Record a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
A Record a Day Keeps The Doctor Away
by Aria Rad (Coffin Salesman/Underground Noise)
In 2017, I was hanging out with my friend and then roommate Derek (check out his bands - Static Friction, Grip Bite, OC45), and he told me he was going to challenge himself to listen to a brand new record he’d never heard each day. With the internet providing unprecedented access, there was little reason he couldn’t just queue up something different as he burned through town on his bike between his 4 jobs.
He left shortly after, biking with his speaker set to blast, and the idea started worming it’s way into my brain.
It sounded like a great idea for a New Year’s Resolution.
So in 2018, I got started. I didn’t have a streaming subscription at that point, so I spent a lot of time combing through bandcamp and checking CDs out of the library. I logged everything in a google doc, eventually I started adding some notes, eventually switched over to a spreadsheet. At the job I was working I could get away with having headphones on for a chunk of the day, and that certainly helped me along.
In the early days of this, I had a much shallower understanding of genres/sub genres, and that made the whole thing incredibly exciting.
On one end there was a seemingly endless amount of influential/genre defining classics that I’ve never heard of, and on the other, a legion of “unknown artists” operating in the shadows creating amazing work.
There’s art that will light you up, possibly even change your life, and it’s probably right under your feet if you’re willing to dig. And you need to be willing to wade through the muck. It’s not always going to find it’s way to you.
None of my friends were going to tell me about the gloomy weirdness of The Sad Bastard Book Club, or the disgusting subterranean hardcore of Chicago’s Rash, or the strange gothic crime narrative on the song “Petty Warned” by Monarch Mtn, or how much artists like David Eugene Edwards or Jason Molina would strike a spiritual nerve in me.
Someone talked some smack to me about it once - “you can’t possibly process that much stuff”. Yeah, no fucking shit. You never know what will move you, but you need to have your antennas up ready to receive otherwise you’re going to miss the signal.
There are two big things I keep in the back of my mind:
-Love it or hate it, you can take some sort of lesson away from any art you encounter and keep it in mind for your own practice
-You need to meet the art on the art’s terms. Sometimes if you want to get something out of a piece of art you need to put in some legwork.
I fall short of the goal every year, but the journey always bears fruit. This year I hit around ~200. The modern world is increasingly chaotic, ugly, and difficult to process. As a result, I think there’s been a resurgence in certain genre popularity (ska, emo, grunge) that provides a life affirming comfort (especially to millennials), while at the same time there’s been an increased popularity of art that is more extreme and espouses a bleaker world vision.
billy woods - golliwog is certainly my album of 2025. It can honestly be a challenge to get through.I’ve listened to it dozens of times and feel I have barely scratched the surface on what is going on. “Amputation how you survive, can’t get away if you don’t leave something behind”
Anyway, happy new year to you all. Here’s my list. Something I missed or something I should check out, drop me a line at aria@thestrugglingartistpodcast.com.
Cheers,
Aria/CS
40 Reps-Heads Up(2025)
