Chuck Eddy
@chuckeddytor.bsky.social
I write about stuff (books = Stairway to Hell, Accidental Evolution of R&R, R&R Always Forgets, Terminated for Reasons of Taste.) Here's where I mostly write now:
https://chuckeddy.substack.com/
https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/author/edcchucky
https://chuckeddy.substack.com/
https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/author/edcchucky
I was surprised to see Adrian Sherwood’s The Collapse of Everything show up on so many best-of-2025 lists. Don’t recall him doing so well before, and (though perfectly fine) it’s far from far the best album he’s made. Here’s a lead Village Voice riff I wrote 40 years ago. Today, he turns 68.
Adrian Sherwood review, 1986
I was surprised to see 2025’s The Collapse of Everything — a good Adrian Sherwood album for sure, but still — show up on so many end-of-year best-of lists: #9 in Mojo, # 67 for Rough Trade, tied for #...
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:14 PM
I was surprised to see Adrian Sherwood’s The Collapse of Everything show up on so many best-of-2025 lists. Don’t recall him doing so well before, and (though perfectly fine) it’s far from far the best album he’s made. Here’s a lead Village Voice riff I wrote 40 years ago. Today, he turns 68.
4200+ words on biz busts, rock ruts, disco flashbacks, post-grunge soundalikes, jangly TV jingles, beats replacing guitars, punks gone hillbilly, country ladies, mad scientists, macarenas, booty trains, tattoos, Beck rap, God crap, software that never happened, and my 150 favorite albums of 1996.
150 Best Albums of 1996
Apparently it was a common rock-critical analogy at the time to compare Music Year 1996 to Music Year 1979, one of my favorite Music Years ever. I honestly only just noticed this, almost three decades...
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:57 PM
4200+ words on biz busts, rock ruts, disco flashbacks, post-grunge soundalikes, jangly TV jingles, beats replacing guitars, punks gone hillbilly, country ladies, mad scientists, macarenas, booty trains, tattoos, Beck rap, God crap, software that never happened, and my 150 favorite albums of 1996.
Soundtrack LPs aimed at tween fans used to be rare. But when Radio Disney began broadcasting in 1996, cross-marketing kicked in. The early 21st Century saw a deluge — for TV shows and movies alike. Here are 8 that both introduce impending superstars and work as tolerable albums in their own right.
Essential Early 21st Century Teen-Pop Soundtracks
This recurring Spin column, devoted every month to a different genre as its genres grew increasingly super-specific with time, was initially called “Essentials” when it ran in the physical magazine.
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Soundtrack LPs aimed at tween fans used to be rare. But when Radio Disney began broadcasting in 1996, cross-marketing kicked in. The early 21st Century saw a deluge — for TV shows and movies alike. Here are 8 that both introduce impending superstars and work as tolerable albums in their own right.
25 songs, 1927 to 2011: Afrika Korps, Bog-Shed, Buckinghams, Cinecyde, Cravats, F.R. David, Fred Eaglesmith, Peter Godwin, Instant Funk, Junei, Kashif, Kilburn & High Roads, Prakash Band, Razzy (Bailey), Ray Sharpe, SRC, Gid Tanner, United States of America, Vice Creems, Wobble/Edge/Czukay, more.
Here's Your Dollar Back
Blindfold Test #18
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 18, 2026 at 5:21 PM
25 songs, 1927 to 2011: Afrika Korps, Bog-Shed, Buckinghams, Cinecyde, Cravats, F.R. David, Fred Eaglesmith, Peter Godwin, Instant Funk, Junei, Kashif, Kilburn & High Roads, Prakash Band, Razzy (Bailey), Ray Sharpe, SRC, Gid Tanner, United States of America, Vice Creems, Wobble/Edge/Czukay, more.
Had he lived past 2013, the great jazz drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson would've turned 86 this week. This was my attempt to write about him in the Village Voice. Caveat: There are reasons I don’t write about jazz much, though I do listen to it. (I can never even remember how to spell “harmolodic.”)
Ronald Shannon Jackson review, 1987
I listen to jazz, particularly of post-bebop persuasions, much more than my writing would imply — check just about any of this site’s “150 Best Albums Of…” posts for specifics.
