"Cat Stevens was wrong"

Another year, another 'Best Of' episode. I'm joined by a few of my friends with their thoughts on what music they've enjoyed in 2025.

"Lon Chaney Jr. vs. Blaine Cook"

Rich and I finally sat down for another deep dive. This time I went with an old favorite. Much has been made of the term "crossover" since the term was coined in the mid-1980s. If there was a band that expresses all the the essential feature of the "genre"(?), it would have to be The Accused. Their 3rd album, "Martha Splatterhead's Maddest Stories Ever Told" may have arguably been their best and most well known record. In any case, it is a record that deserves a closer look.

If you're interested, Episode 68 features my interview with The Accused's vocalist, Blaine Cook. You can find that in the feed.

"Ride Like the Wind: The Teddy Riley Story"

Mark Miller is a talented photographer, one of the co-hosts of the long running Nickel City Soundtrack Podcast, as well as the vocalist for the Buffalo based hardcore band Hold Out. This episode is a LONG one, but if one of the more fun conversations I've had on this podcast. We go all over the place with this one!!!

Check out Mark's band -

holdout716.bandcamp.com

You can find NCS Podcast at all the usual podcast apps.

"The Return of the Chicha Vampire Macbre Hustlers"

Silas Hite is an Emmy winning composer that has scored dozens of films and television shows. He recently released and album of Chicha inspired music with his artistic collaborator Derel Zimmerman called "Chicha Macabre". This collaboration has recorded a second soon to be released album called "The Return of the Vampire Hustlers". Silas and I had a fun and rambling conversation that covers a lot of ground, not the least of which how he got started scoring film and TV projects.

www.silashite.com

"The BIG Shoe"

On October 11 at Musica, The Last Letter Project is putting on their 10th annual Speedbump Fest featuring The Briefs, The Robert Conn Band, Hams and Hell Is Here with DJ Matt Feeney playing records before, after and in between sets. I invited my pal Jaclyn on to talk all about it!

"For the Love of Paco"

Many of you know Paul Bearer as the vocalist/lyricist for the legendary Sheer Terror. But, did you know that Paul is a crate digger extraodinaire with immaculate taste? No? Well, now you do.

In the words of the Immortal Bard, "Check it out".

"The Case of the Missing Bifocals"

Val is the force behind Ignorant People; a zine that is currently 4 issues deep with an eagerly anticipated 5th issue currently being put together as of this writing. Recently, there has been a huge resurgence in traditional print zines and Ignorant People, along with Razorblades and Aspirin is among the best.

Val and I had a fun conversation about Mind Erase, The Inmates and a lot more.

"Our Fight"

Tom Brose was a few years ahead of me and was the bassist for Confront. We hadn't met until recently and we had a really nice talk. We discussed Confront's complicated legacy and setting the record straight. But, more important than that, Tom worked hard to make sure that there was a proper reissue of Confront's 'Pay Day' 7" and their demo via the revived Dark Empire. Both are awesome and are highly recommended.

"Talkin' Slayer (Mostly...)"

My pal DX Ferris returns to talk about the 4th edition of his EXCELLENT book "Slayer - 66 2/3: A Metal Band Biography (Reborn & Re-Remastered Update)".

To me, this is the definitive biography on one of the most important bands in heavy metal. It is a heavy duty tome and you can get it at the links below.

www.slayerbio.com

@slayerbook

@slayerbooks

facebook.com/slayerbook

Rest in Power Ozzy. Thank you for everything.