For 2025 I prioritized film over music so I feel I hadn't many new things that I listened to. Near the end of the year we received a large container of CDs from a friend of ours who moved to Germany so I listened to a few albums from there, but most of the ones I tried out I didn't like so much. I might revisit the container and see if there's anything else I should check out. Let me go over the stats for this year:

One thing I must discuss before I get into anything else, my turntable still needs to be fixed. It works a bit if you don't touch it for a few months and then after a lot of play it will go back to fucking up. I have to get someone to fix it.

Let's get into some artists I started listening to. In February I found a copy of Introducing Juan Pablo (2019) by Juan Wauters at my local record store. I knew Wauters as someone who is friends with Tall Juan so I had to check it out. I thought it was alright at first, but after a few listens I really fell in love with it. Eventually I purchased copies of North American Poetry (2014) and Who Me? (2015) since those were the only ones he had on Bandcamp and then I purchased the rest digitally. I mainly listen to the three CDs I have of his. I really love his voice, he has bit of a childish voice that I really enjoy. He did come to my town this year, but I couldn't go. I hadn't a ride and I had to work on something for my Halloween costume. Hopefully I will see him next time he comes around.

Within that container of CDs from my friend were three albums by Leonard Cohen. I had not heard anything from him before, but I knew I was going to like him. The three albums were Songs of Love and Hate (1971), Death of a Ladies' Man (1977), and I'm Your Man (1988). I do listen to all of them, but Death of a Ladies' Man really spoke to me. "True Love Leaves No Traces" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I'm Your Man is so incredibly 80s. The arrangements really make me think of the soundtrack to the Brave Little Toaster (1987). I still enjoy it, but I just imagine all of the objects singing these songs. I hope to find more from Cohen, I think he is an incredibly good songwriter and I should at some point check out his poetry and the few books that he has.

I got two Pixies CDs and one by Frank Black. I got Bossanova (1990), Trompe le Monde (1991), and Teenager of the Year (1994). Unfortunately, I only listened to those two Pixies albums once. Before then I had only heard their first two albums and I heard that everything after that is not as good as those first two. I wasn't too crazy about them, but maybe my opinion will change whenever I listen to them again. I do listen to Teenager of the Year often, I like to play it along with all of my other Frank Black CDs in my five disc CD player. This one seems like the fan favorite among his solo work since I do see it often on some of my friends' last.fm tiles. I also feel that I don't pick up my Pixies CDs often is that they reside behind my television where all of my card sleeve or digi-pack cases go since the CD slots on my TV stand are meant for the typical jewel case.

I obtained a few jazz CDs since I started reading and I needed something instrumental to play to cover up the television in the living room whenever my father is around. I have 'Round About Midnight (1957), Kind of Blue (1959), Sketches of Spain (1960), and Seven Steps to Heaven (1963) from Miles Davis. I also have A Love Supreme (1965) by John Coltrane and The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963) by Charles Mingus which ended up being one of my favorite new listens of the year. All of them are great albums, but that Mingus album really blew me a way. It's a lot more experimental than the rest. I would like to get more jazz CDs and I especially need to look for more from Charles Mingus.

There are two more individual albums that I want to talk about before we get to concerts. The first one is Version 2.0 (1998) by Garbage. This is another album that I see often on friends' last.fm tiles so I picked it up at a random media store. I did pick it up alongside other albums, but this one stuck the most. It is very much something I wish I knew about when I was a young teen who needed some cool women to look up to. I had recently watched The Matrix again so it reminded me of that a bit. The other album that I want to talk about is White Shoes and the Couples Company (2005) from a band of the same name. This was in my friend's container and I picked it up because there was a label one it saying the band was from Indonesia. It is a very cute album and has some nice string arrangements on it. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys indie pop. I haven't heard any other albums from either band, I hope to find some copies of their work eventually.

First concert occurred in January with Dr Blood's Orgy of Gore, Nganga, and Abyssal Frost. Worst show I've ever been to and it wasn't even the fault of the bands. First band destroyed their kick drum during the first song, second band was rather messy and the drummer got lost at some point, and the third band had a microphone and guitar issue. The crowd was DEAD! No one wanted to move, there weren't many people there and no one was at the front with my friend and I. This was such a disappointing show. It snowed the day before so I assumed people weren't out in fear of ice on the roads, but the roads were totally fine and my brother went to the show the night before when it was actually snowing and the crowd was much larger then. I asked my friend for his opinion of the show and he said it was shit but pleasant with a below 'ok' atmosphere.

