In July, I wrote about there being no cohesive theme among my favorite songs of the year so far. While things are looking slightly more promising now, I know the main reason why the music scene feels a bit off to me this year.
In January, St. Louis's noncommercial community radio station, KDHX 88.1 FM, stopped using live DJs and started rebroadcasting old shows. At the moment, the station is silent. It's jarring to punch preset #1 in the car and hear nothing. While other stations and streams have filled the void to an extent, it's disconcerting to be without my first choice for local bands, obscure tracks, and multi-format gems.
I could compile a Favorite music of 2025 countdown today if I had to. It would be decent, but it would lack some of the quirky indie spark that KDHX has provided since 1987.
Such is life, alas. The year isn't over yet, however, so perhaps it can still be salvaged musically.
