SAVAGE RADIO PLAYLISTS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025

 

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #501

"WELCOME NOVEMBER 2025"

NOVEMBER 5, 2025

1. "Twelve Gates" performed by Cheap Trick

2. "Capitol Cooler" performed by Sloan

3. "Possibilities" performed by Say She She

4. "Caution To The Wind" performed by Everything But The Girl

5. "On Repeat" performed by The Black Keys

6. "Tower Of Babel" performed by Elton John

7. "Love Can't Break The Spell" performed by Djo

8. "Is This Love?" performed by Corinne Bailey Rae

9. "Oval Stones" performed by Temples

10."Twilight Override" performed by Jeff Tweedy

11."Baby Steps" performed by Olivia Dean 12. "White Horses" performed by Wolf Alice

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #502

"HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY TO SAVAGE RADIO"

NOVEMBER 12, 2025

1. "The Spirit Of Radio" performed by Rush

2. "The Fly" performed by U2

3. "Stay (Live Nassau Coliseum 1976)" performed by David Bowie

4. "Good Morning, Britain" performed by Aztec Camera ft. Mick Jones

5."Overture: Mountaintop and Sunrise/Communion With The Sun" performed by Utopia

6."Saviour" performed by Prince

7. "Milk & Honey" performed by Beck

8. "What She Said" performed by TV Eyes

9. "Happy Home" performed by Garbage

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #503

NOVEMBER 19, 2025

1. "Fractured Mirror" performed by Ace Frehley

2. "Door Of No Return" performed by Vernon Reid

3. "Count The Ways" performed by The Last Dinner Party

4. "Alien Nation" performed by Arcade Fire

5. "No Reply" performed by Tame Impala

6. "Vines" performed by Alita Moses

7. "Birds" performed by Rachael Yamagata

8. "Automatic" performed by Nate Smith ft. Lalah Hathaway

9. "Appels + Oranjes" performed by The Smashing Pumpkins

10."Read Between The Lines" performed by The Fixx

11."Drifting" performed by Jimi Hendrix

12."Another Life" performed by D'Angelo and the Vanguard

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #504

"HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2025"

NOVEMBER 26, 2025

1. "Give A Little Bit" performed by Supertramp

2. "Happy With You" performed by Big Thief

3. "I Got Your Back" performed by Todd Rundgren ft. KK Watson and DAM Funk

4. "Take Your Time" performed by Aly & AJ

5. "Friends" performed by The Beach Boys

6. "Love's In Need Of Love Today" performed by Stevie Wonder

7. "Thinking Of You" performed by Lenny Kravitz

8. "Gratitude" performed by Paul McCartney

9. "Miss You In My Life" performed by The Belle Brigade

10."Brother" performed by The Kinks

11."Icicles" performed by Badfinger

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #505

"JOHN & GEORGE"

DECEMBER 3, 2025

1. "Free As A Bird (2025 mix)" performed by The Beatles

2. "This Is Love" performed by George Harrison

3. "Well Well Well" performed by John Lennon

4. "I'm The Greatest" performed by Ringo Starr

5. "All Those Years Ago" performed by George Harrison

6. "Watching The Wheels" (acoustic) performed by John Lennon

7. "Marwa Blues" performed by George Harrison

8. "Bring On The Lucie (Freda People)" performed by John Lennon

9. "Here Today" performed by Paul McCartney

10."Oh Yoko!" performed by John Lennon

11. "Far East Man" performed by George Harrison

12. "A Day In The Life" performed by The Beatles

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #506

"FOR MY DAD 7TH ANNIVERSARY: MUSIC FROM MY DAD'S RECORD COLLECTION"

DECEMBER 10, 2025

1. "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" performed by The Delfonics

2. "Tutu" performed by Miles Davis

3. "Black Talk!" performed by Charles Earland

4. "Back Stabbers" performed by The O'Jays

5. "I Want You" performed by Marvin Gaye

6. "Opportunity, Please Knock" performed by Oscar Brown Jr.

7. "Ain't No Justice" performed by The Temptations

8. "Let Them Work It Out" performed by The Stylistics

9. "All About Love (First Impression)" performed by Earth Wind & Fire

10. "I Wanna Thank You" performed by Maze ft. Frankie Beverly

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #507

"FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2025"

DECEMBER 17, 2025

1. "I Just Need Enough" performed by Graham Hunt

2. "So Far Down" performed by Sloan

3. "Bloom Baby Bloom" performed by Wolf Alice

4. "Second Best" performed by The Last Dinner Party

5. "Make You Mine" performed by The Black Keys

6. "Lady Lady" performed by Olivia Dean

7. "Make Haste" performed by Midlake

8. "Why Do We Keep On Dying?" performed by Fishbone

9. "Palm Of HIs Hands" performed by De La Soul

10."Whats A Good Life" performed by Post Animal

11."Golden Line" performed by Djo

12."Shooting Star" performed by Sunflower Bean

13."Sisyphus" performed by Garbage

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #508

"CHRISTMAS JAMS 2025"