A Day Without Love & Valentvne-LOG/OFF(2025)
A Day Without Love-No Hater Zone(2025)
Ajax-Bleach for Breakfast
Ak'chamel-Rawskulled
Altar De Fey-Echos in the Corridor
ameokama-i will be clouds in the morning and rain in the evening(2025)
An Axis of Perdition-Apertures
Anna Tivel-Animal Poem(2025)
Anna Von Hausswolff-Iconoclasts(2025)
Arcy Dive-The Pit
Arliss Nancy-Dance to Forget
At The Graves-Pain After Pain
Bambara-Birthmarks(2025)
Bastards of Young-Old Growth(2025)
Ben Nichols-In the Heart of the Mountain(2025)
Benjamin Booker-LOWER(2025)
Beth-Beth
Béton Armé-Renaissance(2025)
billy woods x August Fanon-golliwog(2025)
billy woods-Dour Candy
billy woods-GOLLIWOG(2025)
Billy Woods-Terror Management
BILLY-Hells is when I'm with you(2025)
BILLY-Permanent Void(2025)
BISONTE-Mother Tempest(2025)
Black Guy Fawkes-The Misery Suite(2025)
Blame it on Whitman-Blame it on Whitman(2025)
Body Eviction-First and Final Notice(2025)
Boris -Amplifier Worship
Boris -dronevil - example
Bruce Langhorne-The Hired Hand (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Brunt of It-It's A Mad, Bad, Sad, Rad World(2025)
Cape Crush/Good June/Impossible Dog-Good Dogs Wear Capes(2025)
Cassie-Past Tense
Catherine Lamb & Ghost Ensemble-interius/exterius(2025)
Cigarette Camp-Slowpoke(2025)
Circus Battalion-Made in Post Truth America(2025)
Classified-Hitch Hikin' Music
Clay Rendering-Vengenace Candle
Clipse-Let God Sort 'Em Out(2025)
Clover-Lynn -Gothic Mountain Bluegrass(2025)
Club 8-The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming
Cobalt-Gin
Conditional Arms-Formation
Connor Storms and His Bouquet-New Moon Night
Cowards-Hoarder
Craig Finn-Always Been(2025)
Crippling Alcoholism-Cam Girl(2025)
Current 93-The Light Left You Quite
Dan Bern-Fifty Eggs
Dan Spencer-Weave Your Web Liar Man(2025)
Daphne Blue Underworld-Memory Palace(2025)
DEATHFUCKINGWOUND-VOID MMXXV(2025)
Deftones-Saturday Night Wrist
Divider-All Barren
Einsturzende Neubauten-Halber Mensch
Elder Jack Ward-The Storm
Elend-A World In Their Screams
ELUCID-I Told Bessie
ELUCID-Revelator
Emma Cashman-For Demeter(2025)
End It-Wrong Side of Heaven(2025)
Ethel Cain-Perverts(2025)
Fanged Fawn-Greetings from Bedford Falls(2025)
Fatboi Sharif & Driveby-Let Me Out(2025)
"Fatboi Sharif & Roper Williama-Goth Girl On The Enterprise
(2025)"
Fatboi Sharif & Roper Williama-Planet Unfaithful(2025)
Five Hundred Bucks-Five Hundred Bucks
Fleshwater-We're Not Here to Be Loved
FLPSDE-Demo 2025(2025)
Folk The Empire-Rise Up!(2025)
Frontier Ruckus-On The Northline
Full of Hell-Broken Sword, Rotten Shield(2025)
GDP & Fatboi Sharif-Endocrine(2025)
Geese-Getting Killed(2025)
Ghost Grl-Fragments(2025)
Girth Control-What Got You Stoked in the First Place? (2025)
Gloomlurker-Live at O)))brien's(2025)
Gloomlurker-Terror Absolute(2025)
Guts Club-Please Come Back to The Farm(2025)
Haunted Horses-Dweller(2025)
Headcase-With Love(2025)
Heels-We Look Happy Here(2025)
Hell-Submersus(2025)
Hoarfrost-Dungeon Business(2025)
Holy Taker-Heaven Is A Place I Can't Stay(2025)
Intercourse-How I Fell in Love with the Void(2025)
Iron Lung-Adapting/Crawling(2025)
James McMurtry-Black Dog & and The Wandering Boy(2025)
Jared Hart-Room Keys(2025)
Jared Hart-The Condor(2025)
Jason Isbell-Foxes in the Snow(2025)
Jealous Mind-Born Without A Mind(2025)
Jeff Rowe-Let's Die Slowly(2025)
Jesse Ahern-Mercy(2025)
John Francis Flynn-I Would Not Live Always
JPEGMAFIA-SCARING THE HOES
Justin Arena-Glory Fades to Black(2025)
K.C.U.F-Wrong Kid Died(2025)
kaspyx-KADAVER(2025)
King Louie and the Loose Diamonds-Memphis Treet
King Louie Bankston-Harahan Fats
Koto-
