The PoYB Monthly Playlist: November 2025

I don't think this monthly ritual is going to make an appearance in December. It's a combination of three things. 1) Christmas music distracts and annoys. 2) It's Listmas season as well, so I'm going to be making Top Albums and Top Songs lists for 2025, and won't have time to listen to much other music extracurricularly. 3) New job, no fucking clue how blogging is gonna shake out during the transition process.

For now, though, enjoy the Novembers hits! 

November 2025

1. "Heathcliff" by Snocaps — Anything that the Crutchfield sisters do is pretty much a lock for ol' Joey here. Swearin', Plains, Allison's stupidly underrated 2017 album Tourist in This Town, Waxahatchee as bedroom folk, Waxahatchee as Philly-based indie, Waxahatchee as widescreen Americana. P.S. Eliot's really the only one that hasn't yet hit all that hard for me, and that was the last time the twin sisters were equally contributing to a project. Snocaps has an immediacy to it that I never got from that first project. I'm not surprised, man. This is a no-brainer for all the Crutchfieldheads out there.

2. "Anorak City" by Fucked Up — I'm quickly trying to move through Fucked Up's Zodiac series, which is ending in 2026 with a three-part, five-hour conclusion. All the "Year of the ___" songs are the main attraction, but each 12" has some other deep cuts as well. Here's a bangin' cover song that I would never have known if I wasn't ride-or-die for Fucked Up's more esoteric endeavors.

3. "Don't Let Me Down Again" by Buckingham Nicks — The young Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks put together some sleek pop rock right before the join a fledgling blues rock band and make history. I only knew of this one's existence because apparently Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham did a full-album cover of it a couple years ago. Figured it would be better to start with the real thing. This gives me an idea for MMM: "Songs from famous artists before they joined or started the band that made them famous."

4. "A Decade Under the Influence" by Taking Back Sunday — Not every blind spot needs a whole fucking column dedicated to them. I realized recently that I was not familiar with Where You Want to Be, which featured a song I was very familiar with, only because Burholme covered it. Good album. "Decade" is unbeatable though, for probably nostalgic reasons.

5. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by Erika de Casier — I'm a huge fan of songs that share the same title as class songs. I've written about this before, I think. Maybe in a MMM? I forget. But it tickles me that Erika de Casier chose this particular title for this song, which sounds nothing like the Stones' song by the same name. That's right—it sounds BETTER.

6. "God Owes Me Money" by Militarie Gun — I think last time I mentioned this new Militarie Gun LP, I said the specific song sounded like hardcore but Dan Deacon attempting it. This pick today feels like, I dunno, hardcore being attempted by Wolf Parade? Those synths are decidedly not hardcore, and that's what makes this album so fucking interesting, and so fun, how it can be both hardcore and not hardcore.

7. "What You Need" by Jay Som — I'd like to make the joke "Jay Som is the best boygenius" but that's just me taking the piss out of boygenius and might also do a disservice to this cool-ass new Jay Som album.

8. "Therefore, I Am" by Jim O'Rourke — It takes me FOREVER to get around to recommendations, especially when I'm pulling from a big list. Steven Hyden made something like "100 Best Indie Rock Albums of the 21st Century" at some point, maybe even last year? But I had Jim O'Rourke's Insignificance on my own list because of it. Pretty cool! Especially because, besides 2015's neat-o Simple Songs, my only real run-ins with O'Rourke were when he made Wilco a lot weirder that one time, and when he did a 30-minute drone version of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car."

9. "Trenton" by Parts Work — New Frances Quinlan!!! This is them working with the dude from Thin Lips to create a sound that is at once aligned with Quinlan's previous work while also being a synthier departure. I was thinking about placing EP in the coveted "week of Christmas requiring a ~ten-minute album" Record Club slot, but then I discovered an eight-minute screamo album by a band named Taylor Swift, so Parts Work is delegated to the monthly playlist. Check 'em out! It's Frances Quinlan!!!

10. "III. The Party" by Billy Cobb — Still dutifully checking out albums based on genre tags for Record Club albums. I ended up with Billy Cobb because Super Ghostbusters was considered "Halloween music" (debatable), and I checked out the top-rated "Halloween music" album on RYM. It's actually a really cool record! Not what I expected! It's like, uhhhh, Bonnie "Prince" Billy crossed with Cymbals Eat Guitars??? That do anything for anyone?

11. "@chl03k" by Modern Baseball — The best lyric: "But I couldn't give a FUCK whether you give a fuck or not." It feels childish, and that's because it is. Modern Baseball recorded this album when they were attending Drexel. It revels in its immaturity. This is a song about tweets and Facebook statuses! Fuck, man! To be back at a time in my life when I could care about that fucking shit.

12. "Betray My Heart" by D'Angelo and the Vanguard — I feel like I need to come up with a term for when an obituary inspires you to check out some new (to you) music. I'll come up with one right before the next big musical artist dies, I hope. R.I.P. D'Angelo.