DECEMBER 24, 2025

1. "Someday At Christmas" performed by The Jackson 5

2. "Thanks For Christmas" performed by XTC as The Three Wise Men

3. "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" performed by The Monkees

4. "Christmas Is Coming" performed by The Vince Guaraldi Trio

5. "If I Were A Bell" performed by The Manhattan Jazz All Stars

6. "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" performed by Emmaline

7. "Wonderful Christmastime" performed by Paul McCartney

8. "Christmas Is The Time To Say 'I Love You'" performed by Billy Squier

9. "Santa! Don't Pass Me By" performed by jimmy Donley

10."2000 Miles" performed by Pretenders

11."Please Come Home For Christmas" performed by Eagles

12."A Change At Christmas (Say It Isn't So)" performed by The Flaming Lips

13. "Santa Is Definitely Here To Stay" performed by JAMES BROWN

14. "This Christmas" performed by Donny Hathaway

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #509

"GOODBYE 2025"

DECEMBER 31, 2025

1. "Highway To Hell" performed by AC/DC

2. "Church & State" performed by Brandi Carlile

3. "Time Is Running Out" performed by Steve Winwood

4. "She Who Dares" performed by Say She She

5. "Our Prayer" performed by The Beach Boys

6. "Who's Sorry Now?" performed by Todd Rundgren

7. "Under Pressure" performed by Queen & David Bowie

8. "Time" performed by Sly and the Family Stone

9. "Unshaken" performed by D'Angelo

10."Last December" performed by Prince

11."Can't Get Enough" performed by Liz Longley

MY YEAR OF MUSIC 2025-PART TWO

 

Again, not my listening space but where I go in my head when I am listening.

And now, I continue with my favorite album releases of 2025.

"CHUCK D. PRESENTS ENEMY RADIO: RADIO ARMAGEDDON"
CHUCK D.
Released May 16, 2025

If only this man was at the forefront of the pop cultural zeitgeist right now, for how much we still need him.

This album, the first of a proposed trilogy of releases from what Chuck D.'s liner notes refer to as him existing in his "Wings" era or "Foo Fighters" era, a la both Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl's musical projects after The Beatles and Nirvana, respectively, fulfills exactly what I have been needing to hear. While Chuck D.'s flagship of Public Enemy still exists, this specific side project is another 2025 release that reaches back while remaining firmly in the present, meeting the moment heroically.

Public Enemy's "Fear Of A Black Planet" (released April 10, 1990) remains one of the best albums I have ever heard, regardless of genre. Its cacophonous assault, its blitzkrieg of sound all surrounding the God Of Thunder vocals of Chuck D. is an unmatched experience...even through the vehemently urgent continuing discography of PE. That is, until now. 

"Chuck D. Presents Enemy Radio: Radio Armageddon" uses the sonic barrage aesthetic to grand effect propelling Chuck D.'s voluminous voice and peerless lyrics and wordplay to grand effect over its ever shape shifting bedrock of sound during the furious briskness of the album's running time. This album not only inspires immediate re-listenings, it creates tremendous anticipation for the next two installments.  

"STOCKHOLM SYNDROME"
FISHBONE
Released June 27, 2025

I am just going to say it and leave it right here, after creating two of the best releases of the 1980's with the "Fishbone" debut EP (released September 21, 1985) and the tremendous "Truth And Soul" (released September 13, 1988), plus three of the best albums of the 1990's with "The Reality Of My Surroundings" (released April 23, 1991), "Give A Monkey A Brain And He'll Swear He's The Center Of The Universe" (released May 23, 1993) and the incendiary "Chim Chim's Badass Revenge" (released May 21, 1996), it still amazes me to no end that the untouchable Fishbone never broke through to scale the height of heights. 

Certainly, race has a large portion of this travesty as this all Black band possessed the audacity to create a musical amalgamation of funk, punk rock. soul, jazz, metal and whatever else they threw into their musical stew. Additionally, interpersonal tensions have caused the band to nearly implode several times over their 40 year history. But, after a period during which nearly all of the OG members of the band reunited, implosions occurred again, leaving the band with only two OG members--the titanic Angelo Moore (vocals, saxophone, theremin) and Christopher Dowd (vocals, trombone, keyboards) and shockingly without the fraternal founders of the band Norwood Fisher (bass, vocals) and Phillip "Fish" Fisher (drums, percussion).

