I return to the 5X5 with some of my listening defined by my last two shows of the year as well as playing catch up on records released in 2025. In Alphabetical order, here is the text version. Aeon Spoke - Aeon Spoke; Amenra - De Toorn EP; Ancient Death - Ego Dissolution; Blood Red Throne - Siltskin; Daniel Hjálmtysson - Desire - single; Depeche Mode - Memento More: Mexico City; Dying Wish - Flesh Stays Together & Symptoms of Survival; Jemba Groove - Susuma & Ye Ankasa We Ourselves; The Modern Post - The Water & The Blood; otay:onii - True Faith Ain’t Blind; Predatory Void - Atoned in Metamorphosis EP; Primitive Man - Observance; Santana- Santana III, Caravanserai, Blessings & Miracles, and Sentient; Sault - Acts of Faith; Sonny Sandoval - Sonny Dread; Today is The Day - Kiss the Pig and No Good to Anyone; Thrice - Major/Minor and Vheissu.

After seeing Frankenstein twice so far, the soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat has become a favorite of mine for the year. Still catching up on more recent releases and finding it difficult to decide what my favorite records from 2025 have been in a concise manner. Text form of the photo, in alphabetical order: Alexandre Desplat - Frankenstein; Amenra - With Fang and Claw; Cryptopsy - An Insatiable Violence; Daniel Hjalmtysson - Labyrinthia; Death - Individual Thought Patterns & Spiritual Healing; Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs; Hangman's Chair - Saddiction; Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon; Mammoth - The End; Maria Jose Llergos - Ultrabelleza; Mavis Staples - Sad and Beautiful World; McCoy Tyner - Nights of Ballads and Blues; Sault - Acts of Faith; Svalbard - The Weight of the Mask

@Howie Cohen I like that approach. I might take on thinking up some of my own categories. Thanks for the idea👍

I don’t remember how old I was, but I’m fairly confident I wasn’t a teenager yet. My uncle’s date cancelled on him last minute and while he was not happy to do it; he invited me to The Brian Setzer Orchestra’s Christmas concert at the Gibson Amphitheater. Even though I knew I was not the person he wanted to take that night, it was special at the time because he had taken me to see Brian Setzer at Tower Records around the same time and I think that was how my love for live music started. My first show in Seattle was in 2021 at Neumos seeing These Arms Are Snakes, Filth is Eternal, & Dust Moth.

A 5x5 collage of my listening choices for the last week. Angry with the Sun, Blackened Persistence, & Resurrection by Congress; Deathrow Earth & Invictus by Liar; Flesh and Blood, and April Uprising by John Butler Trio; Death Letter and Old Crows/ Young Cardinals by Alexisonfire; Fully Completely and In Violet Light by The Tragically Hip; Black Gives Way to Blue, Facelift, and Rainier Fog by Alice in Chains; The Quiet Hour by Suzzallo; The Weight of the Mask by Svalbard; Down on the Upside by Soundgarden; Thank You by Alcoa; Shot to Hell by Black Label Society; There is no Year by Algiers; Bloodline Maintenance by Ben Harper; Fur and Gold by Bat for Lashes; Soul Summit by Ambassadors; Observance by Primitive Man. I tried to simplify the text format by keeping the multiple records with each artist instead of listing the band multiple times.

Thanks for reminding me about Last.fm through these posts, Howie. I've started scrobbling again and I'm curious to see what might come together in a future 5x5 of my own.