Barbara Hannigan

May 2025 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Festspielhaus Baden-Baden’s production of Richard Strauss’ Elektra by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of May 2025

1. Billy Woods- Golliwog
Darkness.

2. Cosmic Ear- Traces
My review.

3. Barbara Hannigan- Electric Fields
Splendor.

4. Grupo Firme- Evolución
Tijuana’s finest.

5. Arve Henriksen- Arcanum
Tomorrow is (still) the question.

6. Marshall Allen's Ghost Horizons- Live in Philadelphia
Traveling turbulent spaceways.

7. Milena Casado- Reflection of Another Self
My review.

8. Morgan Wallen- I’m the Problem
Same.

9. Mike and Tony Selzer- Pinball II
Slurry.

10. James Brandon Lewis- Abstraction is Deliverance
Clearly defined.


The Top Three Reissues, Reimaginings and Broadsides of May 2025

1. Irène Schweizer- Irène’s Hot Four
At Internationales Jazzfestival Zürich in 1981.

2. Pink Floyd- Live at Pompeii MCMLXXII
Steven Wilson’s remix of the 1971 concert.

3. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band- Land of Hope & Dreams
Chimes of freedom flashing.


The Top Ten Songs of May 2025

1. Badbadnotgood and V.C.R- “Found a Light (Beale Street)”
Illuminated.

2. Brandee Younger- “Gadabout Season”
Flittering.

3. Kali Uchis- “Sugar! Honey! Love!”
Sweet.

4. Lizzie Berchie- "Happiness"
It’s possible.

5. Karol G- “Milagros”
Yet another minor miracle.

6. HiTech featuring Lovesexy- “Empty Bus Stop”
Decadence.

7. Bruiser Wolf- “Air Fryer”
High comedy.

8. Stereolab- “Vermona F Transistor”
Spare parts.

9. Evan Bartels- "Montana"
My review.

10. Hardy- “Girl with a Gun”
Hands up.


The Top Ten Performances of May 2025

1. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet at the Folly Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

2. Speed, Whispers, Spine and Stakes Is High at the Ship
My Instagram clips here and here.

3. Maria Ioudenitch and Navo Chamber Orchestra at Southminster Presbyterian Church
My Instagram snapshot.

4. Bachathon at Village Presbyterian Church
My Instagram clip.

5. Rod Fleeman, Gerald Spaits and Ray DeMarchi at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.

6. Stephanie Larsen, Maria Crosby, Duncan Steele and Sunho Kim at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
My Instagram snapshot.

7. Vine Street Rumble at Shawnee Town 1929 Museum
My Instagram snapshot.

8. The Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box at Meadowbrook Park
My Instagram clip.

9. Aztlan at Guadalupe Center
My Instagram clip.

10. Ken Stringfellow at Knuckleheads
My Instagram snapshot.



The previous monthly recap is here.

January 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of The Face of Another by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in January)

1. The Weeknd- Dawn FM

My podcast analysis.

2. Andrew Cyrille, William Parker and Enrico Rava- 2 Blues for Cecil

My review.

3. Earl Sweatshirt- Sick!

My review.

4. Tony Malaby’s Sabino- The Cave of Winds

My review.

5. Silvana Estrada- Marchita

Not unlike peak k.d. lang.

6. Modern Nature- Island of Noise

Jazz-stained freak-folk.

7. Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes- Edvard Grieg

My review.

8. John Mellencamp- Strictly a One-Eyed Jack

My review.

9. Pan Daijing- Tissues

Industrial opera.

10. FKA twigs- Caprisongs

Peculiar pop.


Top Ten Songs (released in January)

1. The Smile- "You Will Never Work in Television Again"

Static.

2. Big Boss Vette- "Heavy"

The weight.

3. Christina Aguilera- "La Reina"

I knew she had it in her.

4. Barbara Hannigan- "Youkali"

Well done Weill.

5. Che Noir- "Split the Bread"

Food for thought.

6. The Streets- "Wrong Answers Only"

“I am a God: I can turn wine into vomit.”

7. Banda Los Recoditos- "Me Siento a Todo Dar"

Drinking and dancing.

8. Love Regenerator featuring Sananda Maitreya- "Lonely"

Terence Trent D’Arby!

9. Sebastián Yatra featuring Rosario and Jorge Celedón- "Dharma"

Dance, laugh, cry.

10. Benny the Butcher and J. Cole- “Johnny P’s Caddy”

The Butcher arrives.

Top Ten Movies, Television Broadcasts and Streaming Programming (viewed for the first time in January, in lieu of live music)

1. The Face of Another/他人の顔 (1966)

Freaky Japanese psychological thriller.

2. Jeopardy! (2022)

Amy Schneider’s remarkable 40-game streak ends.

3. Handsome Serge/Le Beau Serge (1958)

Très barbare.

4. Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs (2022)

The NFL is made for TV.

5. Mary Lou Williams and Carline Ray- At Les Mouches (1978)

My associated review.

6. The Lost Daughter (2021)

Grief in Greece.

7. The Royal College of Music’s Die Zauberflöte (2021)

My review.

8. The Catered Affair (1956)

Ernest Borgnine, Bette Davis and Gore Vidal.

9. Winter JazzFest (2022)

A handful of the virtual performances are stunning.

10. From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2022

Life goal.

Links to previous monthly surveys begin here.