Hot Wax ’26

The idea is to return to the time before playlists as it pertains to listening to music… first we had vinyl, play side one, then flip the record over and listen to side two… that was the sweet spot I think… cassettes dovetailed into vinyl with the same two-sided experience… then came CD’s where you would listen to an entire album in its entirety… all three of these mediums lent themselves to artists ‘sequencing’ albums in a start to finish manner that became the presentation for that collection of songs… but with the advent and now complete proliferation of streaming, playlists became the thing… the equivalent of what we used to call the ‘mixtape’… although mixtapes were much more labor intensive to put together, so there weren’t that many of them relatively speaking… but playlists, ultimately just collections of favorite songs… supplanted the act of listeners enjoying albums as a whole, in sequence, as the artist intended for them to be heard… so in my life, I’m making a concerted effort to listen to complete albums again… usually while I’m exercising, one or two a day… the following are the albums I’ve listened to this year, organized by decade so I can visually keep listens balanced.


Updated : 2/9/2026 @ 23:19
2026 Running Total : (52)


2020’s

  • hexed! – aya (2025) ★★★
  • The Vandalist – Noga Erez (2024) ★★★★
  • Fetch the Bolt Cutters – Fiona Apple (2020) ★★★★
  • Rumble of Thunder – The Hu (2022) ★★★½
  • Secret Love – Dry Cleaning (2026) ★★★½
  • e.t.d.s. A Mixtape by i.d.k. – IDK (2026) ★★★½
  • Doppler Affection – The Cost (2025) ★★½
  • The Year of Madness – Father of Peace (2024) ★★★★
  • Never Enough – Turnstile (2025) ★★★
  • Entertainment, Death – Spirit of the Beehive (2021) ★★★
  • Strangers (EP) – Queen Kwong (2024) ★★★½

2010’s

  • Royal Blood – Royal Blood (2014) ★★★
  • Blackstar – David Bowie (2015) ★★★½
  • Off the Radar – Noga Erez (2017) ★★★★

2000’s

  • Introns – LCD Soundsystem (2006) ★★★
  • Skittish – Mike Doughty (2004) ★★★½
  • No Wow – The Kills (2005) ★★★½
  • The Grand Pecking Order – Oysterhead (2001) ★★★½

1990’s

  • Surrender – The Chemical Brothers (1999) ★★★½
  • Violator – Depeche Mode (1990) ★★★★
  • Geek The Girl – Lisa Germano (1994) ★★★½
  • Empire – Queensrÿche (1990) ★★★½
  • The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion – The Black Crowes (1992) ★★★★
  • Brown Album – Primus (1997) ★★★
  • Wish – The Cure (1992) ★★★½
  • Star (EP) – The Cult (1994) ★★★½
  • Repeater – Fugazi (1990) ★★★

1980’s

  • In Your Face – Fishbone (1986) ★★★
  • Lovesexy – Prince (1988) ★★★½
  • This Is Big Audio Dynamite – Big Audio Dynamite (1986) ★★★½
  • Oh, No! It’s Devo – Devo (1982) ★★★
  • Combat Rock – The Clash (1982) ★★★½
  • 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – Midnight Oil (1982) ★★★★
  • The Power Station – The Power Station (1985) ★★★½
  • Skyscraper – David Lee Roth (1988) ★★★½
  • Floodland – The Sisters of Mercy (1987) ★★★½
  • Boi-Ngo – Oingo Boingo (1987) ★★★½

1970’s

  • London Calling – The Clash (1979) ★★★★
  • Made in the Shade – the Rolling Stones (1975) ★★★½
  • The Cars – The Cars (1978) ★★★½
  • Tago Mago – Can (1971) ★★★

1960’s & Earlier

  • Strange Days – The Doors (1967) ★★★½

Nic Rotondo

Nic Rotondo is the primary designer and sole proprietor of the optiflux|mediatribe. A '95 graduate of the School of the Art Institute Chicago, Nic has provided graphics, websites, presentation media and motion graphics for varied clients across North America.

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