As difficult it is to imagine a Fishbone without one of the members who created the band, it is miraculous that Moore, Dowd and their new bandmates have crafted a new Fishbone album at all-the  first in19 years-but that is is an excellent one, e that easily stands as tall as their classic 90's trilogy. "Stockholm Syndrome" finds Fishbone sounding precisely, exactingly like themselves despite the band lineup changes. The requisite musical amalgamation of punk, funk, rock, metal, reggae, soul, jazz and whatever else they can think to include remains as paramount and as explosive as ever and provides the perfect soundscape for their crucially politically charged and deeply poignant lyrics tinged with their  trademark Doberman Pincher's satirical bite.

Opening with "Last Call In America" and continuing onwards with "Secret Police," "Racist Piece Of Shit," 'Why Do We Keep On Dying?," "Dog Eat Dog," "My God Is Better Than Your God," and "Living In The Upside Down," plus more, Fishbone meets the moment in 21st century America with the same fearless urgency as their best work but now fueled with a staring at the edge of a cliff intensity which does indeed match how it feels to be alive in 2025. And even with the apocalypse looming, there is still space for the utopian ballad "Love Is Love" because really...it is all we really have left. 

 

"LET ALL THAT WE IMAGINE BE THE LIGHT"
GARBAGE
Released May 30, 2025

As I always say on Savage Radio concerning this band, they are worldwide, but they will always belong to us right here in Madison, WI.!

The 8th album from Madison's very own is sparkling, sprawling, dynamic, booming, luxurious, snarling and again, devastating in its poignancy. It is also their finest release in many years, quite possibly since "Not Your Kind Of People" (2012). Like Fishbone, Garbage's album spirals from their previous album "No Gods No Masters" (2021) by speaking directly to what it means to live at this point in time as evidenced by tracks like "There's No Future In Optimism," "Chinese Fire Horse," and the dream state of "Sisyphus." 

For me, where the album skyrockets are in two of frontwoman Shirley Manson's finest vocal performances and lyric writing: the ominous, enveloping warmth that houses the album's finale "The Day That I Met God" (if for some chance--hopefully not--this is the band's final album, what a way to go out) and the Hell hath no fury scorched Earth of "Have We Met (The Void)." 

"PINK ELEPHANT"
ARCADE FIRE 
Released May 9, 2025

It's odd but when this band existed as the critic's darling band, I was a little soft on them. Now, that they have seemingly fallen out of favor, I have embraced them more closely with the first half of their double album "Reflektor" (released October 28, 2013) grabbing my attention much greater than their then previous three albums, and the, I feel, unfairly maligned "Everything Now" (released July 28, 2017) and the gorgeous "We" (released May 6, 2022) plunging reverent emotional depths while providing deeply immersive listening experiences, of which this new album reaches further. 

Where "Year Of The Snake," "Circle Of Trust" and the speaker shaking "Alien Nation" make for a stunning early album tryptic, they are surrounded by the eerie yet romantically atmospheric soundscapes of "I Love Her Shadow," "Ride Or Die," the jittery "Stuck In My Head" and the David Lynch-ian "Open Your Heart Or Die Trying," a perfect sentiment for life in 2025.

MY YEAR OF MUSIC 2025-PART ONE: THE ALBUMS

This photo does not represent my personal listening space. 

Although, if there was one that existed in the space of my brain, maybe it would or could be something like this.

For me, my primary spaces for listening to and therefore, absorbing music are via walking around with my head phones (I detest earbuds) strapped firmly to my ears or within the confines of my car. While I do still possess my record player, purchased through funds from Summer employment adventures during my college years, my beloved, dearly departed and eternally missed cat Jada, bit through the speaker wires while as a teething kitten, leaving me with only one working speaker...so usage has dwindled dramatically on that front. All of that being said, every listening space for me firmly and forever represents the listening spaces I occupied while as a child as I was exposed to the beauty and mystery of the listening experience and the art of the album, where my synesthesia always lived and thrived, where so many emotions were stirred, formulated, nurtured, healed and thrived and where so many memories were birthed. 

This life experience is never ending and in this truly traumatic year of 2025, music has existed as a crucially sacred space for my spirit as I am in a stage where I am actually receiving and consuming music at a greater rate than in my youth and having a radio home of ten years and still going with WVMO, is nothing less than an oasis for which my gratitude is bottomless. For where else could I find myself with any other sense of an outlet to share and even process what it means to live in 2025 without having my Savage Radio platform?  

It has been quite some time since I have written anything of some significance regarding the music I am listening to regarding the releases of the year. So, I wish to try to do just that for you now as I recount the albums that struck me in the deepest places this year.

"FOREVER IS A FEELING"
LUCY DACUS
Released March 28, 2025

When I first listen to an album, I typically do not focus entirely upon the lyrics or specific instruments, so to speak. I am just taking in the entire sound of the piece. With Lucy Dacus, both through her solo material and with her band boygenius, her lyrics and the storytelling contained within leap from the speakers and forge instantly into me. With her fourth solo album, after capturing my attention with her previous album "Home Video" (released June 25, 2021), again I was instantly captivated with this song cycle that largely details her romance with boygenius bandmate Julien Baker combined with an adult's eye view of complicated emotions and relationships via a compositional and production aesthetic that is succulently warm and enveloping. Dacus' storytelling remains so rich and here is where I feel I connected with this album so powerfully...it is via Dacus' singing voice.