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Had he lived past 2013, the great jazz drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson would've turned 86 this week. This was my attempt to write about him in the Village Voice. Caveat: There are reasons I don’t write about jazz much, though I do listen to it. (I can never even remember how to spell “harmolodic.”)
Reviving this decades-old piece to acknowledge Latin hip-hop/freestyle/huevo singer Wilma Cosmé aka Sa-Fire (born San Juan, 1-16-1966) turning 60 today.Time flies, everybody.
Sa-Fire review, 1989
You’ll notice I (skeptically) call her genre “Latin hip-hop,” not “Latin freestyle,” which designation I’m not sure I’d even heard yet in 1989.
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Reviving this decades-old piece to acknowledge Latin hip-hop/freestyle/huevo singer Wilma Cosmé aka Sa-Fire (born San Juan, 1-16-1966) turning 60 today.Time flies, everybody.
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
Late but long: 7200! (therapeutic, for me) words about rock w/o rockism, AI, algorithms, maximalism, max stimuli, crossing borders, eternal bland pop, dialogue music, women on top, olds still around, nobody singing about a horrible year, the future if there is one & my 150! favorite albums of 2025.
150 Best Albums of 2025
If it’s true rock music needs an all-encompassing myth to thrive, as Kelefa Sanneh suggested in what seems to have been the most discussed and debated essay about popular music published all year, the...
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Late but long: 7200! (therapeutic, for me) words about rock w/o rockism, AI, algorithms, maximalism, max stimuli, crossing borders, eternal bland pop, dialogue music, women on top, olds still around, nobody singing about a horrible year, the future if there is one & my 150! favorite albums of 2025.
Late but long: 7200! (therapeutic, for me) words about rock w/o rockism, AI, algorithms, maximalism, max stimuli, crossing borders, eternal bland pop, dialogue music, women on top, olds still around, nobody singing about a horrible year, the future if there is one & my 150! favorite albums of 2025.
150 Best Albums of 2025
If it’s true rock music needs an all-encompassing myth to thrive, as Kelefa Sanneh suggested in what seems to have been the most discussed and debated essay about popular music published all year, the...
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Late but long: 7200! (therapeutic, for me) words about rock w/o rockism, AI, algorithms, maximalism, max stimuli, crossing borders, eternal bland pop, dialogue music, women on top, olds still around, nobody singing about a horrible year, the future if there is one & my 150! favorite albums of 2025.
William “Linus” Eddy, my oldest son, unexpectedly passed away at 40 the week after Christmas. I posted about him on Substack yesterday, including a few other links about his life. Here’s something I wrote 36 years ago.
Education of a Music Fan: Linus Eddy at 5
Something I wrote about my oldest son in 1990.
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:22 PM
William “Linus” Eddy, my oldest son, unexpectedly passed away at 40 the week after Christmas. I posted about him on Substack yesterday, including a few other links about his life. Here’s something I wrote 36 years ago.
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
My family, and the world, lost Will Eddy on December 30. I’ve been keeping the news fairly private since then, but I now I want to tell you a few things about him that you might not know. Here are some thoughts I expressed at his memorial service Sunday.
William "Linus" Eddy, 1985-2025
My family, and the world, lost Will Eddy on December 30.
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:11 PM
My family, and the world, lost Will Eddy on December 30. I’ve been keeping the news fairly private since then, but I now I want to tell you a few things about him that you might not know. Here are some thoughts I expressed at his memorial service Sunday.
My family, and the world, lost Will Eddy on December 30. I’ve been keeping the news fairly private since then, but I now I want to tell you a few things about him that you might not know. Here are some thoughts I expressed at his memorial service Sunday.
William "Linus" Eddy, 1985-2025
My family, and the world, lost Will Eddy on December 30.
chuckeddy.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:11 PM
My family, and the world, lost Will Eddy on December 30. I’ve been keeping the news fairly private since then, but I now I want to tell you a few things about him that you might not know. Here are some thoughts I expressed at his memorial service Sunday.
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
More than half a decade ago I somewhat absurdly started posting lists of my 150 favorite albums of every year in recent history. (2025 coming soon, I promise.) The first year I conquered was 1977. I attached a short introduction (just 400 words now, even shorter then.) The essays got longer later.
150 Best Albums of 1977
No Elvis*, Beatles or Stones in 1977.
