Sunday Music: Playlisting Every Sunday Music in 2025

The entire Cultish Creative / Personal Archive idea is based on the habit of getting inspired. Music is… just one of those things for me. It’s always been in my life, it’s always moved me, and, as is too often the case, as I got older it got easier to forget how inspirational it is for me. My Sunday Music posts are a method of keeping that habit alive. not one Sunday goes by that I don’t feel happy I made room for this specific habit.

Take this as a discipline disguised as joy. Take this as a way I’ve learned, in my 30s and into my 40s (well into my 40s, sheesh) that I make sure I still listen to music carefully, wonder out loud about what it’s trying to tell me, and look for the patterns across the rest of my life.

It should come as no surprise that I’ve got a year’s worth of posts to sift through as we come into year end. I wanted to do this before the holiday travel times so, if you’re so inclined, you can revisit the year with me, too. I find this infinitely more interesting (and accurate) than the “wrapped” features, but just the same,

Here’s your Spotify and Apple Music version of the playlist too if you want to play it along with the liner notes.

Below is every Sunday Music post from 2025, arranged chronologically. These are the songs, the artists, the moments that mattered to me this year. I've linked each one back to the original post so you can read the full context, the thinking behind the choice. Think of this as a map of what I listened to and why - a kind of personal archive of attention.

I'm grateful for this habit. Shoutout to Dave Nadig, John Rinaldi, Connor Platt, Jeff Chapman, Kevin Alexander, and - if you read these and make playlists too, I want to know (hit me up), because I think we should all reflect like this more often.

*disclosure, for sake of my own honor: this was never intended to be a playlist, but I was figuring out what to do this year, feeling bad about not making playlists at the clip I used to, and this was an easy start with the help of a few of my AI’s to get organized. You won’t get the peaks and valleys, but you will get an array of what I was thinking deeply about this year.

December 2024 → January 2025

Dec 29, 2024: "Please Please Please" Is Smarter Than I Thought - Sabrina Carpenter and Jack Antonoff finding depth in something that looked like pop fluff on the surface. The song knows exactly what it's doing, and so do we. It feels super weird to lead off the playlist with this for some reason but, I’ll put Sarah Shook on track 2 since it’s where my brain always goes when I think of this Carpenter song. For 44, I sure am a complicated teenage girl still.

January

Jan 5: "Bitties In The BK Lounge" - De La Soul opening the year with warmth and style. A reminder that hip-hop was built on having fun with words and with each other.

Jan 12: "Buy You Some" - Too $hort and Erick Sermon on transaction and connection. There's something honest about the way they talk to each other in this song.

Jan 19: Take Me Home, Country Roads (Good Versions) - John Denver, Toots & The Maytals, Jelly Roll, Machine Gun Kelly. A song so good it survives infinite reinterpretation. The best versions know what to keep and what to change, I’m sticking to Toots here.

Jan 26: If I Were A Bell - Miles Davis taking a Broadway standard and making it about something deeper. This is what a musician does with material that isn't theirs - they find the truth inside it. One of my favorite songs ever, from one of my favorite musicals ever.

February

Feb 2: LWA IN THE TRAILER PARK - Benjamin Booker's LOWER is a record about place and belonging. This song sits inside that world perfectly. Plus, trailer park murder vibes are soooo February.

Feb 9: "Scooby Snacks" - Fun Lovin' Criminals sampling Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. A song that understands the visual texture of what it's referencing, not just the sound. What a moment.

Feb 16: Creative Restraint (Kendrick's Halftime Show) - Kendrick at the Super Bowl, choosing what to play and what to leave out, and leaving in “Not Like Us.” The power isn't in doing everything - it's in knowing what matters. This was the song the song of the moment, and therefore the first of several Kendrick moments that feel more than a year ago to me, somehow. Plus, “TV Off” is here for artistic foresight and strategy (just read the lyrics and lookup the timelines, if you missed them).

Feb 23: "Strange Powers" - The Magnetic Fields making romance feel both grand and intimate at the same time. This is precision songwriting. I will always associate this song with my wife (hi Valle).

March

Mar 2: "Choke Enough" - Oklou's production aesthetic is a world unto itself. There's something both vulnerable and distant in how she moves through sound. The kids are ok. A little weird, but ok. I really do love these sounds on headphones.

Mar 9: "Trash" - The New York Dolls didn't worry about sounding polished. That's where the power came from - the refusal to smooth anything out. This is an all-timer of a pop song to me, for the record.

Mar 16: "Pree Me" - Burna Boy on self-respect. Short, decisive, and no time for anything smaller than what he deserves.

Mar 23: "Praise" - Panda Bear's Sinister Grift is about finding joy in strange places. This song is proof that experimental music can also be celebratory. Still surprised how much this one works for me.

Mar 30: "Timebomb" - Old 97's in the lineage of outlaw country and DIY punk. A reminder that American music at its best is always a conversation between genres that aren't supposed to talk to each other.

