13 April 2026 - Angine de Poitrine - Sarniezz

What happens when the gag goes so far that it's no longer a gag?

You get two very technical musicians who now have to wear elaborate costumes every time they perform.

So let's talk about Angine de Poitrine. 

They're a duo who are aliens from another planet, 333 years old - Khn and Klek Poitrine - who have known each other since they were 13. But really, it was a band - La Poëysce - who were booked for the same venue two nights in Saguenay, Quebec two nights in a row and created an alter ego so people would show up the second night. 

But forget about the costume schtick for a second.  This is math rock - and take a good look at Khn's instrument. First of all, it's a double-necked instrument, with a guitar and a bass (based on a Fender Stratocaster, for those so inclined) with separate outputs and.... well, about four times as many frets as standard instruments.  He's playing notes between the standard twelve notes.

The sound is made possible by looping pedals at the bareish feet of Khn and Klek - this is how they can have multiple instruments playing at once. It's a complex sound and very technically interesting.... but also, it's a solid sound.

This performance was recorded by KEXP in France a couple of months ago, and has quickly become one of the channel's most viewed... and with good reason.  This was their opening song, and it is from their new and EXCELLENT album Vol. II, so go check that out. 

12 April 2026 (Special Edition) - Asha Bhosle - Dum Maro Dum

Several years ago - November 12, 2012, to be precise - I set up a Google alert for an artist that is considered to be the most prolific in history.  Asha Bhosle performed more than 12,000 songs behind the scenes for many Bollywood movies.  If you have seen a Bollywood movie, you'd recognize her voice. She's also one of the few Indian artists to receive a Grammy nomination - and she received two of them. 

Her legacy is absolutely monstrous. To this day there is no greater influence to the playback genre. 

I was more hopeful with each passing day that she had discovered immortality.

The immortal Asha Bhosle

Asha Bhosle passed away today, aged 92.   

From the Bollywood movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna, this is Asha's immortal voice in playback, and probably her most well known song. 

On the occasion of her 80th birthday in 2013, Asha came out front and center, with her granddaughter, and performing this song with the Metropole Orchestra in The Hague.  

Even 40 years after the original, she sounded magnificent. 

Asha leaves behind a large family, and she will be sorely missed. 

10 April 2026 - Slayyyter - BEAT UP CHANEL$

You knew we'd get here at some point, right?

Slayyyter's new album WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA was released in late March, and it's a grimy electronic masterpiece.  This album is a clear contender for our #Wicked25 this year.   

Today's song - co-written by Slayyyter and her producers - is called by her "the best song I've ever written."  It makes sense.  It's dark and inventive.... and also, she's literally shooting a Chanel handbag in this video. 

9 April 2026 (Special Edition) - Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock

Afrika Bambaataa was a complicated man with a complicated history - and not always a good one. Several CREDIBLE child sexual abuse allegations were definitely part of his history, and that's horrendous.  Because of that, I almost didn't post this one.

What is undeniable is that he was one of the people who started hip-hop house parties in the 1970s.  So, with his passing, a pioneering and very dark portion of hip-hop history closes. This 1982 single was his only appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, and the song is seen as one of the most influential hip hop songs of all time.

Normally, I would say that the artist who passed would be missed, but in this case, I won't be saying that. I will say that he leaves behind some influential music.  That's all I am going to say.   

9 April 2026 - Tyler Childers - Oneida

I made a promise - a guarantee - that all the artists who had not been posted about on #WickedGP that were part of the Wicked 25 would get a post if they had not. 

It took me until April, but here's the last one.  Tyler Childers's album Snipe Hunter was a masterpiece of country music.  Here's what one critic had to say about it:

"Snipe Hunter is Tyler Childers going all‑in on weird spiritual country: talking to gods, playing with garage rock and Phil Spector (and Rick Rubin) sounds, and still somehow landing back in the holler. It’s messy and brave in a way major‑label country almost never is.  This is the album I absolutely expected to dislike and almost didn't listen to - and yet, here we are, talking about it, because it is that undeniably good." - Literally me.

And it is that good.  This song - which is about an older woman and not a Finger Lake (and when you hear the song, New Yorkers, you are going to be screaming that he's pronouncing "Oneida" wrong) - is a beautiful masterpiece that is a lot of the reason the album made my list. 

I wish all country music sounded like this.  The whole album is sincerely incredibly good, and I stand by its placement on my list, even as I am actively rethinking other entries.

It's an official LIVE video, but trust me.  This is what it sounds like on the record. 

He doesn't need a full band to show you how personal and heartfelt this song really is, as he has done live. 

8 April 2026 - Richard and Linda Thompson - Shoot Out The Lights

I don't take many trips back to the 1980s, but in this caex of Fairport Convention) and Linda Thompson - a husband-and-wife duo - had been married for nine years and had released five albums of varying acclaim and success.  They had been dropped by Gerry Rafferty, who had financed recordings that generated no interest.  Their marriage was struggling - and Linda was pregnant.

So when Joe Boyd signed them to his Hannibal Records, he was taking a serious risk.  What he got was a masterpiece of an album that ended up being a pretty big hit, 1982's Shoot Out The Lights.  It would be the duo's final album (and their marriage would be over by the time of the album's releasae), but it would reestablish Richard as a songwriting force.

The title song is a masterclass in guitar-driven emotional rock music. 

Just because the marriage broke up does not mean Richard did not perform his songs.

By the way, Richard and Linda are both still with us, and Richard even sometimes still performs, as he did in 2014 in this clip.

7 April 2026 - shego - Aunque duela

So, we talk a lot on here about a lot of those big music prizes.  From the Mercury Prize, for the UK, to Polaris for Canada, to the Australian Music Prize, there a lot of them. 

One I have not talked about much is the Premio Ruido, or the "Noise Prize", given to Spanish artists.  shego - named after a character from the TV show Kim Possible, of all places, is a band that is a of women from Madrid who were on the shortlist for the 2025 version of that prize.  

Their album No lo volveré a hacer is absolutely amazing, even though it is almost entirely in Spanish - which you won't notice or care about.  It is highly recommended and worth a listen!