Second concert was in February with Boy Air Conditioner, Javier Pizarro, and Tall Juan. For some reason my friend and I love to get there once doors open even though it really does not matter for a small show like this and they were still doing soundcheck when we got there so my friend and I walked around a bit to kill off time. Saw some interesting stickers and posters. Usually when I'm in the city I just go to the event I want to go to and then leave so it's always nice to be able to walk around and actually look at things.

There were way less people there than last time. About ten people in the crowd, could have been less. A friend or two for the first act, a small group for the second act, and just my friend and I for Juan. The two of us just talked until the show started. Boy Air Conditioner was really cool. Very experimental and quite interesting. They had nice visuals behind them too. I don't know what else to say about them but I would definitely see them again. The second act was Javier Pizarro. He and his band felt very solid. Their sound was vastly different from the previous act which I did enjoy a lot all of the different styles from this night. They were a lot of fun and Javier himself was such a great frontman, really knew how to work a crowd even if it's only ten people. The one member on strings was on guitar for the first few songs and then switched to bass which I felt sounded a lot better with the keyboard and drums, he should have been on bass the entire time. I think a lot of people would really enjoy Pizarro's work.

After the first act I gave Juan the doll that I made for him. I had my friend keep it in his little bag so I didn't have to carry it around in the open. Juan was quite surprised by the gift and really loved it. Once Juanito was in his hands I noticed there was an EYELASH stuck to his little suit. This is what happens when you have your fem friend hold onto things for you. My friend took a picture of Juan with the little doll and then we all sat down and talked about how tiny the show is and the upcoming weather. It snowed the day after! At some point Juan put the doll at the merch table. Little guy was just born and now he's gotta clock in, sad times for plush toys.

Now onto Juan's performance, no box this time so he's regular tall now. I did write down the set list once I got home, but I don't feel it is quite that important to share. He did play a few songs off of Raccoon Nights with "Dark Hole" and "Good Times" being playing with a backing track since those two really aren't ones that can be done on just acoustic guitar like all the other songs. I love that he brought out "Cuida Coches" for this, it's a very energetic song and I think it sounds great with just him on his acoustic guitar. This is one of the things that I really like about him, having these obvious punk influences and doing these punk covers on an acoustic guitar rather than an electric one. I think the really heavy strumming on acoustic is a very interesting sound. After the show was over I got the two singles that I really wanted last time! I would have bought more things, but I already had everything else he was selling. I asked my friend what he thought of the show and he said good in terms of music but bad in terms of atmosphere which I would agree with. Me sharing it onto my Instagram story did nothing unfortunately. The Seymour influence is not as strong as I thought. He did follow me back on Instagram the next day when I shared the doll which is so crazy to me, but he does follow a shit ton of people so it shouldn't be so surprising.

Third concert was in March with briZB, Saoirse Dream, and Peach Rings. I went with my entire friend group this time! It was a Spring formal so most people were dressed quite nice. I felt too much like the Joker in my outfit because of my green hair. That rando from Galaxycon years ago who asked me if I was supposed to be the kid Joker is coming back to haunt me! I wore a dark grey button up with black chinos, black platform sneakers, a black belt with a chain, and this necklace I made out of multiple necklaces all underneath this blazer I found at a thrift store that's black with white, red, and green plaid stripes. I did do my makeup which is something I never do. I just did a simple red and black eyeshadow with a bit of red lip gloss in the center of my lips. I did not put enough eyeshadow primer on so my eye makeup was coming off so quickly. My eyes kept watering and I could feel the shadow dissolve in the tears. I need to remember to put more of the primer in the outer corners and to also get my lower lids.

All the bands were quite emo, a bit too young adult for my taste, though. I am too much of an old man when it comes to my taste in music and film despite being a young adult myself. None of the bands were shit, they all were pretty solid and everyone seemed to be really enjoying themselves, I'm just secretly eighty years old. The first band, briZB, was rather chill and I think they'd be the one who I would actually listen to. Saoirse Dream had some nice electronic parts to their songs. Peach Rings were pretty cool, they were pretty silly in between songs.

One friend said "Saoirse Dream isn't the kind of music I think I'd listen to but I still really enjoyed watching them live. I think part of it was just seeing how locked in the drummer was. Out of all the bands I probably liked Peach Rings the most just because that's the kind of music I gravitate towards and will probably to listen to them more. 8/10." Another friend also gave the show an 8/10 and said "I love going to shows because I see a lot of young gay and trans people and I feel a sense of belonging which is nice." They both said nice things about the venue. Third friend who I always go to shows with did not give his opinion, but I think he would say the same thing as the other friends.