In a time when singers raised and trained upon the stages of "American Idol" and "The Voice," where theatricality and deliberately showcasing one's range is key, we exist in a time when singers do not seem to understand that songs they are actually singing as they are chasing an effect, leading to a lack of pure emotion. Often times, the high note is not the high note. Lucy Dacus possesses a singing voice that sounds like honey, feels like a warm bath and presents itself as if she is not actually doing terribly much while standing in front of the microphone. On the contrary, the deceptive simplicity of her singing recalls Karen Carpenter or Christine McVie in my mind, as she conveys a universe of emotion through the connectivity she shares with her lyrics and the stories she is sharing with us...as well as herself. 

For me, Lucy Dacus' " Forever Is A Feeling" succeeds so powerfully because every time I listen or even stumble upon one of her songs, it is as if we are hearing the thoughts inside of our heads when navigating the depth of our feeling and the experiences had while having those feelings. There is comfort in the shared empathy heard for all of us have been undone by our feelings, especially when harbored for another. That feeling is truly forever. 

"THE ART OF LOVING"
OLIVIA DEAN
Released September 26, 2025

Algorithms is simultaneously terrifying and shockingly correct when it comes to music suggestions for me. More and more, "suggestions" appear to me via You Tube or Instagram advertisements for musical artists that I just may enjoy and when I do take the plunge, this bizarre electronic entity has been proven correct. Olivia  Dean, who is clearly having a moment right now as well as a triumphant appearance upon "Saturday Night Live" this year, was, again, "suggested" to me via Instagram ads with the pure summer breeze of a selection entitled "Nice To Each Other." I was captivated and not terribly long afterwards, I purchased the album in full and it quickly became one of the most repeatable albums I have heard this year.

As presented by the album's title, Olivia Dean's album is exactly as advertised, and like Lucy Dacus, it is a song cycle about the titular subject in all of its phases and faces. It is not an album that re-invents the wheel by any means. What is important is that it is an excellent 12 track journey fueled by top tier songwriting, instrumentation and production that again delivers and enveloping warmth and comfort in the pop and soul aesthetic contained therein that suggests a retro vibe (I particularly loved the Dionne Warwick/Burt Bacharach vibes in "So Easy (To Fall In Love)" and the slightly darker Marvin Gaye leanings on "Baby Steps") while keeping its feet firmly planted in the present day. 

Also, and as with Dacus, Olivia Dean never over-sings a note, over-sells a moment, always ensuring the song itself is the star and the authenticity of the emotion shin es through. It is an exquisite album, one that could exist in the neighborhood of Sade's sensationally timeless "Love Deluxe" (released October 26, 1992). Olivia Dean's superbly classy "The Art Of Loving" is indeed that good.

"CUT & REWIND"
SAY SHE SHE 
Released October 3, 2025

Another "suggestion" by the algorithms arrived with this group, the vocal trio whose self-described psychedelic disco mission is openly inspired by the legacy of Nile Rodgers and whose name is derived from, Rodgers' seminal art funk band Chic. I fell in love with the band's excellent second album, "Silver" (released September 29, 2023), further impressively, a double album.

Now, the triumvirate of vocalists/songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Sabrina Cunningham and Piya Malik have returned with a tight and beautifully recorded and performed third album on which they continue their infectiously danceable aesthetic with a profound and playful feminist edge. The messages of empowerment and solidarity, explicitly performed in the outstanding "She Who Dares," for instance, speaks directly to and perfectly encapsulates the precarious dance of joy and resistance in the face of fascism. 

"NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS"
THE BLACK KEYS
Released August 8, 2025

This band has become so prolific that this release, their thirteenth album, came as a complete surprise to me as it is the fourth album the duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have delivered in a mere four years. For me, and even with the solid quality of their previous three albums of this intensely creative period--"Delta Kream" (released May 14, 2021), "Dropout Boogie" (released May 21, 2022), and "Ohio Players" (released April 5, 2024)--this album is their very best regarding their recent material. 

While the blues rock aesthetic remains the bedrock, with "No Rain, No Flowers," The Black Keys seemed to have made a legitimate pop album, perfectly strong songwriting just overflowing with hooks upon hooks from end to end, making for an enormously enjoyable listening experience like Olivia Dean's where every repeat listen is a full reward. 