April

Apr 6: "Thoughts And Prayers" - Drive-By Truckers making politics feel earned rather than preachy. This is what it sounds like when a song has something real to say. Patterson Hood is a national treasure, which leads me to…

Apr 13: “The Forks of Cypress” - remains my only and strongest (or at least strong enough!) argument for why Patterson Hood and Waxahatchee need to make a full record together. Pretty please 2026?

Apr 20: Catbite Goes Pop! - Catbite moving away from ska into something more melodic. Artists who know how to evolve are rare. This is what growth looks like. Plus, that slap delay on the guitar on “Tired of Talk”? It does something to my emotional state. Adding “Die In Denver” because I went to Denver this year and (checks notes) did not die, so I practically lived this one.

Apr 27: The Tortoise's Path - Westside Gunn sampling Doechii, Questlove providing context, Mike Birbiglia making you laugh. A post about how different artists can hold the same space and all make it better. Of course the playlist has “Egypt” and the remix back to back.

May

May 4: "Devil Town" (Clear Eyes, Full Hearts) - Daniel Johnston's song became the heartbeat of Friday Night Lights. Sometimes a song finds the exact moment it was always meant for. Also an all-timer of a pop song to me. Just, perfect. Haunting AF, but, perfect. If you can’t handle the original, I’m putting Bright Eyes’ version here too.

May 11: "Hunger For Death" - PUP playing with urgency and noise. This is what it sounds like when anxiety becomes fuel instead of paralysis. The “Except for you” - just assume he’s saying that to you, personally, and it will all be ok.

May 18: Kendrick Live - This was about Kendrick and SZA on tour together. The setlist is a conversation about what music does in a room full of people who came to feel something. I put “Luther” here because I couldn’t decide what to put first for them as a duo.

May 25: “Cheers” by Bigwig - A return to the same song, this time looking at it differently. Sometimes you have to circle back to understand what you're hearing. Sometimes you have to jump into a circle pit, too.

June

Jun 1: SZA Watching The Crowd - SZA on stage, witnessing the people who came to witness her. This is about mutual recognition. When she did “Snooze” she owned the stadium and the tour. Bonus points, I’m adding “30 for 30” because the girls in the row in front of us dueted this to each other while they did it on stage and it was a perfect concert experience to watch it all go down.

Jun 8: "Checkers" - Aesop Rock making beauty out of complexity. His words don't simplify. They do open up. In his crazy way, and I swear in nerve clusters deep in my brain I’ll never quite be able to explain.

Jun 15: E-40 Tiny Desk - E-40 at NPR, bringing Bay Area history into a quiet room. Legacy isn't about how loud you are. Legacy is all about this type of presence. “Yay Area” forever. He can “Tell Me When To Go” anytime. Go stupid, kids. And never forget what “Earl Stephens had us thinking rational” means.

Jun 22: Brian Wilson Received Music - Brian Wilson understanding that to create something great, you first have to listen to what came before. The Beach Boys built on a foundation of others' work, and it never felt like theft, only tradition. There’s a reason the 45 for “Don’t Worry Baby” hangs on the wall of our house.

Jun 29: How Sly Stone Evolved - Sly & The Family Stone at the moment they were becoming themselves. Evolution isn't about leaving things behind - it's about what you take with you. “Underdog” works on so many levels it’s crazy.

July

Jul 6: "Bushwack" - Uri Caine in the space between jazz and composition. This is what happens when a musician refuses to choose. Get out there a little bit with me.

Jul 13: Flood of '72 / Title Fight & Trauma - Title Fight turning local history into music about survival and belonging. Your place shapes what you make. Wilkes-Barre represent.

Jul 20: AI And The New Agency Style - Thinking about what changes when algorithms make recommendations instead of people, to the sounds of the Beastie Boys. The shape of a song stays the same, but the context shifts everything. A highlight of my year was teaching my nephews how fun the Beasties are (and watching them walk around saying “it’s the newwwwww styyle.” And as sick I started getting of “Brass Monkey,” you can’t say no when a 4-year old asks to crunk it.

Jul 27: RIP Ozzy - Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. A life spent saying no to what the world expected, and yes to what scared people. “Changes” is a tear jerker. Bonus points if you look at the cover version in the post.

August

Aug 3: New Clipse, Same Corner - Clipse coming back, the corner rap legacy still burning. Some sounds never die because they said something true. I had a hard time picking one for this, but “F.I.C.O.” wins because Stove God Cooks is carrying this torch too.,

Aug 10: Dibbs' "War Pigs" - Mr. Dibbs sampling Black Sabbath. When two worlds collide in production, something new emerges that neither one could have made alone. This is “Where Pigs Fly” for sake of the playlist, but hit the post to get the mosh pit during a dj set vibe from YouTube.

Aug 17: "Unassisted" - Rasco from the late '90s indie rap era. This is music that didn't care if anyone was watching, and that's exactly why it mattered. Plus, it’s fun to do the “ha ha ha ha” line in your head when you need to get amped up.