Kraath-Kraath(2025)
Kuroi Jukai-Kuroi Jukai
Lenny Lashely's Gang of One-Pray for Death(2025)
Lisa O'Neill-All of This is Chance
Lisa O'Neill-Heard a Long Gone Song
Listener-Wooden Heart
Louse-Passions like Tar
Lowen-Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran
Makedead-Night of the Living Makedead(2025)
Massive Nightmares-Massive Nightmares
Matt Berninger-Get Sunk(2025)
Matthew W Charles-Critical Transmissions
Matthew W Charles-Shark EP
Maudissez-Maudissez
Medico Peste-Aesthetic of Hunger(2025)
MJ Lenderman-Manning Fireworks
MK Naomi-Dream Hiss(2025)
Murder by Death-Egg & Dart(2025)
Murderbait-Nostalgia Like Cancer
My Chemical Romance-Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (Deluxe/Remix/Remaster)
My Dead Girlfriend / Shojoskip-Sweet Days And Her Last Kiss
Nails-Every Bridge Burning
Neptunian Maximalism-Le Sacre Du Soleil Invaincu(2025)
No Chain-II(2025)
Nurse With Wound-Insect and Individual Silenced
Obscure Sphinx-Emovere(2025)
Oh The Humanity-Ground to Dust(2025)
Okkervil River-The Stand Ins
oldstar -of the Highway(2025)
Otis Gibbs-The Trust of Crows(2025)
Panic Shack-Panic Shack(2025)
Park Jiha-All Living Things(2025)
Portal-Outre
Proscription-Desolate Divine(2025)
Prostitute -Attempted Martyr(2025)
Protomartyr-Ultime Success Today
Puddle of Mudd-Abrasive
Puddle of Mudd-Come Clean
Puddle of Mudd-Kiss the Machine(2025)
Puddle of Mudd-Life on Display
Puddle of Mudd-Re: (disc)overed
Puddle of Mudd-Ubiquitous
Ragan & Drowse-Ash Souvenir(2025)
Ramleh-Hole in The Heart
Rattlesnake Milk-Chicken Fried Snake
Rid of Me-Access to the Lonely
Ruby Grove-Ripple Effect(2025)
Ryan Culwell-The Last American
saeddyr -Old Growth(2025)
Saul Williams & Carlos Niño-Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople(2025)
SCARE-In the End, Was it Worth it?(2025)
Sculpture Club-Sculpture Club
Siyahkal-Days of Smoke and Ash(2025)
Slipknot-Slipknot
Songs: Ohia-Impala
Songs: Ohia-Protection Spells
Spencer Moody-Screams in the Memory Palace(2025)
Squallie Greenthumb-2001(2025)
Squallie Greenthumb-Dead Resin(2025)
Squallie Greenthumb-Eepy(2025)
Squallie Greenthumb-Fakepop
Squallie Greenthumb-Gateway Drug II(2025)
Squallie Greenthumb-Shuttle Bus Stories(2025)
Squallie Greenthumb-Smokestalgia(2025)
Squallie Greenthumb-Two Cokes and Cookie(2025)
Static Friction-Static Friction(2025)
Stellia-Alice(2025)
Strawberry Coffin-Stoner Metal Against Capitalsim(2025)
Stress Dolls-Queen of Nu
Sunn-Eternity's Pillars b/w Raise the Chalice & Reverential(2025)
Sunrot-Heavy Passages(2025)
SweetbeanSelene-Sour Honey
Tharsis They-Formless Shapeless
The Beaches-Blame My Ex
The Callouts-Victory Lap(2025)
The Delgados-Hate
The Dubliners-More of the Hard Stuff
The Jesus and Mary Chain-Psychocandy
The Jukebox Romantics-This One Looks Cool(2025)
The Kilograms-Beliefs & Thieves(2025)
The Michael Character-The Impermanent Coffee Can(2025)
The Northaven-Season Of Steel Hearts(2025)
Theologian-ALL THE TYRANNY IN THE WORLD WON'T PUT A GOD IN THE HEAVENS
This Gift is a Curse-Heir(2025)
Through a Glass, Darkly-SPERAMVS MELIORA // RESVRGET CINERIBVS (2025)
Tired Radio-Patterns
Tombs-Tombs
Trudger-Void Quest(2025)
Turnpike Troubadours-Price of Admission(2025)
Unseemlier-I have a screw loose, somewhere(2025)
Vile Haint-Abound with Malice(2025)
Virgin Mother-Affection(2025)
Wealth Gap-Wealth Gap(2025)
Wednesday-Bleeds(2025)
Wolvennest-Temple
Wolvennest-The Dark Path to Light
Wyatt E.-zamāru ultu qereb ziqquratu Part 1(2025)
Yasmin De Lain-Each Heart Devours the Other
Yellow Eyes-Confusion Gate(2025)
Young Widows-Power Sucker(2025)
Your Friends in Hell-Abandoned(2025)