 

"THE CRUX" & "THE CRUX DELUXE"
DJO
Released April 4, 2025/September 12, 2025

On first listen, it all felt to belike a travelogue through Joe Kerry's record collection. A Cars reference here, a McCartney reference there, odes to Brian Wilson and Lindsey Buckingham abound and so on. But, over time, "The Crux," the third album from Kerry whose recording alias of Djo (the "D" is silent) marked his full arrival as a music artist to watch closely, especially as his acting role as Steve Harrington in "Stranger Things" is reaching its conclusion and he has also returned to the confines of his bandmates in Post Animal (more on that later).

If there is a common theme in this particular posting regarding the albums I loved this year, it is always the actual songwriting and Djo has significantly amassed a deeply impressive collection that showcases the inner life of a young man growing up and navigating the dance of life with regards to the search for oneself, one's purpose and one's sense of integrity in a world where such qualities are of seemingly decreased value. It is this personal stance that elevates the songwriting and music from a simple "spot the reference" album into yet another release that reaches to the past yet is planted firmly in 2025. 

Months after "The Crux," Djo surprised released another 12 songs with "The Crux Deluxe," which not only informed the first set beautifully but it actually contained even better songs as tracks like "Love Can't Break The Spell" and the early Todd Rundgren-esque "It's Over," for instance, were even more intimate and introspective while the glam rock "T. Rex Is Loud," the techno-styled "Mr. Mountebank," the alt--rock "Awake," and the pastoral spirituality of "Thich Nhat Hanh" showcased a fearless diversity that makes me excited to hear where he will go next.  

But for now, Djo's releases--is it a double album or are they two interconnected yet separate albums--made for a gorgeously sprawling feast of music that, again, rewards with every repeat listen.

Part Two of this series will hopefully arrive relatively soon!

SAVAGE RADIO PLAYLISTS AUGUST/SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025

 

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #488

AUGUST 6, 2025

1. "Keep Marchin'" performed by Raphael Saddiq

2. "You're The Lucky One" performed by Spooner

3. "The One-Eyed Man Is King" performed by Sean Michael Dargan

4. "Spiritual Problems" performed by Graham Hunt

5. "The Hardest Part" performed by Disq

6. "Refuse To Be Saved" performed by Elvis Costello & The Roots

7. "Valdez In The Country" performed by Donny Hathaway

8. "Disappear" performed by INXS

9. "Long Hot Summer" (12" version) performed by The Style Council

10."Walking Shade" performed by Billy Corgan

11."Takes One To Know One" performed by Aimee Lay

12."Nightswimming" performed by R.E.M. 13."One World (Not Three)" performed by The Police

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #489

"TELL ME A STORY..."

AUGUST 13, 2025

1. "Overture/It's A Boy" performed by The Who

2. "To Live Forever Part 1" performed by Planet P. Project

3. "Clockwork Creep" performed by 10cc

4. "I'm Mandy Fly Me" performed by 10cc

5. "Red Barchetta" performed by Rush

6. "Bad" performed by Kirsty MacColl

7. "Rocky Raccoon" performed by The Beatles

8. "Restless Heart Syndrome" performed by Green Day

9. "Robbery, Assault and Battery" performed by Genesis

10."Rock N' Roll Suicide" performed by David Bowie

11."Love, Reign O'er Me" performed by The Who

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #490

"1995: HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY-PART 1"

AUGUST 20, 2025

1. "The Seventh Seal" performed by Van Halen

2. "This Is A Call" performed by Foo Fighters

3. "Rock And Roll Is Dead" performed by Lenny Kravitz

4. "The Bends" performed by Radiohead

5. "Choice In The Matter" performed by Aimee Mann

6. "Apathy...Superstar?" performed by P.M. Dawn

7. "Home Away From Home" performed by The Roches

8. "Try Try Try" performed by Julian Cope

9. "TTD's Recurring Dream" performed by Terence Trent D'Arby

10."No Control" performed by David Bowie

11."My Lover's Box" performed by Garbage

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #491

"GOODBYE SUMMER 2025"

AUGUST 27, 2025

1. "Follow You Follow Me" performed by Genesis

2. "Heartbeat City" performed by The Cars

3. "May-December" performed by Mos Def

4. "New Person, Same Old Mistakes" performed by Tame Impala

5. "Only Over You" performed by Fleetwood Mac

6. "Something In The Way" performed by Nirvana

7. "The Day That I Met God" performed by Garbage

8. "Biko" performed by Peter Gabriel

9. "Vodka" performed by Moe Berg

10."A Man I'll Never Be" performed by Boston

11."Dreamboat Annie" performed by Heart

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #492

"BEGIN AGAIN: SIDE 2"

SEPTEMBER 3, 2025

1. "The Chain" performed by Fleetwood Mac

2. "Misty Mountain Hop" performed by Led Zeppelin

3. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" performed by The Police

4. "Last Train To London" performed by Electric Light Orchestra

5. "I Missed Again" performed by Phil Collins

6. "When The Stars Go Blue" performed by Ryan Adams

7. "The Dreaming" performed by Kate Bush

8. "A Party" performed by Big Audio Dynamite

9. "Walkabout" performed by The Fixx

10."Ain't That So" performed by Roxy Music

11."Don't Get Me Wrong" performed by Pretenders

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #493

"SEPTEMBER SONGS 2025"