Fourth concert was in April with Severed By Dawn, Dr Blood's Orgy of Gore, Alpha Strain, and Rectoplasm. I think maybe I do not like metal… I am unsure of this. I did not read the flier at all, I just went because my friend (same friend mentioned throughout the entire page) wanted to go so I did not realize it was an all ages show. We also did not realize it was a DIY show so my friend was really banking on there being alcohol but there were no drinks. He also forgot to bring his smokes which was quite unfortunate. They did card us at the door and they had two different colored wristbands which I assumed were based on age however there were no drinks so I don't know why they did that. Maybe just in case someone else brought their own drinks and didn't want to get in trouble for some underage drinking.

I did finally purchase some ear plugs and tried them out whilst the first band was on but it seemed rather quiet, much more quiet than it should have been. So I didn't wear them for the other bands because I realized that the volume was incredibly low. I haven't much to say about the individual bands, they all kind of blended together for me. Sometimes when you go to a show of one genre it just gets so monotonous that you zone out. I would say that I liked the third one, Alpha Strain, the best. Whilst the fourth band was on stage one of the members mentioned that he was working on the sound for the entire show which intrigued me since I noticed that his band was much louder than the rest. Seems rather suspicious. The show was also pretty short. Each band played about five songs and we were only there for maybe slightly less than two and a half hours.

I felt too old for this show. These kids really did not have much moshing etiquette. I still enjoyed watching them thrashing around though. The area that they rented out for the show made it feel like a small school dance to me. I will say that I am glad there was actual parking because the one venue that we go to all the time does not have any. I asked my friend for his opinion of the show and he said "no etiquette but lots of fun if you're into that. Dr Blood was the best and the others are forgettable. Rectoplasm in specific had such quiet vocals." I was wondering what was going on with their vocals and thought it was the microphone messing up, but I don't think it was, I think it was just their style choice.

Fifth show was in May with Jupiter II, Entrez Vous, and Tall Juan. I was unsure of exactly when the show was going to start because the website said seven and the poster I saw being shared around also said seven but the actual venue's Instagram said eight on their weekly schedule post. I assumed seven because three bands were playing and the show was supposed to end at ten so it would be giving each band about an hour to set up and play. I went with my brother and my friend and we got there around 6:30 where no one was at the door for tickets so we ended up not paying at all unlike all the other people who came in later with stamps and Xs on their hands. The show didn't start until around 7:45. Keep these times in mind for later.

Before we get to the show I have to mention that I talked to Juan a bit before it started. I made a few clown keychains and gave him one of them. He asked me if I was selling them and I explained to him how I dislike making people pay for my art. When I was talking to him he told me that he wanted to bring the doll on tour with him and have him sit at the merch table like at the previous show but he was afraid of losing him so he just stays home. I said I could always make him another one if that happens but he refused. That was kind of the extent of our conversation so let's get onto the show.

The first band on stage was Jupiter II, shown in the picture on the left. Unfortunately I sat down the entire time for them. Most people seemed to have been sitting down and I would feel bad blocking their views if I stood up. I thought they were alright. My friend said he liked the pedals and mic effect of this band and my brother thought they were pretty good.

The second band was Entrez Vous. I really liked them, I thought they had a really good pop sound to them and I loved the keyboard in it. I think all bands need a keyboard player in them. I really liked how quiet the vocals were and I always enjoy when the vocals blend into the instrumentals. My friend wasn't really digging that though. My brother said they were quite cutesy and liked how the singer dressed. She did look like someone we would personally know. I stood up at the front for this band, more people were standing up at that point. I didn't want to look biased standing up for only one artist during the show… as if anyone but myself would notice.

Of course here comes our beloved Tall Juan. When I was talking to him earlier he was wearing a jacket so I did not realize that his shirt was torn asunder. He pretty much played the same songs as before with most just him on his guitar and the same last two on backing track. This time he actually took his shirt off for "The Good Times" which he didn't do last time probably because there weren't many people and he needn't waste such a performance on a tiny crowd. He usually does that for this song so that's why I mentioned it. My friend said he seemed more energetic than last time. My brother said, and I quote, "amazing, energetic, strip tease, deep throating the mic." My friend gave the whole show 7/10 and my brother gave it 8/10. It was so nice to see Juan again!