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 2:14 PM
More than half a decade ago I somewhat absurdly started posting lists of my 150 favorite albums of every year in recent history. (2025 coming soon, I promise.) The first year I conquered was 1977. I attached a short introduction (just 400 words now, even shorter then.) The essays got longer later.
More than half a decade ago I somewhat absurdly started posting lists of my 150 favorite albums of every year in recent history. (2025 coming soon, I promise.) The first year I conquered was 1977. I attached a short introduction (just 400 words now, even shorter then.) The essays got longer later.
150 Best Albums of 1977
No Elvis*, Beatles or Stones in 1977.
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 2:14 PM
More than half a decade ago I somewhat absurdly started posting lists of my 150 favorite albums of every year in recent history. (2025 coming soon, I promise.) The first year I conquered was 1977. I attached a short introduction (just 400 words now, even shorter then.) The essays got longer later.
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
In honor of Dr. Dexter Holland’s 60th birthday, here’s the only Spin cover story I ever wrote. That it ran half his lifetime (as in 30 years) ago only makes the math better. Caveat: I’ve only got a Bachelor’s in Journalism, where Dexter has a PhD in Molecular Biology. Defended his thesis in 2017!
The Offspring Profile, 1995
Posting this here to honor Dexter Holland turning 60 today — good of him!
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:23 PM
In honor of Dr. Dexter Holland’s 60th birthday, here’s the only Spin cover story I ever wrote. That it ran half his lifetime (as in 30 years) ago only makes the math better. Caveat: I’ve only got a Bachelor’s in Journalism, where Dexter has a PhD in Molecular Biology. Defended his thesis in 2017!
In honor of Dr. Dexter Holland’s 60th birthday, here’s the only Spin cover story I ever wrote. That it ran half his lifetime (as in 30 years) ago only makes the math better. Caveat: I’ve only got a Bachelor’s in Journalism, where Dexter has a PhD in Molecular Biology. Defended his thesis in 2017!
The Offspring Profile, 1995
Posting this here to honor Dexter Holland turning 60 today — good of him!
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:23 PM
In honor of Dr. Dexter Holland’s 60th birthday, here’s the only Spin cover story I ever wrote. That it ran half his lifetime (as in 30 years) ago only makes the math better. Caveat: I’ve only got a Bachelor’s in Journalism, where Dexter has a PhD in Molecular Biology. Defended his thesis in 2017!
So hey, if you’re gonna follow me here, you might as well also subscribe to my Substack, where most posts are free. Or to read even more, for just $40 a year now (on sale -- usually $50) you can read ALL my posts there, incl. ones about every year's (for instance 2025's) best music. Just a thought!
About - Poplar Mucilage
Blindfold tests, critical archives, fungal finds, urban ruins, and the most comprehensive, wide-ranging and idiosyncratic year-by-year single-listener recorded music accounting on the planet. Click to...
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 28, 2025 at 8:13 PM
So hey, if you’re gonna follow me here, you might as well also subscribe to my Substack, where most posts are free. Or to read even more, for just $40 a year now (on sale -- usually $50) you can read ALL my posts there, incl. ones about every year's (for instance 2025's) best music. Just a thought!
25 songs, 1927-'86: Ballyhoo, Bobby Bare, Beginning of the End, Bonzo Dog Band, Brian Briggs, Dschinghis Khan, Phil Fearon, Genesis, Wayne Fontana & Mindbenders, Half Pint, McGee Brothers, Lou Rawls, Arthur Russell, Mother Earth, Savage Rose, Siren, Sir Lord Comic, 2 Man Sound, Yeah Yeah Noh, more!
Tribulations Such As Never Occurred
Blindfold Test #15
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 28, 2025 at 7:20 PM
25 songs, 1927-'86: Ballyhoo, Bobby Bare, Beginning of the End, Bonzo Dog Band, Brian Briggs, Dschinghis Khan, Phil Fearon, Genesis, Wayne Fontana & Mindbenders, Half Pint, McGee Brothers, Lou Rawls, Arthur Russell, Mother Earth, Savage Rose, Siren, Sir Lord Comic, 2 Man Sound, Yeah Yeah Noh, more!