SEPTEMBER 10, 2025

1. "No Rain No Flowers" performed by The Black Keys

2. "Emotional" performed by Rilo Kiley

3. "Wake You Up" performed by Liz Longley

4. "Cut & Rewind" performed by Say She She

5. "Nice Shoes" performed by Steve Lacy

6. "Serena" performed by Adi Oasis

7. "End Of Summer" performed by Tame Impala

8. "Haiku" performed by Nai Palm

9. "Setting Sun" performed by Post Animal

10."American Guilt" performed by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

11."Red Horse" performed by Corinne Bailey Rae

12."Hand It Over" performed by MGMT

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #494

"1995: HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY PART 2"

SEPTEMBER 17, 2025

1. "Warped" performed by Red Hot Chili Peppers

2. "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" performed by Tears For Fears

3. "Temporary Sanity" performed by Todd Rundgren

4. "Carnival" performed by The Cardigans

5. "Possibly Maybe" performed by Bjork

6. "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" performed by The Smashing Pumpkins

7. "Kalendar" performed by The Pursuit Of Happiness

8. "Lady" performed by D'Angelo

9. "Gold" performed by Prince

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #495

"GOODBYE SEPTEMBER 2025"

SEPTEMBER 24, 2025

1. "What's The Rumpus?" performed by Jack White

2. "Life Signs" performed by Water From Your Eyes

3. "War Pigs/Luke's Wall" performed by Black Sabbath

4. "As Alive As You Need Me To Be" performed by Nine Inch Nails

5. "1963" performed by New Order

6. "Don't Leave Me Alone" performed by Supergrass

7. "Feel Free" performed by Jeff Tweedy

8. "Keep Your Focus!" performed by Manwolves with CRASHprez

9. "Takin' Me Back" performed by Cheap Trick

10."I Will Wait" performed by Utopia

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #496

"REMEMBERING TOM PETTY 2025"

OCTOBER 1, 2025

1. "Walls (Circus)" performed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

2. "Learning To Fly" performed by Eli Young Band

3. "Beautiful Blue" performed by Mudcrutch

4. "Breakdown" performed by Ryan Hurd ft. Carly Pearce

5. "Do You Still Love Me?" performed by Ryan Adams

6. "Long Way" performed by Eddie Vedder

7. "Orphan Of The Storm" performed by Mudcrutch

8. "Refugee" performed by Wynonna Judd ft. Lainey Wilson

9. "Dare To Dream" performed by Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

10."Crawling Back To You" performed by Tom Petty

11."Even The Losers" (live) performed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #497

OCTOBER 8, 2025

1. "Another Life" performed by Alabama Shakes

2. "Chateau Blues" performed by Spoon

3. "Gap Tooth Smile" performed by Djo

4. "Babygirl" performed by The Black Keys

5. "I Already Know" performed by Sloan

6. "Eye On The Street" performed by Spooner

7. "One More Day (No Word)" performed by Todd Rundgren

8. "This Is Not Normal" performed by Negativland

9. "Ignoreland" performed by R.E.M.

10."Bubbles In The Gasoline" performed by BC Camplight

11."Loser" performed by Tame Impala

12."Just Two Girls" performed by Wolf Alice

13."Goodbye Stranger" performed by Supertramp

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #498

"OCTOBER SKIES 2025: SIDES 1 & 2"

OCTOBER 15, 2025

1. "Autumn Leaves" performed by Nat "King" Cole

2. "Silver Deliverer" performed by Aly & AJ

3. "The Sensual World" performed by Kate Bush

4. "Words" performed by Big Thief

5. "Gemini" performed by James Iha

6. "Take Out Your Insides" performed by Sunflower Bean

7. "New Media" performed by Slow Pulp

8. "Revelation" performed by Jason Falkner

9. "It's Going To Take Some Time" performed by Carole King

10."Dreamworld" performed by Rilo Kiley

11."Summer Soft" performed by Stevie Wonder

12."Speed Kills" performed by The Smashing Pumpkins

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #499

"OCTOBER SKIES 2025: SIDES 3 & 4"

OCTOBER 22, 2025

1. "Blue Bell Knoll' performed by Cocteau Twins

2. "Girl In Amber" performed by Nell Smith & The Flaming Lips

3. "Wicked Things" performed by Prefab Sprout

4. "Feel You" performed by My Morning Jacket

5. "Sentimental Lady" performed by Fleetwood Mac

6. "Open Mouth" performed by Kaki King

7. "Loving You" performed by Jonathan Wilson

8. "Hailey's Waitress" performed by Fountains Of Wayne

9. "Evidence Of Autumn" performed by Genesis

10."Hate That It's True" performed by Ivy

SAVAGE RADIO EPISODE #500

"HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2025"