The show ended at around 9:45 which meant the whole thing was only two hours long for three bands. I was surprised by how quickly they all went through their songs. They all had rather short songs, but I thought their sets would last long especially with how much time they should have had. Somehow only now I notice this when the timing is usually like this for smaller shows. Karaoke was right after and the place got incredibly packed. People were just flooding in like crazy. My friend and my brother were talking about how familiar all of the people looked to them, like some sort of version of your friend in a different town.

Sixth show was in October with Dr Motherfucker, Human Pippi Armstrong, Ronnie Stone, and Tall Juan AGAIN. There were more than seven people here this time! I know I was complaining about the time for the previous show, but I guess that is the usual amount of time for a small show. I went with my usual friend and with my brother. The first person to go on was Dr Motherfucker which is showcased in the photo on the left. I was so pleasantly surprised by the use of the electric violin! What a nice change of pace, something new! His work is very electronic, a bit chill, and he had a gorgeous voice. His recorded work is much more quiet than the live performance, but he had a very strong voice. For one song he danced with a dummy off stage, then started wrestling it, and then brought it up to the stage to rip out all the guts and took out half a wrap. He tossed the other half into the crowd in which my brother caught it. My brother said it contained salami and cheese. Throughout the show the doctor had bit of a motivational speaker/cult leader vibe to him. He was also giving out prescriptions at the end of the show. My brother got one of them. My friend gave him a solid 3/5.

Next up was Human Pippi Armstrong. This was another solo electronic act. His recorded material sounds much better than his live performance. I do not understand why he was singing so incredibly low when his songs don't even sound like that. He also had a lot of reverb on his mic which did not sound good and it meant that we couldn't understand anything he was saying. He also had this mechanism with him that was a piece of cardboard with magnetic tape on it and he would swipe it through whatever this old technology is to make a scratching noise but it wasn't working well with him that night and you could see it really annoyed him. It was really unfortunate, I was really wishing it would work for him. My friend gave him a 1.5/5. He didn't like what he was trying to do with the box.

Right here is when I finally got to talk to Juan. Nothing truly important or life changing was exchanged here, it was just the typical small talk. One thing I must note is that he asked me if I had made any puppets lately. I do not make puppets. He and one other friend of mine assume that I make puppets when I don't, I just make dolls. I want to make puppets, though. I may have already made one by now when you're reading this, who knows?

Third band was Ronnie Stone which is shown in the photo in the middle. They are completely 80s techno. Incredibly straightforward, they sound exactly like the genre, no reconstruction of it or re-imagining, just straight up 80s techno. They were great! They did go well with the first two acts being electronic, however, they need to be at the club and not some pirate themed bar. They really had their shit together and I always get blown away when I see a smaller band like that because they need to be bigger and playing at dance halls and bdsm clubs. I would highly recommend listening to them and going to see them if you're into that type of music. One thing I must note is that they did have a fog machine which eventually set off the smoke alarm so they had to keep it off for the rest of their set. They did have a lot of flashing lights which really added to the vibe they were going for. My brother thought they were too polished and too clean, but still thought they were good. My friend gave them a 4/5. He said he quite enjoyed them and that no one is making shit like this anymore and it sounds exactly like how it used to.

Last band was our beautiful and wonderful Tall Juan. I always love seeing him. Finally I got to see the banana intro in person. He comes onto stage with his guitar case, props it up on a stool, and opens it up. He places his hands in and you think he is about to take out a guitar, but he takes out a napkin to place in his collar and then a banana to eat. Inserted above is a video my brother took of it. I'm sure there's more video of him doing it at other shows online somewhere. He pretty much played the same songs as before, just one or two different with the rest being the same. I felt he was bit more silly than usual this time. My friend said he always likes his little anecdotes. This time Juan was talking about all of us getting together to purchase a house in the middle of nowhere and us giving him ten percent of our income and it being categorized as a religious organization so we didn't have to pay taxes. Of course my friend gave him a 5/5.

We talked to him again a bit after the show. It was just some more small talk and us discussing his situation of having only one t-shirt left. It was too big for me so I didn't get it, but I probably should have... all types of drat! I knew I should have asked for one earlier since our dates weren't added until some time after a third of the tour was done so I thought he wasn't coming back here. Oh well. I could have cut it up to make it smaller, I have the sewing capabilities to do that, but someone else might want it. So we said our goodbyes and headed home. I always love seeing Juan, he's just a great performer. I love his music. Everyone, go listen to him NOW!

