge To Far *****

The Antlers – Blight *****

Mac DeMarco – Guitar *****

Mavis Staples – A Sad & Beautiful World *****

Electric Guest – 10K *****

The Armed – THE FUTURE IS HERE & EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED *****

Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band – New Threats From The Soul *****

Kae Tempest – Self Titled *****

Little Simz – Lotus *****

Jon Bellion – FATHER FIGURE *****

Jessica Winter – My First Album *****

White Lies – Night Light ****1/2

Biffy Clyro – Futique ****1/2

Ruston Kelly – Pale, Through The Window ****1/2

Ethel Cain – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You ****1/2

Twen – Fate Euphoric ****1/2

Robert Forster – Strawberries ****1/2

SunYears – The Song Forlorn ****1/2

Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl ****1/2

Far Caspian – Auto Fiction ****

Skunk Anansie – The Painful Truth ***1/2

Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ – Room On The Porch ***1/2

Die Spitz – Something To Consume ***1/2

Peter Doherty – Felt Better Alive ***1/2

These New Puritans – Crooked Wing ***1/2

iglooghost – Bronze Claw Iso E.P. ***1/2

Audrey Hobert – Who’s The Clown? ***1/2

Stereolab – Instant Holograms on Metal Film ***1/2

Wet Leg – Moisturizer ***

Lord Huron – The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 ***

Sparks – MAD! ***

Calum Scott – Avenoir ***

Reneé Rapp – BITE ME ***

Sports Team – Boys These Days ***

♡ Best Blues Albums of 2025

Mac DeMarco – Guitar *****

Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ – Room On The Porch ***1/2

♡ Best Country/Americana Albums of 2025

Mac DeMarco – Guitar *****

Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band – New Threats From The Soul *****

Ruston Kelly – Pale, Through The Window ****1/2

Ethel Cain – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You ****1/2

Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ – Room On The Porch ***1/2

♡ Best Rap/HipHop/RnB/SOUL Albums of 2025

Electric Guest – 10K *****

Kae Tempest – Self Titled *****

Little Simz – Lotus *****

Jon Bellion – FATHER FIGURE *****

iglooghost – Bronze Claw Iso E.P. ***1/2

♡ Best Spoken Word/Poetry/Experimental Albums of 2025

Kae Tempest – Self Titled *****

Ethel Cain – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You ****1/2

iglooghost – Bronze Claw Iso E.P. ***1/2

Sparks – MAD! ***

♡ Best POP Albums of 2025

Electric Guest – 10K *****

Mac DeMarco – Guitar *****

Jessica Winter – My First Album *****

Jon Bellion – FATHER FIGURE *****

Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl ****1/2

Robert Forster – Strawberries ****1/2

SunYears – The Song Forlorn ****1/2

Peter Doherty – Felt Better Alive ***1/2

iglooghost – Bronze Claw Iso E.P. ***1/2

Audrey Hobert – Who’s The Clown? ***1/2

Stereolab – Instant Holograms on Metal Film ***1/2

Calum Scott – Avenoir ***

Sparks – MAD! ***

Reneé Rapp – BITE ME ***

Sports Team – Boys These Days ***

♡ Best Instrumental Albums of 2025

Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe – Lateral

♡ Best New Age/Meditative/Healing Albums of 2025

Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe – Lateral

♡ Best Rock/Indie/Alternative Albums of 2025

Midlake – A Bridge To Far *****

The Armed – THE FUTURE IS HERE & EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED *****

Biffy Clyro – Futique ****1/2

SunYears – The Song Forlorn ****1/2

Far Caspian – Auto Fiction ****

Skunk Anansie – The Painful Truth ***1/2

Die Spitz – Something To Consume ***1/2

Peter Doherty – Felt Better Alive ***1/2

These New Puritans – Crooked Wing ***1/2

Wet Leg – Moisturizer ***

Sparks – MAD! ***

Sports Team – Boys These Days ***

♡ Best Singer/Songwriter Albums of 2025

Midlake – A Bridge To Far *****

The Antlers – Blight *****

Mac DeMarco – Guitar *****

Ruston Kelly – Pale, Through The Window ****1/2

Ethel Cain – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You ****1/2

Electric Guest – 10K *****

Robert Forster – Strawberries ****1/2

Peter Doherty – Felt Better Alive ***1/2

Audrey Hobert – Who’s The Clown? ***1/2

Lord Huron – The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 ***

♡ Best Electronic Albums of 2025

iglooghost – Bronze Claw Iso E.P. ***1/2

Stereolab – Instant Holograms on Metal Film ***1/2

12-06-2025

ZAZ – Sains et saufs – *****

12-05-2025

Dove Ellis – Blizzard *****

10-22-2025 through 11-14-2025

Rosalía – LUX ***** Best album of the Year

White Lies – Night Light ****1/2

Midlake – A Bridge To Far ***** Their best album yet.

10-21-2025

Calum Scott – Avenoir ***

10-14-2025

Electric Guest – 10K *****

10-11-2025

The Antlers – Blight *****

10-07-2025

Die Spitz – Something To Consume ***1/2

10-03-2025

Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl ****1/2

09-25-2025

Biffy Clyro – Futique ****1/2

09-24-2025

Mac DeMarco – Guitar *****

09-18-2025

Ruston Kelly – Pale, Through The Window ****1/2

09-11-2025

Ethel Cain – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You ****1/2

09-10-2025

Stereolab – Instant Holograms on Metal Film ***1/2

iglooghost – Bronze Claw Iso E.P. ***1/2

09-04-2025

These New Puritans – Crooked Wing ***1/2

09-02-2025

Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ – Room On The Porch ***1/2

09-01-2025

SunYears – The Song Forlorn ****1/2

08-28-2025

Sparks – MAD! ***

08-20-2025

Sports Team – Boys These Days ***

08-17-2025

Audrey Hobert – Who’s The Clown? ***1/2

08-13-2025

Skunk Anansie – The Painful Truth ***1/2

08-07-2025

Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band – New Threats From The Soul **** Exceptional songwriting throughout.  Musically an exciting ride with songs that shift and morph in unexpected ways.  An old country vocal married to modern indie country/Americana.  So many great turns of phrase…some make me laugh or giggle along the way from their brilliance.  Outstanding album.

08-06-2025

The Armed – THE FUTURE IS HERE & EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED ***** An album that annihilated genre and transcends a sound I am not normally fond of. The first listen was jarring and my eyes popped out of my head cartoon style…then I started settling into the power and the force and the ferocious beauty…the 2nd song really solidified for me.  I can’t say that I have experienced an album quite like this.  2025 is the year of the sax, neo-punk and neo-hard music.  Buckle up, I know I am.

Robert Forster – Strawberries ****1/2  Breakfast On The Train, All Of The Time, Such A Shame and others showcase top-notch songwriting.  Breakfast On The Train is a classic.

Peter Doherty – Felt Better Alive ***1/2

08-01-2025

Reneé Rapp – BITE ME ***

07-20-2025

Lord Huron – The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 ***

Jessica Winter – My First Album *****

07-12-2025

Wet Leg – Moisturizer ***

07-08-2025

Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe – Lateral ***

Kae Tempest – Self Titled ***** Current #1 Album of 2025.  An absolute knockout slamdunk homerun.