OCTOBER 29, 2025

1. "(Every Day Is) Halloween" performed by Ministry

2. "Came Back Haunted" performed by Nine Inch Nails

3. "Burn The Witch" performed by Queens Of The Stone Age ft. Billy Gibbons

4. "We Hunger" performed by Siouxsie & The Banshees

5. "Welcome To My Nightmare" performed by Alice Cooper

6. "We Suck Young Blood (Your Time Is Up)" performed by Radiohead

7. "Tiny Demons" performed by Todd Rundgren

8. "Witch" performed by Suzanne Vega

9. "Where The Streets Have No Name" performed by Vowl Sounds

10."This Is The Killer Speaking" performed by The Last Dinner Party

11."Pet" performed by A Perfect Circle

CORINNE BAILEY RAE w/ ALITA MOSES LIVE MAJESTIC THEATER MADISON, WI SEPTEMBER 25, 2025

 CORINNE BAILEY RAE
w/ ALITA MOSES
MAJESTIC THEATER
MADISON, WI
SEPTEMBER 25, 2025

It is extremely difficult to put into words...but I am going to try.

On the night of Thursday, September 25, 2025, I experienced what I unquestionably know was one of the top three concert experiences of my entire life. 

Now, compared to others, I have not seen as many  shows but I have seen a healthy amount and I count my lucky stars, that I can easily say that I have never seen what could be considered a "bad" show. Even the one that I feel was a bit of a disappointment--that would be a mechanical, uninspired 1987 performance from Sting's "...Nothing Like The Sun" tour, a night on which he exited the stage to give an acceptance speech for a Grammy he had just won--was not a bad concert whatsoever. 

All of that being said, for every concert experience that I have had and has enriched my life experience, Corinne Bailey Rae and her band scaled and reached a powerfully high pinnacle after which, I exited the Majestic and waked back to my car feeling...transformed.

My own relationship with the discography and music journey of Corinne Bailey Rae is scant at best. Yes, I was more than aware of her huge hit single and signature song "Put Your Records On" (released February 20, 2006), but at that time, it never reached me for no other reason than that was not the music that I was listening to an absorbing. And so, none of her subsequent material ever made a blip upon my personal radar.

That is, until Questlove entered the picture...

Everything began with an Instagram post. 

As a means of self promotion for his outstanding podcast "Questlove Supreme," Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, famously the drummer/bandleader of The Roots, in addition to being a celebrated author, Oscar winning filmmaker, world class DJ and renowned musicologist, announced that his latest guest would be none other than Corinne Bailey Rae, who herself was releasing her fourth album entitled "Black Rainbows" (released September 15, 2023), a work of which Questlove was unable to contain his excitement and admiration. For me, an endorsement from him meant that I needed to listen and possibly make a new discovery for myself.

The interview was superlative. Corinne Bailey Rae, whom I was surprised to learn is British and possesses a speaking voice that reminded me of Kate Bush's speaking voice, was a fully engaging and loquacious guest who exuded warmth, and therefore, a magnetic appeal to listen to. Yet, it was her stories surrounding the genesis of the album that moved me profoundly and gave me an emphatic push to find her album.  

Corinne Bailey Rae's "Black Rainbows" is a dialogue between herself and the historical Black artifacts discovered by her during visits to Chicago's Stony Island Arts Bank, owned and curated by artist Theaster Gates. Further, the album becomes a dialogue between her interpretations of the artifacts and us, the listener. Her stories of Gates, the Arts Bank and the vast collection of works just upended me, largely because this location is based in a part of Chicago where I was born and raised and still, I never knew of its existence! The emotions I felt as she spoke were conflicting as I did feel a sense of shame for my ignorance while also feeling excited to finally know plus marveling that it took the work and discoveries of a Black British woman to essentially show me to myself. 

Finding her album became an imperative.

Upon purchasing and listening to the album, I was amazed as the sonic journey of "Black Rainbows" felt to be worlds away from her signature song. Certainly, pop, soul and R&B elements remained but throughout, Rae makes sharp stylistic detours into punk rock, funk, avant garde sections and Afro-futurism making for a dynamic listening experience that demands as easily as it invites repetitions.

Once announced that Rae would be making a tour stop in Madison for her "Black Rainbows" tour, I knew I had to attend, especially as my city--predominantly White-- is not typically the location for Black artists, especially of her ilk, as well as one who is not on quite the same pop cultural radar as she was nearly 20 years ago. Despite my lack of knowledge of her full discography, "Black Rainbows" the album and Rae the artist and human, reached me in a profoundly deep space, so much so, I felt that I needed to be there when she performed. 

Maybe it was a way of sending her a "Thank you."