My friend and I went to all three shows in Asheville at the Orange Peel. For each show we get in line around 5:30 since we got in line around 6:00 two years ago and we ended up at the front, but we got second row each time! I saw some mega fans there which is probably the reason why we didn't make it to the first row. It's a much more important run than the shows from two years ago. I made some buttons to pass out at each show, a few others were passing things out also. I got a bracelet, a little clay keychain, a zine, and a sticker for the wiki.

For the first night we stood on the left. The album spotlight was John Henry. It was so nice to hear "Dirt Bike." It is my favorite song off of John Henry! Some of my other favorites that I hadn't seen them play before were "the Famous Polka," "No One Knows My Plan," "Shoehorn With Teeth," and "Lie Still, Little Bottle." I can't believe I got to see the stick! I didn't write down my thoughts after each show so I can't remember any of the funny banter or anything else. I'm sure a few people have written a few words for these shows on the Wiki.

For the second show we stood in the middle. The album spotlight was Apollo 18. My favorite out of the songs they played from that album was "She's Actual Size." Flans started to introduce "Fingertips" as the last song on the album which made me think they were going to play "Space Suit," but he corrected himself. I really wish they had played "Space Suit," I love their instrumental songs. Flans was also talking about how his mother dislikes "I Palindrome I" but likes "Call You Mom." I was so surprised that they brought out "Withered Hope" and "Wearing a Raincoat." Both of those songs I don't care much for, but the horns sounded so good on "Withered Hope." My other favorites were "I'll Sink Manhattan," "Call You Mom," and "Cloisonné" which is one of my favorite songs off of Join Us. I know everyone went insane for "Ana Ng," but I just don't think it sounds good live. Maybe it sounds better further back, but at the front it sounds bad.

Since we ended up in the middle for the second show we decided to stand at the right for the third show. At the two shows I attended two years ago I stood on the left side for both so this was a good time to experience each side and see which I like the most. I prefer the left out of all of them. You couldn't see much of the horns in the middle or on the right so I missed out on their dance during "Call You Mom" during the previous show. The album spotlight for this show was Mink Car. My favorite from that group was "Wicked Little Critta." There felt like a lot of repeats for this show, I think they could have replaced a few. I really liked seeing "Authenticity Trip." I was surprised they didn't play "Istanbul" again. They closed with "Doctor Worm" and that was the most crazy that people went for it during that entire run of shows. The floors were shaking!!!

During the third show I was thinking to myself "perhaps three shows in a row of the same band is too much." I really could have sufficed with only two, but I must appear at all! At least they don't do the same setlist for each show like some bands do. I think I'm just not the late night type of guy anymore, every time I go to a show I just want to crawl into bed. We didn't even hand out any buttons on the third night, we just wanted to go home. I thought I was going to be too tired to drive us home for two hours, but the show did revive me and my body just refuses to let me fall asleep so I was totally fine. Even though I said all that, I would totally do this again. They Might Be Giants are one of the few bands I will always go to see and they aren't an expensive act either. I wouldn't do this for someone with $200 tickets or something. The most I ever paid for a ticket was $55 when I went to see Ween and that was also the largest show I ever been to.

I asked my friend for his opinion so here it is. "Certified Leopold commentary: I quite enjoy watching TMBG play because they're consistently good and I like watching them move around, I especially like watching Linnell play the accordion [because] he's so gifted. My thoughts: they're getting better at playing 'Sapphire Bullets' backwards. I wish they would play it forwards as well though because it's my fave off Flood. They played Mink Car songs for one of the sets, but no 'Boss of Me?' Tch... Additionally I think it's funny I have so few of their songs saved, but they played hardly any of those lol. When are we gonna hear 'Mrs. Bluebeard?'" I told him about how "Boss of Me" isn't on the US release of Mink Car and how "Mrs. Bluebeard" is a fan favorite. Then he told me about how when he saw Jeff Rosenstock and he played music from Craig of the Creek.

My one goal for 2025 was to finish off Talking Heads, David Byrne, and the B-52s. I did none of that. I did obtain a copy of True Stories (1986), but I got nothing else, I didn't even get the new album that Byrne released. I wanted to get everything else that I'm missing first before I get a copy of that. I think I will have to buy these online. I am making that my main priority! I really haven't other goals. I would like to find more of Leonard Cohen and listen to more jazz, that's it. I'm more of a film guy than a music guy so it's hard to figure out what I want to do. We shall see how things go. I have that large container of CDs I can always dig into if I ever need something new to listen to. I also need to get my turntable fixed. Do not let me ignore that!