Aug 24: “What They Do” vs What You Do - The Roots and Questlove thinking about what works and what doesn't. Even great artists have to learn what they're good at. Legendary song and great video story.

Aug 31: “Suede” Stories / Anderson .Paak - Anderson .Paak and NxWorries finding magic in restraint. Fan-tas-tic. Extra SV. Sometimes the best moments are the ones you almost didn't record.

September

Sep 7: Bilal-isms - Bilal as a student and a master at the same time. The best musicians know they're always learning. “Soul Sista” still rocks. Seeing Bilal live was the best live performance I saw all year, and I saw a lot of great music this year. Religious experience.

Sep 14: “Black Coffee In Bed” - Put Squeeze's original next to Bilal and Nikki Jean's version and I’ll take Bilal and Nikki Jean’s every time. The same song in different hands becomes a different song entirely. So cool.

Sep 21: New Ghostface - Ghostface Killah still making moves, still finding angles nobody else sees. Longevity in hip-hop is about being restless. I couldn’t resist, you get a run of “Rap Kingpin” into “Might Healthy,” “Ice Water,” and “My Melody.”

Sep 28: Gang Of Four Influence - Gang of Four and the DNA they put into everything that came after. Influence isn't about imitation. You iterate, and challenge everybody after you to do the same. “Not Great Men” and “Damaged Goods” back to back because that’s the way the album gods demanded it to be.

October

Oct 5: "Sometimes" (Picking On Friends) - Bilal and Common, a song about needling someone you love. The best collaborations feel like conversations between people who actually know each other. We had the great honor of hearing this story told live at that Bilal show too - by James Poyser - with Common and Bilal laughing together across the stage. “Sometimes.”

Oct 12: No T-Swift, Just E-Swift - Tha Alkaholiks and E-Swift in the '90s. This is what West Coast hip-hop sounded like when the sun was still rising on the genre. “Likwit” is one of a million I could have picked.

Oct 19: RIP D'Angelo (Context For New Listeners) - D'Angelo across Brown Sugar and Voodoo. Two albums that mapped out everything he knew about soul, funk, and what it means to be alive. I am still crushed. Here’s “Brown Sugar” and “Devil’s Pie” because it is the center of the musical universe they were in the middle of altering.

Oct 26: Church Roots / "What Is This?" - The Hawkins Family and D'Angelo's gospel roots. Sometimes to understand where someone's art comes from, you have to go back to where they first learned to sing.

November

Nov 2: "Children In Heat" - The Misfits refusing to apologize for being strange. Punk rock was always permission to be yourself even if - especially if - nobody understood. I know, it’s funny this is after gospel music, but don’t act like D wasn’t a little in heat too.

Nov 9: "Coast" - Snocaps & Sonic Hydras in a world of their own making. This is underground music that doesn't care about being discovered because it already knows its value. I will accept this but still want my Patterson Hood collaboration.

Nov 16: "Stainless Steel" - Glitterer (Ned Russin) making something metal-worker precise and yet still deeply emotional. Maybe their most accessible song yet. It also really communicates how much artistic growth is here, post Title Fight.

Nov 23: Seeing Underworld Live - Underworld live is about witness and presence. Electronic music that doesn't hide behind the machinery - it really is worth experiencing live. I’m putting “Low Burn” here because it’s one of my wife’s favorites, and “Born Slippy” because it’s the only one I sorta knew going into it (and I feel like it’s worth mentioning).

Nov 30: Discovery As Policing Service - Thinking about algorithms and recommendations and what happens when listening becomes surveilled. The act of choosing what to listen to is an act of freedom. “Whenimondamic” was a college anthem for me. “Return of the Boom Bap” was familiar, but the Brewster McCloud song, that was new and unfortunately it’s only on YouTube.

December

Dec 7: "Happy Birthday To Me" - The Vandals keeping things light and irreverent. Comedy in music is underrated - sometimes the best thing a song can do is make you laugh. Putting my death day song, “Flowers are Pretty” next to it for fun.

Dec 14: Mass Appeal / "Madman" - Nas and DJ Premier, and everything that came after them. Mass Appeal as a magazine kept hip-hop alive as a living thing instead of letting it become a museum. That matters. This was a fun essay to write. The album is great too. I’m letting the mixtape here end on “Pause Tapes” and “Writers” because I love what they’re doing on this stretch.

That's, apparently, what 52 Sundays looks like. One post per week, a complete year of listening. Music is always with me, but this habit has changed how I live with it. 70 songs and almost 5 hours later… that’s a couple tapes worth of a mixtape I guess. What can I say? I really love paying attention to this stuff.

Coming into the end of the year, my wish for you is that you do more of this. Not necessarily write about music, but whatever it is that moves you - sit with it. Make it a practice. Make it sacred. Do it extra on Sundays. Why not? The world will try to keep you moving too fast to notice. Build a ritual that forces you to stop.