2025 was a great year for music and as one of the NAPNET members most known for crossing genre norms (half his online identity is wrapped in Taylor Swift commentary after all) the Swemo Guy is happy to bring you a top 10 list that crosses genres because good music is good music! Agree? Disagree!? Tell me all about it!

It is imperative that everyone listen to this album. What Hayley Williams has done is truly on another level; metaphorically shedding her skin as the front person of Paramore and becoming her own entity. This journey is necessary and stunning, and it is quite unlike observing her past solo album cycles. Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party is so heartbreakingly beautiful, letting those who choose to listen comfortably sit with many levels of uncertainty.

2025 was a pivotal year in terms of new music releases - from bands that have been around for years, to up-and-coming artists bringing a fresh, new sound to the scene. With the turn of a new year, could 2026 possibly top the music drops of 2025?

Chicago, the “Epicenter of the Midwest,”  is home to many staples of American culture, - deep dish pizza, the Cubs, and Barack Obama - but what many people may not know is that it is home to some of the best music venues in the country. A myriad of artists have graced the stages of “The Windy City,” and some of our NAPNET crew and Chicago natives, Ricky and Lisa, are here to give you their ranking of the top 5 Chicago music venues in 2025. Let’s take a look at their love letter to Chicago.  

2025 was the best year of my adult life when it comes to music. I feel blessed that so many of the bands on this list are bands who have been on our show (the instant hit podcast, Emo Kids Anonymous).

Alright alright so I tried cosplaying as a journalist again the other week when I released my first annual emo lists (™️) and I caught a LOT of flack. Granted, a lot less flack than I expected, but flack nonetheless.

December is finally upon us and you know what that means! It’s list season! At this very moment, jits from every corner of the earth are writing their wish lists to the big guy while he’s checking and rechecking his list, making sure it’s perfect. That’s kind of an analogy for December, ya know?

Hello friends! Look, do you really care about what my top 10 newer tracks are right now? I have no idea. But i’m sharing it with you anyway. As resident swemo in this NAPNET organization, I present to you, a collection of newer songs for folks who love putting the pop in their pop-punk but also still want sweaty basement punk vibes. lOOK YOU NEED TO STOP LISTENING TO THE SAME SONGS FROM 20 YEARS AGO, MAYBE THIS WILL HELP.

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, 2025 was one of the best years for emo and emo adjacent music in decades. It felt like every Friday there was a new album of the year contender.

Welcome to the first ever NAPNET Freshman Fifteen. If the Emo All Stars of 2025 list is the all-pro team, then is more like a top prospects lists than an all rookie team. Look, if hip hop and baseball get to do it then why can’t we?

Hello friends! Look, do you really care about what my top 10 newer tracks are right now? I have no idea. But i’m sharing it with you anyway. As resident swemo in this NAPNET organization, I present to you, a collection of newer songs for folks who love putting the pop in their pop-punk but also still want sweaty basement punk vibes. lOOK YOU NEED TO STOP LISTENING TO THE SAME SONGS FROM 20 YEARS AGO, MAYBE THIS WILL HELP.

Alright alright alright, we’re back agaaaaain (Soulja boy voice) with another round of Robb’s Recs! This is a safe space for my chopped and washed older emo pals to learn some newer bands they may not know.

Halloween is basically the Emo kid Super Bowl. It’s the one time of year when the rest of the world catches up to our normal aesthetic: black eyeliner, tragic love stories, songs about death, and maybe some light grave-digging. So if it really was never a phase, here are ten movies that hit the perfect mix of spooky, sad, stylish, and scene.

HIGHLIGHTS

Panic! At The Disco was stellar! Brendon’s vocals were spectacular, and his joy and gratitude for being back to headline were palpable. The pure nostalgia of hearing A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out played live — and the entire crowd dancing and singing the whole thing at the top of their lungs — is something I’ll never forget. And to finally answer all our speculation, they brought out the original drummer for the first time in 12 years to close out the set!

LOWLIGHTS

VIP was far more crowded than last year. It wasn’t really worth switching areas much throughout the day unless you had a break between back-to-back sets. The lines in and out of the VIP areas were quite the bottleneck.

So last week, Rolling Stone released their list of their top 250 songs of the 21st century, and while the list was offensive and atrocious, it did get me thinking… What ARE the greatest songs? So, I made a list. I even checked it twice like the big guy upstairs taught me!

Hi guys. I’m Robb, and I am one of you and I’m here to help. Look, I’m 36 and I have two kids and a general lack of excitement for anything the way I used to. I know most of us have had trouble latching on to new bands this side of the Obama administration, so I’m gonna do the best I can to suggest some bands that I think you will love. Partly to keep the scene alive, partly to stop gen z from clowning on us because I don’t like it!

In the spirit of the days of youth groups gone by, I present to you now, my Top 10 youth group bangers to listen to today when you (and everybody else) are Left Behind!