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
NEW!!! Final edition of my 7-part series making sense of my 80 favorite 2025 singles: 1100 words rounding up DJs (Elva/Kevin McKay, Arp Frique, Andruss, Impérious); TikTok virals (Moliy, Fantomel/Kate Linn); East L.A. souldie revivalists (Los Yesterdays, Thee Sinseers); Marina Satti. Then a wrapup.
80 Best Singles of 2025 (+5), Part Seven
Elva and Kevin McKay “Yeme Afa”; Arp Frique & the Perpetual Singers “Hold the Line”; Andruss “Take Five”; Impérioux “Fo Pio”: Elva and McKay are DJs in Paris and Glasgow, but the highlight of “Yeme Af...
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
NEW!!! Final edition of my 7-part series making sense of my 80 favorite 2025 singles: 1100 words rounding up DJs (Elva/Kevin McKay, Arp Frique, Andruss, Impérious); TikTok virals (Moliy, Fantomel/Kate Linn); East L.A. souldie revivalists (Los Yesterdays, Thee Sinseers); Marina Satti. Then a wrapup.
NEW!!! Final edition of my 7-part series making sense of my 80 favorite 2025 singles: 1100 words rounding up DJs (Elva/Kevin McKay, Arp Frique, Andruss, Impérious); TikTok virals (Moliy, Fantomel/Kate Linn); East L.A. souldie revivalists (Los Yesterdays, Thee Sinseers); Marina Satti. Then a wrapup.
80 Best Singles of 2025 (+5), Part Seven
Elva and Kevin McKay “Yeme Afa”; Arp Frique & the Perpetual Singers “Hold the Line”; Andruss “Take Five”; Impérioux “Fo Pio”: Elva and McKay are DJs in Paris and Glasgow, but the highlight of “Yeme Af...
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
NEW!!! Final edition of my 7-part series making sense of my 80 favorite 2025 singles: 1100 words rounding up DJs (Elva/Kevin McKay, Arp Frique, Andruss, Impérious); TikTok virals (Moliy, Fantomel/Kate Linn); East L.A. souldie revivalists (Los Yesterdays, Thee Sinseers); Marina Satti. Then a wrapup.
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
New!! 1300-word #6 of 7-part series on my 80 favorite 2025 singles: Dominican Republic (Miimii KDS, La China de la Gasolina); far east (Young Posse, Ife); middle east (Fatih Bulut, Mele Bedel, Sabren Elnegily, Nancy Ajram, Aymane Serhani x Natalia Yasmine, Sami Galbi, Ammar 808, Saint Levant, etc.)
80 Best Singles of 2025 (+5), Part Six
Miimii KDS feat.
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 26, 2025 at 6:22 PM
New!! 1300-word #6 of 7-part series on my 80 favorite 2025 singles: Dominican Republic (Miimii KDS, La China de la Gasolina); far east (Young Posse, Ife); middle east (Fatih Bulut, Mele Bedel, Sabren Elnegily, Nancy Ajram, Aymane Serhani x Natalia Yasmine, Sami Galbi, Ammar 808, Saint Levant, etc.)
New!! 1300-word #6 of 7-part series on my 80 favorite 2025 singles: Dominican Republic (Miimii KDS, La China de la Gasolina); far east (Young Posse, Ife); middle east (Fatih Bulut, Mele Bedel, Sabren Elnegily, Nancy Ajram, Aymane Serhani x Natalia Yasmine, Sami Galbi, Ammar 808, Saint Levant, etc.)
80 Best Singles of 2025 (+5), Part Six
Miimii KDS feat.
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 26, 2025 at 6:22 PM
New!! 1300-word #6 of 7-part series on my 80 favorite 2025 singles: Dominican Republic (Miimii KDS, La China de la Gasolina); far east (Young Posse, Ife); middle east (Fatih Bulut, Mele Bedel, Sabren Elnegily, Nancy Ajram, Aymane Serhani x Natalia Yasmine, Sami Galbi, Ammar 808, Saint Levant, etc.)
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
NEW for Xmas!!! Part 5 of 7-part roundup of my 80 fave singles of year. 1100 words on dancey goth (Tommy Genesis, Alice Glass, Myss Keta); metalish goth (Yaeji, Blanco Teta, Sumo Cyco, Alt Blk Era, Maiya Blainey); globalists (Ecko Bazz, Tshegue, Yalla Miku, Etceteral, Nusantera Beat, Owls Are Not.)
