Year in ReView 2025 Archives - Vanyaland https://vanyaland.com/tag/year-in-review-2025/ The proven voice in music since 2013 Fri, 12 Dec 2025 19:10:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://redefined.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/31135224/cropped-V-SOCIAL-2023-32x32.png Year in ReView 2025 Archives - Vanyaland https://vanyaland.com/tag/year-in-review-2025/ 32 32 Year in ReView: Vanyaland’s favorite films of 2025 https://vanyaland.com/2025/12/12/year-in-review-vanyalands-favorite-films-of-2025/ Fri, 12 Dec 2025 18:53:26 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042813 If I had to pick one word to describe 2025 — just in general, not at the movies — it’d be “uncertain.” Not “ambiguous” or an equivalent synonym, given that there’s plenty of clearly awful things going on each day, but the kind of uncertainty that pairs well with a sense of foreboding dread. We’re stuck in a bleak comedy of fatal errors, with the sentiment of the moment ultimately summed up accurately by “Well, that’d be funny if it […]

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]]> Year in ReView: Nick Minieri showcases a scene with ‘HOMETOWN’ 2025 https://vanyaland.com/2025/12/12/year-in-review-nick-minieri-showcases-a-scene-with-hometown-2025/ Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:18:23 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042803 Two things hit every December that remind us that our Boston music scene is far more diverse, varied, and prolific than whatever cliques and circles we currently roll with. One is the Boston Music Awards, arriving next week; and the other is Nick Minieri’s annual HOMETOWN mix, a deep-dive playlist and artist showcase from the veteran DJ, MC, and beat maker that offers up the latest n’ greatest to emerge out of New England in the past year. As we […]

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]]> Year in ReView: Vanyaland’s favorite film screen performances of 2025 https://vanyaland.com/2025/12/11/year-in-review-our-favorite-film-screen-performances-of-2025/ Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:54:57 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042798 If you’d like to know my thoughts on acting in movies, I’d point you to the scene from Moneyball in which Billy Beane tries to convince Scott Hatteberg to play first base. It is incredibly hard, though the compensation and fame and all of the other accoutrements go a long way to convince the average schlub that it’s easy as hell. Just imagine trying to do a monologue in which you have to run the gamut of emotions while not […]

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]]> Year in ReView: Vanyaland’s 12 months of comedy faves in 2025 https://vanyaland.com/2025/12/11/year-in-review-vanyalands-12-months-of-comedy-faves-in-2025/ Thu, 11 Dec 2025 11:16:18 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042789 Another year, another hell ride through a cultural landscape that devoured and reproduced at an alarming rate in 2025. Through all the “unprecedented times” that we’re all tired of living in, to the birth of “6-7!” (whatever the fuck that means), and everything in between, one constant that kept us afloat was the levity, and often times societal mirror check that comedy offered to the masses. With a little bit of everything for everyone, the world of stand-up was stretched, […]

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]]> Year in ReView: Vanyaland’s favorite 617 Q&A recommendations https://vanyaland.com/2025/12/11/year-in-review-vanyalands-favorite-617-qa-recommendations/ Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:32:24 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042795 One of the best parts of the 617 Q&A series (Six Questions; One Recommendation; Seven Somethings) is the one recommendation portion. Typically, if we haven’t flipped them already with our somewhat standard interview portion, it’s when the artist really comes alive and often provides some deeper insight into what they’re buzzing about off the stage as we ask them to tell us what they’ve been into recently that isn’t their current project. Over the years, we’ve had some doozies, from […]

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]]> Year in ReView: Vanyaland’s favorite homegrown songs of 2025 https://vanyaland.com/2025/12/10/year-in-review-vanyalands-favorite-homegrown-songs-of-2025/ Wed, 10 Dec 2025 14:54:47 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042791 Well, that happened. 2025 was definitely a year, a whole 12-month rollout of the most absurd political and economic developments in recent memory. (A presidential administration accidentally texting out military strike plans? Kim Kardashian hawking faux-hair thongs? The tsunami of AI slop rapidly overtaking the equally-vapid Internet ragebait made by actual humans? How can a loving god permit such lunacy?) But the end of the year is always ripe for counting blessings, and as 2025 comes to a close, we’re […]

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]]> Year in ReView: Vanyaland’s favorite needle drops in the films of 2025 https://vanyaland.com/2025/12/09/year-in-review-vanyalands-favorite-needle-drops-in-the-films-of-2025/ Tue, 09 Dec 2025 21:41:23 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042785 Every major awards show has a “Best Original Score” and a “Best Original Song” category, and most major critics’ groups at least give awards out for the former. But the landscape of movie soundtracks has changed drastically over the years, and the needle-drop is nearly as important. The Big Chill, Risky Business, Reservoir Dogs, Goodfellas, Guardians of the Galaxy, and a billion other examples I can’t be bothered to list out — the needle-drop is an essential part of modern […]

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]]> Year in ReView: Vanyaland’s favorite national songs of 2025 https://vanyaland.com/2025/12/08/year-in-review-vanyalands-favorite-national-songs-of-2025/ Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:46:50 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042753 It’s said that music helps keep us sane in insane times, and as we noted at the year’s midway point, that theory has been put to the test in this miserable and exhausting 2025. So to wrap up a year where music either inspired action or helped soundtrack distraction, we’re rounding up our 20 most favorite tracks that have helped ease life’s firehose of chaos and provide a little bit of levity during our long and tiresome days. As is […]

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