The night's opening performance was delivered by singer/songwriter/bassist Alita Moses, accompanied by guitarist Kyle Boden, both of whom are members of Rae's current touring lineup. Moses, adorned with a floral gown while barefoot, was beguiling in her earthy elegance as she unveiled a brief selections of songs that exquisitely set the table to the full evening ahead, while simultaneously showcasing her own songwriting which bridged the gaps of the intimate and universal in matters of the heart. 

Once the show began in earnest and Corinne Bailey Rae entered the stage, I had this odd feeling that she was somehow approachable, or better yet, familiar. She inexplicably reminded me of my cousin--truly a "big sister" to me--due to her appearance as Rae reminded me of her in look, style and size. She felt like a friend.

Yet, it was mysterious with what ultimately occurred throughout the night. Because, while Rae always remained directly with her bandmates and her audience,  she was al so elevated, hovering just this far ahead or above. Not through any sense of self importance. But one where she was unquestionably in full command of her art, her creativity, her inspirations and the atmosphere she was inhabiting with us. Corinne Bailey Rae's journey of this night became our journey as well and through it, she led us during every moment, at times like a shaman or a preacher weaving an exquisite spell. 

Clearly, I did take a few photos during the performance but truthfully, I restrained myself, desiring to be as connected as possible and even further, it almost felt disrespectful as something else was happening. Not one moment felt to be canned or even pre-meditated as Rae felt to be so unshakably present, devoted to every space she, and therefore all of us in the audience, existed in. 

At a point, I spied the set list taped to the floor paces away from me and perhaps one or two songs were dropped, I am imagining because Rae was so committed to each moment that if she was inspired to lead her band mates to elongate songs to her inspired desire, they did so. If Rae felt moved to march around the stage rhythmically blowing into a whistle, she did so. If Rae was inspired to allow silence to linger in the air, she did so and everyone followed creating moments that were less than a whisper quiet. I swear that I could hear myself breathing in a packed room of a nightclub. If Rae felt inspired to lead the audience in an extended call and response, as if at a revival meeting, she did so. If Rae felt inspired to lead un in an extended vocal outro or handclap punctuated chant, as she did on both "Green Aphrodisiac" and "He Will Follow You With His Eyes," respectively, she did so. All of this and more occurred and never was anything self-indulgent. It was watching living art in action, creating in real time.

I find myself returning to words like "inspired" and "command" because this is precisely what Corinne Bailey Rae demonstrated so effortlessly. And still, she remained spontaneous, displaying herself as a force of nature, an enveloping force of defiant compassion in a world depleting itself of this essential element seemingly every second. If she were able to unearth more compassion into this world through sheer force of will, I believed it to be so this night. And often, as applause broke out after a song, I found myself only really being able to place my two hands together in a "thank you" pose for I was moved that deeply. It was all I had in me. 

Maybe something was in the air in Madison that night, especially as Jon Batiste was also performing in my city that night not terribly far from where I was and friends who attended spoke rapturously about a certain revivalist spirit to Batiste's show. For me, Corinne Bailey Rae's concert reached that inexplicable space where the night became transcendent. I feel the need to be clear about this description for it goes beyond having great songs performed at their best, which they undoubtedly were. Remember,  my familiarity with Rae's music catalog consisted of only "Put Your Records On" and the "Black Rainbows" album. Much of her material was foreign to me. 

Yet, and still, EVERYTHING worked powerfully and even so, it is still kind of difficult to explain.

I guess I can only express how the night felt to me...

It felt...like the caress of the Fender Rhodes keyboard doubled with the Moog bass.

It felt...like being inside of the audience on a Cannonball Adderley recording.

It felt...like what church should be but, at least, for me, never was. 

It felt...like the Chicago Summer heat of my Mom's favorite car, a blue Buick Skylark, as she drove me to swimming lessons.

It felt...like the golden hue of nostalgia in memories of myself as a child sprawled on the basement carpet floor, reading the large lyric booklet and listening to Stevie Wonder's "Songs In The Key Of Life" (released September 28, 1976).

It felt...like the warmth of childhood.

I could feel my molecules shifting. I could feel my heartbeat slowing. I could feel soulful solemnity. I could feel a spiritual calm or peacefulness. 

I did not imbibe and I do not partake. I was clear eyed and clear headed all night long. And still, I could feel SOMETHING was happening in that space and inside of me that travelled far beyond attending a concert. At the outset of this posting, I remarked that Corinne Bailey Rae delivered one of the top three concert performance I have seen in my life. The other two? I am grateful to share with you that seeing The Flaming Lips felt like taking a voyage inside of a rainbow and emerging on the other side. The second time that I saw Dweezil Zappa, he and his band reached a plateau that it felt as if the spirit of Frank Zappa was in the room!!! 

What Corinne Bailey Rae delivered was pure. It was truth. It was art. It was love.

It was REAL.