80 Best Singles of 2025 (+5), Part Five
Tommy Genesis “True Blue”; Alice Glass “Catch and Release”; Myss Keta “160BPM”: More neo-New Wave, but more toward the goth phase of the tidal and/or spin cycle, possibly with tinges of abuse survivor...
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 25, 2025 at 2:11 PM
NEW for Xmas!!! Part 5 of 7-part roundup of my 80 fave singles of year. 1100 words on dancey goth (Tommy Genesis, Alice Glass, Myss Keta); metalish goth (Yaeji, Blanco Teta, Sumo Cyco, Alt Blk Era, Maiya Blainey); globalists (Ecko Bazz, Tshegue, Yalla Miku, Etceteral, Nusantera Beat, Owls Are Not.)
NEW for Xmas!!! Part 5 of 7-part roundup of my 80 fave singles of year. 1100 words on dancey goth (Tommy Genesis, Alice Glass, Myss Keta); metalish goth (Yaeji, Blanco Teta, Sumo Cyco, Alt Blk Era, Maiya Blainey); globalists (Ecko Bazz, Tshegue, Yalla Miku, Etceteral, Nusantera Beat, Owls Are Not.)
80 Best Singles of 2025 (+5), Part Five
Tommy Genesis “True Blue”; Alice Glass “Catch and Release”; Myss Keta “160BPM”: More neo-New Wave, but more toward the goth phase of the tidal and/or spin cycle, possibly with tinges of abuse survivor...
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 25, 2025 at 2:11 PM
NEW for Xmas!!! Part 5 of 7-part roundup of my 80 fave singles of year. 1100 words on dancey goth (Tommy Genesis, Alice Glass, Myss Keta); metalish goth (Yaeji, Blanco Teta, Sumo Cyco, Alt Blk Era, Maiya Blainey); globalists (Ecko Bazz, Tshegue, Yalla Miku, Etceteral, Nusantera Beat, Owls Are Not.)
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
New!!! Part 4 of 7-part rundown of my 80 favorite 2025 singles: 1400 words, this time, focused on Eastern Europe (Sw@da x Niczos, Simona); Tanzania's Zucho; indie rock (Saya Gray, Panic Shack, Horsegirl, Haku); and what used to be new wave (Joplyn, M[h]aol, Inspector Spacetime, Caroline Kingsbury.)
80 Best Singles of 2025 (+5), Part Four
Sw@da x Niczos x Msss_gia x Rydlevskaya “Huki Nočy”; Sw@da x Niczos “Uzory Vyšvat’”; Koob & Sw@da “Zubraniatka”; Simona “Cocon”: If you’re a stickler for literal calendar dates, you might want to skip...
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 2:16 PM
New!!! Part 4 of 7-part rundown of my 80 favorite 2025 singles: 1400 words, this time, focused on Eastern Europe (Sw@da x Niczos, Simona); Tanzania's Zucho; indie rock (Saya Gray, Panic Shack, Horsegirl, Haku); and what used to be new wave (Joplyn, M[h]aol, Inspector Spacetime, Caroline Kingsbury.)
New!!! Part 4 of 7-part rundown of my 80 favorite 2025 singles: 1400 words, this time, focused on Eastern Europe (Sw@da x Niczos, Simona); Tanzania's Zucho; indie rock (Saya Gray, Panic Shack, Horsegirl, Haku); and what used to be new wave (Joplyn, M[h]aol, Inspector Spacetime, Caroline Kingsbury.)
80 Best Singles of 2025 (+5), Part Four
Sw@da x Niczos x Msss_gia x Rydlevskaya “Huki Nočy”; Sw@da x Niczos “Uzory Vyšvat’”; Koob & Sw@da “Zubraniatka”; Simona “Cocon”: If you’re a stickler for literal calendar dates, you might want to skip...
chuckeddy.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 2:16 PM
New!!! Part 4 of 7-part rundown of my 80 favorite 2025 singles: 1400 words, this time, focused on Eastern Europe (Sw@da x Niczos, Simona); Tanzania's Zucho; indie rock (Saya Gray, Panic Shack, Horsegirl, Haku); and what used to be new wave (Joplyn, M[h]aol, Inspector Spacetime, Caroline Kingsbury.)