12 January 2026 - Clipse ft. Kendrick Lamar - Chains & Whips

This is culturally inappropriate. 

But really, no. It isn't. 

Let God Sort Em Out, the 2025 comeback release by a reunited Clipse, was hailed as one of the best albums of the year - and rightly so. It's lyrically deep and has fantastic flow. Produced by Pharrell Williams, this is likely to be a big Grammy winner this year. 

This was the first song written for the album, and they got Kendrick to send 'em a verse while he was working on GNX.  Lenny Kravitz plays guitar on the track, and of course, Pusha T and Malice are spittin' rhymes with Kendrick.

The title refers to chains - as in jewelry - and whips - as in fast automobiles - but they know what they're doing when it comes to double entendre.  And they're quite biting when it comes to criticizing others for chasing dollars. 

By the way, Kendrick's verse is about Drake, not Donald Trump - but that should surprise no one.  Pusha T's, in fact, is directed towards Jim Jones - no, not the Jonestown guy! - for taking Drake's side in that feud.  

It didn't take long for the fans to learn every word.... and when Kendrick came out with them live to perform the song, it was far from culturally inappropriate.  

When they perform it without Kendrick, it still is not culturally inappropriate. 

11 January 2026 (Special Edition) - Grateful Dead - Throwing Stones

A lot of people thought Jerry Garcia was the heart of the Grateful Dead, and he was.  Bob Weir was a huge part of the Grateful Dead's success, and a lot of their better known songs, like this one from their hit In The Dark album, were sung and composed by Weir.  This one, loosely based on "Ring Around The Rosie", featured lyrics by John Perry Barlow.

After Garcia's death, Weir kept a lot of the heart and music of the Dead alive, with several Dead-adjacent projects, like The Other Ones, The Dead and Dead and Co.  

Weir was diagnosed with cancer in 2025, and he beat it.  Unfortunately, the underlying lung issues were too much, and his family announced his passing on Saturday,  

While the Dead were still touring, this song - which was from the mid-1980s - quickly became a favorite.  Here they are performing it in Oakland, near their home base. 

And here is Weir, with Dead and Company, keeping the legacy and this song alive.

Weir's voice and passion will be missed. 

9 January 2026 - Geese - Au Pays du Cocaine

OK.  

Let's talk about Geese.

Their 2025 album Getting Killed is topping a lot of year-end best-of lists. 

I listened to it. It's good.  

It did not make my Wicked 25 or even the honorable mentions.  I just.... it was good.  I liked it.

A lot of the attention on Geese's album was driven by Cameron Winter's 2024 solo album, Heavy Metal, which did better than expected (and appeared on a few 2025 lists because it came out in December 2024, too late for a lot of those lists).  I have not listened to that one yet.  

But, I *did* like Getting Killed.   One of the highlights of the album for me is this song, which is post-punk crooning perfection - about a guy trying to convince a reluctant partner.  With lyrics by Winter and music by the whole band, it really does tell a story all inside itself.

Live, the melancholy song sounds even sadder, with Winter's baritone selling the emotion.  

8 January 2026 - Adèle Castillon - Crève-cœur

Well, I am just raising the stakes here.  

Now, not only do I need the œ on my clipboard, I have to do an accented e as well!

Adèle Castillon is worth it, though.  She started her career in 80's nostalgia as 1/2 of Videoclub, but in 2021, she stuck off on her own.....

And, in 2024, she released Crèvecœur, following it up in February 2025 with an EP called..... Crèvecœur.  It was absolutely part of the same project, and together, they make an album that tells a story of heartbreak and reaction.... 

This song, which leads the collection and still leans into the 80's nostalgia, is accompanied by an animated video that tells a story, too. 

7 January 2026 - VIDEOCLUB - Roi

Adèle Castillon and Matthieu Reynaud have solo careers now, but they were in an electronic duo called VIDEOCLUB before that.

They were also in a relationship with each other but they are no longer in that relationship.

Those two items are related.   

But when you see this video, know that these two musicians were very much in love.  

And this is a love song - co-written by the duo and Esteban Capron - that sounds like it could be from 1983, and yet it's from 2018.

This live performance is from 2019, two years before the breakup.  I just want to point out how well Adèle just OWNS the stage.  Also, you can see it's just two musicians creating all this sound. 

The reason I wanted to point that out....

Here's Adèle - who toured alone as VIDEOCLUB until the end in 2021 - performing this song NOT as VIDEOCLUB but as Adèle.... in 2025.  

Also, the crowd knows the words. 

In fact, this performance from 2021 by VIDEOCLUB came three months AFTER their announced breakup.... and it's just Adèle front and center.

By the way, Mattyeux is the new stage name of Matthieu Reynaud and he tried to do a version of this song....

It's just lacking...... and incomplete.

By the way, he also attaches the VIDEOCLUB name to his solo stuff on Spotify to this day.  

On the other hand, Adèle absolutely owns the song. 

6 January 2026 - Laufey - Silver Lining

It's a pretty well known fact that I don't love jazz.  

At all. 

So when a vocalist comes that makes me really enjoy jazz and makes me repeat their album, it's a big deal.

Laufey is that artist.  

And the Grammy-award winning artist - who is nominated for a Grammy this year for her fantastic A Matter of Time album - did that TWICE for me in 2025 - once with A Matter of Time, and once with A Very Laufey Holiday.  They are BOTH great albums.   

This single is a highlight for me - a story of real love (co-written by the artist and producer/collaborator Spencer Stewart) where it's OK to make dirty jokes with your lover.  The video was shot on 35mm film to give it a cinematic feel that matches the song.  

Of COURSE she performs it live.  And her huge voice matches perfectly with the large Guggenheim performance space (and yes, she's really playing guitar, too).

And, watching this performance, it feels less jazzy and more rock-and-roll throwback. 

5 January 2026 - Princess Chelsea - The Cigarette Duet

You knew we had to get to this viral song about smoking at some point, right?

Well, what you didn't know is that, as part of my 1000 albums project, I listened to a Princess Chelsea album - 2023's Taite Music Prize-winning Everything Is Going To Be Alright. It was really, really excellent, and I loved the album.  I was seeking a Princess Chelsea song to post. 

Taite Music Prize - it's for music from New Zealand.  Chelsea Nikkel, who is the titular Princess, is from Auckland.

And, unrelated, the kids started getting obsessed with this creepy, weird song from 2011 that is also enchanting.  That song, as it turns out, is from Princess Chelsea's 2011 debut album Lil Golden Book.  THAT album is now on my list. 

The song is literally a couple arguing about smoking. 

The Lee Hazelwood part (to Chelsea's Nancy Sinatra) of the song was sung by Chelsea's co-producer and former Brunettes frontman Jonathan Bree (she was also a part-time member).  And it's now on repeat.  

So, despite this being a 2011 song, and despite Princess Chelsea releasing a lot of music in between 2011 and... now..... she did not tour the United States until 2023 - in support of Everything Is Going To Be Alright.

It's a good thing she had Jonathan Bree with her.